While I was reading this story, I felt like I was in the middle of one of those wonderful little Hallmark films where you know where it’s going and you are happy to be on the journey. That comes as no surprise since the author has created a few of those movies that we all love to snuggle up and watch.

Charlotte Gorman’s sister Ginny is a pageant girl. She has big dreams to win Miss American Treasure, the same one their late mother won so many years before. Charlotte is the exact opposite. She loves books, reading, being a librarian. She is more than happy to fly to Orlando to support her sister, especially since it means spending days at Harry Potter World. What Charlotte didn’t count on was Ginny having a severe allergic reaction to something she ate. What she didn’t plan on was Ginny asking her to stand in for her at the pageant. (They are identical twins!) And she really didn’t plan on meeting Grey Beckham. Can you say complications galore?!

I love how the sisters really got to know about each other. They were so opposite but really, they were not that far apart. There is a great sisterly bond that gets stronger. I also love that Charlotte’s ideas of what pageant women were are changed immensely. This is such a cute story. There is a lot of fun humor. It is one that you will probably read really quickly and honestly, you will be as satisfied as we all are at the end of a wonderfully sappy Hallmark movie.

Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for a review copy.

Librarian Charlotte Gorman is on a much needed vacation with her sister Ginny. Well, her sister invited her to share her suite in Orlando while she is competing in the Miss American Treasure beauty pageant and Charlotte is planning on hitting all of the amusement parks while giving moral support to Ginny. At 29 this is the last year that Ginny will be able to compete, and she wants to win just like her mother did years ago. Unfortunately, Ginny comes down with an allergic reaction to something and her face swells up like a pumpkin and you guessed it, she guilts Charlotte, her TWIN sister, into taking her place….just until the swelling goes down.

Even though Charlotte and Ginny are twin sisters and share the same face, they don’t share the same self image. Charlotte has always felt like Ginny was the pretty sister but when Ginny works her beauty pageant magic Charlotte is shocked she’s the spitting image of her sister, yet she is still just Charlotte on the inside. I loved how Charlotte’s journey in going through the first few levels of the pageant really helped her see herself differently. Mostly I liked how these two twin sisters grew closer through this process and honored the memory of their mother.

Charlotte’s journey of self discovery was not just through the beauty pageant. There is also a love interest for Charlotte and he is her perfect match! Although the romance was downplayed a bit for the plot about the two sisters, I still enjoyed that tension and loved the secrecy of their flirtation. If I were partial to sighing while reading I probably would’ve fainted from lack of breath. That didn’t happen, but I did have a slight smile on my face through all of their scenes and even laughed out loud a few times. This was one funny book!

Do you know when you start a novel and the words flow easily and you can feel yourself relaxing into the main character, not fighting against the words? That was how The Accidental Beauty Queen was for me. It was the perfect book for that perfect moment in time and I just loved it. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review and it was honest!

This is a fun, light read -- just enough thoughtfulness to offset the goofiness of spray tans, bedazzled ballgowns, and parading in front of judges in a bikini. Charlotte describes her sister Ginny as the "pretty one" -- the Meg to her Jo, the Jane to her Lizzie -- but in reality, they're identical twins. There isn't really a prettier sister -- it's all about self-image and what each sister does with her looks and her talents.

Charlotte is delightfully bookish and nerdy, dropping Harry Potter lines at a moment's notice, thrilled at the idea of picking up a sorting hart to bring back to the children's library where she works. Ginny is Instagram-famous and seemingly all about the looks. By having to literally walk in Ginny's shoes, Charlotte of course learns that there's more to her sister's world than she thought, and also discovers elements of herself that she'd buried for years.

It's all a bit silly and full of wish-fulfillment. In reality, could someone new to pageant life pull off a successful impersonation of an experience, trained competitor? Does it make any sense that Charlotte could come up with a talent act that not only works, but wins? Of course not.

Still, it's fun to see Charlotte apply her geekiness to the pursuit of a crown for her sister. Not unpredictably, everything ends up going wrong, but the sisters' relationship is strengthened by it all. An unnecessary love story adds a romantic element to the plot, but it really doesn't need to be there.

On the plus side, <em>The Accidental Beauty Queen</em> is a good reminder that all choices are valid, and that women who compete in pageants are not by default shallow mean girls. The book shows the individuality of many of the competitors and allows them to emerge as strong women rather than as stereotypes. Likewise, we see that there are some worthy causes associated with the pageant world, including a fictional organization that mirrors some real-life organizations that organize pageants for disabled, ill, and special needs youth, enabling them to feel proud and beautiful and deserving of appreciation.

I've never been interested in pageants (and would have said that I'm turned off by the idea of being judged based on appearances). My overall feelings haven't changed, but this book did help me see another side. The twin-switch is definitely unrealistic, but it's a fun bit of fantasy that makes the book an easy, entertaining read.

Identical twins Charlotte and Ginny have nothing in common – but looks, even though bookish librarian Charlotte keeps hers natural while Beauty Pageant serialist Ginny wears make-up, hair extensions, and glittery clothing, making them easy to tell apart. When Ginny suffers from an allergic reaction the night before her most anticipated beauty pageant, she talks her sister into taking her place. After a quick makeover reluctant Charlotte excels in the competition, but a chance encounter with a cute guy who turns out to be one of the judges complicates the scheme.

This is a funny read with quirky characters, highly recommended for fans of Sophie Kinsella or Jennifer Crusie.
What keeps it from a 5 star read is the somewhat flat male protagonist and a little bit too much thinking about her motives from Charlotte’s part.

Narration: 1st person female protagonist’s POV
Sexual content: kissing, we know of one night happening more but are not witnessing (I love that fact)
Setting: contemporary, Orlando, Florida

I love Charlotte Gorman!!

This book is the perfect book for rom-com lover. Charlotte is every book lovers dream. A lover of Harry Potter and classic books, she spends her life as a children's librarian. She is quirky and cute.

Lovers of Sophie Kinsella and Lauren Weisberger will love this book!!

Perfect way to spend a day reading

The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson is a fun, light-hearted breathe of fresh air romantic comedy. This one actually had a bit more to it with a theme of discovering one’s self and connecting with family plot along with the romance when a set of identical twins swap places.

Charlotte and Ginny Gorman are identical twins but completely opposite in every way they can be. The sisters had lost their mother at an early age and Charlotte had gotten close with their father gaining a love for learning and books while Ginny began to idolize their beauty pageant winning mother.

Now at twenty nine Ginny is signed up to compete in the Miss American Treasure her mother had won years before one last time before she is too old to join. Charlotte has decided to use her vacation time to join Ginny in Orlando and root her on, oh and visit Harry Potter world too of course.

Unfortunately for Ginny when the girls share a meal Ginny becomes allergic to something in the food and swells up tremendously to where she can’t compete. Seeing her sister’s dream in danger Charlotte agrees to step in for a few days but never expected to find herself falling for a judge.

From the moment Charlotte arrived in the opening pages until the very end this one was just a ton of fun. It was so nice to have the whole competition environment but with all the contestants supporting one another instead of fighting or bickering. And I will say Buttercup/Fang stole the show quite often in the story too, adorable. The romance is mostly light flirting while the rest of the plot takes the forefront but definitely enjoyable to follow too.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Love love love!!! What a fabulous story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had so much fun reading this great story. It’s a bit of a rom-com but mainly it is a humorous look at the life of a beauty queen and her twin sister.

How can two sisters be complete opposite’s? As with any siblings we all have our own personalities. But these two twin sisters are close to being complete opposite’s, at least in the lifestyle portion. But what would you do for your twin?

This story was a riot. From the crazy Frenchie dog to the secret trysts, you cannot help falling for this story which is a bit reminiscent of Miss Congeniality - without the FBI, or Sandra Bullock.

Teri has definitely brought us a winner with this charming, delightful, and realistic look at beauty pageants, aka scholarship programs, and the deep family connection that makes us question our mental state. But the winner does take home a fabulous parting gift of a sweet and tasty hottie! Score!

Humor and digs fly when two sisters attempt to win a beauty pageant with an Accidental Beauty Queen.

Charlotte is resigned to never being the pretty sister. Her sister, Ginny, has followed in their mother’s footsteps in the pageant world. Charlotte followed in their father’s footsteps by being a reader and a primary school librarian. There is no need for bedazzling, hair extensions or even makeup in Charlotte’s world.

When Ginny invites Charlotte to share her hotel room during the Miss American Treasure contest in Orlando Florida, Charlotte is overjoyed for the chance to visit the Harry Potter theme park. However, the second evening, Ginny has an allergic reaction that swells her face threefold. Ginny convinces Charlotte to pretend to be her in the prelims because the two sisters are (wait for it...) identical twins.

The author does a great job making light of the easy comparison to Miss Congeniality. The makeover scenes are hilarious. When an attractive man sees the real Charlotte under all the glam, things get all Pride and Prejudicey. It is a great mashup—both literary and chick lit at the same time. The Accidental Beauty Queen is highly recommended to anyone looking for a fun happy story. 5 stars!

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really appreciated how much the sisters developed as people and how much the author did the dispell stereotypes of beauty pageant contestants but I wish she did the same for the librarian stereotype. Liked that the love story wasn't focal point of the story.

What a delightful book is The Accidental Beauty Queen. After reading a few darker books recently, this was exactly what I needed in my life.

It is a little bit Miss Congeniality mixed with The Parent Trap, twins switching places and the like.

Charlotte and Ginny are identical in looks, complete opposites in personalities.

At times, Ginny did annoy me with her self centredness, however as the story progressed, I liked how she changed, and how her actions also caused Charlotte to change.

What I also really liked is that even though they are all pageant queens, there was no bitchy mean girls. There wasn't a queen that I didn't like in this one.

Light, romantic, fluffy - The Accidental Beauty Queen made me laugh and smile.

I can't wait to see what Ms Wilson brings us next. In the mean time, I am off to watch Miss Congeniality - again!

This was a delightful (clean) romance. I loved the main character (a school librarian) and the entertaining setting (a beauty pageant). I'm wishing for a sequel.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute, refreshing novel. I really enjoyed that it was more about the sister relationship and being comfortable in your own skin than the romance. It was a light, easy read. If you love Hallmark movies, you will love this book!

A fun and light novel. This is a love story between sisters, parents and books. Laugh out loud in some parts, heartbreaking in others, overall a delightful read.

This stunningly wonderful book is Miss Congeniality meets Pride and Prejudice meets Parent Trap. Any bookish reader will see themselves in the protagonist, Charlotte, and the ending will have you in your feelings. A delightful take on sisterhood, and what it means to fully know yourself and finally feel seen by others. Highly recommend as a feel good read.

Charlotte and Ginny are identical twins and are as different as chalk and cheese. Ginny is “the pretty one’ and plays off that moniker with her life spent running through the beauty pageant circuit and her Instagram following. Charlotte (and the reason I grabbed the title) is an elementary school librarian, reserved, quiet and very book-ish. My only complaint with her was her choice of ‘favorite read’ which, when one considers her workplace and her access to ALL the titles in the world – meh. But, this isn’t about her work (sadly) but of her overcoming preconceptions and labels attached since childhood as Charlotte, through an odd set of circumstances, finds herself passing as Ginny in a pageant.

The twin switch is cute – although familiar in a Parent Trap sort of way, but Charlotte is overwhelmed by all of the elements of the pageant (and this story does carry a solid ‘pro-pageant’ message that seeks to break down preconceptions) and the fact that Ginny actually does have to do more than she ever thought possible to maintain and compete. Of course, Charlotte has angst in the switch, and the author makes a point of being a ‘woman friendly’ atmosphere behind the scenes, despite the outright sexism of pageants, the competitors are all nice and supportive of one another, without the expected ‘knife in the back’ moments that I’m sure we all have seen / expected. Cleverly, this camaraderie and support helps Charlotte as she finds a romantic connection to someone she shouldn’t be interested in – and he’s interested right back.

Overall, the story did read a bit “young’ with the sisters nearing thirty, Charlotte was by far more naïve and innocent, feeling far younger than her age, while Ginny was self-centered and often selfish at first, needing that moment of redemption to bring her character around. These two are so different – and with a light flirtation the romance felt very teen and ‘first boyfriend’, even as it was clear that it was rather meant to be, even with the substitution of Charlotte for Ginny. Clever twists, some unexpected camaraderie and some light moments makes this fluffy read a perfect escape for a few hours of ‘pick you up”.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-a9B/” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

4 solid stars. I liked the characters, I have a thing for librarians. This isn't a heavy read, but a great read while I was on vacation. Definitely kept my interest, and there's even a dog involved. Home run for me. :)

Entertaining and fun. The Accidental Beauty Queen is all about love; not just old-fashioned romance but sisterly love and more important, that you first need to love yourself.

Charlotte Gorman considered herself the brains of the family and above the shallow beauty obsession of her beauty pageant driven twin, Ginny. But when Ginny suffers an allergic reaction the night before the start of the Miss American Treasure pageant, she convinces Charlotte to step in for her. This is Ginny's last chance to win the same pageant that their mother won in 1975.  But when the woman looking back in the mirror after her pageant makeover is that of her sister, Ginny, Charlotte learns that her supposed self-confidence is a fraud and that her whole life has been spent denying her jealously over her prettier twin.

Charlotte and Ginny were your usual identical twins, but after their mother died of cancer, their father just didn't have it in him to match their looks each day, and the twins started developing their own personalities. When Ginny started to garner all the attention with her looks and her desire to follow their mother's legacy and compete in beauty pageants, and Charlotte feels that no one really sees her when Ginny is around. Charlotte turned towards her beloved books for solace and friendship. Charlotte became a school librarian, sharing her love of books with the children, while her sister continued to chase the same crown that their mother won, Miss American Treasure.

Charlotte arrives in Florida to support her sister's big chance and also to check out the new Harry Potter theme-park. Ginny's platform is pet adoption, and adopting French Bulldog, Buttercup, is part of that platform. Yet it is Charlotte who keeps having to walk her.  It also gives Charlotte an opportunity to meet and flirt with a handsome stranger who is walking his own dog named Hamlet. They share several moments that only a true book-lover would understand and appreciate.

Even though Charlotte and Ginny shared a lovely dinner before the preliminaries begin, it was only Ginny that suffered an allergic reaction to something they ate. Charlotte doesn't want anything to do with the pageant but after some soul searching, she can't deny her sister her chance at her dream. Ginny gives Charlotte a full pageant-level makeover and when Charlotte sees her sister looking back at her reflection, it pokes hard at a devastating wound that Charlotte fights to ignore, the fact that her fiance was going to marry her to get close to her prettier sister, hoping to some day trade-up.

In participating in the pageant and actually meeting the other contestants, Charlotte realizes that she has misjudged the contestants are superficial, back-biters. Most of the other women are supportive of one another and have goals beyond winning crowns.   It is Charlotte who does the most soul searching realizing that she has some growing up to do.

While Charlotte adjusts her opinion of the pageant participants and her sister as well, she also comes to the depressing realization that this time she has created the same issue in her romance with Gray Beckham as she had with her fiance, Adam.   Not only has she created a conflict since Gray is one of the pageant's judges, but in flirting with Gray and then posing as her sister, any feelings Gray has will be for her pretty, pageant participant Ginny persona rather than for Charlotte herself.

The longer Charlotte competes on her sister's behalf, the more the lines blurs between competing for  Ginny and competing for Charlotte herself and when Ginny finally recovers enough to step back into the contest, Charlotte isn't certain she is ready to step back out of the limelight.

I enjoyed this story.  It was a quick, light read with some fun scenes.   Book lovers will enjoy all the Pride and Prejudice, Harry Potter and other favorite novel references.  I would have liked a few more pages developing and solidifying the romance between Gray and Charlotte.  They had some great book-lover moments and you could feel their attraction, but it was a bit of a jump from flirty attraction to love of my life since their romance was secondary to the story of the twins bonding over the pageant and healing Charlotte's wound created by her fiance's desire for her sister.

This is definitely worth picking up for a little fun.

This was such a cute book and a quick, easy read! I really fell for Charlotte's character and her struggles in the shadow of her Pageant Queen identical twin sister. And goodness Gray was a wonderful addition to the story!

This read had laughs, deep emotion, flawed characters and a ton of awesome pop culture references. I enjoyed this Miss Congeniality meets Parent Trap book from cover to cover!

The Accidental Beauty Queen by Teri Wilson
Source: NetGalley
My Rating: 4/5 stars

This book was a true pleasure to read. Charlotte and her twin sister Ginny couldn’t be more different. Ginny is the all american beauty that actually competes in beauty pageants. Charlotte is bookish and quirky twin. She is often cynical of her sister’s love for pageants until her sister has a horrifying allergic reaction.
This book was my first book by Teri Wilson and I really enjoyed it! If you’re a fan of the Princess Diaries or romantic comedy novels, this book is for you. I received a review copy of this ebook from Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

The Accidental Beauty Queen is the first book I've read by Teri Wilson but I have watched movies made from her other books (Unleashing Mr. Darcy and Marrying Mr. Darcy) which is on the Hallmark Channel. The movies I greatly enjoyed so I thought The Accidental Beauty Queen might have similar wit and intrigue.

The Accidental Beauty Queen is indeed a fun read, with a self-deprecating main character who tries to find redemption somehow. I found the book to be a bit slow at times due to the main character - Charlotte - having too much inner thoughts throughout the book. While I think that's important for personal growth and to move the plot along, there were much too many repeat performances. Charlotte is endearing at times but also a bit too harsh on herself, and rather unnecessarily. She has a doting father and kind stepmother and a wonderful job as a school librarian. So, in essence of a main character, I felt that she was way too judgmental of herself for no real reasons other than she had to live in the shadows of her beauty queen twin. In the case of twins, they were both beautiful and smart but Charlotte somehow made herself dull and unappreciated - that's where the story kind of threw me off.

However, the hero of the story wasn't really a man. I felt that the hero was also the heroine - Charlotte. She sort of redeemed herself at the end and it was a very justifiable ending. In due respect, there was a hero counterpart in some ways - Gray Beckham - the charming and handsome judge of the beauty pageant. But he didn't really appear too much in the story except in a midnight interlude and here or there during the judging parts and their accidental meetings. I do wish the author had delved a bit more into Gray though. He seemed like he could have been a more well-rounded hero.

Another thing that kind of bugged me about the story was the constant name dropping and references to people and books. If you've never even heard of any of these names in the book, then you'd have no idea what the characters were talking about. This is one pet peeve of mine, when books have too many references to celebrities or pop culture. If it was a pop culture kind of book then fine, but not in the case of this book.

Still, The Accidental Beauty Queen was a fun read. The author fleshed out the main character very well, with a semi-villain in the case of her twin sister, Ginny. Their relationship was like most siblings where there could be some jealousy and rivalry. But again, Ginny was too cliche and instead of giving her some kind of a heart, she was just too typical of a rival sibling.

Thank you for the chance to read this book!