'Woman of Substance' by Annette Bower Book Tour & Review

Woman of Substance

by Anette Bower

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BLURB:

"You will never understand what it means to be fat.” With those words, grad student Robbie Smith begins the Fat-Like-Me project. In order to support her thesis, she puts on a fat suit to measure people’s reactions to the new her.

Accused of embezzling funds, Professor Jake Proctor returns home to spend quality time with the only father he has ever known. There, he meets an intriguing overweight woman who reminds him of his late grandmother. She’s witty, charming, and cares deeply for those around her, including his dying grandfather.

When Robbie meets Jake while she’s in disguise, she deceives him for all the right reasons. But how long can she maintain the deception before Jake discovers that she is not who he believes her to be?

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Read an excerpt:

Robbie in her disguise meets Jake Proctor for the first time and there are not good impressions shared.

“Robbie’s cheeks burned. “You, you think I’m asking Frank for money?” She forced herself to stand straight and gripped her hands so she wouldn’t brush at the dirt clinging to the front of her jacket and kept both feet on the ground so she wouldn’t kick him in the shins. These solid shoes would give him a good bruise.

“For starters, you look as if you could use some clean clothes. There’s bread on the bench. And there’s the open wallet and a frail, old, man.” His clipped words and flashing eyes when he nodded toward each item left no room for doubt as to exactly what he thought.

Struggling between her outrage and the genuine concern in Jake’s eyes, she said, “Ah, Sherlock Holmes, I presume.” Nincompoop. Just goes to show a well-fitted jacket and height can disguise real character, too.

“No.” He put his hands behind his back and jutted his chin forward. “I’m a concerned grandson.”

“Stop it, both of you,” Frank growled. “Here’s the picture of Mabel I wanted to show you before Jake turned up out of the blue.” He handed his billfold to Robbie. Behind yellowed plastic was the image of a woman with dark curls smiling at the camera holding a baby wrapped in a blanket.

“That’s our Mabel.” He looked from Jake to Robbie.

“Yes.” Jake stood behind Frank and his hands hung loosely at his side.

Robbie felt a sense of relief. She turned toward Jake and pointed at the baby. “You?”

“No.” Jake sounded resigned. Robbie understood that sometimes a person just has to allow the story to be told.”

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**My thoughts**

Being a larger woman, I found myself relating to Robin a bit more than Robbie. I have heard all of the same things, only much more brutally than Robin ever has to experience. I also related to Jake's struggle in saying goodbye to his grandfather, having recently lost both my grandmother and my father. This story became much more personal to me than I had thought it would when I signed up for the tour.

I wasn't sure how to take Jake at first. I didn't care for his opinions of Robin. I found him condescending at times. And then I realized that he had some stereotypical thoughts that illustrated how a lot of people react. I loved his grandfather, Frank. I also got a kick out of how his name symbolized his true nature. He was the voice of reason that seemed to have quite an impact on both Robbie/Robin and Jake. The time frame in which this book took place seemed quite short for the story and Robbie's experiment, but I don't think she could have maintained the charade much longer. Plus, Christmas just needed to happen the way it did.

I think there are some good, subtle (and a few not so subtle) lessons to be had in this book. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it, but then I couldn't tear myself away.

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Buy link: Amazon 

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Annette Bower writes about women in family and women in love and women’s quest for love. Her short stories are published in magazines and anthologies in Canada, United States and in the United Kingdom.

Her first sweet contemporary romance Moving On, A Prairie Romance is e-published by XoXo Publishing™. Her second novel which is a blend of sweet romance and women’s fiction, Woman of Substance is e-published by Soul Mate Publishing.

Annette Bower lives and writes stories from a high rise where she can see the immediate hustle and bustle of downtown Regina and experience the changes in the grain fields throughout the Saskatchewan seasons.

Website: www.annettebower.com

Blog: www.annettebower.com/blog

Twitter: @bowerannette

Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/arezhhm

Author of Moving On - A Prairie Romance on Amazon \ XoXo Publishers \ ARe \  BookStrand \ 

Author of Christmas Wishes with XoXo Publishers on Amazon \ XoXo Publishers \ ARe \

Annette will be awarding a $25 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn host. Follow the tour for more chances to win!