Cinderella's Dress (Fairy-Tale Inheritance, #1)

by Shonna Slayton

On the home front in 1944, Kate wants to do her part for the war effort. She'd prefer filling in for the window dressers at the New York department store where she works, but her mother insists on sending her to audition for roles she never gets.

When relatives arrive from war-torn Poland with a mysterious steamer trunk and an even more mysterious story, her life is about to get complicated.

Kate's aunt, who is suffering from dementia, tries to convince Kate she is next in line to be the keeper of the wardrobe for Cinderella's family--the real Cinderella.

If the family secret is true, this might be the most important role Kate has ever auditioned for. Will she get to the truth before it's forgotten?

If you like fairytale retellings with sweet romance, buy Cinderella's Dress today to find out what happens when magical heirlooms don't disappear at midnight.

• ISBN10: 0997449942
• ISBN13: 9780997449945
• Publish Date: 1 July 2018 (first published 3 June 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Amaretto Press
• Edition: 3rd Revised ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 318
• Language: English

Reviews

[mrs_mander_reads]

This was so sweet. The characters are fully formed and loveable, and the story is woven really well with the retelling and WWII events / culture. I loved it, and plan on finishing the series.

[tweetybugshouse]

This is a book really pulled me in i really like the historical aspect of it being set in the depression. I love how this a book based on a character most can identify with. The author did a great job of having the reader feel like we back in that day and age and i really felt like i was experiencing this story for real. I love the description of the dress and how Kate struggles to under what her strange Aunt Elise is trying to tell her. I love how the book ends with just a hint of what to come in the next book and i will be reading and reviewing that shortly for an upcoming tour post so keep your eyes peeled.

[Kim Deister]

When I received Cinderella's Dress, I imagined a fairy tale, WWII-style. I assumed that the protagonist Kate was going to be a more modern-day Cinderella. The blurb for it called Kate "the next keeper of the dress" but I guess I thought that was another way of creating a new kind of Cinderella in Kate. This was not the case.

I've ended up with mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the story, enjoyed the characters, but I ended it feeling as if there was still so much I didn't know. The details of the era were there, however, and I truly appreciated that. There was a mention of Dior and the New Look, which I loved since I took a history class a few years ago on fashion and US History. Much of this book talked about fashion and clothes. I also loved Kate's great-aunt and great-uncle, although this is probably entirely a personal thing. I was a Polish linguist in the Army so I loved the interspersed Polish phrases and culture.

Honestly, I think the only true issue I had with this book was the vagueness that seemed to exist around the dresses. I wanted to know more about what their importance was, why Kate's family had been entrusted with them, the slippers, the purpose of Kate's necklace. I also think that I went into the book with a more fantasy, fairy tale mindset. And this book was really more historical fiction/romance with a fantasy element. It is a book that I am going to reread at some point with a more focused mindset, because I think it really has the potential to be great.

Things to love...

--Johnny Day. A bit arrogant at times, but truly a good guy who makes a perfect book boyfriend.
--Floyd. Kate's brother has a lot of loyalty and honor.

Things I wanted more/less of...

--More information. I wanted to know more about the dress and the story around them. This, after all, was the focus of the book.

My Recommendation: Read this with a mind more towards historical fiction, rather than fantasy. It's a fun read with an interesting premise. I gave it 3.5 mugs!