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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
lighthearted
medium-paced
I wanted to like it because Jewish historical romance is not a category of book I see a lot of. That said super clumsy and awkwardly written and her version of Jewish romance is to have the main character call himself a schmiel over and over.
emotional
lighthearted
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic friendship, Classism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Deportation
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just don’t think I’m a Felicia Grossman reader. This is the second book of hers I’ve tried (she’s highly recommended on TikTok).
Things I liked:
Things I liked:
- Aaron is an orphan who does good for many members of the Jewish community in Britain
- Weiss is a good sport about everything
- I learned about the different types of Jews which was interesting!
Things I didn’t like:
- Isabelle is haughty and rude and not particularly brilliant although she claims she is. I don’t get her allure.
- Mirabelle - really??!! OKAY 🤨
sure she’s a master spy and no one knows after years of working with her. Ok grandma. - The misunderstanding with the Berabs is really far fetched and the reversal is not realistic
- The reverse Cinderella bit just didn’t work
- The Aaron that talked to Isabelle is so commanding and confident, but the Aaron POV is nothing but doubts and self-loathing. It doesn’t match. It’s like 2 completely different men.
- How many people were actually spying in the garden?
- I still couldn’t figure out who was a gentile.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Wealthy heiress Isabelle must marry in six weeks if she hopes to keep her father's business going. When she meets synagogue custodian Aaron, she thinks he'll make for the perfect spy - but he can't be the man she weds, even if she's fallen in love with him.
I've read plenty of Regency romances that adapt fairytales, but the fun of this series is that the roles are reversed, with the heroes cast in the situations that the princesses faced in the fairytales. It certainly breathes fresh life into this Cinderella retelling! I loved the dynamic between clever, sometimes manipulative Isabelle and hopeless romantic Aaron.
If the ending is wrapped up in too neat a bow - well, that's often the case with fairytales, isn't it? The unexpected action in the third act was a little less enjoyable, though.
I've read plenty of Regency romances that adapt fairytales, but the fun of this series is that the roles are reversed, with the heroes cast in the situations that the princesses faced in the fairytales. It certainly breathes fresh life into this Cinderella retelling! I loved the dynamic between clever, sometimes manipulative Isabelle and hopeless romantic Aaron.
If the ending is wrapped up in too neat a bow - well, that's often the case with fairytales, isn't it? The unexpected action in the third act was a little less enjoyable, though.
I think this was my first historical romance with Jewish main characters and I definitely enjoyed the role Judaism and the Jewish community in London played in the story!
However I thought there were parts that seemed to ramble and weren’t particularly clear (like a lot of Isabelle’s reasons for marrying didn’t become more explicit to me until the second half of the book) and the romance between Aaron and Isabelle felt like it went from 0 to 60 very quickly. Other than that I enjoyed it and will be reading book 2 in the series!
POV: dual third person
You can expect: opposites attract, “just sex”, gender-bent Cinderella retelling, business woman FMC.
Rep: Jewish MC, queer side character (implied)
Spice: 1.5/5
CW: antisemitism, violence, death of a parent (past)
However I thought there were parts that seemed to ramble and weren’t particularly clear (like a lot of Isabelle’s reasons for marrying didn’t become more explicit to me until the second half of the book) and the romance between Aaron and Isabelle felt like it went from 0 to 60 very quickly. Other than that I enjoyed it and will be reading book 2 in the series!
POV: dual third person
You can expect: opposites attract, “just sex”, gender-bent Cinderella retelling, business woman FMC.
Rep: Jewish MC, queer side character (implied)
Spice: 1.5/5
CW: antisemitism, violence, death of a parent (past)
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
A cute reverse Cinderella tale with a headstrong female and a winking, playful male. At first I found their attraction to be really captivating, but then things went into directions I found pretty unbelievable for historical romance. That took me out of the story sometimes, but overall, I was happy with the ending.
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was really cute but again, too long. The romance was so lovely and the twist of the classic Cinderella tale was great.