The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

A sweet, fluffy modern fairytale, kind of like cotton candy, fun but no real substance. Of course, I love cotton candy, and I adored this romantic comedy.

Daisy is an artist and storyteller, a free spirit who can be scatter-brained but is warm and caring. Linc is an uptight history professor who desperately needs a fiancée to get the university job he has his eye on. Of course, Daisy being desperate for money agrees to play along for $1000.  But then Linc needs an actual wife to keep the job, so Daisy moves with him to the tiny town of Prescott, Ohio.

“So you pick me up out of the gutter, and I get a new dress, and I pretend to be something I’m not, and then at midnight I run away and turn back into a pumpkin.” Her grin widened. “It’s a Cinderella story.” (pg. 29-30)

You can see where this is going I’m sure. When “midnight” comes, neither wants the charade to end, they want it to be the true story. It’s a standard opposites attract story, with the twist being that they’re already married they just need to admit they’ve fallen for each other. What I really liked about the story, other than the characters who just made me smile, was that Crusie showed that while you can’t change yourself to make someone else happy, living and loving someone does take compromise. It can also bring out the best in you.

And towards the end of the story there’s a wonderful Christmas celebration, a bonus as far as I’m concerned.

So, it’s predictable, so the characters are a little stereotypical. I picked it up to read for a minute and was thankful that my husband called, because half an hour had passed and I had somewhere to go. I got caught up in their story.

First published September 1, 1996
278 pages

Challenges: 100+

I borrowed my copy from the library and the above is my honest opinion. I am an Amazon associate.

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