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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
This one was so good! I love a good Cinderella re telling and this one was perfect! We have charlotte who hasn’t had an easy life and is living as a servant in her own home, sense her mother death. Her stepfather is an awful cruel man but she has made the best out of her situation and has made a family out of the other servants in the house and her stepsister Francesca who is treated as a lady but also haven’t had it easy under her father. With charlotte goes I an adventure to save one of the men who work in her house she runs into Rafe our Duke who mistakes her for a Lady and she goes with the lie and finds her self in a predicament as her and the Duke couldn’t be more perfect for each other and he is determined to have her as his duchess. I loved charlotte as a character she was so positive and funny! She had me laughing a few times! I also loved rafe and his mother and grandmother! This story had great characters, plot line and even some spice! I highly recommend it! I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job! Thank you to dreamscape media for a copy of this audiobook for review out now!
2.5⭐️ “It wasn't that she was different from other ladies. That was an insult to other ladies. No, she was simply…different. From anyone he'd ever met. Odd. Passionate. Determined.
And he found he liked odd, passionate, and determined.”
Back in the late 90’s, among the wildly popular movies like 10 Things I Hate About You, Sleepy Hollow & The Mummy {three of my very favourites} there was a sleeper hit called ‘Ever After’. It was a Cinderella remake with Drew Barrymore playing the female protagonist, Danielle De Barbarac.
If you haven’t watched this movie, do yourself a favour and do so immediately.
Unfortunately, It may have been my love for this movie that took the shine off of this story. The beginning started off strong {and was very reminiscent of the above stated movie} but the momentum kind of plummeted after that. Our heroine, Charlotte, seems to think she has good reasons for lying but it felt obvious to me the reader that even after the first couple of meetings with the hero, Rafe, if she had just explained herself and her situation, he would have backed her up. It read like instalove but without benefits of instalove if you know what I mean.
The ending also took an inordinate amount of time to unravel and without the real lightbulb moment I was longing for.
I received this free eARC from @Engtangled_Publishing & @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Synopsis for this story can be found on GoodReads, StoryGraph & wherever books are sold.
“She was like those flowers. She had to be. Pushing her way through the darkness. Deter mined to see the sun.”
And he found he liked odd, passionate, and determined.”
Back in the late 90’s, among the wildly popular movies like 10 Things I Hate About You, Sleepy Hollow & The Mummy {three of my very favourites} there was a sleeper hit called ‘Ever After’. It was a Cinderella remake with Drew Barrymore playing the female protagonist, Danielle De Barbarac.
If you haven’t watched this movie, do yourself a favour and do so immediately.
Unfortunately, It may have been my love for this movie that took the shine off of this story. The beginning started off strong {and was very reminiscent of the above stated movie} but the momentum kind of plummeted after that. Our heroine, Charlotte, seems to think she has good reasons for lying but it felt obvious to me the reader that even after the first couple of meetings with the hero, Rafe, if she had just explained herself and her situation, he would have backed her up. It read like instalove but without benefits of instalove if you know what I mean.
The ending also took an inordinate amount of time to unravel and without the real lightbulb moment I was longing for.
I received this free eARC from @Engtangled_Publishing & @NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Synopsis for this story can be found on GoodReads, StoryGraph & wherever books are sold.
“She was like those flowers. She had to be. Pushing her way through the darkness. Deter mined to see the sun.”
I enjoyed Rafe and Charlie’s story a lot. The humor was just right. The suspense of the story was entertaining down to the last page. The chemistry character level between Rafe and Charlie was romantic and exciting. The writer did a wonderful job of bringing issues in the book, that were in plain sight in the streets of London. The heat that the couple generate is an inferno for love.
medium-paced
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
There is such an opportunity for some fantastic angst and tension within a re-telling of the Cinderella trope; unfortunately, this story fell short of a great set-up in which we could have felt the heartache and empathy for our heroine, and root for her to come out on top.
Our heroine, Charlotte, started strong with acts of kindness and compassion, but the lying that followed throughout the majority of the story just rubbed me the wrong way. She had an underlying strength of character and to see her initiate such a harmful farce felt like an uncomfortable dichotomy that bothered me immensely. I found there to be clear moments in which she could have told the truth, and she did not. I was so disappointed in her character and I could not find even a sliver of agreement for her rationalizations around her deception.
Rafe was a sweetheart of a hero. He had a generous heart and the love he wants with his partner in life was so lovely and endeared me to his character. I think that Charlotte had aspects of her character that would tie beautifully with Rafe, but her actions spoke louder than anything and I was left disappointed in this match.
The third act resolution drove home the fairy tale element, and it just felt too convenient. I would have liked there to have been more relationship building versus the plot swooping in to make everything better in a superficial way.
This book works as a standalone in this series, and I would recommend it if you are comfortable with a character who is deceptive for reasons that i just couldn't agree with as per my review.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this eARC thanks to Entangled Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Our heroine, Charlotte, started strong with acts of kindness and compassion, but the lying that followed throughout the majority of the story just rubbed me the wrong way. She had an underlying strength of character and to see her initiate such a harmful farce felt like an uncomfortable dichotomy that bothered me immensely. I found there to be clear moments in which she could have told the truth, and she did not. I was so disappointed in her character and I could not find even a sliver of agreement for her rationalizations around her deception.
Rafe was a sweetheart of a hero. He had a generous heart and the love he wants with his partner in life was so lovely and endeared me to his character. I think that Charlotte had aspects of her character that would tie beautifully with Rafe, but her actions spoke louder than anything and I was left disappointed in this match.
The third act resolution drove home the fairy tale element, and it just felt too convenient. I would have liked there to have been more relationship building versus the plot swooping in to make everything better in a superficial way.
This book works as a standalone in this series, and I would recommend it if you are comfortable with a character who is deceptive for reasons that i just couldn't agree with as per my review.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this eARC thanks to Entangled Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
A entertaining book, somewhat conventional and a tad too emphatic in its tones for my liking. But Eva Devon’s heroes are always the best! Gorgeous, noble men to cherish and to wed! And Rafe was no exception, even if I found him a little too naïve and too sure of his standing in the world as a duke. I liked the duke’s mother and grandmother, but I hated their excessive focus on duty and the fact that they pushed Rafe too much, even blackmailing him to wed.
The heroine seemed bold and strong at the beginning, but in my opinion she waited too long to tell the truth, even knowing that Rafe loved her. The villain was a tad over the top for my liking, but I liked the plot twist at the end. In general, I found this Cinderella version quite intriguing.
The narrator is good, especially when doing male characters, but her rendition of the heroine voice is sometimes grating, a “silly girl” type of voice, if you get my meaning. I would have preferred she toned down her reading every now and then.
Thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of the audiobook.
The heroine seemed bold and strong at the beginning, but in my opinion she waited too long to tell the truth, even knowing that Rafe loved her. The villain was a tad over the top for my liking, but I liked the plot twist at the end. In general, I found this Cinderella version quite intriguing.
The narrator is good, especially when doing male characters, but her rendition of the heroine voice is sometimes grating, a “silly girl” type of voice, if you get my meaning. I would have preferred she toned down her reading every now and then.
Thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of the audiobook.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a Cinderella retelling a la Ever After. Instead of an evil stepmother, we have an evil stepfather. Also, this is a secret identity, and lots of lying. That being said, I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed how Eva Devon made a well known story her own. Each character was flawed, which made them interesting. 4.5 stars.
CW: emotional and psychological abuse on page, gaslighting, death of a child off page, death of parents off page, and physical abuse off page.
CW: emotional and psychological abuse on page, gaslighting, death of a child off page, death of parents off page, and physical abuse off page.