Book Review: The Fat Chance Guide to Dieting by Claudia Pattison

Think nothing tastes as good as slim feels? You're obviously not eating the right food . . .

 Holly, Naomi and Kate are determined to win the battle of the bulge. So it's down to the local slimming club, where carbs are strictly off the menu and there's no escaping the scales. But calorie-counting isn't the only thing on their minds.

Newly engaged Holly should be over the moon. So why does she blush every time her sexy boss walks into the room? Curvaceous Naomi finds herself the object of a very unusual fetish and a shocking secret is revealed when an unexpected visitor arrives on Kate's doorstep.

Yet with a little group support (and a particularly brutal weight loss boot camp) the women manage to stick to their regime, in time for the glamorous Slimmer of the Year Awards. But with tempting buffet tables, highly competitive contestants and even the odd fat fetishist lurking, it's anyone's guess as to what will happen . . .

This is a book that immediately caught my eye when I was sent a copy for review, mainly because of the cover if I'm honest! It made the book look really fun, and certainly like something I would enjoy reading! Claudia Pattison hasn't released a book for a while, but has also published under the pen name of Leonie Fox, so you may have read some of her novels under that name too. Weirdly, I tried reading her books under this name but couldn't get into them, yet this one had me hooked from the start and I really enjoyed every single page of this book. It probably isn't the sort of thing you *need* to read after stuffing your face at Christmas with god knows how many calories, but it is a fun and fantastic read that will have you laughing along as you turn the pages!

There are three main characters in this book; Kate, Naomi and Holly. Each of them are very different, and have major things going on in their lives, as well as their desperate need to lose weight. Each of them joins Fat Chance, a slimming club to lose a few pounds but didn't expect to make some great friends too. Kate is a bit of a workaholic, a widow after losing her husband in an accident, and is about to get a huge surprise that will turn her world upside down. Meanwhile, Naomi is a talented photographer but her relationships with men leave much to be desired, and the other girls aren't sure about their friends' ideas either. Finally, Holly is happy as a PA and in her relationship but soon begins to question where she is going with her life. They were three great characters, I have to confess to liking Holly and Kate a lot more than Naomi, I just couldn't agree with her choices, but it certainly made for interesting reading, especially when things about Kate's relationship come to light, it does shed a whole new light on it! However, each of the women seem very real and I liked that as I read about them, I could imagine myself thinking like them, and worrying about things like they did, they were really great characters, and I like that the book chopped and changed who it followed so each of the women got equal time in the book.

Fat Chance isn't a slimming club based on any particular one that is out there, it seems to be a bit of a mix of all of them, but it's done in a really funny way! The club leader is hilariously awful, patronising and cruel rather than friendly and inspiring, but it does make for some very funny reading I have to say! However, despite the book's title, I found that the weight loss idea seemed to be secondary to the main story which were the life events of the three main ladies and I liked this, that they didn't make the weight loss the be all and end all of everything. The boot camp scenes are rather funny, and provide a good change of scenery towards the end of the book to keep your attention piqued. There is a lot going on throughout to keep you entertained and I found Pattison's writing was really easy to read, and really gets you interested in the characters and wanting to know what they are going to do  next.

Overall, I thought this was a really great book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading, and will certainly look out for more books by Claudia Pattison after reading this! It's a fun and light-hearted look at weight loss, yet she manages to throw in some more serious issues there too, ones that really make you think and I thought they added a deeper element to the book that I really enjoyed. There are three main characters that a lot of women will be able to relate to in some way, and the funny moments at the 'Fat Chance' slimming club are worth reading it for alone! I think the publishers have done a really good job with the cover too, it really suits the book and I'm sure a lot of people would be tempted to pick it up and find out more! I really enjoyed every page of this book, and definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a really great read full of fun and great characters.


Rating: 5/5


You can pre-order The Fat Chance Guide to Dieting in both paperback and as an eBook now. (links go to Amazon.co.uk)