The Cinderella Countess (Gentlemen of Ho...

While this has a trope I'm not fond of - our heroine has retained her accent and holds herself like a member of the upper classes, I would say this would be hard to do and often is rubbish, people like to blend. Apart from that it's a fun read that I found hard to put down. (another bad decisions book club book).
Annabelle Smith works as a healer in Whitechapel and was surprised when Lytton Staines, Earl of Thornton turns up on her door... his sister is suffering from some sort of wasting disease and he's exhausted regular medics. She comes recommended by servants. When they meet the impression is ruined by the pet dog who rips his waistcoat and spills tea on him.
The two of them are an interesting couple and it was a fun read. There were bits that stretched credulity but overall it was a good read.

Nona Raines tackles addiction, heartbreak, grief, fairy tales and interational romance. Summer Cinderella exists in the real world but has an element of fantasy. Adele is widow, struggling to rebuild her life after the lost of her husband. Money is tight, but love for her son pulls her through. When her heart is reawakened by a man of privilege, will she give herself the chance to love again? With hard hitting topics and a moving romance, Summer Cinderella gives the best of both worlds.

Dave Cousins owns The Wild Rose Inn. He has a young daughter robin who stays with him on occasion. His fiancee Anita had died three years ago but Dave still hasn’t gotten over it. The night clerk told Dave about a young woman he had put in  a room the night before as she had passed out from exhaustion. Her name was Cassidy. Dave learned later that morning when she came down looking for caffeine. Cassidy lived a gypsy lifestyle and loved it. Her parents had soured her on the idea of marriage and family. Cassidy and Dave were attracted to each other but Dave didn’t do casual sex and he felt his heart died with Anita. But Cassidy and Dave did start a casual affair. But then Cassidy left when she found out she was sick with a disease.

I liked this story a lot. It had a lot of growth and healing in it.I laughed at some parts and shed a couple of tears in others.It was a different take with the woman going from place to place and only doing casual relationships as Cassidy felt the need or desire to move on and the man in a very settled life style. I loved the characters of Dave and Cassidy and all the twists and turns they go through. I recommend.

I received an ARC of this story for an honest review.

Hey, everyone! Today I'm participating in the Cinderella Book tag. Mel of the Daily Prophecy tagged me about a month ago, and I'm just getting to it now. Whoops.

Cinderella's not actually my favorite fairy tale. Until recently, I thought that it fit into traditional gender roles / damsel in distress / prince and fairy godmother will save you. (Also the makeover trope where she's only "beautiful" (or at least noticeable // empowered) after the fancy gown and so on). Then Melissa Grey was tweeting about how Cinderella was a survivor of child abuse and it took courage to remain kind and open to love, which is also true. And made me wonder... why do they never make that the focus of the adaptation? Because it has never actually seemed that way to me, and seemed less about Cinderella being kind and courageous and more about the stepsister being so awful. I haven't seen the live-action film yet. Verdict? I also admit to being biased about fairy tales, since so many of them often pit women against each other, and that's a huge pet peeve of mine (cc: the stepsisters/mom).

1. EVIL STEPSISTERS
A book with characters you hate.

2. PRINCE CHARMING:
A book with a gentleman.

Okay, so to me this is a kind of weird category. This is a blog mostly focused on YA books. Gentleman is a word so rooted in history, social inequality, privilege.... it's weird to still be referring to guys as gentlemen, unless it's in that historical context. Also, if a teenaged character is referred to as a gentleman, I don't know that I would believe in that character / my instinct might be to say that character is a Gary Stu, and we're romanticizing that time and context again. ANYWAY. I mean, I could choose from my historical romance novels where gentlemen is a real thing, can point out Pride & Prejudice, 'had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner,' or whatever the exact line is. But if I'm restricting myself to YA.... I guess I'd go with Po fromGraceling. I might also say Finn from Illusions of Fate, since I think (don't quote me on this), Kiersten White had been describing him as Howl from Howl's Moving Castle meets Mr. Darcy. If you're going for Mr. Darcy, you're going for the gentleman character, I guess.

3. CINDERELLA:
A character that is graceful, kind and defiant.

Mel said Agnieszka from Uprooted by Naomi Novik, and I would agree with that choice. But I won't repeat Mel's choice. I'll go with the main character of A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston. She is graceful and kind with her tribe and family. She's defiant because she's decided to step in for her sister and marry an evil ruler in order to try to rid the kingdom of evil. Her interactions with the evil king are very exemplary of this defiance. The main character of Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith also exemplifies grace, kindness, and defiance. (Well, maybe not the grace as much, but she eventually learns the court's ways...). She's kind to most everybody except for the romantic interest and the villain. The villain is another evil king who, from the very beginning of the book, she and her brother wage war against because they are little defiant rebels who think his rule inhumane. And last but not least! Serpentine by Cindy Pon. The main character is a handmaid to her best friend, and so part of her job requires that she be graceful and kind in most aspects of her life. Her defiance relates to the transformation she undergoes: into this serpentine like form. What that form and transformation means for her life, that is what she opposes and how she exemplifies defiance. To say more will be a spoiler... but have that on your shelves too!

4. FAIRY GODMOTHER:
A character that always has someone looking out for them.

5. HELPFUL CREATURES:
Something that makes you happy when you’re sad.

So, I could very well say my family and friends and list out all my favorite things, but since this is mostly focused on books/characters, why not. Reading wise, what makes me happy is discovering a new favorite, even if a book hangover accompanies that because HELLO NEW FAVORITE. Who cares if you're bemoaning being unable to find a book as good as the one you just read because rereading is just as good.... Recently, for me, this was  Poison Study by Maria Snyder. I read on in the series, but my favorite remains the first book because it had a pretty complex, dynamic plot that I didn't expect for a book focusing on a food taster. Also, the Yelena/Valek relationship.

6. ASHES:
A book you didn’t care for.

 

Man, I feel like I can name so many books/characters for this category. A character should almost always go through some sort of transformation (though for some books, the character isn't supposed to find redemption, so that character growth arc won't exist for a reason). I suppose it depends on what you mean by transformation - the YA makeover? The actual turning of the pumpkin into some chaise? I don't really like the YA makeover trope because I think that feeds into dangerous stereotypes about beauty and power and so on, but if you interpret transformation to be some sort of unveiling of character... or a character growth arc... well, again, many books, but I guess I'll highlight some of my favorites. Fire by Kristin Cashore. If I'm not mistaken, she starts off the book not being surprised that this poacher shoots her, mistaking her for a deer because of her drab clothing. Girl has some serious self-loathing and regret, but then over the course of the novel, she finds family, a city to love, belonging, and self-love and acceptance. It's a wonderful, powerful transformation that I adored. Dumplin' by Julie Murphy is about a self-proclaimed fat girl entering a beauty pageant to reclaim her sense of self. This book refreshingly doesn't have the trope of the fat girl needing to lose weight to feel good about herself. Her transformation more has to do with the self-doubts that arise when she begins a relationship. To reclaim herself and her positive attitude about her body, she enters the pageant and by the end, another beautiful growth arc. A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston. In this retelling of Arabian Nights, this version of Scheherazade, the main character has to undergo quite a bit of a transformation in order to defeat the evil king. To say more is a spoiler but... read the book!

8. IMPOSSIBLE:
A book with an ending you didn’t see coming.

Honestly, very few endings surprise me. But I'll mention a few. Chime by Franny Billingsley was written in this beautiful, circular poetic style that made it very hard to guess what would happen next. It also features an unreliable narrator who doesn't realize how unreliable she is, so there's a double whammy. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski. So, I had a feeling things would end badly, but I didn't predict that. I mean, with all these endings, it's always really cool to go back and see where the author laid her clues. Also, Black Iris by Leah Raeder. If I hadn't read a spoiler-filled review before reading the book, I probably would've been really surprised by how things ended. Very good romantic suspense novel.

9. JUST BREATHE:
Something that inspires you to be courageous.

I think Mel changed this to someone who inspires you to be courageous? If not, well, I did. Lol, in keeping with the book theme... Emma Watson and Hermione Granger. Emma Watson really exemplifies Hermione's character and is a really great feminist role model. Allie Brosh, the author of Hyperbole and a Half. She speaks so realistically, so truthfully about depression, and yet in a comedic manner that never undercuts her handling of the subject. She's an inspiration for those inner battles we all have. Susan Cain, the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. Cain really understands introversion and knows how to inspire people like me to be quiet leaders.

10. HAPPILY EVER AFTER:
A book with a perfect ending.