bigskydolphin's review
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, and Animal death
whatcha_listening_to's review
3.0
I have read a few books in this style this year and one really stood out to me. So I didn’t go in with any expectations.
I liked Indy’s character and how she always sees things in more of a positive light then she should have.
Bryant seemed to be a good guy but he fell a little flat for me in the “leading man” role and her best friend seemed cool then it almost felt like the author wanted to cause drama so then he ended up being in like the love triangle it was just a little weird.
Then Bryant sees what is really going on at home for Indy and he does something about it. This was the part of the book I liked the most. It didn’t get dragged out it was exactly what I want from other books like this.
The narration was really well done, and I liked that she sounded like a girl and not woman trying to be a girl. It just worked for the audio. I think if I have eye read this book I wouldn’t have even finished it. But the narration really added to the atmosphere and tone of the book and so I stuck with it, I am glad I did solid 3 stars.
I liked Indy’s character and how she always sees things in more of a positive light then she should have.
Bryant seemed to be a good guy but he fell a little flat for me in the “leading man” role and her best friend seemed cool then it almost felt like the author wanted to cause drama so then he ended up being in like the love triangle it was just a little weird.
Then Bryant sees what is really going on at home for Indy and he does something about it. This was the part of the book I liked the most. It didn’t get dragged out it was exactly what I want from other books like this.
The narration was really well done, and I liked that she sounded like a girl and not woman trying to be a girl. It just worked for the audio. I think if I have eye read this book I wouldn’t have even finished it. But the narration really added to the atmosphere and tone of the book and so I stuck with it, I am glad I did solid 3 stars.
iamkristyamber's review
2.0
this was my first Jenni James book, the girl can write but this book was kind of...
readbyatlas's review
1.0
Bad writing. Worse editing. Worst plot.
I hate leaving books unfinished but this one is special. I read about 40% according to my kindle when I just couldn’t take it anymore. The glaringly obvious inconsistencies really drove me crazy. Terrible editing. And in a book so short, it really is impossible to miss them.
This is a Cinderella retelling. That’s half of your plot already laid out for you. Yet there was no actual plot, nothing remotely interesting happened and Bryant Bailey is unrealistic and weird, unless the plan was for him to be a stalker not Prince Charming. The characters were one dimensional and hard to tell apart. The dialogue was almost silly in most places and just downright stupid in others.
The entire story is basically about the relationship between Indy and Bryant but it doesn’t even start at the beginning of their relationship. We don’t get to see them interact as almost-strangers at first, running into each other more and more until they slowly start to fall for each other. No. None of that happens. We’re dropped in the middle of this relationship development (if there was any), watch the guy act like an obsessive stalker who’s desperate to be her boyfriend from basically page 1. We have no idea how this even came about except that at some point in time, he killed her cat by accident. Then he became a crazy obsessive stalker and she agreed to be with him almost immediately.
I didn’t have high expectations for this book. I started reading thinking I was in for mediocre writing and a somewhat decent fluffy romance which was basically going to be Cinderella with technology. And the book still managed to disappoint me. This is definitely one of the lowest quality books I’ve ever read.
I hate leaving books unfinished but this one is special. I read about 40% according to my kindle when I just couldn’t take it anymore. The glaringly obvious inconsistencies really drove me crazy. Terrible editing. And in a book so short, it really is impossible to miss them.
This is a Cinderella retelling. That’s half of your plot already laid out for you. Yet there was no actual plot, nothing remotely interesting happened and Bryant Bailey is unrealistic and weird, unless the plan was for him to be a stalker not Prince Charming. The characters were one dimensional and hard to tell apart. The dialogue was almost silly in most places and just downright stupid in others.
The entire story is basically about the relationship between Indy and Bryant but it doesn’t even start at the beginning of their relationship. We don’t get to see them interact as almost-strangers at first, running into each other more and more until they slowly start to fall for each other. No. None of that happens. We’re dropped in the middle of this relationship development (if there was any), watch the guy act like an obsessive stalker who’s desperate to be her boyfriend from basically page 1. We have no idea how this even came about except that at some point in time, he killed her cat by accident. Then he became a crazy obsessive stalker and she agreed to be with him almost immediately.
I didn’t have high expectations for this book. I started reading thinking I was in for mediocre writing and a somewhat decent fluffy romance which was basically going to be Cinderella with technology. And the book still managed to disappoint me. This is definitely one of the lowest quality books I’ve ever read.
brittradomski's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
3.0
rgk1973's review against another edition
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
colca's review against another edition
2.0
I saw the movie and I thought: Yeah the film wasn't brilliant, but it had a certain potential. Plus the book is always better than the screen version.
So a gave the book a fair shot, but honestly it might have been even worse than the movie.
The main character is just weird and you just can't emphasize with her. One second she's acting all "I'm so strong, I don't need anyone" and the next minut she's like "I'm so lonely. I wish I had a real family and friends. But also my current family is pretty good because they take care of me even though the don't have to."
The there is THE guy. At first is all stalkerish because he killed her cat and then he acts like a psychiatrist. And while that the main heroin thinks that he is just the Dream guy.
All in all I have to give that book some credit for a nice idea, but nothing more. I was quite disappointed.
So a gave the book a fair shot, but honestly it might have been even worse than the movie.
The main character is just weird and you just can't emphasize with her. One second she's acting all "I'm so strong, I don't need anyone" and the next minut she's like "I'm so lonely. I wish I had a real family and friends. But also my current family is pretty good because they take care of me even though the don't have to."
The there is THE guy. At first is all stalkerish because he killed her cat and then he acts like a psychiatrist. And while that the main heroin thinks that he is just the Dream guy.
All in all I have to give that book some credit for a nice idea, but nothing more. I was quite disappointed.
whosevita's review against another edition
1.0
"Not that i went dress shopping or anything, I honestly couldn't stand them all"
Yep that's the resolution.
Cindy REALLY REALLY want you to know that she can NOT stand girls. She's NOT like other girls, because she doesn't care about makeup. Yep. "Guys are so much less drama than girls", proceeds to have a best friend that believes he is entitled to a relationship even thought she made it clear from the started she wasn't interested. BTW that isn't seen as a bad thing.
This was honestly one of the worst train wrecks I have ever read.
Yep that's the resolution.
Cindy REALLY REALLY want you to know that she can NOT stand girls. She's NOT like other girls, because she doesn't care about makeup. Yep. "Guys are so much less drama than girls", proceeds to have a best friend that believes he is entitled to a relationship even thought she made it clear from the started she wasn't interested. BTW that isn't seen as a bad thing.
This was honestly one of the worst train wrecks I have ever read.
alexandrasramblingreviews's review against another edition
3.0
I think this is one of the better modern retellings of Cinderella, it doesn’t feel too far off the original story but does a good job of being believable to a modern audience. It does feel a bit more like a story to highlight emotional abuse and neglect and I wish there wasn’t a romance as it felt out of place – within hours Indy falls in love with Bryant after hating him and I just felt like that wasn’t needed, it would’ve been nice for him just to be a friend and maybe hints of something more at the end of the book. Also wasn’t a fan of the love triangle, the book wasn’t long enough to develop it especially since it had a much more important topic to address. The way Bryant was written also felt more like he was a therapist rather than a teenager which took me out of the story a bit. I’m not sure about the ending, I don’t know how abuse cases and fostering works but it felt a bit unrealistic and a bit of a fantasy (although considering the original fairytale maybe this was a very fitting ending).
I did enjoy this, it’s not something that will particularly stick with me and I do think it could’ve been better in some aspects, but I do appreciate what the book tried to do and in such a short time.
p.s halfway through this book I recognised some of it and realised that a few years ago I saw the tv movie they made based on it, I do recommend the book over the movie lol.