Suddenly Cinderella Bundle

by Hope C. Tarr

[Angie]

Suddenly Cinderella is an okay trilogy of Contemporary Romances connected by a pair of magical peep-toe pumps. It's a super adorable idea, but the couples' themselves are not as interesting.

Operation Cinderella
Operation Cinderella simply rubbed me the wrong way. It's an opposites attract, nemesis to lovers Romance. Although Ross doesn't know that they're opposites or nemeses, since Macie is undercover to write an expose on him for her magazine after he trashed one of her articles. He's ultra conservative and has some serious issues with teenage sex, and teenage girls in general, so he wants a live-in housekeeper/nanny for his daughter who will uphold his old school values. Macie is anything but old school, but she fakes it to get into his life. Needless to say, her plan fails and they fall in love and live happily every after.

My main issue with Operation Cinderella was Ross himself, and not just because he's a Republican--he actually wins a Republican of the year award, ew. He hires a woman to be a role model for his fifteen year old daughter. As far as I could tell, the only thing the girl did wrong was wear too much makeup, have a few piercings, and wear ripped jeans. Otherwise, she's a normal teenage girl. Later into things, Ross is lamenting about being an awful father because he forgot to pick her up and she wound up in a car accident. Then five minutes later he whisks Macie away to have sex because his daughter probably isn't going to wake up anytime soon. THEN, Macie reveals her issues with sex, and his response is basically that she just hasn't had sex with him (and it works). Gross.

The Cinderella Makeover
The Cinderella Makeover was giving me The Swan flashbacks. Anyone remember that horrible show? Well, the show in this book wasn't as extreme, but the main them was still there: you're ugly and unlovable without the proper makeover! Greg is known as the "camera-shy CEO" but then he signs up for this reality show where he'll receive a makeover and win a chance at love. One of the coaches is Francesca, who failed to get his photo for a magazine spread, so she's a bit miffed at having to work with him again. But then a bet with a rival coach drives them closer together.

The Cinderella Makeover was definitely better than its predecessor, but still not great. Greg and Francesca are certainly more likeable, and the only part that really got on my nerves was the inevitable fight near the end. It was cute to see Francesca help Greg come out of his shell to help him win the competition (and her wager). He's a classic geek to chic fairy tale! But when he finds out about the bet, he understandable doesn't take it well. However, the bet was that he would WIN. Francesca was helping him WIN. He wanted to WIN. She wanted to WIN. What's the problem. He claims it's because she lied to him, but she didn't. It was just drama for the sake of drama.

In the end, The Cinderella Makeover was quick and cute. Nothing special or particularly memorable.

The Cinderella Seduction
The Cinderella Seduction is the best of the three, but it still wasn't totally my thing. I'm not big on the devoted single dad and loving wannabe stepmom type Romance. Stefanie is the "ugly duckling" of her family, so she gives herself a makeover in hopes of seducing Nikolaos. He's coming from Greece to possible take over their family business if Stefani's father can't pay his debts. When he arrives, Stefani turns on the charm, but she winds up being the one seduced.

I like The Cinderella Seduction. I'm always up for an underdog coming out on top, especially when that's a plump woman stepping into her confidence and getting her man. Which is exactly what Stefani does. Nick is a reformed playboy who's just trying to do right by his young daughter, which means no more dating around. He needs a stable relationship. Of course, there has to be a fight because Nick finds out that Stefani was plotting to seduce him. But being the gentleman that he is, he does check in on her rather than disappearing for a length a time before returning.

The Cinderella Seduction was short and sweet. A bit too sweet and family-oriented for my liking, but still an enjoyable read. I just wish there had been more food since Stefani is a chef.