I really LOVED this book. Partially because I'm a huge fan of fairytale retellings and also a dating/marriage reality TV show junkie. But, I also just appreciated the novelty aspects brought to the story too. I'm glad the step family wasn't evil, and I liked the fashion angle too. Overall, it was a fun and enjoyable read and I'm recommend it to friends who are looking for a good romance/rom com to read.

This was such a fun romance novel! I had high hopes from this book and they have met my expectiation! If the shoe fits by Julie Murphy is the first book in a new series (Not sure how long it will be though) and it's going to be different retellings of famous disney movies. So up first is a retelling of cinderella! There is a huge trigger warring for if the shoe fits and that is: death of a parent, body shaming, fatphobia, greif, and bullying, also terminal illness.
So I knew it was a cinderella retelling for this one but wasn't sure how Julie was going to take it and make it different. This book follows our main character name Cindy and she losses her parents in the beginning of the book and have to live with her step mother and so her step mother runs this reatlity tv show and asked cindy if she wanted to do it and cindy said no until she gets black mailed to do it. So we follow Cindy's storyline of how she is doing throughout this tv realitly show (think of the balechtor) it's like that but with competition added to it. It was an overall funny and cute read. Idk why it took me so long to read this book! But, I can't wait to see what happen in book 2!

I absolutely loved this book!! Cindy is one of the best characters I’ve read in a while. She was so relatable and such a fun character. The banter between her and the other contestants was so entertaining. She was just so real. She is a plus size woman thrown into a situation regularly inhabited by skinny girls so she brings her individuality, sense of style and love of shoes.

This book is a mix of Cinderella and The Bachelor. Candy’s stepmother is the creator of Before Midnight. When one of the contestants bows out at the last minute so Cindy and her two sisters head off to the chateau to meet the other contestants and this year’s eligible bachelor.

I loved the writing, the characters and can’t wait to read more from Julie Murphy.

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion

I wanted to give this one a try because of the representation but when I sat down to read it, I could not get into this one. The characters were just so incredibly childish and it completely turned me off from this book., especially since this book is supposed to be an adult book. Even if the characters are actual children for a part of the book, there are still ways to write them where it doesn't feel like you are reading middle grade.

I absolutely loved this book. Already a fan of Murphy's other works, I saw she'd written a Cinderella retelling with a plus sized MC and I just KNEW I had to read it. There's something fulfilling about reading about plus sized women living their lives and finding their dreams and falling in love as a plus sized person myself, and in If The Shoe Fits it felt like it was done so well. I liked the writing style, I couldn't help but absolutely adore Cindy and found myself so enthralled with the new dating show twist added to it.

A body positive mash-up of Cinderella and The Bachelor.

I really enjoyed this book about recent design school grad, Cindy who moved back home with her stepmom during a creative block and lack of job prospects out of college. Her stepmom is the show creator for 'Before Midnight', which is just another name for 'The Bachelor'. When a former stranger on a plane turns out to be this season's suitor, Cindy is in for much more than she bargained for.

One of the things I immediately appreciated about this book is that it didn't follow all the typical Cinderella tropes. She didn't have an evil step mom and stepsisters, she actually had good relationships with them and they supported her in a big way.

The relationship between Cindy and Henry was so swoony, I loved the sweet private moments they shared. All the stereotypes I was expecting to cringe at in a book like this were all avoided and I think Murphy did a great job with this story that has been told so many times before.

This one was such a light and easy read, I loved the characters and how everything worked out in the end. Definitely recommend this book if you're looking for something that will warm your heart and make you smile.

Julie Murphy’s first adult romance was so fantastic. I loved the modern twist on the Cinderella fairytale and the plus-size representation with Cindy and that she fought to not be seen just as a fat girl. The romance as well was so adorable and the twist on The Bachelor as well was so well done and imaginative. All of the Cinderella references slipped in there were pretty clever.

Rating: 4.5*

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun and satisfying read. I especially liked how the fat representation was handled. My only issue with this book was that it felt more like a YA book.

I was completely surprised by this book. I thought I could predict what would happen in this modern day Cinderella retelling but I was wrong and I'm not mad about it! Cindy loves shoes and goes to a fashion college but after her father's death she has extreme creator's block when it comes to creating new designs. She goes home after graduation but it doesn't really feel like home because she never was that close with her step family. It was a nice change of pace that Cinderella's step mom and sisters weren't evil or mean but Cindy simply felt disconnected from them. Since they were forced together as a family unit when her dad decided to marry it was hard for Cindy to feel close to her new family, especially when her dad died. Cindy felt lost and had a tough time. She decided to try and boost her self confidence and career by appearing on her step mom's bachelor type reality show "Before Midnight". Cindy didn't really want to make a statement by being the "fat girl" on the show but she used it to her advantage. It was really interesting getting an inside look on the reality tv show and it made me wonder if the author did research on it or just made it up. The author made tons of great points about Cindy and fashion and plus sizes not being represented enough and how it feels to be a plus size person in this world. I myself am a plus size person and I couldn't help but identify with the points that were made. Cindy was so likeable that at some points I didn't care about the romance in the book and I knew the man she connected with on her flight home to LA from NYC would appear again and be her love interest, so I wasn't surprised when he was the bachelor on the tv show. I loved the way the author was able to sneak in some of the most iconic moments of the classic Cinderella story without it being an exact retelling. There was also LGBTQ representation which was great!

Loved this book and it’s focus on actual body positivity! I’m not a Bachelor franchise fan, but I still loved it. Highly recommend!

I really wanted to enjoy this book.. I love retellings and I had such huge expectations for it. I just couldn’t get into it though and I wasn’t a fan of the romance.

I devoured this book in one sitting! I don't watch The Bachelor or any of those shows, but the premise of this book was still really easy to fall for and though it was a little predictable I still loved every minute of it and couldn't put it down.

This book was not for me. I didn't finish and left it at 22 percent, it was just way too cheesy for me.

A sexy modern plus size body positive adult version of Cinderella with a Bachelor show twist?! This is all that and so much more!

Cindy (see what she did there?) is on a flight from NY back to LA after her fashion school graduation. Her mother and father are dead, and all she's left with is a stepmom and step siblings. She's adrift with no inspiration, no job opportunities and nowhere to be. She ends up sitting beside who else? Prince Charming of course. After a lovely flight, they part ways without exchanging info. In LA, she spends her days caring for her triplet half siblings, until a reality TV opportunity becomes available that's too good to be true. Not looking for a man, but for publicity for her designs, Cindy jumps on the opportunity. The surprise of a lifetime happens, however, when she realizes that she already knows The Bachelor. It's Henry. Her Prince Charming.

An adult retelling of a fairy tale can be tricky. You don't want to make it too close to the original or its not worth writing but you don't want to veer too far off because then you don't see the fairytale in it at all. This book is hands down perfectly done. Cindy is a plus size girl, and she makes it perfectly clear her body is perfect and should be accepted like everyone else's. She strongly advocates for extended clothing sizes for everybody and stand up for herself without apology. And she's a knockout! It's made perfectly clear that Henry loves her body and not once does she apologize for taking up her own space. This was so well done I stayed up late to finish it. I truly loved Cindy and their relationship was the icing on the cake. Cindy chose herself first, and Henry as an addition to her life, not the whole thing. Cindy is role model we all need!!!

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Disney Publishing, and Julie Murphy for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion. All opinions are my own.

Okay so I LOVED this book. Sure, the title is a bit of a mouthful, but I adore everything else about it. For starters, Cindy and Henry have the best chemistry I've read in a long time, from the moment they met I was rooting for them to get together. A lot of times I feel like chemistry ends up feeling a bit forced, or just falls flat, but as the book went on, you could really feel a bond form between them.

I also loved how original it felt, despite the fact that it's technically a Cinderella retelling. At times it was a bit more obvious, like Cindy's two stepsisters, Anna and Drew, but for the most part it still had new twists and turns. I liked that Beck and Jay sort of worked as a fairy godmother stand in, but at the end of everything, Cindy was still the one controlling most of the things happening in her story. Stacy and Sara Claire were fun additions to the cast too, I liked that Cindy made friends with her competition, but that the competitive aspect still wasn't gone either. Don't get me wrong, I love great female friendships in what I read, but it was nice to have it still feel realistic since feelings were involved.

Meant to be if the Shoe Fits is more than just a romance though, I love the way it touches on all of the crap fat people have to deal with. Don't get me wrong, it's a pain to deal with, but I liked that Murphy didn't shy away from talking about it, since it's stuff that actually comes up in our daily life. I had forgotten how nice it is to read a novel with a fat heroine. Cindy also actively has to deal with the grief of losing her parents, something she was ignoring for years, and the way she's so unsure of her future. As someone who's trying to figure out whether to just focus on getting a job that pays well vs trying to keep chasing a dream it really resonated with me.

If you're looking for a new take on a Cinderella story, or a fun romance with a dash of reality, definitely try to pick this up! I loved the humor and chemistry, and all of the characters so much.

This was such an adorable book! I loved the main character, Cindy; I loved her attitude and her confidence. One of my favorite scenes was when Cindy was telling the wardrobe person that it was their job to find clothes to fit her. I also thought Henry sounded absolutely dreamy. My only complaint about this book is the lack of spice, if you know what I mean. I know this is a Disney-produced book, but if that was not the case there would hopefully be so much steam my hair would frizz!

If the Shoe Fits was a lovely blend of Cinderella meets The Bachelor. Being a Bachelor fan, I loved it. The book had a wonderful cast of characters, and I really enjoyed the stepsisters being nice to each other rather than awful. The plot was intriguing, but I fell in love with the love story between Cindy and Henry. Their relationship really bloomed throughout the whole book from a chance meeting at the airport to their appearances on the reality show.

I also enjoyed the topic of body positivity. Real life situations come to light from gossip to fitting into designer clothes. Cindy’s wit was fantastic, but she kept her feelings real when addressing these issues. Her confidence radiated right along with her insecurities, and her sassiness didn’t let much slide. I loved how she chose herself and joy over fitting a mold TV and producers expected.

4.5 stars – Rounding to 5 for Goodreads.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

NUTSHELL:
A fat girl falls for an eligible bachelor on a dating show.

REMINDS ME OF:
Obviously, Cinderella... but with "The Bachelor."

PLUS SIDE:
+ I really enjoyed this book. If I was the type to enjoy reading on the beach, this would be the best beach read ever. It is fast-paced enough to stay entertaining, but it doesn't demand a lot from the audience, except to fully enjoy yourself in the light dialogue and sexy banter between the two love interests.
+ It was pretty interesting to have a "behind the scenes" look of a reality show love competition. It had a lot of sabotage, ulterior motives, isolating the cast members-type elements that something like the TV show UnREAL had, but.. not nearly as dark.
+ You really like the main character. She has been through a lot, and it really feels like she is only now coming out of it. It was motivating to see someone actively fighting to get back to who they are.

NEGATIVE SIDE:
- I know, in life, it would be good that there wasn't necessarily a very formidable villain, but... in a book... let's just say that this fairy tale felt a little flat because of the (mostly) lack of evil.

FAVORITE WORDS:
[She adored hearing any story about her mother that wasn't her own... They were surprise gems for Cindy to unearth. It was as though her mother was still alive in some reality, creating new memories to be treasured.]

["Admittedly, as a librarian I find concierge back channels deeply sexy."
"That is so very specific."
"Mmmm." She moans dramatically. "That sexy, sexy information."]

["Stanley Tucci is everyone's type."]

(Also posted separately to GoodReads)