Reviews

8 out of 10 stars!

"Chick lit fans will enjoy this second chance at life tale. Stacey Ballis provides a deep character study of a big babe seeking passion and solace mostly in the wrong places."

Harriet Klausner

Special to Inside

"Inappropriate Men" explores love, loss, May-December relationships, and the 30-something Chicago dating scene. Ballis, a fifth-generation North Sider and a senior staff member at The Goodman Theatre, celebrates the city in this novel full of local references that will make Chicagoans feel very much on the inside track.
Without compromising the intelligence of her readers, Ballis delivers an inspiring message of female empowerment and body image acceptance in her fun, sexy debut novel. "Inappropriate Men" features a plus-sized protagonist, the unapologetically sized-24 voluptuary Sidney Stein."

Jane Walker
Inside Lincoln Park

Sidney steps out

Sidney steps out When Sidney Stein's marriage goes on the rocks, she finds herself surrounded by a lot of losers in Stacey Ballis' first novel, the cheekily comic Inappropriate Men. From the moment she deliberately ignores their gold wedding bands intertwined in the darkness of a movie theater, Sidney finds that the romantic attentions of the very married Geoffrey Fahl provoke a torrent of warrant emotions: I'm the luckiest girl . . . an evil seductress . . . making a huge mistake . . . having the best time . . . all of the above. All of the above are in store for the reader as Sidney's wry take on her oversized life weaves its way into the heart. Sidney detangles herself from one marriage and contemplates who's worthy of her next trip down the aisle, revealing a vulnerability and verve for life that transcend the page. Sidney Stein is a heroine to cheer lustily for, because that is how she lives her life: in grand style, and refusing to settle.

Sandy Huseby
Bookpage.com

Inappropriate Men is a whirlwind...

This is the ultimate read for women everywhere, who for even a moment in time, fell for a man that there was no future with. If you've ever fallen for someone but because due to a variety of circumstances, you could never be together, the words of this novel will ring true to you!
Sidney decides to eventually take her caring friends advice and venture into the wonderful world of dating. From there she takes you on a fun ride through first dates and the juggling act of multiple dates. In the end, Sidney finds happiness with an unexpected surprise. Inappropriate Men is a whirlwind of romance and fun all at once and definitely worth the read!

Vanessa Chiu

Love-starved Sidney...

Stacey Ballis gives us a heroine with a heart as big as all outdoors, and a body to match, in this scathingly funny look at the contemporary dating scene. Sidney Stein (size 24) is as ready for sex as the next woman, but her husband, Mark, hasn't been interested in years. Love-starved Sidney then falls for inappropriate man No. 2, her father's business partner, with whom she begins an illicit affair, only to break it off when she realizes he will never, ever leave his wife. "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it," said Oscar Wilde, quoted in one of the chapter headers, and Sidney does just that, plunging into a new world of email dating, phone sex, and more. Peppered with poetry and the occasional recipe, Inappropriate Men is a fresh look at the war between the sexes.

Ginger Curwen
The Barnes and Noble Review

"Inappropriate Men" is wickedly funny, fresh, and real.

A poet and short-story writer since childhood, the Chicago native has always used words as therapy. Inspired by her own re-entrance into the dating scene, Stacey wanted to write about the adventures of an unapologetic, overweight woman who’s sexy and smart, confident and confused. The result was “Inappropriate Men,” an insightful and hilarious journey into the life and mind of Chicagoan Sidney Stein.
Read More from Today's Chicago Woman...

"Inappropriate Men" is wickedly funny, fresh, and real.

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