Books › The Main Attraction
The Main Attraction
First published 1987 · 312 pages
A deliciously vindictive 1980s glow-up fantasy where returning home is less about nostalgia and more about making everyone who doubted you eat their hearts out.
What it feels like
Reading this vintage romance feels like indulging in a perfectly executed, deeply satisfying revenge fantasy. The atmosphere is thick with small-town gossip and crackling romantic tension, moving at a brisk, dialogue-heavy pace that keeps the pages turning. It captures the specific, triumphant thrill of the ugly duckling returning as a swan, leaning into the dramatic, slightly campy sensibilities of 1980s romance with a wry and sassy tone. You are seated right in the middle of the protagonist's vindication, watching her flaunt her newfound power while slowly realizing that her carefully laid plans for retribution might be getting in the way of her actual happiness. It is a juicy, nostalgic delight for anyone who loves a heroine who finally gets the upper hand.
- Mood
- gossipy
- vindicated
- crackling
- Tone
- wry
- triumphant
- sassy
- satisfying
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- the ugly duckling transformation · the sweetness of revenge · reclaiming self-worth · small-town hypocrisy · moving on from the past
- The writing
- Snappy and dialogue-driven, the writing is unapologetically steeped in the bold, dramatic sensibilities of 1980s category romance.
- The arc
- The protagonist moves from a place of calculated, simmering vindication to the vulnerable realization that true happiness lies in moving forward rather than settling old scores.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave a juicy, vintage romance where a wronged heroine gets to flaunt her spectacular glow-up and make her detractors sweat before finding a love that actually deserves her.
Content notes
- past fatphobia
- past bullying
- toxic ex-partners
About the book
Ten years after she had left her hometown as a mousy, overweight, disgraced woman, Filomena Cromwell--now rich and beautiful--returns to Gallant Lake to seek revenge on her unfaithful ex-fiance+a7 and other small-minded townspeople.
Description from Open Library.
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