Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - If the Shoe Fits

Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

73 reviews

muddypages's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

4.0

📚 If The Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy 📚

“If the shoe doesn’t fit, maybe its time to design your own”

Cindy is a plus sized recent college grad with an impeccable eye for shoe design. Her step-mother is the producer for one of America’s largest shows, Before Midnight.

When a spot on Before Midnight opens up unexpectedly, Cindy is asked to fill it.

She reluctantly agrees to be on the show and soon finds herself living with other women in a chateau, but she is the only plus size one. She soon becomes a new face for body positivity for all the women watching.

Will Cindy find her forever love or get her heart broken?

This book was a cross between Cinderella and the Bachelor, and I loved every second of it.

I admit, it did take me a little bit to get sucked into it, but after I did there was no stopping me.

The characters are extremely lovable and there are moments when I laughed out loud.

Moo Bitch 🐄 - If you know you know 😉🤣

(I almost spit my tea out during this scene)

If you’re looking for a fluff read or reimagined fairytale, look no more. This book is it!

My Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ /5

Goodreads Average Rating: 4.13/5

304 pages
Fiction/Romance
Lighthearted/Emotional
Fast Paced Read

**Some of these triggers may contain spoilers**

⚠️Triggers/Warnings⚠️

Death
Body Shaming
Grief
Fatphobia
Cancer
Bullying
Car Accident

Content Warnings

kimveach's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was delightful. I'll definitely be reading more from this author.

Content Warnings

mikaelaandherbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted fast-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

5.0

I loved this retelling of Cinderella in a fun, Bachelor franchise-esque story. There is nothing I would change about it - Cindy is such a lovable character, the romance is central to the story but not the only thing going on, and the ending was perfection! I would love to see a film adaptation of this and think it would very much rival the other Cinderella inspired movies.

Content Warnings

kaysokaybookclub's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

heyitscin's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-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? N/A

5.0

Loved this story so much. I am a puddle.

Content Warnings

jessicamae721's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Content Warnings

alisonp1's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny inspiring fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

sugardustedbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful lighthearted tense

4.0

If the Shoe Fits is an adult modern retelling of Cinderalla a la a bacheloresque reality show. This is the first book I have read by Julie Murphy and I could not put it down. I got up Sunday morning thinking I would take a couple days giving it a read. Jokes on me…I ignored most of my responsibilities and finished it that day.

What I Loved:

Cindy! I absolutely loved getting to know Cindy. She was funny, confident, and kind. I loved seeing her work through her feelings and fight for the things that were important to her.
The meet cute: I don’t know if it would be considered a spoiler to say more so I will leave it at that.
Plus size representation: Cindy is a plus size character and although the book description does talk about her turning into a body positivity icon on the show, that is such a small piece of her story. The book does not place all of its focus here, which I appreciate. Instead it has a good balance of acknowledging the lack of body diversity in mainstream media and the everyday interactions that cause frustration and hurt without making it the only storyline.
The various themes that Julie was able to incorporate into the story. Obviously the romance (a little slow for me which I will mention below) but there is also this processing of grief after lots of loss, the discovery of self and passion after feeling stuck, and of family and friendship.
The spin on the cinderella story. I loved the take on her being a shoe designer and now I really want to go shoe shopping. The family dynamics were also refreshing, especially if you are not a fan of the whole evil stepfamily thing. They are not the villains of this story. The conflict is a little more complicated than that. Speaking of conflict, I had a case of the “calm, down everything is going to work out. There will be an HEA” yet I still wanted to shed some tears at its peak. The whole dating show premise and the tailoring that happens to “reality” tv made this a stressful read. Honestly, I was stress reading through the last half, putting it down was not an option for me.
I appreciated the balance of funny, cute, dramatic, and sweet. I laughed so much while reading this. Laughed, laughed. Full on cackle a few times. Cindy, her sisters, and most of the woman you meet through the dating show are wonderful.

What was missing for me:

The page time with both Cindy and Henry. There is a meet cute at the start but then a very slow build up. A large chunk of the book is all Cindy and her interacting with her family, the crew, the other woman, and not Henry. We eventually start getting little bread crumbs (I'm not very patient when I read but it was worth it) and with each interactions they do get longer. Julie gave me enough to build anticipation and tide me over but I wanted more. It allowed me to really get to know Cindy but I didn’t get to know enough about Henry and he felt a little boring. I liked Henry okay but really didn’t get the chance to love him. I’m always hoping for a dual POV. Not knowing what both characters are thinking/feeling kind of stresses me out. In this case I understand the choice to keep it just from Cindy’s POV and I wanted Cindy to get everything she desired.
I needed more to that ending! I have mixed feelings. It had some pieces that were truly great and it also felt rushed and underwhelming.

Thank you Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for a copy in exchange for an honest review. I will definitely be continuing on with this series.

Content Warnings

allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

I was charmed by this one from "Once Upon a Time." Our story follows Cindy, a shoe designer in a creative rut, and let me tell you that her profession speaks directly to my shoe-hoarding soul. This twist on Cinderella involves complex family dynamics, including the weight of Cindy's grief for both of her parents, but the stepmother and stepsisters certainly aren't evil. That was a new approach that I took to immediately. There's also a trio of preschool half-siblings (Gus, Mary, and Jack 😉) out to wreak havoc with childlike wonder and general shrieking, hugging, etc. Our Cinderella is fat and fabulous, and she's headed for reality TV à la The Bachelor, seeking the exposure to get her first shoe line off the ground. In terms of romance we have a meet cute gone wrong (or right?) when Cindy's charming airplane seat neighbor turns out to be the Suitor on the show-- Henry's the guy who's about to date Cindy and twenty other women on TV.

Ohmygod this book was so sweet. First, of my several attempts to read a book that brings the joys of reality TV to the page, this is the first to completely nail it. I loved the drama, the behind-the-scenes, and the human elements swept up in TV manipulation. In terms of a retelling, Cindy is a kind and caring Cinderella. I loved that her conflict came from her internal struggle with grief and the external machinations of TV producers, not going toe-to-toe with an evil stepfamily. I also think the way the story champions fat women is heart-warming and badass, especially for calling out inequity in fashion and the passive-aggressive cruelty of women. I hope romance as a genre continues to give opportunities for these voices to be heard and these characters to shine. It shouldn't even be something that requires discussion, but we need more and better representation like this one. Finally, I loved that the romance was adorable and not trying to do it all. It's not about wedding bells or 2.5 kids at the end, just two people taking a chance on each other and choosing joy together. Heart eyes all around.

This fabulous reimagining of a Disney classic kicks off a new series, and I CANNOT WAIT to see where it heads next. This was a perfect read to close out my summer. You can find it on shelves 8/3. Thanks to Disney and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy.

Content Warnings

More...