Absolutely adored this book! It was such a charming retelling. The twist of not having a real evil step parent was amazing. I also loved how their meet cute worked.

Super cute read that was a little mix of Cinderella and The Bachelor type tv shows. It was a fun book with some moments I really enjoyed and some characters that I wouldn’t have minded in a different setting or their own books.

I really like the premise of this book and thought that it was executed well. There is definitely not very much plus-size rep in real life dating shows, so having one in this book was refreshing and showed how much this is needed on the real life versions of these shows. It was also kind of cool that there was a lot of discussion of the behind the scenes action that happens on dating shows. My favorite parts of this book was the twist on the classic Cinderella stepmom/stepsisters relationship, I think the struggles and feelings that Cindy showed for these family members was more relatable and realistic for this modern retelling. The romance was definitely a wild ride and I feel like more moments between them would have maybe made the connection feel stronger.

This book’s plot is a crossover of Cinderella meets The Bachelor/Bachelorette and I loved it. I loved getting a behind-the-scenes look at the show depicted in this book and watching Cindy gradually begin falling for Henry as the season and the novel progress. I thought this was a very cute YA rom-com and I’m excited to read the other books in the series as they come out.

I've wanted to read a novel by Julie Murphy for years, so when I heard her speak about If The Shoe Fits during an online event, I was excited to be given access to a review copy - thanks Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley!

This is the first Meant To Be novel, a series for adult readers featuring updated and contemporary takes on classic Disney princesses. From the title and cover, it's obvious this story reimagines Cinderella. In this delightful book, she is a plus-size shoe designer named Cindy who's exploring the next chapter of life after graduating from the Parsons School of Design in NYC. She unexpectedly finds herself competing on a Bachelor-like reality show, and her body positivity generates lots of interest among viewers.

I have zero interest in (or respect for) the Bachelor franchise so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. I appreciated the smart humor, witty banter, strong writing, and clever nods to the source material.

I related so much to the challenges Cindy experiences as a plus-size women, like buying only for accessories and shoes while shopping with friends because most clothing stores don't carry your size or the embarrassment of requesting a seat belt extender while flying.

I look forward to By the Book by Jasmine Guillory, the second Meant to Be novel.

I love a book with a Bachelor-esque premise, and reading from a plus size perspective was very refreshing. Having more plus size representation in romance is crucial. But, this Cinderella re-telling fell flat for me in the romantic aspect. This book is meant to be an adult romance, but the kisses felt somewhat generic and the closed door nature of the sexual encounter makes me question if anything even happened. 0 spice in this book. But, it is an incredibly cute story and the writing is fantastic.

As a huge fan of Julie Murphy, I loved her first adult romance book so much. The reality show elements were so fun and felt familiar as a romance novel trope while also feeling fresh and new. The fairytale connections to Cinderella were beautifully done, and I loved the representation of a fat heroine finding love exactly as she is. I'm looking forward to reading more romance from Julie Murphy in the future.

I wanted to like this because of the Dumplin movie, but it just didn't work for me.. a little too boring.

If you’re a fan of Fairytale retellings and Reality Dating Shows, this is the book for you!

I loved this story! A great female MC who is not only plus-sized but is also a hopeful fashion designer.

The funny events that take place while she’s on the dating show are so cute and I honestly wonder how many of those things actually happen. Like, do they really make the Bachelor keep some of the annoying Bachelorettes around for the added drama or because they are a fan favorite? It makes you think!

The ending was such a breath of fresh air! No spoilers but I really enjoyed it.

Romcom fans need to pick this one up. I also listened to the audio book and the narration was fantastic! I highly recommend.

Thank you to #DisneyHyperion and #Netgalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I genuinely fell in love with this one! Such a sweet read. I loved our main character. Sometimes with plus-size novels I can tend to get a bit annoyed with the self-hatred troupe, and I felt that our main character was very mature and very self-aware, without all the negativity. The romance was absolutely adorable. I wish I could read this again for the first time!!

I wanted to love this book. But i just coyldnt seem to get into it. I got about 50% into it almost. Was alright though

Julie Murphy has done it again!! Like her other novels, this book includes positive self-image and characters that everyone can see themselves in. Being a fan of the bachelor I loved this story and getting a chance to "see" how behind the scenes of the show might work. I finished this book over the course of two days and when I wasn't reading it I found myself looking forward to when I would again. This is definitely a book I plan on recommending to family, friends, and students. Keep up the great work Ms. Murphy. Cannot wait to see what you create next.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were lively and fun, and relatable without being too perfect. I liked the take on Cinderella as well as the surprises along the way. The ending was excellent, and I learned a lot about fashion in the reading! Julie Murphy is such a great writer, and she brought her A-game here.

What a fresh take on the age-old Cinderella story!

I love that the step-family is not portrayed as evil, first off. The wicked stepmother is a storyline that I am not a fan of generally.

Cindy is such a strong character. I love that she struggles to stand up for herself and it is shown that she sometimes can want to say something but is too scared to really do it. That is real! She is relatable, especially to women who may not fall into the "perfect size" category.

Her relationship development with Henry is fantastic and I was hooked.

I will definitely be interested to read more in this series and from this author!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC to preview this book.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

I don’t really know where to start with this one. I’m not going to lie, I picked this one up, enjoyed it, started to be eh about it, then I couldn’t put it down. But I think that has something to do with bachelor style books….I can’t always get into them.

Cindy was such a fun main character. I loved that she was plus size and how Julie Murphy showcased how many clothing lines aren’t inclusive to ALL sizes. I think there was representation for so many in this book.

I ended up not hating the bachelor style setting as much as I thought I would, but I wanted a slightly stronger ending. I can’t wait for the next book in this series!

As someone who’s not the size of a typical dating show contestant, this book was a delight. I loved how you really grew with the characters and fell in love with them on their journey to find love.

Fairy tale retellings are not my usually book choice, and I also don't enjoy The Bachelor, so when I started this book I thought I wouldn't like it. I'm really glad that I stuck with it and finished it. I enjoyed this book more than I thought. Although I gave it 3 stars, I think it's definitely a fun and light-hearted read that a lot of romance readers will enjoy.

I have a couple of Julie's books on my to-read list but this is the first one I have actually followed through and read.

Cindy is a recent fashion-school graduate and looking for what to do next in her life. She's been lacking inspiration as of late, but knows she would love to work in fashion designing shoes, one of her true passions. When she comes home to LA from her schooling in NYC, her stepmother is in the process of putting together a new season of her successful reality TV show, Before Midnight. Cindy is soon, through her own choice, roped into being one of the show's season contestants. Little does she know, that the man's heart she would be vying for is none other than the gorgeous man she met on the plane home: Henry. Thrown off by this, Cindy tries to keep her cool and promote her fashion as the show progresses. What Cindy didn't realize is that she would actually end up falling for Henry and hoping that Henry would fall for her too.

I firstly will say I was not at all surprised to find a fat positivity character in Julie's book. This is one trope the author has become famous for. What I wasn't expecting as a fat woman myself, was to find SO many relatable things happening to Cindy as the book went along. The fat shaming through terrible fashion and somehow it was Cindy's fault that no one could find beautiful clothing in her size? This is so real, it hurts. I think it was such a great lens to have someone who was fat show how the fashion industry does this to fat women through someone who could understand it so acutely from both sides. I also like that Cindy was strong enough to not back down and give up things because of how she looked. We, as women, are taught so often that if we don't look a certain way, we are unacceptable. It's stigma that I was glad to see Cindy working against.

I wasn't a HUGE fan of the whole 'The Bachelor' trope. But considering that this is a retelling of Cinderella, it actually worked. I just hated to see the comparison and tension that it caused in the book. I think as a fat woman, Cindy could have easily crumbled under that pressure and comparison. It was a great twist to have the object of competition be Henry. I know someone might think it was an unfair advantage, but honestly, it worked in a modern way. He's this unreachable person, who becomes reachable just by the construct.

As a Cinderella retelling, I love that the step-family wasn't cast as villains. It's so often done because that fits a little truer to the original tale. But for Cindy, I feel she needed this bit of a nurturing family environment. That was a great foil.

I think I wasn't 100% in love with this book because it hit too close to home at times. While I understand that happens, I just had to stop reading sometimes to try to feel better.

Overall, I really loved this book. Thank you for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book a lot! There was great representation throughout the story. The close curtain romance was nice and worked really well with the plot!
If you enjoy the YA Julie Murphy books, I really think you will enjoy this one too!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy of this book!