This request was sent to us by Neesha and for those sensitive about discussions of body image, please be warned that both Sarah and I discuss our own self-image. If you need to click out and take care of yourself, that’s okay!
So this is more of a Rec League question, but do you know of any books where the heroine has breast implants? It seems like every time they come up, it’s always to show that the heroine isn’t like Those Girls with their make-up, short dresses, and ‘flotation devices’, as one book so charmingly put it. I have to read about women’s personal aesthetic choices being shamed in real life, and I’m so sick of it coming up in my comfort reads.
Amanda: We decided to broaden this request to include all other sorts of cosmetic and plastic surgery.
Sarah: This is a tricky request because as the requester points out, plastic surgery for enhancement (as opposed to reconstructive) is treated with a great deal of shame and stigma. I’ve had a pretty considerable amount of reconstructive and elective cosmetic surgery over my lifetime, and I am often greeted with judgment when I talk about it. The person I’m speaking with often responds as if it’s their job to judge my reasoning for surgery, which, wow is it not. (Thus I don’t talk about it a lot.) That said, I don’t recall any characters who have had implants specifically, or plastic surgery.
On one hand, I’m surprised, and on the other, I’m really not surprised at all.
Amanda: I also want to add that though I can’t think of any recs, cosmetic surgery is something I’m heavily considering for myself. A breast lift to be exact because I am a large-busted woman and gravity is not a friend to humans. At the last RT, Sarah advised that if I planned on having kids, I should probably wait until after that.
Growing up, I heard from countless men and even the inner voice in my head that implants were for “porn stars” and men preferred more natural women. It’s a hard habit to break, waffling between self-consciousness and insecurity with my body, but yet elective surgery (and even using makeup) to make oneself feel better is wrong and not as good as being “natural.” Looks like we’re just supposed to be miserable forever with neither choice being right! Let’s pack it up and move out!
(Of course, adult Amanda has learned plenty of lessons through decades of therapy. Sex workers are a-okay, wanting to feel good in your skin with or without surgery is a-okay, FEELING ENOUGH physically and mentally is a-okay.)
We hope the Bitchery comes through with some great recommendations.
Yes – Ava Dumond, the heroine in Lorelei James’ “Chasin’ Eight” has breast implants:
Bull rider Chase McKay has finally landed in a pile too big to charm his way out of. Caught with his pants down, he finds himself bucked right off the PBR tour until he can get his act together.
Hollywood actress Ava Dumond became the tabloids’ favorite target when her longtime boyfriend was outed as gay. Now she wants a place to lay low and a chance to prove to herself that she can satisfy a red-blooded man between the sheets. The sexy, rugged cowboy she finds holed up in her Wyoming hideaway seems like the answer to her every fantasy.
But Chase has sworn off women. Forever. Or at least a month. Whichever comes first.
When they take to the road to get Chase more hands-on bull riding experience, they have every intention of keeping their hands off each other. But the two headstrong stars quickly end up riding a hot and heady rodeo circuit all their own—until the press gets wind of their affair. When the dust clears and the lights of the paparazzi fade, are they ready to give up chasing the dream for a chance of finding forever?
Drat, I wish I could remember the title…I know I read a book last year where the heroine had had plastic surgery because one of her breasts was much smaller than the other. She’d always been self-conscious about it. Mentioning in hopes it rings a bell for somebody else.
Rhythm, Chord & Malykhin by Mariana Zapata – the heroine got breast implants because her boobs were uneven.
Hanna oin Cristina Laurens Beautiful Player had a breast reduction. Outs portrayed as a positive choice for her but I don’t remember if the book was positive about plastic surgery in general.
LaVyrle Spencer’s SWEET MEMORIES is about a woman who, in her mid-twenties, elects to have breast-reduction surgery. The heroine has very large breasts and she was teased about it mercilessly throughout her teen years. The hero is a few years younger than her (and her brother’s friend from the military). I remember him being very supportive of her decision. (Keep in mind the book is probably at least 20 years old, so may contain some elements of “not like other girls” that don’t play well today.)
In Offside by Kelly Jamieson the heroine got breast implants at a young age because she’s from a rich Hollywood family, and her mother and friends all had them too. From memory she sees her implants as part of her former “wild child” life which she’s trying to leave behind and she’s a little defensive about them, so it might not be what you’re looking for.
Jill Mansell’s “Mixed Doubles” has a character who gets plastic surgery – she gets her ears pinned back after years of being self-conscious.
Courtney Milan’s Hold Me (which has been reviewed on this site) has a trans woman as the heroine who has undergone extensive surgery, and she is considered gorgeous and is extremely confident and happy with herself.
Yes!
Amanda in The Rebel Prince by Molly Jameson unapologetically loves her breast implants. She’s also a very focused social climber who isn’t afraid of hard work (gallery worker who moonlights working at a strip mall nail salon) and falls for a prince who’s all about humility and social justice because of some PTSD related to his aid work in Peru.
He’s mega hot, but I loved her body positive, sex positive attitude. She was difficult for me at first because i am used to a ‘good girl’ heroine. But i like her a lot now.
Daisy in Kristen Ashley’s Rock Chick series. She’s a former stripper, now married to a crime boss. She has breast implants, an affinity for big hair & sequins & a generous gentle heart. One of my favourite KA characters.
Backwoods by Jill Sorenson. I haven’t read it, so I can’t vouch for the book overall, but I remember the review mentioned the heroine has breast implants (she got them after her divorce) and neither she nor the hero think it’s a big deal.
In Susan Mallery’s Two of a Kind, its mentioned that Felicia needed reconstructive facial surgery after an accident and seized the opportunity to make herself much prettier than she had been. (She’s one of those mythical brilliant scientists who know everything about every branch of science better than the actual experts in the field, which I can’t roll my eyes at hard enough, but I really like her book anyway.) She’s very open about it and doesn’t question her decision to improve her looks at all.
I’m pretty sure it’s mentioned in Alexis Daria’s Dance With Me that Natasha has breast implants.
I think there were some Sandra Brown’s where the heroine has surgery and the tone was surprisingly un-judgemental, but it might have all been reconstructive, with distinctions drawn. Also it was the 90s if not the 80s when I read them, so even if my memory is accurate, they may not hold up.
Following Jill Q’s comment, I really enjoyed Backwoods! As I recall the heroine is perfectly happy with her implants, which were not for reconstructive purposes.
Don’t you love the focus on “natural” beauty, as if being born naturally beautiful and being humble about it is important. And as if putting on makeup supports the patriarchy. Can’t we just wear or not wear what we like? That is feminism to me. Do you remember the Amy Schumer video where the boys sing the One Direction song about don’t wear make-up, then at the end they change their minds?
“From Paradise…To Pregnant” by Kandy Shepherd has a heroine who has had a nose job.
In cross-media, actress Julie Depardieu had the Depardieu nose cosmetically altered. She plays a romance author in “Toi et Moi” and gets an HEA, but Marion Cotillard’s character does not.
I wish writers would promote positive body image by validating variations rather than attacking alterations.
Personally, I am that bloody tired of people asking me if my genetic skin disorder is operable. (No. And I’m fond of it: family trait.)
Crack a textbook, or at least the skinema website, people.
Okay, this is a bit tricky for me. I am an older feminist and have lived a long time thinking that women spend too much money and too much time worrying about how men look at them. That being said, it seems nowadays that I am more concerned with not feeling or looking unhealthy and I love women reclaiming their sexuality and power. My annual mammogram led me to a genetic test last fall which showed I am positive for a gene related to breast cancer – although I do NOT have cancer at this time. So I have decided to have preventive mastectomies and reconstructive surgery. I find myself now grinning at the thought of not having gravitationally challenged breasts, even though the loss of sensation will be sad.
So, this old feminist says it’s your freakin’ body and you can do with it what you will. Tattoos, piercings, augmentation -go for it! as long as you do it for you and not for some fashionista idea of what is attractive. Be you! Any you you can imagine!
Kate Meader’s Chicago Rebels series – book 4 has a heroine with reconstructive surgery, and everyone has a healthy attitude about it. The whole series was fun, you didn’t need to know a ton about hockey because it was more character and romance than sport technicalities.
One of my favourite books by Lexi Blake/Sophie Oak Away From Me involves a heroine who has had reconstructive surgery following a double mastectomy. It was a beautifully written BDSM romance. Enjoy!
Party Girl by Tamara Morgan features a woman who has had work done and helps administer a place that does cosmetic surgery and she is completely unapologetic about it.
Man, people got to my recs!
So yes to:
-Lorelei James’s Chasing Eight;
-Mariana Zapata’s Rhythm, Chord, and Malykhin (this one deals explicitly with the stereotype about boob job = floozy and also features the MC’s boob job as causing problems between her & her twin, not because twin minds but because twin is thoughtless when discussing it);
-Kristin Ashley’s character Daisy (who is AWESOME);
Also:
-Candace Blevins’s Brain (features a female hacker who has to disappear and get a new face, so this isn’t about implants);
——
And, now that I’m done having kids and my boobs, while still definitely present, are a different chaps, I am contemplating surgery.
Ok, here’s a blast from the past:
Jennifer Apodaca wrote a series of mysteries starting in 2004 featuring Samantha Shaw. Samantha is now a single mom running a dating service who eventually begins dating a hot ex-cop. If all of that combined is not too cliché for you, she got her breast implants because SHE wanted them and is incredibly happy with the results. Now, it’s been years since I read them but IIRC she shut down naysayers. There’s also some humor in them (I’m thinking actually quite a bit but as I earlier stated) it’s been years so YMMV.
First of the series is titled “Dying to Meet You”.
Rachel Gibson’s “Nothing But Trouble” has a heroine who takes on a job as the grumpy hockey players PA because she wants a breast reduction surgery so a) her back stops hurting from carrying the weight of her boobs and b) she can start getting cast in roles other than “girl who dies first in slasher film”. I remember that the hero was at first surprised but when she explained her reasons he was supportive! I think the ending of the book left it ambiguous whether she’d had her surgery or not yet, but I like to imagine she did.
This isn’t a classic romance novel, but “Jane Doe” by Victoria Helen Stone has a positive discussion of breast implants. The novel is about a female sociopath getting revenge for her best friend’s death, and the best friend had implants. I think that the novel treated it well, not shaming women who get them at all.
Two of my suggestions have already been recommended!
Rhythm, Cord & Malykhin by Marianna Zapata and Hold Me by Courtney Milan!
If you like Hold Me, I’d also recommend Roller Girl by Vanessa North – its an f/f romance and the heroine is a trans-woman who has had surgery, was previously a professional athlete and now works as a gym trainer so there is quite a bit of discussion around bodies, altered or otherwise! It’s also set around a woman’s roller derby team and so positive!!
The heroine of Her Naughty Holiday by Tiffany Reisz had a breast reduction. It’s a good read but I think I liked the welder heroine in the next book in the series better.
SusanH mentioned In Susan Mallery’s Two of a Kind, but I remember that the mention of the reconstructive facial surgery was actually in the previous book, and it’s barely mentioned in her book, despite the hero mentioning how pretty her face is.
Meryl Sawyer’s ‘Half Moon Bay’ features a heroine who had reconstructive surgery after an accident. Here is the synopsis from Amazon:
When her witness protection cover is blown, Amy Conroy flees across the country. With no money and only her dog for company, she steals rides in the trunks of unsuspecting strangers’ cars until a tragic accident lands her in a Key West hospital where she is mistaken for the dead driver. Undergoing reconstructive surgery, Amy becomes almost the mirror image of beautiful Shelly Ralston. Even Matt Jensen, the investigative journalist Shelly was obsessively in love with, believes Amy’s the deceased woman.
As Amy lives a lie, she begins to fall for Matt herself and soon discovers how deep passions can run. But her idyllic days in Key West are numbered. The Feds—and a criminal mastermind—are closing in. And now Amy is the only link in a string of murder cases.
First off, thank you so much for answering this; body image is a sensitive topic, and I would have completely understood if you’d just ignored it. I’m so grateful that you took on the task of not only looking for recommendations, but also your bravery in discussing your own feelings on the subject. It’s reassuring that SBTB is a safe place to talk about these issues with good people.
Also, thanks for all the recommendations, everyone! For some reason, this disdain for elective plastic surgery has been showing up more and more in my library holds, and I cannot wait to check out all these books!
It would not even have occurred to me to ask this question and now I want to read ALL of these books. Thank you, everyone!
I also remember LaVyrle Spencer’s Sweet Memories. It pissed me off because my bra size is the same as the heroine’s, and she is basically described as grotesquely, freakishly large-breasted. Mine are bigger than I wanted; jerks made unwanted comments, but my life wasn’t defined by them and they’re not grotesque. I’ve been physically comfortable, done sports, had them loved by my husband, and fed my babies.
Threads like these make me love this community. My sister and I were just discussing earlier how many of the Instagram requests are for plus size/fat MCs and how important representation and body positivity is- a good writer makes any MC seem sexy but it is very frustrating to me when it’s a comparison that demeans thin women, that doesn’t solve this problem!
I think we all need to work to help writers appreciate that we need positive descriptions of characters’ bodies without negative comparisons, it might be harder to write but totally worth it.
Absolutely fascinating the large proportion of recs that involve “reasons” for having surgery (like to help your back or as reconstructive surgery) as if the characters needed a justification for surgery, and “I want to change what I was born with” isn’t “enough.” Also fascinating how the vast majority involve boobs. Are nose jobs less subject to shaming because they aren’t viewed as sexual parts? Thanks for bringing up an interesting topic that made me think.