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Fooling Around With Cinderella
by Stacy Juba
Synopsis:
What happens when the glass slippers pinch Cinderella’s toes? When Jaine Andersen proposes a new marketing role to the local amusement park, general manager Dylan Callahan charms her into filling Cinderella’s glass slippers for the summer. Her reign transforms Jaine’s ordinary life into chaos that would bewilder a fairy godmother. Secretly dating her bad boy boss, running wedding errands for her ungrateful sisters, and defending herself from the park’s resident villain means Jaine needs lots more than a comfy pair of shoes to restore order in her kingdom. First in the Storybook Valley series, a blend of sweet romance, chick lit, and fairy tale fun.
Review:
Such a sweet story!
I really enjoy reading modern versions of fairy tales, so I was excited to get my hands on this one. Ms. Juba does a clever job of twisting the traditional elements of the Cinderella story to make this contemporary retelling. More than once I didn’t even realize the connection to the original at first, but once I did it made me smile. I can’t wait to see what directions she’ll go with the rest of the series–so many fun options!
Like any self-respecting fairy tale, this story is told from the main character–in this case Jaine/Cinderella’s–point of view. I loved that she didn’t sit back and wait for things to happen to or for her, instead she went out and made her own chances and opportunities. She sent out a cold resume to a theme park that she’d loved going to as a child, and managed to talk the general manager–Dylan, aka the “real” Prince Charming (because of course there’s a guy who plays the prince in the park)–into creating a brand new position just for her.
There’s just one teensy, tiny catch. It won’t be full time until the fall…and in the meantime, she has to supplement her part time hours spent in the office in costume, playing the part of–you got it–Cinderella.
Jaine’s never seen herself as the princess type, and isn’t a fan of the elaborate costume she has to wear or the long list of details she has to remember in order to stay in character. She’s also determined to show that her other position–the one she hopes will be her “real” job–is one that’s going to prove invaluable to her new employers, so she’s pulling out all the stops on planning a new promotion to bring families into the park. On top of all that, her sisters expect their single, unattached sibling who “only has a cat to care for” to help them out with–well, just about everything they don’t feel like doing themselves. (Hmmm. I wonder who the ugly stepsisters are in this scenario? ;))
And then there’s the probably inappropriate feelings she has for her boss. She should probably suppress those. Except she doesn’t really want to, and Dylan doesn’t either…
This version of Cinderella has everything the story needs–an overworked, under-appreciated heroine, a fairy godmother, a magical transformation, a handsome prince, the left-behind forgotten footwear…even the stepmother and “evil” sisters are here, though the true villain turns out to be someone outside the usual suspects. To top it all off, it’s a sweet romance that you’d feel comfortable letting your younger teen read.
Did I mention I’m looking forward to the rest of the series? 🙂
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review during my launch week, Becky! Thank you for the insightful review. I’ll keep you posted on the next one, Prancing Around With Sleeping Beauty!
Thanks, Stacy! Can’t wait 🙂