Reviewed by Dee
TITLE: All You Can Eat
AUTHOR: Ingela Bohm
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 217 pages
RELEASE DATE: January 29, 2016
BLURB:
How do you date someone who doesn’t eat?
Dietician Xavier Deniel is the poster boy for healthy eating. Toned and fit, he practices what he preaches, and his patients keep coming back just for the pleasure of seeing him. His spare time is divided between the gym and the other men who go there, and that’s the way he likes it.
Until Guy turns up. He is Xavier’s opposite in every way: mousy and awkward, sullen and frail. Worst of all, he carries a beast inside him, one that makes all human connection impossible. Lesser men than Xavier would recoil in disgust if they knew, and Guy is not about to reveal his true self to a bloody Frenchman.
But what Guy doesn’t know is that Xavier has stumbled on his half-forgotten blog, the one place where he has confessed all his secrets. When the truth comes out, will Xavier run for the hills – or will he be the one to finally force the beast out in the open?
REVIEW:
This is a new to me author, and first and foremost I must say her vivid writing style blew me away! I’m sure I’m one of the least emotional readers out there. Rarely, if ever, do books bring me to tears. This one did twice, almost three times. The first two times was due to the raw emotion the story evoked in me, which is no easy feat. My heart bled for Guy! The third time I didn’t cry wet tears, I screamed in frustration! The scene that caused me to do so, pissed me the hell off and it involved a side-character. In fact, it made me want to chop a couple of hearts off my rating! However, once I calmed down enough to think rationally, I realized what a wonderful job the author had done at making me become invested in her characters. That in and of itself is a special talent!
Right, so back to the plot. Given the title and blurb I assumed this story would have a heavy focus around eating disorders, however Guy’s eating disorder is almost a subplot within a plot. His plight is a huge part of the story, but what got him to that point is more prevalent. A lot of the story is told through his on-line blog, which Xavier stumbles across. The blog is the one aspect I did have to remind myself I was reading fiction. As it read nothing like any teenage boy I’ve met would speak.
Via the blog we learn all about Guys time abroad, his host family, learning Judo, and his brief affair with Philippe. And it was during this time he gained weight, which from what I could gather began his fall into self-destruction – something in truth I never truly understood.
I found the story low on romance. The guys only went on a few dates, and during those their constant bickering was tiresome due to their lack of being able to communicate like adults. However, given Guy was only twenty, I get why he misinterpreted most of what Xavier said.
Even though Laila only popped in and out of the story, I grew to like her immensely. The speech she gave Xavier around the 80% mark was brilliant, showcasing the struggle overweight people go through to be accepted by society. The prejudice they come up against when others assume overweight people are lazy slobs. Just like being gay isn’t a ‘choice’ neither is the battle of the bulge for some people.
When Laila finally had a date, I was so damn excited, and then… this is the part that had me screaming. Firstly, Xavier was a complete dick about driving her, which is explained – but still. Then when it came to light who her date was, I jumped up and down like a child having a tantrum. It was like waiting to lift the lid on a juicy steak only to find a plate of leftovers. Not literally, but I screamed, why, why, why? Seriously, why did it have to be ‘him’?
Once I got over my little tantrum, I continued reading. The story went back to the two men, their visit to Xavier’s family, and finally the conclusion.
I’m having a hard time keeping on track while writing this review, which is ironic as I found the last 20% of the story all over the place. Rather than continuing to ramble, I will say this story evoked almost every emotion possible in me. For those who like to read stories with such vivid imagery and raw emotion that you feel you’ve lived it, I’m sure you’ll fall in love with this story and the characters.
RATING: 
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