Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell by Taj McCoy

This review is a little different than what I normally do in the sense that I didn’t include a lot of summary about the book in this. I started typing and this is what my heart felt I should say. Enjoy.

When I first saw the title and the cover, I immediately heard Lizzo’s “Good As Hell” playing in my head. And I knew then, this was going to be a good read. Yet this turned out to be so much more. Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell was the feel good, self worth novel I never knew I needed. I wished this book had been written so much sooner in my life but I’m glad it’s here now.

What I liked about Savvy was how relatable she was. Not just that I could see myself in her but I felt she was me. The constant working to appease your POC mother and never feeling like she could measure up. That hit home for me. And although I clapped back at the book, acting like I didn’t cater to my man, I felt Savvy on the whole catering to your man and somehow forgetting to cater to yourself. So when this mf broke up with her, I could feel her pain. 

However, I quickly forgot about that pain when Spencer came into the picture. The description alone did not do him justice because I knew he was fine. And I hated Savvy for pushing him aside but I also appreciated it at the same time. Most rom-coms have the lovers get together right off the bat, have a huge fight due to a misunderstanding, then get back together. And while this technically did happen in the book, it wasn't the main focus. The main focus was on Savvy finding, caring for, and loving herself. And I liked that there were whole chapters dedicated to yoga, tennis lessons, cooking classes, and just hanging with her girls, rounding out Savvy as a person and not just a potential love interest for Spencer. 

The same could also be said of Spencer. Whenever he did come into the scene, the focus wasn’t pulled away from Savvy’s well being and he even played a supportive role, whether he was just a listening ear or an encouraging friend. Genuinely, Savvy and Spencer got to develop their partnership through mutual respect and trust as they fell in love. Even when there was a misunderstanding, Savvy would come back and explain how she felt and Spence would understand, allowing her the time and space to grow, instead of becoming angry and dismissing her altogether. They truly did lay down some real groundwork for a healthy relationship. 

Yet on the flipside of that coin, I didn’t like how Spencer sometimes faded into the background whenever Savvy was focusing on her health or around her friends. His character felt like a male prop instead of a partner and Spencer was such a cool guy, I just wished he had gotten to shine alongside Savvy in the same way her girlfriends did. 

But other than that, I really couldn’t find fault with this. Savvy truly grew as a person in this book, learning to focus on her self worth as opposed to her worth through her man or her job. A message many of us needed to hear as we’re adulting. Savvy Sheldon Feels Good As Hell definitely changed my outlook on life and made me want to take better care of myself. A good read I’m glad I read.