Reviews

Bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Guhrke

annedreya's review

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

rusereviews's review against another edition

5.0

(4.5 rounded up to a 5)

Bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Guhrke is a late-Victorian opposites-attract historical romance and the first book in the Scandal at the Savoy series.

Evie owns and runs a bookshop in London that specializes in rare tomes. Max, a Duke, enters a wager about turning Evie into the diamond of the season. He brings her in on the bet, and offers her two months of vacation from the safety and comfort of her shop. Then disaster strikes her shop and she could do with a bit of a break from her usual reality.

I really enjoyed this book. It's kind of like She's All That but Evie knows about the bet pretty early. Evie is a very strong feminist and isn't afraid to speak her mind. I really loved her, and saw a lot of myself in her. I'm always here for a bookish heroine!

This book has a bit of steam but it's not extensive. Their chemistry is off the charts, though! The banter between Evie and Max is pretty great.

The end felt a bit abrupt to me and I would have loved to see an epilogue. Thankfully, this is the first book in the series and hopefully we'll get to see more of them further into the series!

This was my first read by the author, but I enjoyed it so much I'm absolutely going to check out her back catalogue too, which is pretty extensive. The publisher's blurb notes that this is good for fans of Julia Quinn, and I agree with that wholeheartedly.

Tropes in this book include: opposites attract, wager, multi-POV, rags-to-riches, he falls first, bookish heroine

CW: bullying, brief mention of possible su*cide (happens prior to book)

I received a copy of this book to review. All opinions contained herein are my own. Bookshop Cinderella releases on Tuesday, June 20th, 2023.

If you want to see more from me, check out my blog, Bookstagram, TheStoryGraph, or Twitter.

jbruno87's review against another edition

3.5

3.5

trishsketch's review

lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a fun take on Cinderella and a bet. From the get go Max is honest about the bet to Evie and she, more or less, is a willing participant in the fun and games. Max would benefit from the bet himself as well. The foundation of their relationship felt a little like an 90's romcom with a makeover montage and I'm not mad about that. 

There was some delicious grade A pining from Max

since he fell first

and I loved it. I also found Max's reason for not wanting to marry outside of his class a good one.

the poor dude already did with his first wife and it ended terribly. I felt so bad for him.

 

Evie was strong willed and stubburn and Max was sweet and pushed Evie outside her comfort zone

The scene where he wasnt paying attention to his tennis match because he was worried about her first crocket game was adorable and a great way to show how supportive he will be to her as a husband.

Max is impossible to resist and he charms his way into her friendship in a way that was natural and earnest. I swooned too. 

Laura Lee Guhrke is a new to me author and I cant wait to read her backlog. 

fdarlene491's review against another edition

4.0

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

To my mind Bookshop Cinderella is a mashup of the original story and the 1980's romcoms where the guy makes a bet and transforms the girl into a diamond. There's a cousin who's offered her a place to live so she could take care of the children, sounds just great. There's a stepfather who disapproves of her and everything she does. She's working her fingers to the bone with multiple jobs and barely gets by; she's independent, proud and lonely.. It is 1896 so the more progressive attitude towards working for a living had lightened up but not completely gone. Her finishing school nightmare colors her view of the ton. The male lead happens to be a Duke & he's not a bad or entitled as she thinks a duke would be. He's nice & it's only fitting that Max falls in love with Evie.
#netgalley #BookshopCinderella #LauraLeeGuhrke #HachetteBookGroup #historicalromance #romance

megatron_'s review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

honeysidehomestead's review

emotional hopeful medium-paced

4.5

vin_eeta_3's review

lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

whatemilysreading's review

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was my first Laura Lee Guhrke book, and it definitely won’t be my last. I’m already excited to grab the follow-up and explore her backlist. 

The story was a fun Cinderella-ish story that starts with a She’s All That style bet. That made me nervous at first but Max is honest about it from the start, which I appreciated. I wasn’t interested in a story completely based on lies. 

I loved that Evie and Max built such a strong foundation of friendship during their time working together, and their slow burn romance was lovely. 

noramccormick's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75