Author: Julie Murphy
Kindle Edition
This is a modern day Cinderella tale. Cindy is a fashion student who is in a creative slump. Living in NYC with her best friend, she hasn’t put pen to paper in a while. You see, she’s been through a rough patch: she lost her mom when she was seven, her dad remarried, and he recently passed away. No, no, no, stop right there: her stepmother is pretty cool, her stepsisters love her and she has the cutest half-siblings (triplets!!!). But she’s just graduated, her future is uncertain and all her grief has decided to surface.
So, Cindy goes back home to LA, where her family lives. On the flight home, she has this cute meet cute with a guy she nicknames Prince Charming. He’s adorable and handsome, they have a wonderful time, but they lose track of each other at the airport…
Back at home, she is going to spend time being a temporary nanny for the triplets. Her super busy stepmom is like the Queen of Reality TV and runs a “The Bachelor” type of show. When they suddenly lose a few contestants in pre-production, her stepsisters are asked to join in. Cindy feels left out and she calls out her stepmom for not asking her too because she is a plus-size girl. Erica wanted to protect her. She knows that social media will be on her like vultures… But, add one meddling junior producer and a girl determined not to be put in a corner because of her size and Cindy joins the show. Now here’s the kicker: “Prince Charming” is the star of the show! Will they find love under the watchful eyes of the cameras and the world?
I loved the story. It’s fun and sweet and it’s spot on in the representation of a fat woman (yes, I went there and used the FAT word. As a fat person myself, I hate the euphemisms: curvy, voluptuous…I’m fat.) The scene in the airplane where Cindy is self-conscious of not bumping into people, squishing herself all the way in her seat so that she is not an imposition to the fellow passenger, the seat-belt extender anxiety, it all rings true. And yes, we love shoes. Why? Because shoes are not judgy, shoes don’t care if you are a size zero or a size 16. They are the common denominator when you go shopping with your friends because you KNOW you won’t find that cute outfit in your size (you”ll be lucky if the salesperson doesn’t look at you from head to toe when they tell you they don’t cater to your size.) I love that Cindy doesn’t take it and lower her head. She calls people out on the (even if subtle) fat-shaming. You go girl!
And if you like The Bachelor tv show franchise, you will love this one. I particularly despise that show, but it didn’t bother me reading about a similar show in this book.
I would have given this book the full five stars (though I rounded them up on Goodreads) if it hadn’t shied away from giving the fat girl the hot sex scenes. Yes, GASP!, fat people have sex! Good sex! And this was a good opportunity for the author to use Cindy to show more body positivity. I understand that some authors may still be uncomfortable writing sex scenes with heavier people, but we all know that, when it comes to sex, we read ALL. KINDS. OF. STUFF. in romance books (kinky stuff, weird, stuff, VERY weird stuff). It’s about time we have more regular people having sex. Like, you know, in the real world.
It’s a wonderful retelling of the Cinderella classic and if you want to spend some time having fun with very well-written characters, this book is for you!
