Cute, light easy read. Made me chuckle and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun book.
Well done Teri Wilson!

Teri Wilson knows how to make a reader laugh! She's penned hilarity on steroids in her latest novel, "The Accidental Beauty Queen."

It's the story of twin sisters on opposite ends of the pageant spectrum. Charlotte is an elementary school librarian while sister Ginny is an Instagram contributor and pageant contestant since she was old enough to say "world peace." When Ginny sets her sights on the Miss American Treasure title, Charlotte and her pet pug tag along in hopes of a free vacation.

An allergic reaction on the pageant's eve shapes up the twins' plans. Charlotte suddenly finds herself taped, tucked and all made-up in her sister's place. A chance encounter with a gentleman who turns out to a pageant judge just adds to the fun!

Wilson, known for her romance writing, takes all the stereotypes about pageant contestants and tosses them into the air. The result is a feel-good read that promotes camaraderie and personal empowerment. "The Accidental Beauty Queen" is another jewel in the crown for this "queen of romantic comedy."

This book had a cute blurb and was described as a cross between The Parent Trap (Lindsay Lohan version is my fave) and Miss Congeniality, which I also enjoyed. Sadly, the book was pretty much a disappointment.

The heroine, Charlotte, is a librarian and ends up filling in for her sister in a beauty pageant. The why is very silly and implausible and we aren’t even going to get in to that. Anywhoo, Charlotte really, really does not like the pageant lifestyle and really looks down on her sister for it. It was pretty bad. I guess Charlotte’s growth arc was that she learns how much more there is to pageants but by the time she did, I didn’t care anymore.

The “hero” is Gray. I give him quotes because we don’t really know much about him except he is a judge in the beauty pageant and he owns a dog.

I didn’t believe in their supposed love story. We don’t get on page love scenes. And there is a scene where they have in-depth chats and those were also off page. I made a note to myself that I felt cheated. I really need to read and see interactions with the main characters to feel invested in their story and their happiness. I never felt it in this book.

Grade: D

Title: The Accidental Beauty Queen
Author: Terri Wilson
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4.2 out of 5

Charlotte loves her job as a school librarian and intends to spend her vacation morally supporting her beauty-pageant-contestant twin sister, reading, and reveling in a Harry Potter theme park. Until her sister, Ginny, has an allergic reaction the night before the pageant and manages to convince Charlotte to take her place for a few days.

Charlotte is not prepared for layers of makeup, towering heels, or false eyelashes. She feels much more comfortable trading bookish references with the handsome and charming stranger she meets in the hotel stairwell—and who turns out to be one of the judges. And her fellow contestants aren’t the vapid and silly women she imagined, instead their support and camaraderie soon have her wanting to truly do her best in the pageant. But Ginny still intends to win that crown herself, leaving Charlotte on the sideline again.

I could relate to Charlotte so much: book nerd with a store of literary quotes and a love of Harry Potter…and a dislike of glitz and glamour. The relationship between her and Ginny is difficult, with layers of history, and the two of them struggle to find their way out of the mess of the pageant. This was a charming and fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Teri Wilson is an author and creator of Hallmark movies. The Accidental Beauty Queen is her newest novel.

(Galley provided by Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review.)

I decided not to finish this title. As a librarian, the description was intriguing, but I'm not fond of books written in first-person. I read the first quarter of the book and enjoyed the story, but it simply wasn't enough to keep me reading for the remainder of the title. It was light, humorous in a self-depreciating way, but it wasn't the right title for me at this time.

This book is an easy breezy read on the twin trope. Bookwork librarian takes her beauty queen sister's place in a pageant and both of them get insights into each other and life. That said, it is a well written cliche with lots of relatable moments (even if you are not into pageants) and the characters are likeable even if they seem more movie star than real life.

My 411: The Accidental Beauty Queen is one of my favorite books of the year! Charlotte is a hilarious heroine who initially joins her sister at a pageant with the promise of visiting Harry Potter Land in Orlando. What she gets instead is quite different. My favorite part of the book is the self-discovery that occurs between Ginny and Charlotte. Their sister relationship could use some work, and watching it evolve was a beautiful sight to see. This is also a book that empowers women by women. Instead of the usual catty look into pageants, this is a refreshing view into how powerful female friendships can be. But no worries, there’s also a romance, a dog who has rules of his own and many fun moments while they try to get the final crown!

She's beauty, she's grace, she's... not actually Miss Texas.

Elementary school librarian Charlotte thought that she'd just be getting a free hotel room and a week of Harry Potter World when she agreed to go to Orlando to cheer on her identical twin Ginny in the Miss American Treasure pageant, the one that their mother won before the twins were born. It's Ginny's ultimate dream to win this pageant, as she uses pageants to feel closer to the twins' late mother. However, when an allergic reaction sends Ginny to Urgent Care, she asks that Charlotte step into her patent-leather pageant shoes and pretend to be Ginny for a few days. Charlotte is initially against the idea, viewing it as dishonest, but ultimately agrees. After all, it was just the preliminaries and Ginny would be fine in a few days. No one would figure it out before then. So even though Charlotte hasn't been in a pageant since she was four, she doesn't think it'll be too hard. Then enters the most handsome, book-quoting man to ever exist... Yep, that's a wrench in this whole twin switcharoo machine.

This book is about more than fake eyelashes and glitter, it's about sisterhood (both the biological kind and the friendship kind) and loving yourself and finding self-worth and confidence where others are ready to dismiss you. And that goes on both ends of the spectrum: Ginny's over-the-top glitz and Charlotte's demure nerdiness. This is an amazing book for librarians and book-lovers given the main character's occupation and numerous book references throughout, but it's also a fun read in general that is sure to delight and make one swoon.

I thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read Teri Wilson's new novel, The Accidental Beauty Queen. This story of bookish Charlotte who gets roped into filling in for her beauty queen twin, Ginny, when an allergic reaction sidelines her last chance at the crown that their mother won is everything most people expect from a rom/com (in fact Miss Congeniality is mention many, many times). It is light and somewhat predictable yet sweet and, at times, wise. Many of the things Charlotte expects to go wrong do but she hadn't predicted connection with the other pageant girls or falling in love with one of the judges - a Darcy-quoting good guy.
The simple story only works because it is short yet the writing still tended toward repetition and some over-explanation. The biggest flaw for me was the ending which was rushed an tacked on, reading more like an epilogue than a conclusion. Still, it was a fun, light read.

What can I say? I love a book about twins and their unique relationship dynamic. This was a cute, fun read. There were moments I cracked up and I even got a little choked up as well. I loved Charlotte and Gray was such a hero.
Thank you, Netgalley.

Fun and cute. I loved the Harry Potter references.

This read more chick lit, than romance. I would have liked to have seen Gray a bit more developed. I loved the twin switcharoo. Those are hard to pull off (I would imagine as I'm not a twin).

This is the exact kind of read I need between all my twisted thriller and horror. Something light and fluffy - and yet somehow got me emotional. What the hell, Wilson?!

Look, I'm gonna be straight up. This book is predictable from beginning to end. But you know what? WHO CARES! Twins. Both have their strengths. One seemingly shines brighter. They trade places... things go wrong. An absolutely addictive read and while I never wanted a French bulldog before, I kind of do now... and name him Fang!

At times, I felt it read a bit YA. I don't know if it's because of the beauty queen thing that for some reason makes me think of younger girls rather than adults most of the time or the sister rivalry or exactly what kept making me feel this way. I had to keep reminding myself that they were adults. Oh, but excuse me while I get some ice.. because apparently every time I got to a hotel room I'll be going out to get some ice from now on and … well, you'll just have to read this book.

I got a warm feeling in my chest when Where The Red Fern Grows was mentioned because it's my all time favorite book and quite frankly, any author who can reference that, somehow put together a heart warming contemporary romance that actually got me a little misty eyed at the end... Well shit. I'm done. Fork. Timer going off. Done. I really do wish real life emulated books sometimes.

Yeah, I'd definitely recommend. Hi Wilson, you just made a new fan.

Something you might not know about me is that I absolutely love Miss Congeniality. I don’t even know how many times I’ve seen that movie, so when I got an email from Simon & Schuster asking if I’d like to participate in the blog tour for a book that’s basically Miss Congeniality but with a librarian instead of an FBI agent, I had to say yes. This book ended up being just as fun as I’d expected.

The Accidental Beauty Queen is well-written and funny with charming characters and a sweet romance that takes a backseat to the relationship between Charlotte and Ginny. I loved all of the literary references and I loved that the love interest majored in English literature. I loved Buttercup, the French bulldog. I loved that despite their differences, neither Charlotte or Ginny thought that they were better than the other and that, by the end of the book, they really came to understand each other.

This book was just so cute, so lighthearted, and such an easy read. I would highly recommend it to anybody looking for a quick romantic comedy. Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for the free advance copy!

A fun, light-hearted rom-com that was more a love story between sisters than between Charlotte and the judge she meets while impersonating her twin who is recovering from an allergic reaction. It's a happy go lucky, stream of "unfortunate events" type story that was fun and easy to follow along with, although highly predictable. This book is about two twins, one beauty pageant and 100 things that could go wrong, which most of them do but it all ends up okay in the end. I have been missing the early 2000s romantic comedy that I used to watch over and over back in the day and this is the perfect day to fill the void left by Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan and Drop Dead Gorgeous with Kirsten Dunst. The characters are likeable, the scenes are super funny and the lesson behind it all is endearing. All together this is a great read that you will definitely want to pass along to your sister to read!

If ever a book was begging to be made into a movie The Accidental Beauty Queen is it! It was an absolutely adorable read and would be more than ideal as a rom com movie, it was perfection in my eyes and I’m so glad I read it before making my best of the year lists because this will definitely be on it!

This uses quite a few classic and well loved tropes that we’ve all seen before, but somehow Wilson manages to breathe fresh life into the story in such a charming way. Identical twins switch places, of course it goes horrible wrong along the way, but it was just so damn cute I didn’t even care that I knew exactly how it would end early on. That alone speaks highly of the authors talent, I was totally into this one hardcore, from beginning to end and truly enjoyed every single page of this beauty. Highly recommended for rom com fans, it’s a must read and I guarantee you’ll finish with a smile on your face!

The Accidental Beauty Queen in three words: Sparkly, Funny and Light.

After a stressful work week, I was in the mood for a light and fun read to ease me into the weekend. I came across Teri Wilson’s The Accidental Beauty Queen, and as soon as I read the synopsis, I knew this was exactly the kind of story I was searching for. As soon as I started reading about Charlotte, her twin sister Ginny, and their beauty pageant misadventures, I was hooked. Their story is sweet, heartfelt, and just downright hilarious.

Charlotte was the biggest draw for me. She’s an elementary school librarian, and a huge fan of both Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice. Truly a heroine after my own heart. I loved that she’s such a huge book nerd and that she’s so completely devoted to her twin. When an allergic reaction sidelines Ginny with a swollen, blotchy face, Charlotte agrees to switch places and compete in the preliminary rounds of the pageant to keep her sister’s dream of winning this pageant alive. Charlotte knows that the pageant is important to Ginny, not just for the prestige, but also for sentimental reasons. It’s a pageant that their mom won years ago before she passed away from cancer. I was touched by Charlotte not wanting to let her sister down, even if it meant doing something that she was completely uncomfortable doing. Wilson also does a beautiful job of portraying this sisterly dynamic. I’m a sucker for a good sibling story anyway, and this was realistic and moving, and just everything I wanted it to be.

There were lots of other things to like about this story as well. I was also a fan of how the actual pageant was portrayed. Instead of the cattiness I was expecting Charlotte to encounter, it was nice to see that each pageant scene had more of a supportive sisterhood vibe to it. Another point of interest to me was Grey, one of the pageant judges and someone Charlotte continually bumps into throughout the book. Grey is super charming and he’s also quite bookish, so I just adored it when he and Charlotte would talk nerdy to each other. Their chemistry was off the charts, and their banter was sprinkled with Harry Potter and Pride and Prejudice references. Pure perfection!

In short, The Accidental Beauty Queen was everything my book-loving heart desired and then some. 4 STARS

Favorite Quotes:

Ginny chose this life, just as surely as I chose mine. She also gets paid more for one sponsored Instagram post than I make in a week, and when I remember this, I keep my sympathy in check.

The Hogwarts T-shirt I’m wearing might as well be an invisibility cloak… I’m here for the chance to stay in Ginny’s luxury hotel room for a week, for free, and completely nerd out at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I’m also here for moral support, of course. I plan on being at every single pageant event, cheering like a maniac while inwardly cringing in horror at the very thought of prancing around in only a tiny swimsuit and a crown.

I prefer the scent of ink on paper and old library books to perfume. And while I want to see world peace happen, I’m not convinced that a real-life Barbie can hasten it by uttering those words into a microphone.

Her complexion is covered in red splotches and she looks weirdly out of proportion, almost like a Picasso painting.

I’m so totally in over my head. Last week I was shelving picture books and now I’ve got more secret lives than I can keep up with. I’ve somehow become the beauty pageant version of Jason Bourne.

My Review:

I loved this adorable and cleverly amusing tale. The writing was refreshingly crisp and laden with smart wit, skillful levity, and heart squeezing and insightful observations. I was quickly enamored with Ms. Wilson’s agile word skills and was soon fully invested in her smartly written, delightfully humorous, and well-crafted tale. This was my first exposure to Ms. Wilson’s genius and was an immediate smitten kitten and instant fangirl.

Such a fun read! Loved the voice, loved the premise, and loved all the hiccups along the way. “The AccidentAl Beauty Queen” is a lighthearted read that’ll keep you interested right until the end; a great escape into a different world!

Charlotte Gorman doesn't understand her twin sister. An elementary school librarian, Charlotte doesn't often get dressed up as opposed to her sister who regularly competes in beauty pageants. Ginny is REALLY into beauty, even keeping a popular Instagram series about her competitions. She throws herself into her causes, just recently adopting a dog in order.
Charlotte always internally (sometimes externally) rolls her eyes when they talk about the competitions but when Ginny has a horribly allergic reaction that causes her face to swell, it's going to be up to Charlotte to step in and keep her sister in the competition.
This book created some great characters, both A and B. It was very light and just what I needed during a heavy time in my life. It was a little shallow as well but as to be expected.

Four stars
This book came out December 4
ARC kindly provided by publisher and NetGalley

This isn't my normal style of book but it kept me reading deep into the night to find out how it went. There were so many parts were I felt for the main character and winced along with her.