Confidently Curvy
Confidently Curvy a novella by Sarah Clark. It’s 2010. Ellie Johnstone is single again, after divorcing Darren, the husband who thought ‘Porker’ was an acceptable term of endearment. With the encouragement of her close girlfriends Zoë and Lauren, and old friend Paul, she picks herself back up and throws herself into living life as a single woman again.
Ellie loves her work, and it helps to take her mind off her chilly flat, complete lack of love life and the irritating media obsession with Kate Middleton’s pre-wedding diet. But despite the distractions, Ellie has one big problem; when it comes to feeling confident in herself and her plus-size body, she pretends to be happy but really isn’t. Joining a dating site doesn’t help at all, and it feels as if everyone from Ayurvedic doctors to online strangers has an opinion on her body.
When a chance introduction to the enigmatic Diane turns Ellie’s world upside down, she begins to see things – including herself - differently, but not everyone is on board with the new Ellie. Can she really change her life, learn to love herself and rebel against the diet industry without alienating the people she loves or losing her job?
Reviews
Keely
29. May, 2025.
Ellie has just come out of an unhappy marriage in which her husband constantly criticised her size. This quick read sheds some lighthearted & humorous light on Ellies first stumblings into online dating, her job as a journalist for a spa magazine and her blossoming acceptance of herself.
A lovely light read that took me just about an hour. Perfect for sitting with a brew and a biscuit or for a journey when you want something easy to pick up and put down.
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Zoe T
29. May, 2025.
I read Viva Voluptuous when it first came out a few years back and loved the characters of Ellie and her friends, so when I heard about this novella prequel I knew I would be buying it straight away.
Confidently Curvy was just what I needed to lift my spirits during a dark lockdown moment. The characters are fun, honest and relatable, especially (but by no means exclusively) if you are a "plus size" woman. I love that the book doesn't shy away from the truth of the experience of living in a larger body in an honest and ultimately uplifting way. We are all people just muddling through on our own journeys, finding ourselves in odd, funny, sad, wonderful situations at times as Ellie proves.
I would love to spend an evening laughing and chatting with Ellie and her pals, they are all brilliant. Looking forward to another book in the series.
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Gretel
29. May, 2025.
This is a modern book (despite being set 10 years ago!), about Ellie, a modern woman, who is encountering fat phobia, and constant diet advice, including some very unpleasant comments from her family and ex. At the start of the novel, she has ditched her fat phobic man, and dipped her toe in the murky waters of on-line dating. She's got good friends, a great sense of humour, and she's a thoroughly nice person to boot. I really enjoyed reading her story; as she moves towards self-acceptance, and enjoys take-away pizza, nights out, and (cliche alert) 'finding herself'! As she works some of the time for a magazine which reviews spas, there are some funny episodes to relate about the treatments on offer as well. Highly recommended for relaxing and enjoyable reading; would make a great holiday novel. I can just imagine lying on a beach, or around a pool, and reading this with great enjoyment. I've just downloaded Part Deux - Viva Voluptuous!
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Viva Voluptuous
Confidently Curvy a novella by Sarah Clark. It’s 2010. Ellie Johnstone is single again, after divorcing Darren, the husband who thought ‘Porker’ was an acceptable term of endearment. With the encouragement of her close girlfriends Zoë and Lauren, and old friend Paul, she picks herself back up and throws herself into living life as a single woman again.
Ellie loves her work, and it helps to take her mind off her chilly flat, complete lack of love life and the irritating media obsession with Kate Middleton’s pre-wedding diet. But despite the distractions, Ellie has one big problem; when it comes to feeling confident in herself and her plus-size body, she pretends to be happy but really isn’t. Joining a dating site doesn’t help at all, and it feels as if everyone from Ayurvedic doctors to online strangers has an opinion on her body.
When a chance introduction to the enigmatic Diane turns Ellie’s world upside down, she begins to see things – including herself – differently, but not everyone is on board with the new Ellie. Can she really change her life, learn to love herself and rebel against the diet industry without alienating the people she loves or losing her job?
Reviews
Keely
29. May, 2025.
Ellie has just come out of an unhappy marriage in which her husband constantly criticised her size. This quick read sheds some lighthearted & humorous light on Ellies first stumblings into online dating, her job as a journalist for a spa magazine and her blossoming acceptance of herself.
A lovely light read that took me just about an hour. Perfect for sitting with a brew and a biscuit or for a journey when you want something easy to pick up and put down.
Posted on
Zoe T
29. May, 2025.
I read Viva Voluptuous when it first came out a few years back and loved the characters of Ellie and her friends, so when I heard about this novella prequel I knew I would be buying it straight away.
Confidently Curvy was just what I needed to lift my spirits during a dark lockdown moment. The characters are fun, honest and relatable, especially (but by no means exclusively) if you are a "plus size" woman. I love that the book doesn't shy away from the truth of the experience of living in a larger body in an honest and ultimately uplifting way. We are all people just muddling through on our own journeys, finding ourselves in odd, funny, sad, wonderful situations at times as Ellie proves.
I would love to spend an evening laughing and chatting with Ellie and her pals, they are all brilliant. Looking forward to another book in the series.
Posted on
Gretel
29. May, 2025.
This is a modern book (despite being set 10 years ago!), about Ellie, a modern woman, who is encountering fat phobia, and constant diet advice, including some very unpleasant comments from her family and ex. At the start of the novel, she has ditched her fat phobic man, and dipped her toe in the murky waters of on-line dating. She's got good friends, a great sense of humour, and she's a thoroughly nice person to boot. I really enjoyed reading her story; as she moves towards self-acceptance, and enjoys take-away pizza, nights out, and (cliche alert) 'finding herself'! As she works some of the time for a magazine which reviews spas, there are some funny episodes to relate about the treatments on offer as well. Highly recommended for relaxing and enjoyable reading; would make a great holiday novel. I can just imagine lying on a beach, or around a pool, and reading this with great enjoyment. I've just downloaded Part Deux - Viva Voluptuous!
Posted on