Have you heard about the one where Prince Charming falls for the Ugly Stepsister?
Darby Livingston is a survivor. If she can survive breast cancer, she can survive the humiliation of accidently flashing her pink panties to a stranger. A sexy doesn’t believe in fairy tales stranger called Reid. Reid is the key to making Darby’s amateur theater production of Cinderella a success, so she’ll swallow her pride and beg, bribe, or use her feminine wiles to secure his help, because the play’s donation to a cancer charity means everything to her.
Reid Hudson is used to being judged and ridiculed for his ability to sew amazing wedding gowns for Invercargill’s boutique bridal shop, Next Stop Vegas. Whatever. He’s a man who knows who he is and what he wants in life. But on the list of things Reid Hudson doesn’t want… A) To be roped into costume-making for a cast of wanna-be divas. B) To discover an off-the-charts attraction with the play’s Ugly Stepsister, Darby. And C) To fall in love with that feisty and funny woman who has no guarantee of a happy ever after.
Along with her terrier side-kick, Duke, can Darby convince Reid that if the shoe/slipper fits, maybe she’s The One he’s been looking for all along?
Review:
A sweet, entertaining read!
If you haven’t read Tracey Alvarez before, Love Everlastingwould make a great place to start. Its hero, Reid, is best friends with Saying I Do ‘s MacKenna; it’s very much Reid and Darby’s book, though, and stands alone very well.
Though there’s some heavy duty issues here–ramifications of breast cancer play a pretty big role throughout–there’s also an undeniably light-hearted feel to this book too, and many of the situations that Darcy and Reid found themselves in had me LOL-ing throughout. A menagerie of unique animals didn’t hurt either… 😉
It’s hard to argue that Reid ad Darby aren’t meant to be together–it’s clear by the end of the book that literally every one of their friends agrees–which for much of the book make it a delicious read. The black moment, though, seems to come from out of nowhere, and was more than a little aggravating. (Things were going so well! Why was *that* the moment that needed to end it all…?) Still, Darby and Reid manage to pull themselves back from the brink by the end, and their HEA is both sweet and satisfying.
Looking forward to Ms. Alvarez’s next book!
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
About the author:
Tracey Alvarez lives in the Coolest Little Capital in the World (a.k.a Wellington, New Zealand) where she’s yet to be buried under her to-be-read book pile by Wellington’s infamous wind—her Kindle’s a lifesaver! Married to a wonderfully supportive IT guy, she has two teens who would love to be surgically linked to their electronic devices.
Fuelled by copious amounts of coffee, she’s the author of contemporary romantic fiction set predominantly in New Zealand. Small-towns, close communities, and families are a big part of the heart-warming stories she writes. Oh, and hot, down-to-earth heroes—Kiwi men, in other words.
When she’s not writing, thinking about writing, or procrastinating about writing, Tracey can be found reading sexy books of all romance genres, nibbling on smuggled chocolate bars, or bribing her kids to take over the housework.
Tracey also writes flirty, dirty stories under the penname Jessie Logan.