The Cinderella Deal

by Jennifer Crusie

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Crusie brings humor and storytelling magic to this modern-day romance about a match with a dubious beginning—that is destined for a fairy-tale ending.
 
Daisy Flattery is a free spirit with a soft spot for strays and a weakness for a good story. Why else would she agree to the outrageous charade offered by her buttoned-down workaholic neighbor, Linc Blaise? The history professor needs a makeshift fiancée to secure his dream job, and Daisy needs a short-term gig to support her painting career. And so the Cinderella Deal is born: Daisy will transform herself into Linc’s prim-and-proper fiancée, and at the stroke of midnight they will part ways, no glass slippers attached. But something funny happens on their way to make-believe bliss, as a fake engagement unexpectedly spirals into an actual wedding. Now, with Linc and Daisy married and under one roof, what started as a game begins to feel real—and the people who seem so wrong for each other realize they may truly be just right.

• ISBN10: 0345530667
• ISBN13: 9780345530660
• Publish Date: 25 October 2011 (first published 1 January 2010)
• Publish Status: Inactive
• Out of Print: 22 January 2025
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Random House USA Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 224
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780345530660

Reviews

[jamiereadthis]

Let’s be honest, this is the kind of deal I’ve been waiting for. A real proposal would make me run for the hills. A fake marriage, though: I am on board.

I love that trope done right, and this did the trope right. So much banter. So much fun. And I had no idea it would wrap up at Christmas, so good December read too.

[MurderByDeath]

I almost never read romance, but when I do it's almost always Jennifer Crusie.  She has a way of writing romance without the melodrama, and even when there is angst, it's almost always short lived and smothered in wry humour.  The fact that all her characters staunchly defend and rescue animals makes it even easier to fall into her stories; her characters are just so easy to like.   The Cinderella Deal is one that I've had on my shelves for ages, but sort of thought I'd already read.  Turns out I hadn't.  It's one of her earlier books and one of the simpler plot lines but Crusie is so damn readable I was quickly lost in the story.   What I thought was a beautiful touch was the thread of faith that runs through the narrative.  Daisy refuses to take a false vow before God, and when her mother-in-law is ill she gives Linc the Bible to read to her.     Normally I'd be complaining here because I've almost never seen any author weave faith in without brandishing it like a battle axe (my perception is admittedly touchy about this) but Crusie was awesome.  First, she never dwelled on it; it was just a part of the narrative in the same nonchalant way Daisy painted the walls.  Second, in those few scenes, it was always books from the old testament mentioned, which are just as applicable to Judaism as they are to Christianity.  The only reason a reader would assume Daisy is Christian at all is because of the off hand mention of the Bible itself as the source of the reading.  I liked the way it was done; it felt sincere, more inclusive, and not at all like flag-waving.   If you like light hearted, easy, entertaining reads, I maintain that you just cannot go wrong with Crusie.

[Sam@WLABB]

In this book, two very opposite people enter into a fake engagement, which becomes a fake marriage, which becomes an HEA.

Daisy is a colorful and vibrant artist, who is having some money issues. Linc is a straight laced professor, who needs a wife in order to secure his dream job. Both Daisy and Linc were people I would want to know better, and the banter was so much fun. They spent so much time denying and resisting a mutual attraction, that I thought I was going to explode by proxy. Cruise did such a good job revealing the layers of these characters, and I felt like I really understood what motivated the choices they made.

The ending really won me over. I totally swooned for Linc at the gallery showing. I can't be too specific, but it was beautiful. Pitter patter (that was my heart).