The Bachelor meets Cinderella in a clever and creative modern day fairy tale by the author of Dumplin’. Murphy does a great job updating the story for contemporary American culture. Cindy Woods is a nuanced, and complex plus-size Gen Z Cinderella—ambitious and feisty but still grieving her father’s death. After a rocky final semester of design school, her priority is the prize money and job opportunity, not romance, which means that she actually has a lot in common with the suitor, the scion who’s trying to revive a once-hot, now failing fashion empire founded by his mother. The stepfamily also gets a modern makeover. Cindy’s stepmom Erica is a driven TV executive. but she and Cindy’s stepsisters are just image-conscious not evil. Their blended family is supportive and loving. The rituals of reality tv datinng shows are also skillfully faithfully recreated on the page. The one thing that doesn’t quite work is the romance. Just as with 2020’s One to Watch, the dating competition rituals take substantial time away from the central relationship. The glimpses of a love story readers get are sweet, but a little few and far between.
3.5 stars

This was the perfect retelling of Cinderella. Cindy's mom passed away when she was young, once she got to middle/high school her dad had found someone new and and her step mom treated her as one of her own kids. She dad sadly passed away when she was a senior in high school. After Cindy moves back home after college, she someone winds up on Before Midnight a dating show and it turns out her suitor is the guy she flirted with on the plane ride home.

I’m an absolute sucker for reimagined fairy tales, and I always have been. Don’t even ask me how many times I’ve re-read Ella Enchanted. When I saw Dumplin’ author Julie Murphy had a Cinderella-with-a-twist novel coming out, I jumped at the chance to read it. I was not disappointed!

Cindy has always loved shoes. So much so that she followed her passion all the way to design school, and she has designed some seriously swoon-worthy shoes. But her spark of creativity is doused when she loses her remaining parent, and she’s struggling to remember who she is and find where she belongs. When her TV-producer stepmother needs someone to fill in on a reality dating show, Cindy leaps at the chance to get her name as a designer out there by participating. She chose to go on the show Before Midnight to help her find her footing as a designer, but soon she finds herself presented as a body positivity icon with more stake than her shoes.

There is so much to love about this book. The voice is perfect, the characters well developed, the plot nicely paced and engaging– all of which adds up to an un-put-down-able book. But what really put it over the edge for me is the representation. I love when media reflects our real world, with people of all sizes, shapes, and hues. Julie Murphy is well-known for plus-sized representation, and If the Shoe Fits fits the mold perfectly.

Cindy is confident in her beauty, which is something I love to see in characters. She’s a wonderful designer, she has a great relationship with her peers and her teachers, and she’s just an overall lovable gem working through her grief. She has an adorable meet-cute with a handsome guy at the airport, who later assists her with a problematic seat mate, and it’s all rom-com gold. Spending time in Cindy’s head is a delight, as her comedic train of thought observes the world around her as she tries to find her place in it.

What I love about how Cindy’s size is represented is that it isn’t treated as a flaw, an illness, or a problem. The only time it’s a plot point is when it’s weaponized to use against her, or when she struggles to find clothes because plus sizes aren’t frequently carried. Instead of treating it as something to be ashamed of in these cases, Cindy uses the opportunity to educate the characters (and the reader) about issues in the fashion industry and the ripple effect it has on women of all sizes. This novel is incredibly inclusive, and I’m here for it.

What if Cinderella’s step-family wasn’t awful? I loved this component of the story. From the supportive but uncertain what to do stepmother to the we-will-fight-for-you stepsisters, to the adorable four year old triplets that trail Cindy like puppies, Cindy’s family is wonderful, odd, and quirky in the best ways.

All of the characters are well developed, the kind that an image immediately enters your mind and your brain recalls it each time they’re mentioned without any prompting or reminding. I loved how the relationships with the other contestants were difficult, because they wanted to uplift other women but they were also all in competition together. That situation and mindset was perfectly described and believable. The representation of various backgrounds, sexualities, and sizes was a refreshing dose of reality in fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley, Disney-Hyperion, and Julie Murphy for an advanced copy of this book so that I can review it.

If the Shoe Fits (Meant to Be #1) will be available August 3, 2021.

I wanted to enjoy this but I found myself yawning at the story and the characters.... this just was not for me.

Review to come closer to release date. Thank you to Disney Publishing and Julie Murphy for this ARC.

Meant to Be: If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy has the perfect balance of dedicated friendships, unexpected romance, and personal growth. The heroine, Cindy, is a plus sized woman with much to offer the world. She has a kindness and beauty about her, with a style that showcases her gift of shoe design. This is pegged as a Cinderella story and if by Cinderella you have a evil stepmother, evil stepsisters, and obstacles to finding your Prince Charming I guess this hits a few of those qualifications but it is truly an original.

I will not provide a spoiler, but this book is far from a guaranteed happily ever after. What it does guarantee is you will find love for yourself whatever size your jeans happen to be. Cindy has body positivity in spades and inspires others as she ends up on a Bachelor type dating show called Happily Ever After. Her polka dot dresses, wild shoes, and redesigned couture clothing makes her a viral household name. This was her original purpose in going on the show, but we soon wonder if she will find her own Prince Charming in bachelor Henry or if he will stick with the status quo.

This book provides the perfect blend of dramatic interest, amusing hijinks, and pushing away your previously held beliefs. The gyrations between Cindy and Henry will have you rooting that they can find their own happily ever after, but it is far from a sure thing.

I will leave you with this endorsement, you know how when you close a book and you just sigh because it was so satisfying? That is exactly what happened with Meant to Be for me. Murphy has a true gift like Jennifer Weiner in writing those characters that exude body positivity and the truth that love is not dependent on the size of your jeans. I am not overweight, but I fully support this idea.

Meant to Be hit all my must haves by engaging the reader, tugging at my heartstrings, and keeping me guessing plus a huge sense of satisfaction at the conclusion.

I was provided a free advance reader copy from Disney Publishing Worldwide Disney - Hyperion in exchange for my honest review on Net Galley. The opinions shared in this review are my own.

Calling Bachelor Nation - I’ve got a book for you! IF THE SHOE FITS (A Meant to Be Novel) by Julie Murphy was such a sweet romcom that gave me everything I needed (even if the last few seasons of the Bachelor franchise did not…)

Cindy’s stepmother is the executive producer for the famous reality dating show, Before Midnight, and they need another contestant at the last minute. So, Cindy, a fashion school graduate and shoe lover, finds herself packing her backs and heading for the “chateau.”

You can expect all the drama, romance, and female friendships you would get from a Bachelor episode - with positive fat representation from our leading woman.

IF THE SHOE FITS is out on August 3, so definitely preorder now!

CW // fat phobia; slut-shaming

An amazing Cinderella retelling full of well written and diverse characters—seriously the representation of not only weight, but race and LGBTQ was aaamazing. I was honestly really surprised by how much I enjoyed this story!!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Another Cinderella retelling but this one is for adults and stars plus sized leads! A win in my book! This book was absolutely delightful! Julie Murphy makes it clear from the beginning that this story is not the story of an unloved, unwanted Cinderella. Instead, Cindy's relationship with her step-family is quite lovely . Erica, loved Cindy's father; and therefore, she shows love to Cindy as well.. Cindy also has a lovely relationship with her stepsisters. This is the Cinderella story that I've been wanting No not everyone is perfect but family is important and this book makes you realize how your normal is way different from someone elses. A charming Rom com!

I am a massive fan of a Cinderella story. I love the 1950 Disney film and grew up watching Ever After all of the time. When I saw Disney started a series of adult books of modern adaptations of fairy tales, I was excited to read them. If the Shoe Fits certainly lives up on my expectations. I devoured it and loved every page.

In If the Shoe Fits, Cindy, a recent fashion school graduate, returns home to be the nanny for her three half-siblings. She ends up on Before Midnight (a fictional show with many similarities to The Bachelor) as a favor to her stepmom, the executive producer of the show, when a spot needs to be filled at the last minute. She hopes to get some exposure that we help launch a fashion career, but she ends up falling for Henry Mackenzie, the suitor on Before Midnight.

First of all, I was thrilled that the “princess” in this version of Cinderella is a plus-sized queen. She also seems very comfortable in her body, and the story doesn’t focus on her trying to lose weight. She even encourages Henry’s mom, Lucy, to make her fashion lines more size inclusive. I can imagine how powerful it would be for people to watch Cindy on Before Midnight and to have her as a body positivity role model.

Cindy is an incredibly likable protaganist. It is easy to criticize other versions of Cinderella for not having any flaws, but that is not the case here. Cindy is a real woman who doubts herself and is worried that she’ll never find love. She is still incredibly kind and loyal to her friends and family. This all makes Cindy both relatable and easy to root for. It makes sense that the viewers of Before Midnight

It is also great to see LGBTQ representation in a book from Disney. Beck, one of the producers of Before Midnight, identifies herself as a lesbian and even gets the studio to greenlight a queer version of the show. I hope we see more of this going forward in Disney’s films as well. I also would love to see a queer version of The Bachelor or Bachelorette.

I also loved that Cindy had a good relationship with her stepmother, Erica Tremaine, and her stepsisters, Anna and Drew. The versions of these characters in If the Shoe Fits still made sense as versions of the characters they’re based on without being evil. Erica is a high powered television producer, and Anna and Drew are both Instagram influencers. The fact that they loved and cared for Cindy made the focus of the story more about Cindy’s search for professional and romantic success, which I really enjoyed.

There are also a few little fun nods to the 1950 Disney film. Erica’s last name is Tremaine, which echoes Lady Tremaine from the film. Two of Cindy’s half siblings are Jack and Gus, which references the mice Gus Gus and Jacques in the film. Cindy also refers to Henry as “Prince Charming” when she meets him on the plane before she learns his real name. These little details made me smile.

I look forward to reading the next book in this series. I am so glad that Disney Books has started publishing books for adults who are big Disney fans like me.

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me an eARC for review!

First I want to say, I loved this book. It was so cute and I thought the Cinderella retelling was well done. I also liked the concept of a reality tv dating show, it was also cute. Cindy was a likeable character, even if sometimes her dialogue seemed a little bit childish given her age. I liked how real she felt when she talked about grief, and I really enjoyed her body positivity, and that’s the part I want to emphasize.

This book talks a lot about body positivity and some ways that larger people can struggle with something as simple as finding their size. I thought this was really eye opening and well done in the book, and I love that the author went this route with Cindy’s character. It was really refreshing.

In terms of steam, the book says adult but it’s not really a sexy book. It’s more of a sweet romance and the author doesn’t go in detail about anything besides kissing. I found it a really enjoyable light read if you’re looking for a quick feel good romance!

Cute romance retelling of Cinderella!! The MC was likable and sweet, same with most of the other characters. The banter was a lot of fun. Also the body positivity was AMAZING!! Such a refresher to read in romance.

I very much enjoyed this book as a whole.

Pros: Likeable characters, solid characterization, exceptional body positivity, well flowing dialogue.

Cons: There were a number of errors even for an ARC. Hopefully these will be resolved in a further editing process.

There were numerous mentions of skin color or race: "White woman", "black girl", etc. There was no relevance in these to the overall plot, and they simply seemed randomly thrown out.

It bills itself as a Cinderella story. While it's a fun and very cute novel, the only true thing it bears in common with Cinderella is the shoe element.

Finally, there was one significant plot hole: Strong emphasis is put on the twins having been born via surrogate. It's a recurring bit throughout the novel, but then towards the end mention is made of when Erica was pregnant with the twins.

Overall, I did enjoy this novel. It was a fun story, Cindy and "Prince Charming" were likeable characters, it was refreshing to see Cindy's relationship with her step family. I loved Cindy's over all confidence and willing to stand up for herself. Also the casual inclusion of LGBTQ characters was a strong positive.

I would recommend this book to others, though I hope the errors will be fixed in the final editing process.

I totally loved this book! I have to start with the fact that the plus sized rep was PHENOMENAL, just like you would think coming from a Julie Murphy novel. I absolutely loved the way she tied in Cinderella aspects as well! It was really great to see the stepmom and stepsisters as allies instead of enemies. Henry was just perfect, and I really loved all the interaction with him and Cindy. My other favorite thing was the casual diversity - with race, gender, and sexuality. I think the only thing that keeps me from loving it completely is that it was a little too cutsey/innocent for me. This isn’t a knock on the book at all, just doesn’t align with my personal preferences! I tend to like my adult romances to be a little spicier.

I totally loved this book! I have to start with the fact that the plus sized rep was PHENOMENAL, just like you would think coming from a Julie Murphy novel. I absolutely loved the way she tied in Cinderella aspects as well! It was really great to see the stepmom and stepsisters as allies instead of enemies. Henry was just perfect, and I really loved all the interaction with him and Cindy. My other favorite thing was the casual diversity - with race, gender, and sexuality. I think the only thing that keeps me from loving it completely is that it was a little too cutsey/innocent for me. This isn’t a knock on the book at all, just doesn’t align with my personal preferences! I tend to like my adult romances to be a little spicier.

This book is low angst, low conflict that reflected body positivity. I like this book better than One to Watch. Love Cindy had a passion for design and shoes and she made it known. to the hero.

I was really excited to read this book and it did not disappoint. I have been long over due for a romcom and a modern fairy tale retelling was just what I needed to get out of a reading slump. I loved this Cinderella retelling- we follow Cindy through her post graduation journey of going on a reality T.V. series, attempting to make a name for herself in the fashion industry. "Meant to Be: If the Shoe Fits" was a fast paced read and is perfect for fans of The Bachelor and The Selection by Kiera Cass. Like most romcoms, there are characters with big personalities and cheesy dialogue, but I honestly ate it up. However, I do wish the character's relationships with one another were explored a bit more- sometimes it felt like I was just getting the surface level of each friendship/ relationship and there were opportunities for more elaborate subplots that weren't taken. Other than that, I've got no complaints!

This was such a fun, sweet story. I’d definitely recommend to others.. I think people will definitely enjoy the banter and story of this one. I can’t wait to see what the author does next

In my opinion, Cinderella should always be fat.. Julie Murphy always knocks it out of the park, and I absolutely fell for this story. Happily Ever After, indeed!

This was such a cute, fun read. If you like romance, this book has it all! The main character is a plus sized version of Cinderella, and I could not put this book down. I finished this book in less than 24 hours, and I cannot wait for the rest of the series. I loved the chemistry between Cindy and Henry, and I felt like the book had a lot of believable aspects for a romance book. I thought the pacing of the story was spot on, and I just fell in love with the writing. I think this book has a strong body positivity message, and I thought the inclusivity in this story was well done. I am looking forward to the rest of the books in the series!! Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.