Blog Tour + Review: The Accidental Pinup by Danielle Jackson

Rival photographers are forced to collaborate on a body-positive lingerie campaign, but they might have to readjust their focus when sparks fly.

Photographer Cassie Harris loves her job—her company Buxom Boudoir makes people look beautiful and feel empowered with her modern twist on classic pinup photography. Cassie’s best friend, Dana, is about to launch her own dangerously dreamy lingerie line and wants Cassie to shoot and direct the career-changing national campaign. But company politics and Dana’s complicated pregnancy interfere, and Cassie finds herself—a proud plus size Black woman—not behind the camera but in front of it.

Though she’s never modeled herself, Cassie’s pretty sure she can handle the sheer underwear and caution tape bralettes. She’s not sure she can work so intimately with the chosen photographer, her long-time competitor in the Chicago photography scene, Reid Montgomery. Their chemistry is undeniable on set, however, and feelings can develop faster than film… 

• Title: The Accidental Pinup
• Author:  Danielle Jackson
• Publisher: Berkley
• Publication Date: July 19th, 2022
• Genre: Contemporary, Romance 
• Source: Digital ARC via Publishers in exchange for an honest review
• Targeted Age Range: Adult
• Content Warnings: Discussions of fertility problems including miscarriage, absentee parenting (past), strained familial relationships, sexual content, racism
• Rating: ★★★.5

I’m always looking for more inclusive romance stories — especially featuring plus-sized characters, so The Accidental Pinup sounded like a great choice when looking for a new romance to read! The Accidental Pinup is marketed as a “Diverse, Body-Positive Rom-Com with a Rivals-to-Lovers Plot” and it definitely delivered on those things!

I absolutely love how body positive this book is! I love that Cassie ensures that all of her clients feel beautiful, confident, and powerful in their photo sessions, no matter their shape or size. Additionally, Dana has an actual size inclusive lingerie business (many say that they’re size inclusive when they only go up to XL…that’s not size inclusive friends!), and that Cassie and Dana made sure that all the models for the campaign have a range of body types and don’t all look the same. Body positivity and inclusivity is so important and that’s something that is still lacking in the world of literature — and just…the world, but that’s not what we’re talking about here — so it was just such a joy to read a book that was full of body positivity and characters that were actually inclusive. 

Additionally, I really loved that there was never a moment or comment about Cassie and her body that ever leaned into the “she’s beautiful, but if she lost some weight…” territory or anything like that. It’s mentioned multiple times that Cassie is beautiful and that her body is beautiful just the way it is. That meant a lot to me, and I know it will to a lot of other people as well.

I thought Cassie was a really easy protagonist to root for and want to see succeed. I loved her determination and passion, always striving to create something new and ensure that she’s staying true to her voice and not making changes to please others. I particularly loved the scenes where she put her foot down with her parents when it came to things they said about her career. 

Though he wasn’t necessarily an unlikable character, I just didn’t really feel any sort of attachment to Reid. I absolutely had sympathy for the struggles that he faced — dealing with absentee parents for your entire childhood and then having a younger brother who only contacts you to bail him out of his latest mess sounds exhausting. However, something prevented me from connecting with him. I did appreciate that when Cassie told him about the struggles she has faced as a Black woman in the photography industry, he simply listened and said that he was sorry that she had to deal with that. However, that is quite literally the bare minimum, as is recognizing his own privilege, so I personally didn’t really see the fuss. 

As a couple, I thought that Cassie and Reid were fine. I liked the whole professional rivals forced to work together concept — it was a nice little twist on enemies/rivals to lovers. While I thought they had some really nice moments, I wasn’t super invested in their relationship, which I think is a bit of an issue when reading a romance novel. Though I can totally see why lots of other people would really vibe with them as a couple!

My favorite part of this book was probably the friendship between Cassie, Dana, Kit, and Sam — the ladies of Buxom Boudoir. I loved how each of them had their own distinct personalities and that while they didn’t always agree on everything, they were always there to support one another. I thought the contrast between sweet and bubbly Kit, and snarky and fierce Sam was so great, and loved the friendship that the two had — I know they weren’t the main focus, but I would’ve loved to have seen more of that dynamic as well. Cassie and Dana had a beautiful friendship and it was so easy to see how important they were to each other. They’re the kind of friends who are more family than friends, and I love how they supported one another throughout the story.

The Accidental Pinup is a fun, fresh and flirty debut great for fans of rivals to lovers! Although some parts fell a bit flat for me, I did enjoy this read and will for sure check out Danielle Jackson’s next book!

Links for The Accidental Pinup: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound