This was such a fun quick read!

I was a little shocked at how fast paced the romance between the main character and her love interest goes but nevertheless it was a very enjoyable read!

I loved all the representation we get here! It's always such a delight finding books with poc main characters! I especially loved the fact that Claire has this giant family!!
Claire definitely had her moments where she was a tad bit annoying but it's okay, it wasn't all the time!

Even though the relationship between Claire and Nate seemed to move at the speed of lightening they had so many sweet moments together! ( there are definitely 🔥 scenes in this book so if that's not your thing I'm sorry) I on the other hand was delighted 😂

Really looking forward to other works by Elle Cruz, I really had a great time reading this!

Woohoo! Always excited to try out a debut author! You never know if your new favorite author could be right around the corner! This baby has a release date of November 30 2021, and it was definitely something different with some sexy elements.

BLURB: Claire Ventura is the people pleasing middle child through and through, finding solace from her hectic family inside the creation of her Filipino desserts. Nate Nortura is sexy, powerful, and for some reason.... head over heels in love with her..... For some reason, Claire has a hard time believing that.... This mild mannered baker is going to have dig deep if she wants to keep her happily ever after.

Alrighty, so I have a lot of thoughts on this book. I kind of got Crazy Rich Asian vibes from this honestly... so if you liked that book, give this one a shot. v.... I didn't like how wishy washy she was with Nate.. and because of that, everything she did in the book annoyed me. Don't get me wrong, she had some relatable moments (yes, I understand wanting to be a separate entity from your husband and to succeed on your own). BUT COMMUNICATE.

Additionally, I felt like Nate was a workaholic... and I don't think he made Claire as much a priority as he said he did. That's why for me,I didn't like the characters as much as I feel like I could have.

That being said, the sexy times were HAWT, and a decent sex scene can take a book I have issues with, and greatly improve it. So three stars!

Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥

Thank you so much Elle Cruz, Netgalley, and Entangled Amara for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Highlights:
→ Insta-Love
→ Fast-paced (read in a day)
→ Spice (3 or 4 chili peppers)
→ Cozy and light-hearted Romance

This story follows a Filipino-American protagonist as she tries to figure out the next steps in her career and life. When like a true fairy tale she runs into (or almost run over) a billionaire. Now she has to figure out balancing the world’s most perfect man, her dreams, and her family.

Disclaimer: This romance is so fast-paced, you may get whiplash. If you like your fictional men whisking you away to Paris at a moments notice then this is the book for you

Oh, how I wish NetGalley included potential trigger warnings for it's readers! Within the first page, we learn that our main character's mother is diagnosed with Alzheimer's, so I will not be reading this book. No harm meant to the author, but that hits too close to home! If that is a trigger for someone else, hopefully they see my review before requesting! Thank you for giving me this book to review, and I am so very sorry that I will not be reading it.

Whirlwind romance, billionaire tech entrepreneur hottie, and a romance-loving cookie decorator? Call me entranced. The relationship felt rushed and appeared fairly surface level some of the time (there are a lot of sex scenes in here!), I would have liked to see more development from the male main character as he seemed to have some daddy issues that impacted his relationship with Claire and why he came on so hot and heavy (did they really need to get married about only 3 months!?). But I did read this in just 2 or 3 days so I guess that tells you something about how much this book sucks you in.

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

Claire Ventura dreams about opening up her own cookie decorating business, the only problem? Her anxiety and insecurities, mainly her concern about taking the next step, about disappointing her family, and about making a change in her life. Claire currently works as a bookseller with a part time job selling her cookies and spends most of her time outside looking after her grandmother. One day on her way to trying a new restaurant she accidentally almost runs over a mysterious stranger... who turns out to not only be the owner of the restaurant but also tech billionaire Nate. The two of them fall instantly in love and Nate offers to take her to Paris, soon Claire and Nate are in a whirlwind relationship that includes fancy trips around the world, extravagant gifts, and Claire starting to doubt whether this Prince Charming and Fairytale romance will last. This relationship is moving too fast and Claire starts doubting whether things should be as smooth as they are and if she really does fit into Nate’s world. While juggling with these doubts, she also is dealing with her family struggles, her sisters fighting and her aunt constantly condescending her and her worry for her sick grandmother. This romance story was like a romance movie, like I could honestly see this being made into a movie, very Crazy Rich Asians-esque ( about a girl finding out her boyfriend is a rich billionaire and trying to fit into his world while trying to still be herself despite being poorer than him and her support and connection with her family). The romance was definitely insta-love and I could empathize with Claire, she was anxious and insecure and dealing with it and Nate was perfect, like literally one dimensional perfect. This was a quick read and I definitely think it can be enjoyable for romance readers out there. Definitely give this a try, it’s a quick and cute romance read that will have you wanting to eat one of the cookies Claire has decorated.

*Thanks Netgalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I love the idea of a Philippino/Japanese couple paring. The two cultures coming together in a romance was amazing! The fairy tale part of this romance was bang on. It hit all the marks with a classic meet-cute, love at the first meeting, a swoony majorly in love male MC and an extremely loving and kind female MC

What I found missing was the believability of the romance. I think the story had way too many romantic clichés it was hard to invest in the love story.
I loved Claire's good heart and her people-pleasing nature and the struggle to change that part of herself. I wish Nate's family history was explored more. I got the impression at one point there was more to his story than it just feels flat. This romance was a great effort. It an almost there for me.

When Claire meets Nate she has no idea who he is, but he just wants a chance with her. They are from such different worlds, do they stand a chance of being together when work, life and family keep pulling them apart.

A great read, looking forward to reading more from this author.

With a diverse cast, I really wanted to enjoy this book, and I especially loved the title. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the protagonist nor did I believe in the forced 'insta-love' that happened with the hero. I found myself skimming from nearly the start.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley to review.

How to Survive a Modern Day Fairy Tale by Elle Cruz is a nice, modern-day re-telling of Cinderella, with a multicultural twist.

Claire Ventura works in a bookstore with hopes of starting her own cookie decorating business. She’s the daughter of first-generation Filipino parents and has two sisters and a very large extended family. She’s always put her family first and doesn’t want to disappoint them. She has a special bond with her grandmother who has to live in a facility due to her advanced Alzheimer’s disease.

She literally runs into Nate, the CEO of a tech company and they fall for each other almost instantly and he flies her to Paris for a first date. But, with completely different backgrounds and financial statuses, can their love survive?

I enjoyed Claire’s family very much, their large loud gathering reminds me of Filipino families I’ve known over the years. I liked Claire’s determination to become a business owner and do something she enjoys.

I was not a fan of the romance. I didn’t feel the connection between Claire and Nate and found their instant love a bit unbelievable. Not that instant love is not believable, but the author did not make me feel this connection was realistic. I thought Nate was very nice and sweet, but I didn’t understand his instant connection with Claire.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

How to Survive a Modern-Day Fairy Tale is a charming #OwnVoices debut romance from Elle Cruz. I loved this story so much and just thinking about it is putting a smile on my face.

I was drawn to the book by its adorable cover, Asian American characters, and fairy tale premise. As I started to read it, I learned pretty quickly that it is an insta-love trope. This left me feeling a bit hesitant because the trope can sometimes come off as unbelievable and inconceivable, but this didn't give me those vibes. Although the two characters catch feelings and fall in love quickly, their story is beautiful in its spontaneity and relatable with the strong theme of family.

This story follows a thirty-year-old woman named Claire. She is one of three sisters and is trying to make her dream of decorating cookies into a real business. Her family doesn't know if she can do it, but thank goodness for her Lola (her grandmother). Lola is her number one fan and supporter so it makes it that much harder to learn that she is sick with Alzheimer's. Claire is definitely feeling the pressure of her family to get a steady job, find love, and also keep her Lola at peace. Then, one night she runs into a man who is sexy, charming but so out of her league (at least that's what she thinks).

Nate is a thirty-three-year-old CEO. He has accomplished so much for his age but what is most surprising is his heart. Sadly, because of his fame and fortune, many don't get to see that side of him. So when he almost meets a woman, Claire, who doesn't know him and treats him like a real human being, he can't help but be attracted.

Claire and Nate have a funny and adorable meet-cute. Once they meet and start dating, everything moves pretty quickly. Claire doesn't believe in happily ever afters but Nate is making her rethink that. He is supportive and really sees her. He believes that she can turn her cookie business and make it a success and that makes her swoon even harder for him. I love that Nate is so spontaneous and isn't afraid to say how he feels. He treats Claire like a princess and gives her things she has always desired; safety, home, and love.

Everything is going great between them. They want to be with each other all the time and are in their own little bubble. When the real world starts to come to light again, this is where they both have to make sacrifices and decide if love is truly enough.

There is also a huge theme of family that I just loved and related to so much! Claire is all about her family and doing what she can to make them proud. She is fighting her emotions every day when she sees her Lola's health declining but is brave enough to keep a smile on her face and hope alive. She is also facing pressure about her career. Her family believes in steady careers and assumes that baking can just be a hobby. I think this is why Claire has a complex. She is scared to follow her dreams because she doesn't want to let her family down. And it even plays a role in her relationships. Nate is also a family man. That doesn't mean you have to be blood-related. When he lets you in, you are his family and he will do anything he can to keep you happy and healthy. But he also has a past of abandonment and loss. Although they may seem different, Nate and Claire are more alike than they know.

I give How to Survive a Modern-Day Fairy Tale 5 stars. Sure this love story has its fairytale moments, but don't be fooled. It is more relatable than you think. The author's writing sucks you in with her heart and authenticity. This is like the title states; a modern-day fairy tale.

While intrigued by the plot, I walked away a bit disappointed. What was an interesting premise was diminished by overly sweet romantic language, repetitive and contrived conflict, and a final chapter that has me wondering where the rest of the book was. At one point I realized that I was not actually rooting for the two leads and instead was wondering when the h would finally get her shit together because being in her mind was exhausting.

I'm ultimately giving this a 2.5 / 5. I may read from this author in the future, but I don't think I'd leap at it.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. First time reading this author. I read for fun-and this book was fun. Not believable or realistic but just fun. Would I read it again? Probably not. The main characters Clair and Nate were just ok for me. Clair's insecurities were troubling for me. Her family bullied her and she let them get away with it. I am sorry but who just walks out on a marriage after what 3 days? Yet in some ways she was determined and strong. Nate, I really have no idea what he is like. He seemed ok. Its an easy and pretty quick book to read. 3 stars

What a sweet quick read! I must admit there were times I wanted to shake Clair! Nate was so perfect, helpful and nice! Maybe Clair wanted a bad boy lol before settling. The ending did make it a little weird but it finished off great!

In these trying times romance has been a happy escape for me. If you ask any romance reader, they're likely to tell you they dive into the genre for the good feelings and great characters with backgrounds and histories and relationships that suck you in making you forget all the blech going on.

I saw the cover, read the premise and thought this book would be another happy escape.

Instead what was really waiting was an insta-love with clunky awkward writing and a flat love interest.

Clair wants to have her own business with her wildly skillfully decorated cookies. I can easily get behind that. She has some family drama but from the very beginning the book was just not...enough.

There's a scene early on where Claire needs to find a chest. And the line actually says (while she's in a junky garage filled to the brim with boxes of stuff) "Her eyes went to it as if they would a beam of light in the darkness." no looking, no hunting, she didn't even stub her toe trying to find it.

She needed to, so she did. A plot contrivance. And it seems like I'm being picky but that's an issue all throughout the book. The issues that Claire and Nate face are weak and quickly resolved.

At no point was a I really sucked in.

Claire's biggest issue is she suffers from insecurity issues and they're kind of exacerbated by Nate's high tech flashy world. But not really. And he's perfect. Like I said, a perfect, flat, boyfriend up until the end where he gets less perfect and sort of jerky.

I get that the author wanted that fairy tale feeling but all I felt was annoyed as I read it.

Romance is an escape and yes, a lot of the times, the actual relationships are a little out of this world in their believability but it's the good writing and characters that ground it. And the good plot.

I wanted to like this but it gets a 2 from me. Insta-love can be done well but not here.

I'm giving this 2 stars.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, this just wasn't for me, but I think someone in the mood for a cheesy, unrealistic romance would probably enjoy this.

Things I liked:
- Claire's relationship with her family, especially with Lola, was touching and nicely done
- Claire's independence and desire to pursue her business

Things I disliked:
- Instalove
- Too cheesy and unrealistic for me. I know this was the point, but it just became too much for me to enjoy the story.
- Nate was basically perfect and one-dimensional until the last couple of chapters, when he kind of became a jerk
- The main "conflict" was that Claire was insecure and overwhelmed. The only concrete reasons she had to feel this way were 1.) a couple of mean Instagram comments and 2.) one negative experience with the paparazzi, but she already felt insecure before those experiences.
- The dating app incident felt like a user data privacy violation

Content: Several scenes with adult content that were decently easy to skip through.

This story really is a modern-day fairytale. Claire works at a bookstore, as she tries to grow her own business of cookie decorating. Her meet cute with Nate is one to remember. She has no idea who he is and is surprised upon learning he's the billionaire owner of many technology and media companies. He sweeps her away in a whirlwind relationship.

The story is really fast-paced with a bit more instalove than I prefer. But it also has some heavier aspects, as Claire navigates family issues including caring for her grandmother with Alzheimer's. Additionally, there's some thoughtfulness about extreme wealth and how money should be spent. I really enjoyed that Claire was Filipino-American, and Nate was Japanese American.

There are some funny puns and hilarious nicknames. If you like super steamy romance and a fairytale relationship, this is a great book for you.

Thank you to Entangled and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up

There’s always a special shelf I mentally have for stories where protagonists are torn between the demands of traditional family values (whether done so obliviously or not) and the need to seek out one’s unique identity in a place of birth vs. the place of ‘ancestry’ so to speak. And it’s a complex but fascinating one at heart especially when discovering the depth of those familial and cultural ties to the ‘motherland’ brings you to a crossroads where your aspirations seem to go directly against the values espoused by your family.

I thought ‘How to Survive a Modern Fairy Tale’ would be delving slightly into this conundrum as well, but it turned out that the story was mostly a really quick, instalove romance that bloomed between Claire and Nate without much rhyme or reason as both hurtle—at breakneck pace—down the love-road after an accidental meeting. Claire being sucked into his glitterati tech-world is probably part of the fairy-tale dust that Elle Cruz scatters liberally all over the pages, along with a huge dose of serendipity that helps smooth the very few road-blocks the insta-couple face in front of them, as the overarching vibe of ‘I just knew she was the one’ drove Nate’s sudden and inexplicable response to Claire.

I think the lack of believability was my main issue with the whole book; maybe it’s cynicism and jaded-ness speaking now but there were constantly points where I found myself pausing to evaluate their relationship with scepticism and while waiting for the other shoe to fall past the very early love-declarations from both of them. In this cinderella-esque tale of ‘average girl meets famous, rich guy’, I’m afraid ‘How to Survive a Modern Fairy-Tale’ just didn’t do it for me.

How to Survive a Modern-Day Fairy Tale sounded as though it would be a sweet, feel-good romance I could just breeze through. Unfortunately, it wasn't that for me.

I couldn't get over the insta-love between Claire and Nate. There was no progression of their relationship or developing of feelings, and while their meet-cute WAS cute, it turned very strange very quickly.

I wanted to like it, but this story just wasn't for me.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

How To Survive A Modern-Day Fairytale

Review:

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.”

As a Filipina girl and a romance reader, I am excited to read this book written by an American-Filipina girl. I love reading books that I feel represented. I love how the author incorporate some Filipino traditions and tagalog words inside the book and it feels like home.

The story is about Claire Ventura, a modern protagonist in a modern fairytale world. She is a normal girl working with a day job and dreaming of having her own business with her cookie decorating side hobby. One day, an unfortunate incident happened and she met Nate Noruta, a Tech Billionaire. They had a meet cute moment and sparks fly. Their first date is kind of over the top, well I guess if the guy is a billionaire, it’s kind of semi-possible. Nate is the Prince charming, handsome, rich, sexy and doesn’t ride a horse to sweep you off your feet but private planes and sports cars.

Claire as modern day woman, has many challenges in terms of dealing with Family, she loves her sisters and respectful to her aunts and relatives. I understand her predicament living in a big family set up, her yes attitude as a sign of respect, also she’s close to her grandma or Lola who deals with Alzheimers. I also understand how her relationship to a billionaire would put her to doubt herself, to be insecure and to lose focus, personally and professionally.

To be honest, there are some things inside the book that were unnecessary and kind of dragging especially in her family. I hated how she made a big deal of a situation and didn’t communicate properly, but I think the author wants me to understand that a modern day fairytale is not going to be settled by a flick of a wand. A modern day heroine is not the one who will be save by the prince but it’s vice versa. Claire may have hurt her prince charming but love prevails and she realized that she have to be strong and accept that love can conquer all. Overall, I did enjoy this story and I know that the author have a big potential to write more engaging stories.