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A review by bookcaseandcoffee
If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy
4.0
So the problem here is I really don’t like Disney princess stuff and I would also rather stick my head in the oven rather than endure even one episode of The Bachelor. Why did I think I would like this again? But the fact that it was a real body heroine I went in hoping for the best. But so many marks were missed. This book promised dramatic reality tv merged with a modern day plus-size Cinderella retelling and that is what we got.
If the Shoe Fits follows Cindy, a recent graduate from Parsons School of Design in New York City who aspires to be a shoe designer. After a tough senior year, she doesn’t have any job prospects in NYC and decides to move home and take care of her three young siblings for the summer. Her stepmother, Erica, is a producer of a Bachelor-esque dating show called Before Midnight. When three contestants drop out of Before Midnight only days before filming starts, Cindy and her two stepsisters fill in the empty spots. Cindy is hoping to jumpstart her shoe design career, and a bit of television exposure is just what she she needs, but what she gets instead might surprise her.
Overall, it was a good read. I think it mostly gave what Julie Murphy promised. The writing was wonderful, I was pulled into the story. It did a great job of keeping Cindy’s character relatable. It was lighthearted while still covering the important topic of body diversity being displayed on TV.
Cindy was an extremely likable character, and I was rooting for her the whole time! I liked that the romantic interest had his own depth. He wasn’t shallow or vain. It was REALLY impressive that Cindy loved her stepmother and stepsisters and got along with them super well, even if she didn't always understand them. It was a great feeling to move past women hating women.
I loved how inclusive this book was. It's little things, like telling what race every single person was in their descriptions, not just specifying the non-white characters. There's a non-binary character that is never once misgendered and their looks aren't described in a way that indicates that they were born as either gender in the binary and I really loved that. There's a lesbian character, and one who's dated both men and women.
My hang ups come with the pacing of the story. It was strange and made it hard to get through the last 3rd of the story. It felt true to the Disney movie, too true, in the way that I didn't feel like I knew much about the love interest. They spent very little time together, especially alone, before she realized she was in love with him. The happy ending was hurried. I feel like I got a better grasp on some of the contestants than I really did on Henry. A lot of time was spent on the behind-the-scenes stuff in the house they lived in while filming, where Henry was kept away from them most of the time. The story lacked that deep connection I wanted from the characters. Overall a good story with a believable HEA.
If the Shoe Fits follows Cindy, a recent graduate from Parsons School of Design in New York City who aspires to be a shoe designer. After a tough senior year, she doesn’t have any job prospects in NYC and decides to move home and take care of her three young siblings for the summer. Her stepmother, Erica, is a producer of a Bachelor-esque dating show called Before Midnight. When three contestants drop out of Before Midnight only days before filming starts, Cindy and her two stepsisters fill in the empty spots. Cindy is hoping to jumpstart her shoe design career, and a bit of television exposure is just what she she needs, but what she gets instead might surprise her.
Overall, it was a good read. I think it mostly gave what Julie Murphy promised. The writing was wonderful, I was pulled into the story. It did a great job of keeping Cindy’s character relatable. It was lighthearted while still covering the important topic of body diversity being displayed on TV.
Cindy was an extremely likable character, and I was rooting for her the whole time! I liked that the romantic interest had his own depth. He wasn’t shallow or vain. It was REALLY impressive that Cindy loved her stepmother and stepsisters and got along with them super well, even if she didn't always understand them. It was a great feeling to move past women hating women.
I loved how inclusive this book was. It's little things, like telling what race every single person was in their descriptions, not just specifying the non-white characters. There's a non-binary character that is never once misgendered and their looks aren't described in a way that indicates that they were born as either gender in the binary and I really loved that. There's a lesbian character, and one who's dated both men and women.
My hang ups come with the pacing of the story. It was strange and made it hard to get through the last 3rd of the story. It felt true to the Disney movie, too true, in the way that I didn't feel like I knew much about the love interest. They spent very little time together, especially alone, before she realized she was in love with him. The happy ending was hurried. I feel like I got a better grasp on some of the contestants than I really did on Henry. A lot of time was spent on the behind-the-scenes stuff in the house they lived in while filming, where Henry was kept away from them most of the time. The story lacked that deep connection I wanted from the characters. Overall a good story with a believable HEA.