syndi3's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I like this book more than I expect. It reminds me so much of that movie, The Devil Wears Prada. But instead of having a cruel sociopath boss, in this book is about that tempting world of famous. I am a firm believer that beware of someone who brings you gift. Because there is always that fine print which I never understand.
The moral story of this book is about being brave choosing what is right for you. What you need to be yourself. Sometimes dream comes true but beware of the side effect. In the world of being famous, money talks. When money runs out, you realize you have no one and nothing at all. I wish I can have Ander's POV. He is such a cool guy/ boyfriend. He is easy going and his takes on life is go with it. He is also have a big heart.
Overall this is a very enjoyable read during my mundane work day.
The moral story of this book is about being brave choosing what is right for you. What you need to be yourself. Sometimes dream comes true but beware of the side effect. In the world of being famous, money talks. When money runs out, you realize you have no one and nothing at all. I wish I can have Ander's POV. He is such a cool guy/ boyfriend. He is easy going and his takes on life is go with it. He is also have a big heart.
Overall this is a very enjoyable read during my mundane work day.
katiemayveil's review against another edition
4.0
This is a sweet modern-day Cinderella story.
Charlotte (Lettie) Kingsley is an aspiring author who has submitted many manuscripts to publishing companies. When she receives her most recent rejection letter she is devastated and emotional. That night starts a 3-week writing marathon which ends with a manuscript she submits and receives a glowing response from her dream publishing company. Lettie embarks on a roller-coaster journey of photoshoots, social media posts, reinventing her public image and book tours, and interviews. Along the way, her friend and neighbor Anders is supportive of her and her dream. But as she starts to change he pulls away and focuses on his job as an EMT. It all culminates in a photography exhibit, an awards ceremony, and an invitation to fly to Sweden.
Appropriate for any reader 16 and up, could possibly work for younger readers depending on their maturity.
This is a sweet, clean romance that will make you wish for fairy godmothers and ball gowns!
Charlotte (Lettie) Kingsley is an aspiring author who has submitted many manuscripts to publishing companies. When she receives her most recent rejection letter she is devastated and emotional. That night starts a 3-week writing marathon which ends with a manuscript she submits and receives a glowing response from her dream publishing company. Lettie embarks on a roller-coaster journey of photoshoots, social media posts, reinventing her public image and book tours, and interviews. Along the way, her friend and neighbor Anders is supportive of her and her dream. But as she starts to change he pulls away and focuses on his job as an EMT. It all culminates in a photography exhibit, an awards ceremony, and an invitation to fly to Sweden.
Appropriate for any reader 16 and up, could possibly work for younger readers depending on their maturity.
This is a sweet, clean romance that will make you wish for fairy godmothers and ball gowns!
leslie_books_and_socks_rock's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the beginning of this with the excerpts from "The Cinderella Fiction". This book follows an author who hasn't been successful. The rejections pile up and it break down her spirit leading her to write the truth about fairy tales into a self-help book.
Surprisingly enough, that self help book is a huge hit and how Lettie handles all the changes. I felt like this book was pretty predictable, slow-paced and more of a women's fiction than romance.
This book was more tell than show and I wish there was more interaction with secondary characters to move the plot along but it was mainly being in the Lettie's head and following her days which weren't super interesting. Everything was patched up pretty quickly and perfectly and I think there could've been more growth for the character.
I received this book from #netgalley and these are my opinions.
Surprisingly enough, that self help book is a huge hit and how Lettie handles all the changes. I felt like this book was pretty predictable, slow-paced and more of a women's fiction than romance.
This book was more tell than show and I wish there was more interaction with secondary characters to move the plot along but it was mainly being in the Lettie's head and following her days which weren't super interesting. Everything was patched up pretty quickly and perfectly and I think there could've been more growth for the character.
I received this book from #netgalley and these are my opinions.
aliciareadsit's review against another edition
4.0
Glass Slippers, Ever After and Me is based on the classic fairy tale of Cinderella, but it managed to sweep me off my feet to the point that I wasn't comparing it to the original fairytale as I would have with other novels. Julie Wright managed to write an imaginative and smart modern-day love story that we can all relate to. This story follows Charlotte Kingsley--an aspiring author with commitment issues, and Anders, a hard-working, loving and fiercely loyal Swede, who happens to not only be Charlotte's neighbor, but also her best friend.
The thing I loved the very most about this book was the fact that this was not an insta-love story! I was so excited when I got to a certain point in the story and realized that we get to see a long and progressive relationship that has to be navigated through loads of challenges. I also appreciated that Wright gave us a look at the role social media plays in our lives, and messes with our relationships.
Wright's writing style was quite enjoyable, and I loved how she kept the classic fairytale woven throughout in an imaginative way. I also thought it was clever to include excerpts from Charlotte's novel "The Cinderella Fiction" at the beginning of each chapter. The only thing that bothered me at all with the writing was the fact that Wright did a lot more telling than showing. The MC had quite a few longwinded "info-dumpy" sounding paragraphs that could have been summed up in a few sentences throughout the book. I'll be the first to admit that when I come across these types of paragraphs I, unfortunately, tend to skim read. I really wish there would have been less of these parts, and more interaction and dialogue between the main characters. We spent a little too much time in Charlotte's head, which became somewhat tedious to read. This is the only thing that caused me to give one less star.
I did think that the characters were well written. You felt like you were friends with them, and they were so relatable. Wright definitely has a way of making her characters leap off the page, and drawing you in to care for her characters. Anders was my favorite character in the book by far. I love him. Everyone needs an Anders in their life. He is such a sweetheart and is constantly making sure Charlotte is okay and doing everything he can to help her. Like I said in the beginning, I think the way these two come together and the way Charlotte realizes her feelings was very realistic I really loved seeing their relationship blossom and grow.
This was also a very quick read for me, which I always enjoy. I can also see myself picking the book up again in the future, or listening to it via audiobook.
Overall, I really enjoyed the message of the novel of being true to ones self. I also really enjoyed how the author tackled some harder issues such as social media, and it's control over our lives. This was a very fun, and cute romance read with deep and emotional characters that capture you from the first chapter. It is such a heartwarming story with wonderful family vibes and wonderful characters. I highly recommend this read if you love sweet, clean romances, and I look forward to reading more from Wright in the future.
Special thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing for the advanced review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.
The thing I loved the very most about this book was the fact that this was not an insta-love story! I was so excited when I got to a certain point in the story and realized that we get to see a long and progressive relationship that has to be navigated through loads of challenges. I also appreciated that Wright gave us a look at the role social media plays in our lives, and messes with our relationships.
Wright's writing style was quite enjoyable, and I loved how she kept the classic fairytale woven throughout in an imaginative way. I also thought it was clever to include excerpts from Charlotte's novel "The Cinderella Fiction" at the beginning of each chapter. The only thing that bothered me at all with the writing was the fact that Wright did a lot more telling than showing. The MC had quite a few longwinded "info-dumpy" sounding paragraphs that could have been summed up in a few sentences throughout the book. I'll be the first to admit that when I come across these types of paragraphs I, unfortunately, tend to skim read. I really wish there would have been less of these parts, and more interaction and dialogue between the main characters. We spent a little too much time in Charlotte's head, which became somewhat tedious to read. This is the only thing that caused me to give one less star.
I did think that the characters were well written. You felt like you were friends with them, and they were so relatable. Wright definitely has a way of making her characters leap off the page, and drawing you in to care for her characters. Anders was my favorite character in the book by far. I love him. Everyone needs an Anders in their life. He is such a sweetheart and is constantly making sure Charlotte is okay and doing everything he can to help her. Like I said in the beginning, I think the way these two come together and the way Charlotte realizes her feelings was very realistic I really loved seeing their relationship blossom and grow.
This was also a very quick read for me, which I always enjoy. I can also see myself picking the book up again in the future, or listening to it via audiobook.
Overall, I really enjoyed the message of the novel of being true to ones self. I also really enjoyed how the author tackled some harder issues such as social media, and it's control over our lives. This was a very fun, and cute romance read with deep and emotional characters that capture you from the first chapter. It is such a heartwarming story with wonderful family vibes and wonderful characters. I highly recommend this read if you love sweet, clean romances, and I look forward to reading more from Wright in the future.
Special thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing for the advanced review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.
bookswithnopictures's review against another edition
4.0
Charlotte Kingsley is an extremely relatable heroine. She has big dreams but can't get them to pan out. She writes fairy tale retellings but isn't convinced that love and happily ever after is worth fighting for, let alone desiring. After talking to her best friend about her frustrations with the publishing world, she ventures in to writing a different genre and attempts again to get her big break. Charlotte ends up learning more than she bargains for about her life, those around her, and what really matters.
The story is great, the narration is not. I think the narrator's inflection isn't up my alley and I wish I'd read it instead.
The story is great, the narration is not. I think the narrator's inflection isn't up my alley and I wish I'd read it instead.
spookshow's review against another edition
3.0
You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Shadow Mountain Publishing, and the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Charlotte Kingsbury is down on her luck, she has just received her hundred and eightieth (or round about) rejection letter from her dream agent, she is vowing off writing forever, as what idiot continues to do something that brings them nothing but heartache and pain. But when her best friend Anders appears in her doorway and tries to inform her that ice cream is not a proper meal, she has a spark of epiphany, while before she's written what she loved - Fairy Tales - she has the greatest idea for a non-fiction book. When this book ends up published, Charlotte thinks that all her dreams have finally come true, but what she finds is a PR firm that is telling her to change her clothes, buy new furniture and stop looking like an unwashed swamp witch while she's lounging around at home. When she becomes friends with an author who takes her under her wing, she begins to realise that maybe she wasn't so bad how she was, but will this revelation come in time to save her budding relationship with best friend Anders?
Sometimes all you need is fluff. Contemporary, roll your eyes, predictable, happy ending fluff. And this was just what I needed I think. It was a quick and easy reading story about an author who is down on her luck after her millionth rejection of stories that she pours her soul into and who accidentally hits it big with a random idea after she's eaten a pint of ice cream and had a cry to her bestie. When the PR firm begins to want to make changes to her life, herself and her overall image, she just goes along with it, because being a published author has been her dream since she was a child, I'm not gonna lie though, it did annoy me a bit.
Okay, so first off, this is toted as a Cinderella retelling, it's honestly not. The only thing remotely similar to Cinderella is that her mother (who is her biological mother by the way) is a bitch to her, but ends up not being so bad in the end, so I guess, even that isn't remotely like Cinderella. So I'm not a hundred percent sure why this was likened to the fairy tale of Cinderella because I feel like it robs the story of it's own ability to stand on it's own two feet and be the light, entertaining read that it is.
Charlotte's character did sing to me a bit because I'm an aspiring author myself, so I can understand the want to have something you've worked so hard on be published, though, let's be real, I'm no where near that stage yet because I keep rewriting and reworking until I end up with a completely new concept to begin with and have to start all over again. But she resonated me anyway, is what I'm saying. So I can kind of understand her being pliable enough to run with what the clause in her contract said and what the PR company wants to do, but it still irked me a bit. I'm not sure if it's because I've always been unapologetically myself and never felt the need to change myself when someone says I should. I just don't understand why you would let someone completely dictate your life to you, even for a short few months. It made Charlotte come across as a push over which I felt was a bit of a let down. Anders is a cool character, though I honestly don't understand why he stuck around like he did. Their relationship was incredibly awkward at the beginning, and it wasn't so much romance, as putting the feelers out, so it was a little bit cringey at times, though I thought the ending was cute. The supporting cast were well written, though Charlotte's mum annoyed the tripe out of me, but I think that was the point.
The story itself, I feel, kind of acts like a warning to authors, beware clauses in contracts that give a PR company the right to make you buy new furniture. And also, be yourself, and self publishing isn't a bad thing, so maybe that might be a better avenue for you to take? Being rejected isn't so bad, and shouldn't be taken so badly, I mean, J.K. Rowling was rejected ten times or something before someone picked up the Harry Potter series *shrug*.
I honestly don't have too much more to say about this one if I'm honest. It was a light, easy read, contemporary romance about an author, it was fluffy. It wasn't outstanding but it was terrible. What can I say, sometimes you just need a bit of fluff.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Shadow Mountain Publishing, and the author via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Charlotte Kingsbury is down on her luck, she has just received her hundred and eightieth (or round about) rejection letter from her dream agent, she is vowing off writing forever, as what idiot continues to do something that brings them nothing but heartache and pain. But when her best friend Anders appears in her doorway and tries to inform her that ice cream is not a proper meal, she has a spark of epiphany, while before she's written what she loved - Fairy Tales - she has the greatest idea for a non-fiction book. When this book ends up published, Charlotte thinks that all her dreams have finally come true, but what she finds is a PR firm that is telling her to change her clothes, buy new furniture and stop looking like an unwashed swamp witch while she's lounging around at home. When she becomes friends with an author who takes her under her wing, she begins to realise that maybe she wasn't so bad how she was, but will this revelation come in time to save her budding relationship with best friend Anders?
Sometimes all you need is fluff. Contemporary, roll your eyes, predictable, happy ending fluff. And this was just what I needed I think. It was a quick and easy reading story about an author who is down on her luck after her millionth rejection of stories that she pours her soul into and who accidentally hits it big with a random idea after she's eaten a pint of ice cream and had a cry to her bestie. When the PR firm begins to want to make changes to her life, herself and her overall image, she just goes along with it, because being a published author has been her dream since she was a child, I'm not gonna lie though, it did annoy me a bit.
Okay, so first off, this is toted as a Cinderella retelling, it's honestly not. The only thing remotely similar to Cinderella is that her mother (who is her biological mother by the way) is a bitch to her, but ends up not being so bad in the end, so I guess, even that isn't remotely like Cinderella. So I'm not a hundred percent sure why this was likened to the fairy tale of Cinderella because I feel like it robs the story of it's own ability to stand on it's own two feet and be the light, entertaining read that it is.
Charlotte's character did sing to me a bit because I'm an aspiring author myself, so I can understand the want to have something you've worked so hard on be published, though, let's be real, I'm no where near that stage yet because I keep rewriting and reworking until I end up with a completely new concept to begin with and have to start all over again. But she resonated me anyway, is what I'm saying. So I can kind of understand her being pliable enough to run with what the clause in her contract said and what the PR company wants to do, but it still irked me a bit. I'm not sure if it's because I've always been unapologetically myself and never felt the need to change myself when someone says I should. I just don't understand why you would let someone completely dictate your life to you, even for a short few months. It made Charlotte come across as a push over which I felt was a bit of a let down. Anders is a cool character, though I honestly don't understand why he stuck around like he did. Their relationship was incredibly awkward at the beginning, and it wasn't so much romance, as putting the feelers out, so it was a little bit cringey at times, though I thought the ending was cute. The supporting cast were well written, though Charlotte's mum annoyed the tripe out of me, but I think that was the point.
The story itself, I feel, kind of acts like a warning to authors, beware clauses in contracts that give a PR company the right to make you buy new furniture. And also, be yourself, and self publishing isn't a bad thing, so maybe that might be a better avenue for you to take? Being rejected isn't so bad, and shouldn't be taken so badly, I mean, J.K. Rowling was rejected ten times or something before someone picked up the Harry Potter series *shrug*.
I honestly don't have too much more to say about this one if I'm honest. It was a light, easy read, contemporary romance about an author, it was fluffy. It wasn't outstanding but it was terrible. What can I say, sometimes you just need a bit of fluff.
melissasbookshelf's review
4.0
I enjoy Julie Wright's books. She knows how to create believable characters that tug on your heart strings. This book is no exception. In this story, somewhat jaded Charlotte is an aspiring writer who time after time is rejected until she writes a self-help book called the Cinderella Fiction when she realizes her handsome best friend and true Prince Charming is engaged. When the book gets published, Charlotte has to decide if changing who she is to fit the "mold" is truly worth it or will she lose everything she has ever wanted.
aublar's review against another edition
3.0
This audiobook kept me entertained for a couple of days but it was just ok, not great. I think i would have liked it better if I had read it instead because the main character Charlotte was pretty annoying. If I had read it I could have skimmed over her never ending dramatic internal dialogue instead of hearing read by a narrator I didn’t love. That being said, she did grow as a character and didn’t make all bad choices.