A review by bwritesreviews
If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

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? It's complicated

4.75

 Overall, fantastic novel! All of the side characters were so interesting, and real, and there was so much diversity in the cast as a whole, even if from the beginning of the book you wouldn’t guess there would be. Would 100% recommend! 

Characters: 5/5

I love the way Julie Murphy writes characters. They feel so alive, and If The Shoe Fits is no exception. The main character, Cindy, feels like a person you could just meet somewhere. Her motivations and her inner monologue feel so natural and real. Despite being the heroine in a fairy tale retelling, she feels like her own character, not just another Cinderella. In fact, all of the characters feel like their own characters instead of just stories being retold. The “villains” of the story are realistic, and they don’t feel cartoonish. They’re actually more complexly motivated than a classic fairy tale villain, and and they feel more like people than plot devices. Even the prince (who I was fully prepared not to like) was actually likeable! He had his own things going on too, in the story, and he and Cindy actually had things in common, which is almost rare in stories about reality tv shows. All of the other contestants also felt like people. They were messy and complicated and the dynamics were weird but it all felt real. Especially when the plot of the book is about a romance reality tv show. 

Writing Style: 5/5

Julie Murphy’s descriptions make me feel like I’m there, in the room with the character. All of the places feel real, and the clothes and outfits feel especially real. Murphy does such a good job of describing clothes, but not just the clothes. She understands the importance of describing the little things so you can understand the big things about a character. I also like how straightforward she is in some descriptions. She doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to character descriptions, like many authors do. I think “bar-wench cleavage” might become a go-to descriptor for me. Murphy writes with enough subtly than you can glean information for yourself, but it’s not so subtle that it leaves you with unanswered questions. 

Plot: 4/5

Overall, I would rate the book extremely high, but there is a bit of a letdown when it comes to plot. The beginning half of the book was well-paced, followed a clear pattern, but as time went on, the pacing began to change. It might be due to the fact that reality tv shows run on weird times, but at times I felt like things were being rushed to move the story along, not to keep pace with a reality tv show. I will admit that I’m not a big fan of timeskips, and there is one in this novel, and while it makes sense, and needed to happen to move the plot along, I didn’t really understand the placement. I also thought that the reality tv show messing with the contestants heads was strongly written. I also thought the main antagonist not necessarily being a person, but instead being a combination of people and circumstances. It felt natural for the story. It also felt natural that some of the antagonistic people weren’t even purposely antagonistic, it was just the circumstances that made them that way.