*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This was SO cute! I loved Cindy. I love that she embraced her body and who she was. Her character growth was really great too - I agreed with pretty much every decision she made. I wish I knew more and had seen more about Henry. (Alternating perspectives would have been AWESOME for this book) It was fun reading about a show like The Bachelor. Kind of a peek behind the curtain. some of those girls were so awful! But some were also really great too. I enjoyed the supporting characters a lot. This would be a great summer/beach read.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

I loved this book. While it is similar to another recent release, One to Watch, it was definitely it's own individual story. I love the plus-size representation and the story was definitely cute. It's Disney's version of romantic comedy so if you're looking for steamy scenes, you won't find them here. Overall, I would recommend this book and look forward to the rest of the stories in the Meant to Be series.

* I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review through Netgalley *

Oh my goodness! This is hands down one of the best books I've read so far this year. As a plus-size woman, I sometimes got into romance books with plus-size protagonists, a little uncertainty and caution that the book will fall into cliches, but "If the Shoe Fits" was so good and a wonderful romance.

This book is a relatively quick read, a perfect read in one sitting situation. The main character Cindy is strong and vulnerable throughout the story. She is always able to find a solution to every problem that life throws her.

One of the biggest elements to this retelling that stood out to me was the interpretation of Cindy's step-family. Unlike in the original story, her family is loving, caring, and supportive, which was an update that I very much appreciated.

I loved this book and this concept, so fun and gave me a world to slip into for a few hours and dream.

Be forewarned, there are fatphobic comments throughout the book that are geared towards Cindy, just so you are aware before heading in.

I was very excited to receive an ARC of this book. I’ve heard so many great things about this author, and I was so excited to get my hands on this book.

Which is why I’m disappointed that I wasn’t crazy about it.

I love how the author is bringing body positivity into the book community—something that desperately needs to happen. And I love how she includes it in part of her book. However, I just couldn’t connect with the story. I couldn’t get into the main storyline. I feel like I couldn’t get into the main characters either. There was no connection for me.

However, I loved how Cindy explained the fashion world. It showed that there are serious problems in today’s world—plus size clothing doesn’t really seem like plus size clothing in the real world.

Also her relationship with her stepmother? It’s different! Usually you get the “evil stepmother” vibe, but you don’t in this book, which is very refreshing.

Overall, the story was good. I just personally couldn’t connect with the characters.

So cute!!!!! There was nothing I didn’t love about this book! Such a fast and fun read; and they were grownups! There could have been a lot of mishaps and misplaced anger and they didn’t have any of that. Just two adults who did what they thought was best and who understood what the other was trying to do. Actually, everyone important had adult thinking and that’s great! Also, I love that they twisted the story and the steps were all nice and good people.

This was a great book, with a fun premise and a clever retelling of Cinderella. Julie Murphy excels, as always, at writing plus sized characters, fun world building and creating a quirky cast of supporting characters. The background of the reality show was a clever reinvention of the fairy princess ball and the modern happy step-family was a pleasant twist.

However, it misses five stars for two little reasons. First, even with our usual romance-grade suspension of disbelief, there is no chance that a famous producer could put three of her children on a tabloid-hungry show with no one finding out. Second, Henry is somewhat underwhelming. Rich boy with Mommy-issues and existential panic about being a responsible adult is a solid trope, but I could have used a little more.

Overall though, I would still highly recommend this read.

Ahh, so sweet! As an homage to Cinderella, I expected a horrible stepmother and sisters. I was happily wrong! I love the themes of feminine power and body positivity.

This was a fun read. The main character is likeable, and you will be rooting for her! Good body-positive message, without being preachy.

Rating: 3.5 stars

The following book contains language, suggestive content, LGBT characters, pop culture references

"This isn't real life. This is reality television.

My fairy godmother must work at Disney Publishing because your girl got a copy of an early galley of If the Shoe Fits!

Unlike Julie Murphy's characters, I usually don't have a problem buy clothes; I do, however, have the hardest time buying shoes because of my weird feet, so I am very familiar with that feeling when you find the perfect fit. For a minute, I thought Julie Murphy's new book was going to be my illusive glass slipper. The story starts with a meet cute and the prologue gave me major A Cinderella Story vibes. If we're keeping with the glass slipper analogy, If the Shoe Fits would be a comfortable fit, but I wouldn't be whisked off to the palace to marry Prince Charming.

What I Liked:
💎 The Twist on Cinderella: I wouldn't necessarily call this a modern Cinderella, but there are definitely elements of the familiar fairy tale with some refreshing twists. (I also JUST realized made the connection between triplets and the Disney movie and now I feel dumb.) I have a soft spot for Cinderella retellings and thought this was a fun one.
💎 The Nuanced Story: This is more than a simple love story. Maybe it's because Murphy is diving into the world of adult fiction, but this was much more nuanced than the Dumplin' books. Yes, there's romance, but it also address grief, family and, of course, body positivity.
💎The Family Feels: I like the fact that we don't get an evil stepmother and stepsisters. The relationship between Cindy and her step-family is a little complicated but endearing and, in this case, makes for a better story than the simple good vs evil dynamic would've.

Could've Been Better:
🧹The Preachy Dialogue: There are some moments when the story starts to veer off course and gets a little preachy. I'll admit, this is a bit of pet peeve of mine, so it probably bothers me more than most people. Look, I don't mind if you have an agenda--it probably isn't going to be a very good story if there isn't some kind of point--but don't straight up lecture me. Use your storytelling to get your point across and save the orating for an article or something. I'm here for a story, and when you get up on your soapbox, you're blocking the view.
🧹The Awkward Pacing: The story is too fast in some places and too slow in others. Goldilocks would not approve. The romance is a little too rushed to be convincing, and it just feels like we go around in circles with the supposed obstacles to Happily Ever After.
🧹Bland Characters: I hate to say this, but Henry is almost as personality-less as the original Disney Prince Charming. Some of the banter is cute, but some of it is just kind of mediocre. Cindy is a bit interesting, but I feel like a little more depth would make her an even stronger protagonist. I like some of the other contestants (though I'm still not sure what exactly Murphy was trying to do with Sara Claire's character) and think the Tremaine family member are cute; I just wish they were more developed. These relationships have a lot of potential but never get developed enough.

TL;DR: Modern Cinderella meets Miss Congeniality meets The Bachelor.

Julie Murphy hits it out of the park again! I am a little (well, a lot) older than her intended audience but I truly enjoy all of her novels. I wasn’t sure what to think about a Cinderella retelling but I love how she veered from the traditional plot and made it more enjoyable. The main character, Cindy, is so very likable and I enjoyed going on this journey with her. She didn’t have a “poor me” attitude about being plus size, but instead owned it and showed what body positivity looks like. Her relationship with her stepmother and stepsisters was refreshing as well.

I used to be a big fan of The Bachelor and I still follow the gossip somewhat, so I loved the spoof of it. The only thing missing for me is I wish we had been able to follow along his date with Addison or Sara Claire, or at least get a recap of what happened. It wasn’t integral to the plot, but I think Addison could’ve been played a more multi-dimensional villain and the friendship with Sara Claire could’ve been deepened.

Overall, it was another fun read and the things mentioned above only would have expanded the story but were not necessary to seal this as a 5 star book and must read for lovers of Julie Murphy.

It was the cover that did it for me. I love a book with a curvy woman on the cover.

Cindy is a fun, loving fashion designer. She has a passion for shoes and clothes and she just an all around great person.

I loved the relationship that Cindy has with her stepfamily. It was so nice to see. I expected them to be horrible but they were super nice and genuine.

Henry and Cindy has the cutest meet cute on a airplane. Soo adorable.

This is a fun-loving sweet romance about two people who weren't looking for love but found it anyways

First off let me start by saying I love Julie Murphy's previous books, so when I saw her adult book was available on NetGalley I was like please sign me up. I admit I was a bit disappointed in reading the summary that this was a cinderella retelling, because that story has been told quite a few times. So let me tell you now if you are having similar thoughts let me just say this book is Cinderella but with enough twists that it doesn't truly feel like Cinderella in the best ways possible. Instead of just losing a shoe, our protagonist designs shoes, collects them and basically loves them. This book has fashion, the struggle of post college life, interesting family dynamics, a reality show, being true to who you are, and of course romance. Once I started this book I could not put it down, so I didn't and finished it in one sitting. While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I do wish that there was more detail/focus towards the end of the book, it felt like it wrapped up a bit too quickly. But huge thanks to Julie Murphy for writing this book, I can't wait to see what she writes next!

There is no doubt in my mind that Cindy, the protagonist of Meant to Be: If the Shoe Fits, and I would be good friends if we ever got the chance to meet. I can't get enough of Julie Murphy's characters, storylines or books. They keep a smile on my face, warm my heart and make me want to sing in the rain. Her books show good things do happen to good people and that sometimes you might just be in the right place at the right time. 10 stars!!!!!!!!!!

I loved this book and I could not put it down!! I was excited to see the premise of the book was a Cinderella / Bachelor mash-up, but I was not expecting to love it as much as I did!

Knowing it was a Cinderalla retelling, I was expecting a similar storyline, evil stepmother/ stepsisters, protagonist continously mistreated, etc., but I was pleased to see the author's take was a completely different path and she kept it much more positive and upbeat!

I loved the main character and everything she brought to the novel and I loved the behind the scene aspects with the reality show. This was such a clever concept and I enjoyed the author's unique take on this storyline! I can't wait to read the sequel in this series and see where it takes us!


***Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.
Cute read, a bit predictable but still enjoyable.

Two things I really love: The Bachelor and Cinderella. This book manages to mix the two in a way that made it so fun to read. I could predict what most of what happened but I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I actually say down and didn't get back up until I finished it.

I would love to see more books in this series.

I love Julie Murphy's Dumplin' series (which actually has a new book coming out soon, Pumpkin, and I can't wait to read that as well!), and I also love classics turned into contemporary rom-coms, so I started this modern-day Cinderella retelling as soon as I got a copy from Netgalley. In the same vein as Dumplin', she takes a fat, generally comfortable protagonist and makes her star in the story in an unexpected way that brings a little discomfort to her life: here, as Cindy, a recent Parsons design school grad who is struggling with an artistic block and thus ends up as a contestant on the new season of her high-powered TV producer stepmom's Bachelor-like show. And truly falls for the "Prince Charming"... with the rom-com swoons (though not steamy) and emotional swings that ensue. Found it quite refreshing actually that the step-family is not horrible to Cindy (but there's still plenty of chance for mean-girl action with the show contestants, of course), but instead, while they love her, they're just so different from her (Hollywood types, with the stepsisters being skinny model-type influencers) that she has trouble finding her place in their world, especially as she grieves her father's death. The shoe-loving Cindy works perfectly as a modern-day, fresh Cinderella, and I loved the parallels to last year's One to Watch, with the plus-sized protagonist who is very into fashion trailblazing on a Bachelor-like show; I will say that while they both take on some critique of this type of show and of how the fashion world and society in general, especially on social media, treat fat people, One to Watch goes a bit deeper into it, partly because the protagonist is a bit more mature, and partly because you get to see more of the response with Bea in One to Watch being the star of the show, whereas in this one Cindy is cloistered away from social media as just one contestant vying to "win" the show. I believe this is Murphy's first adult (rather than YA) book, but it's not too far off from YA with the main character being just out of college, so the transition worked well for me. If you like rom-com reads, modern-day retellings, and/or Julie Murphy's work in general, check this one out.

Cindy’s beloved father passed away while she was at university; her mother died years ago. Upon graduation, having nowhere else to turn, she moves in with her father’s widow, Erica, and her family. The household is full: Erica has two daughters Cindy’s age and a surrogate-borne batch of adorable triplet toddlers. Cindy intends to work as a nanny until she figures out what to do with her passion for shoe design. When last-minute vacancies open up on Erica’s reality TV show (based on The Bachelor), Cindy and her two stepsisters step in. Cindy is shocked to see the bachelor is a guy she met on the plane, a guy who sparked instant chemistry. Will they be able to thwart the manipulative, domineering show managers and run off into the sunset together?

This book started a bit slowly, but I was pulled in by the main character. She’s a plus-sized woman with confidence. I liked her, and wanted to see what happened. The stepfamily is loving and kind toward her, so the Cinderella premise takes a pleasant turn. It was interesting to look behind the scenes at how gimmicky and staged a reality show is, and to learn about shoe design from this perspective.

Here’s how I could sum up the story.
Modern day Cinderella where she actually gets along with her step family meets reality TV (my guilty pleasure).

This book has the absolute perfect amount of body positivity and fat talk where you don’t feel like it is being thrown at you but it’s put into very real scenarios. Easy to read and easy to love.

The family aspect of this book and the feelings the main character feels are so real and true, Allowing people to see the better side of blended families had my heart full.

I already have a list of people to recommend this book to.

Cinderella meets The Bachelor with some bopo and self-empowerment thrown in as well. While the ending seemed a bit shocking and not quite what my little contemporary romance heart would have imagined, I still loved Cindy as a character and the shout-outs to some of the memes and modern-day references (Pelton girl, anyone?). Gave me ONE TO WATCH vibes.

(Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!)