A princess who has lost her faith in love . . .Review:
Lucy Linden’s prince charming (a.k.a. her fiancé) disappeared three months before the Big Day. Determined to pick up the pieces, she dives into the world of online dating. But the only men interested in a woman whose day job involves playing Cinderella leave Lucy looking for an exit strategy before the main course. And the man rushing to her rescue isn’t the solution to her problems. Jared is a walking, talking fantasy—if Lucy’s daydreams began and ended in the bedroom. No one would ever mistake South Florida’s bored billionaire bachelor for a long-term prince.
A man willing to risk everything to prove he’s her prince . . .
Jared Mitchell pushes the limits, in the boardroom and in bed. When his best friend and business partner’s little sister sends up red distress flares, he’s thrust into the role of pseudo-big brother. He’s never had a thing for Cinderella. But now he’s fighting his desire to make the princess his—even if he has to risk his empire to deliver her happy-ever-after ending.
With an adorable title AND a sexy cover Sara Jane Stone's The Cinderella Fantasy is one book I simply couldn't resist. Thankfully, The Cinderella Fantasy ended up being the perfect light-hearted weekend read - romantic, sexy, and funny!
Lucy Linden has learned one thing in the past few months - never settle for a prince charming who won't make you his top priority. Lucy used to think she had her whole life figured out - she had an okay career, a great group of friends, and a fiancé who was going places in life. The problem? Her fiancé no longer wants a life with her, choosing instead to pack his bags and head East with his nurse. From this horrible misfortunate, Lucy has come up with a strict set of rules and a game plan for finding her next prince charming...the only problem? Online dating isn't making that search any easier, especially when she ends up on a date with a guy who cares more about her thigh gap then her personality. Hiding out in her brother's restaurant's kitchen after that horrible date, Lucy runs into Jared Mitchell, her brother's best friend and business partner. Jared is sexy and charming, but given his billionaire status and his womanizer ways, he's way off from Lucy's idea of a perfect man. Jared begs to differ, though, and he's willing to do anything to prove her wrong...
Lucy was without a doubt my favorite part of The Cinderella Fantasy. There was just something so likable about her, so incredibly relatable. I think what I liked the most about her character, however, was how relentless she was. Here's this girl who got her heart completely shattered only months ago, but she's already trying to pick up the pieces and move on with her life. It's truly admirable. I also loved her line of work. I found it interesting that she was a Disney princess - someone who would pose for pictures with children and perform in little shows - turned princess party planner with her 2 best, former princess fiends. It was different from the usual type of job, and it added in a fun component to the book. It was also interesting to see the opinions Lucy and her friends formed based on their jobs and parties as well as how the job brought them close together. They were three best friends no one should mess with for sure!
Jared, on the other hand, I struggled with at times. At first, I adored him. He was sweet and charming, and even though he was a womanizer in his past, it was easy to see he was trying to get as far away from that reputation as possible. His interactions with Lucy were adorable and sexy...I loved how he tried to capture her heart with juice boxes. My problems with him, however, started towards the middle. Suddenly, he became the guy who he promised he wouldn't become - the guy who put Lucy second,placing his own needs in front of hers. It bothered me, especially when Lucy was so willing to forgive him the majority of the time.
The plot in this mainly focused on Jared and Lucy's respective jobs as well as their developing relationship. As I've hinted to above, I enjoyed that Sara included their careers in this as well as the good and bad that came with them. It added a fun little side component to the book, and truly managed to balance out the romance. The relationship between Jared and Lucy was a lot of fun to watch develop. It took a lot of time and a lot of effort on Jared's part but the end result was perfect. I found it fun that Sara introduced somewhat of a mystery component to it, which I won't really comment too much on but it was fun! Thankfully, there also was a lot of good hot chemistry between Jared and Lucy.
Unfortunately, I did have two slight problems with The Cinderella Fantasy. One being the lack of character development at times. For the most part, Lucy and Jared were well developed; however, at times, I wished we had know a little more about them and their passions and desires. I felt that the third person narrative didn't always help this problem. I also wanted to know more about Lucy's two best friends, but considering they're getting their own books, I'm sure they'll be plenty of time for that in the future. I also wasn't the biggest fan of of the pacing towards the end. I felt that there was a good steady build up until the last 40 or so pages, and then suddenly, everything got insanely crazy and busy that my mind was reeling by the end and I was thinking wait what?
Even with those two slight issues, The Cinderella Fantasy is still a great romance read! Lucy and Jared's romance is sure to steam up your Kindle, and you'll be dying to know what happens in the next installment, featuring one of Lucy's roommates and business partners.
Grade: B
The Cinderella Fantasy will be released September 14th!
Source: eARC provided by publicist/author - thanks Author's Pal & Sara!!
Buy Links:
Amazon (Link to be added when available)
Author Links:
This sounds like a fun read even though it has a couple of issues. The title and cover are both really catchy. Great review!
ReplyDelete