Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram

Cinder & Ella (Cinder & Ella, #1)

by Kelly Oram

It's been almost a year since 18-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she's been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father's home, and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she's capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she's not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who's ever meant anything to her-her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder.

Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There's major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won't make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he's left his wild days behind and become a mature adult.

In order to douse the flames on Brian's bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn't thrilled with the arrangement - or his fake fiancée - but decides he'll suffer through it if it means he'll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

5 of 5 stars

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I loved this book! I want you to understand that I am quite greedy with my 5-star ratings, but I think I knew from the prologue that this was a 5-star read. When I got the chills and my eyes teared up, I knew I was in for something special.

While I read, I felt Ella's pain, suffering, fear, frustration, happiness and joy. I was devastated for her when things were bad and happy for her when things went well. You cannot help but root for Ella. She is a great combination of a strong, but wounded heroine. She was dealt a tough hand, and she was knocked down (more than once), but she kept getting back up. You had to have some level of admiration for her. She could have become angry and bitter, but when she was on the precipice of giving into those dark emotions, she would take a step back, and reflect and would take her personal growth to the next level. I found her to be such a beautiful spirit.

Then there was Brian. ~~SWOON~~ He really won my heart. I don't want to reveal all the details, but I did find myself sighing and smiling until my cheeks hurt.

This is a story of survival, of love, of acceptance (of all kinds), of friendship and a testament to the human spirit. It may not be super realistic (it is a work of fiction), but I could not put it down and I smiled the whole time I read it. (I still have feels from it)

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  • Started reading
  • 12 January, 2015: Finished reading
  • 12 January, 2015: Reviewed