Julie Murphy...you did it again! Absolutely amazing novel. If the Shoe Fits is a cute romance that can easily be read by teens and adults. And the parallels between the Cinderella story we all know are just enough to keep it on track, but not too much that the story feels cliche. Cindy finds herself at a crossroads and decides to take a chance on “putting herself out there”. I loved the witty banter between Cindy and Henry. I wish that some of the other contestants were more well rounded, or that readers got to see the other solo-dates, but as the novel is told from Cindy’s perspective it wouldn’t have made complete sense, but I so wanted to be a fly on the wall in Addison’s date.

This sounds like a cute story, but not one I was super excited about. Since I have so many books I decided to pass on reading this one. Just didn't stand out as something I HAD to get to this season.

After having just graduated with a degree in shoe design, and trying to get her feet on the ground, Cindy is working for her stepmother, who happens to be the executive producer of America's favorite reality show, Before Midnight. When a spot on the show needs filling ASAP, Cindy volunteers, hoping it might help jump-start her fashion career, or at least give her something to do while her peers land jobs in the world of high fashion.

This book was really cute! Super romantic and dreamy.

What a great book this was! Was instantly intrigued by the plus-sized lead + the modern retelling of a Disney classic. The author did a great job weaving the traditional elements of the Cinderella story into this fun + lighthearted read.

It's so easy to root for our leading lady, Cindy. I loved watching her get more comfortable going after what she wants as the book progressed. So many great supporting characters too!

If you love fashion, Disney, the Bachelor, meet-cutes --- you'll enjoy this one. Looking forward to see what the author does with the rest of the series!

O-M-G! This book is everything!! I am not a fan of the Bachelor or reality dating shows - and this book is based in one - but I still enjoyed every second of it!

For fans of the show UNreal this book is a must-read! It gives the same dive into the behind-the-scenes moments of the producer's storylines and agendas, but with the added touch of a real fun-loving romance and a touch of diversity in the plus-size main character!

I can't wait to pick up everything Julie Murphy writes!!!

Thank you Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for this ARC of IF THE SHOE FITS by Julie Murphy.

I love a fairy tale-retelling and I love Julie Murphy, so when I found out she would be publishing her first adult romance novel as a Cinderella re-telling (featuring a plus size lead and a Bachelor-esque connection), I was sold. I love Julie Murphy's YA work and this felt like such a great grown up version of that.

Cindy is at a crossroads in her life. Recently finished with fashion school in NYC, she moves back home to LA to crash with with her step-mom, step-sisters, and three half siblings while she figures out her next move. Her mom is the executive producer of Before Midnight, a Bachelor-esque reality dating show -- and when contestants start dropping, Cindy volunteers to go on the show, ignoring the love aspect & hoping this will kick start her career. Naturally, things are never as black and white as that -- and as Cindy finds her place in this reality TV world, she may also find a few other things too.

What I loved: It turns out Bachelor-esque writing is really my sweet spot (may we remember ONE TO WATCH by Kate Stayman-London - this one had some similar vibes), and the Cinderella re-telling reminded me a lot of A CINDERELLA STORY (a classic). I also love the way the retelling didn't play with the same villain tropes - I found that refreshing and surprising. And I loved Cindy, her friends, and the main characters.

What I was just fine with: Cindy's grief over losing her father is mentioned in some interesting ways, but I wish it had gone a little deeper for how much it was mentioned. I liked the lightness of the story but found myself craving maybe a bit more depth.

Overall, I really liked it and this will be a great romance for you to read on the beach this summer!

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishing team for sharing this ARC with me!

What a delightful read! I've always been a sucker for retellings and this was a great one.

Cindy is fresh out of college and trying to figure out what's her next step. She has a meet-cute with a <i>delightful</i> stranger on a plane whom she dubs as Prince Henry. Fast forward and the next thing she knows, Cindy has the opportunity to score some exposure in the fashion field while also trying to win the heart of The Suitor on a reality TV show...surprise, surprise, the Suitor is none other than her Prince Henry.

I loved learning about Cindy as a character and seeing her struggles and emotional journey missing her parents as well as navigating her relationship with her stepmother and stepsisters. Not to mention, she's an awesome representation. I think my favorite part about this retelling is how wonderful the relationship was with her step-family. No evil stepmother/stepsisters here and it was breath of fresh air.

The chemistry between Henry and Cindy was fun to read but like Cindy, I was so frustrated with Henry sometimes, especially with him not being as clear as he should be. However, it all worked out for the best and Cindy learned to choose herself first and we love her for it! The ending was so cute, I got cavities.

Overall, an easy, feel-good kind of read that I definitely enjoyed!

I was very skeptical of an adult Cinderella tale published by a Disney Press. I’m so glad I was wrong! This is such an amazing book full of body positivity, powerful female relationships, and of course, an intriguing love story.

What a totally CHARMING book! Julie Murphy's writing is so entertaining and I loved reading this fun rom-com by her! This Cinderella retelling meets The Bachelor with a dash of Project Runway was a delight!
Chock-Full of fabulous dialogue, great style, body positivity, and swoony moments - I couldn't put the book down! I loved routing for Cindy and the rest of the awesome characters. I don't watch the Bachelor, but I really enjoyed reading about the fictional reality show at the center of the book, "Before Midnight".
This a closed door romance where most the action fades to black but it still was wonderfully steamy at times!
Thanks to NetGalley and Disney for an ebook version to read, thoughts and reviews are my own!

I loved Dumplin', both the book and the film, so I was happy to see a new book by Julie Murphy! Meant to Be: If the Shoe Fits, is a contemporary romance with so much added depth, because it explores the issue of body image and promotes body-positivity, specifically when it comes to fat-shaming. A fun read that takes place on the set of a "Bachelor" - like reality show, with Cin, the main character, the first and only plus-size contestant. Looking forward to recommending this wonderful book.

*Review will be posted to my blog on 7/22/21*
**3.5 STARS**
Likes:
*I love this modern twist on the Cinderella story. Instead of a girl who cleans and slaves away for her stepfamily, we have a curvy girl who is trying to jumpstart her fashion career – her particular love being…shoes. Instead of an evil stepmother and stepsisters, we get a supportive family, which was actually really refreshing.

*The reality show/Bachelor inspired storyline mixed with the fashion industry worked for me and I have never watched The Bachelor! It even had a tiny of Project Runway moment which was fun. Having Cindy and Henry build a relationship on the reality show brought in suspicion, hope, and so much insecurities for Cindy.

*Cindy is a great character – being plus size doesn’t stop her from living her life, looking good in the clothes and shoes she wears. She’s confident even when she doesn’t feel it and even when she feels insecure, she doesn’t let it hinder her from her goals. I love that she became an inspiration to people in the public through her appearance on the show, even if it was all rigged.

*Henry and Cindy are a great match. I love how they meet but wow, I’d never be able to like someone and watch them kiss all these other women for a show! So I’m actually glad at Cindy’s decision in the end, I thought it was awesome how she put herself first since there was no guarantees on how’d everything work out after the show. It does work out in the end though.

*I enjoyed the side characters like Sarah Claire and Stacy, would love books about them too! I loved her stepsisters and the triplets. Even the crew was crazy yet fun like Beck and Irina.

Random Notes:
*Because Henry and Cindy are on this reality show, they don’t get a lot of time together until their one date and I guess I was hoping he’d pick her for more private dates but as we find out, everything is set and rigged for tv ratings.

*It does feel more like a young adult book than New Adult or Adult.
This would make a cute rom-com movie.

Final Thoughts:
I found If the Shoe Fits a fun, quick read. I wasn’t expecting to finish it in one night but it was fast-paced with The Bachelor inspired storyline which meant something was always happening to Cindy or the other girls going after Henry. I loved that it features Cindy, a plus size girl and a Cinderella retelling where her family isn’t vicious but supportive. I found Henry and Cindy’s building romance to be sweet and yet as realistic as it can be in a reality tv setting. I loved them more when there were no cameras around. I think many romance lovers will find this one an enjoyable read.

This was a super cute, light, and fun story. I loved Cindy’s stepfamily dynamic and I thought her love of shoes was a cool take on Cinderella. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

I should have known better, but when I saw “Julie Murphy” I just couldn’t stop myself from clicking the request button. The funny thing is I was denied <i>Pumpkin</i> and that will probably end up being a huge winner for me. But whatever. The NetGalley gods – they are a fickle.

So the problem here is I really don’t like Disney princess stuff and I would also rather stick my head in the oven rather than endure even one episode of The Bachelor. Why did I think I would like this again? Oh yeah, because Julie Murphy is a QUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN. But I think she’s a queen of YA and this foray into contemporary/adult romance was a bit of a miss. It also didn’t help matters that <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3364789379?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1">One To Watch</a> just came out about 12 seconds ago so there’s an obvious apples to apples comparison right at the forefront of my brain. I already have my name on the waiting list for <i>Pumpkin</i> so we’ll simply call this a glitch in the Matrix.

<i>ARC provided by NetGally in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!</i>

Delightful, satisfying fluff!! Just what I've come to expect from a Julie Murphy book, plus I love any ~behind the scenes of reality television story. Chef's kiss!

Thank you to publisher for allowing me early access to this title via NetGalley!

Oh. Em. Gee. I am in love. 5/5 stars right off the bat. I read this is one day, I couldn’t put it down and it was just so good!

Plus size girl, reality dating show, amazing meetcute and secretly knowing the bachelor beforehand... check check check

I absolutely loved the main character, I loved how real she was, and I loved the fact she was plus sized. I loved how they called out the fashion industry for not being all inclusive in the book, including the stigma attached to plus sized girls on reality shows, TV, fashion, everywhere.

The main love interest was adorable and I loved him, and I loved the two of them together!! The banter, the chemistry, the secret relationship. Just yummmm loved it!! So adorable and such a good mood lifter of a book!

I am a huge Disney fan so going into this book I REALLY wanted to like it. Unfortunately this book really missed the mark for me, by a lot.

The premise of this book is promising, a plus size woman goes onto a bachelor-style show in the hopes of launching her business. That was the only promising thing about the book. It was EXTREMELY annoying to read how our main character was described, constantly throwing it in our faces that she’s plus sized. The book mentions pizza whenever it can because clearly that’s that only food a plus sized person eats and constantly reminding us that she’s “fat” because apparently that’s the only quality that needs to be noted. It was so bad. I don’t understand why her appearance wouldn’t just be touched upon at the beginning to set the scene like if she were standard size and then move on. I’m extremely disappointed in the author who is part of the plus sized community and her disservice to young woman everywhere. We are more than our bodies. Nothing redeeming about this book, don’t waste your time.

Julie Murphy brings everything I love about her YA novels to the adult world. If The Shoe Fits has great characters, a vibrant world, and all the emotions that made me hug this book to my chest and swoon. No matter what she writes, Julie Murphy remains an auto-buy author for me, because she delivers every single tie.

This book was an unexpected delight. I hadn't read this author before so I didn't quite know what to expect. I love a Fairy Tale retelling, but am not a fan of The Bachelor at all - never even watched an episode. I was, however in the mood for a light and fluffy romance and I absolutely INHALED this and couldn't put it down. Cindy was pretty great, young and fun and confident. Her Prince was pretty great too, though I have a hard time getting over a guy dating a bunch of women at the same time (hence my problem with the Bachelor show in general). What really made it for me though was the most decidedly UN-wicked stepmother and step-sisters. They were all so great and I absolutely loved their family dynamic. I really also enjoyed some of the friendships she made along the way. The balance of it was really great for me. Yeah, it was a romance, but there was just as much about friendships and all the other positive relationships in her life and I really enjoyed that - probably more than the actual romance.

Unfortunately, this was a total miss for me. I love a good fairy tale retelling but the idea of riffing off The Bachelor has consistently left a stale taste in my mouth. For fans of One to Watch, this is for you. However, if you are plus-sized and looking for representation, proceed with caution.

I wish authors writing plus-size characters would focus less on “I never miss a pizza” and more on Fat Liberation ideals. This felt as disingenuous as the show it was portraying.

Thank you NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Julie Murphy does it again!! I loved Dumplin’ and Puddin’ so I was really excited as to what she would do in the adult fiction world. I was very pleased with the result. Julie Murphy is a fantastic writer! I admire her ability to write witty dialogue that makes me laugh!

If the Shoe Fits is a fantastic mix of Cinderella and the Bachelor. Although I would say this is really loosely based on Cinderella. I am not a fan of the Bachelor and don’t think I have ever watched an episode. With that said, I was able to follow the story even without being that familiar with the Bachelor. There is also the premise for a made up TV show in the book that I would totally watch if it was a real show.

I love that Julie Murphy’s main characters are always full figured women who are just real. They aren’t looking to change and they are proud of who they are. In a world were the media tells woman that we are supposed to be a size zero, I love a strong female character who is not afraid to be a size 18 and flaunt it for the world to see. We need more characters of different sizes, race and sexual identity. And Julie Murphy manages to seamlessly tie in all those things into the story.

This is a fun story that was fast for me to read. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and cannot wait to buy a copy when it comes out! Thank you Netgalley and Disney-Hyperion for the chance to read this book!