I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. It’s a cute insta love story. I was looking for something light and sweet to read and this fit for me. It’s a fairytale in the fact it’s the love blossoms quick, but I expected it and I enjoyed the book. It’s the authors first novel and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

3/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐
-
Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
-
How to Survive a Modern Day Fairy Tale follows Claire Ventura, an aspiring cookie decorator who almost runs over billionaire Nate Naruta and ends up falling head over heels for him in a whirlwind romance.
I really enjoyed this book, but I cannot in good conscience give it more than 3 stars. For one thing, the writing—it’s not good. Like, I was laughing at this book a lot more than the author probably intended because of the word choices and descriptions. A book with the phrase “panty melting smile” cannot be a four or five star read, period; that is the hard line I refuse to cross. And yet, the joy this book brought me is not to be discounted. This was so cheesy and the writing was of such a quality that it played out like a Hallmark movie in book form. It perhaps needed to undergo a few more edits involving the classic “show, don’t tell” rule. I felt like The characters emotions were all too often stated plainly, when they should have been more elaborated upon. The plot also had a lot of pacing issues, most of which revolved around the fact that the romance was insta-love. Not only that, Claire’s doubts as well as her frequent and sudden shifts in mindset really threw me off and there was not a lot of development. Speaking of Claire, I think that she comes from a very interesting standpoint. She’s obviously a hard worker with big aspirations, but she finds it difficult to juggle her dreams with her personal life. This is part of the primary internal conflicts of her character, and as I mentioned earlier, it makes her doubt herself all too often and so she backs out of promises too often. She has not a ton of growth in terms of standing up for herself against Tita Chriss, so it is a little odd to see her suddenly growing a backbone. I don’t think it is done very well. Now, onto the love and trust. Nate is very clearly a man written by a woman: he is a good man; he is very loving, attentive, and kind; he is god at pleasuring women; and he does his best to be there for Claire, even though he has a lot of responsibilities as CEO of a giant corporation. his main flaws are that he can be flaky because of work, he is a workaholic, and… That’s about it. Very reasonable things when considering a romance with a celebrity. Insta-love aside, I think that the couple had some chemistry. It wasn’t mind blowing, but it wasn’t lackluster either. I really liked their banter, but I would get frustrated at their miscommunication.
I repeat: I cannot in good conscience give this book more than three stars. However, if you’re looking for a fun, trashy read, I think it is pretty enjoyable! I’m not entirely sure if the ridiculousness was intentional or not, but it made the book very comical and entertaining. 3 stars, and that’s my final offer.

3 Stars
New Ideas combined with the old are always something I will look into. Elle Cruz has taken the insta-love, the idea of how real-life love should match what is written in romance novels, and brought the culture of the Philippines into 2021.

Ms. Cruz mixes a tech billionaire guy who is immediately smitten with a woman who really doesn't think that highly of herself. She has dreams, is sort of afraid of them, and the question is whether she will be able to accept the love offered to her.

Um. I don't know. It was fine? It never really grabbed me. It never caught my attention at all. I don't know why. The synopsis sounded so good. It was not the best but not the worst I've read.

Modern day fairytale indeed! A downtrodden heroine, a hero too good to be true, with plenty of family drama to bring it home. It’s a fun, fast paced read balancing the surreal nature of an unexpected whirlwind romance with a modern twist of enjoy the ride or pursue your plans. Allow yourself time to settle into the book— the meet cute is fantastic and the loud, overwhelming family sets the stage but fades in and out, allowing for focus on the new relationship.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Will add to amazon once the option opens up, and did a quick post for insta. New account though, so forgive me. https://www.instagram.com/blytheandbookish/

This insta-love story was a weird one. I don't mind insta-love but it has to be plausible and this one just wasn't. It didn't feel like there was any real reason for the romance in this book. I didn't really care about the characters plight and their road to romance. So unfortunately this one just fell flat for me.

This is a nice, lovely read but for some weird reason I was expecting something steamier so the letdown is more on my end because of the expectations.

Normally I love novels like this but for some reason I couldn’t get into it. I picked it up and put it down so many times. The synopsis was well written and had me excited for get cracking but it was a slog to the plot twist and then once that happened I was left a little deflated. Was that really it? Just that.Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but I found that I just couldn't. First of all, I am not a fan of insta-love. I was expecting there to be a bit of slow burn and back and forth before the relationship kicked off. Also, at the beginning of the book she was judgmental about 'rich people' and saying they should use their money to end suffering, and then a few pages down the line she's in love with the same 'rich people'. Maybe her mindset changed or because he is a philanthropist he gets a pass, who knows? I truly get what the book was trying to do and it says it in the title 'Modern-day fairy tale' but the execution did not work for me. Unfortunately, I had to DNF it.

**I voluntarily 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.**

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I got 22% in and couldn’t move past the, rather abrupt, smut. DNF, I’m sorry :(
I really wanted to explore the cultural and family aspects to this book. However the romance-smut side of this book was not my thing and the relationship between Claire and Nate was unbelievable. I’m sorry but Claire as a character was a little too perfect/I’m the victim which I found hard to look past as well.
I’m sure there are other readers out there who would be fine with the smut and could enjoy the story but it was just not for Me.
For what it’s worth I hope she got to Paris. Xx


My thanks to the author, publisher, and #NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ARC.

I am apparently an optimist, because I keep reading this book, in hopes it would get better. It did not. Not only is the story implausible, but the writing style is excessively hyperbolic and stilted Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is every little girls dream. It was cute and cheesy and fairytale-esque. It’s also unrealistic , so it was a great way to escape from real life. It was so cute you can’t help but smile and say awww. Aside from Nate and Claire, I felt like Claire could be one of my cousins and her family dynamics are very relatable being Filipino, too. Also, it was frustrating because half way you’re wanting to shake Claire. I’m excited to read more of Cruz’s future work

Thank you netgalley and

How to Survive a Modern-Day Fairytale follows Claire, a loving, family-oriented dreamer, as she meets Nate, a tech billionaire, except she doesn’t recognize him, and the two fall fast into love and romance. This is a quick-paced romance I read in two days. There is a lot going on—more than anything it’s Claire’s story, as she dreams of becoming running her own business decorating cookies (she’s also part of a regency romance book club I would’ve just loved to have joined myself!). She’s filled with a lot of self-doubt though, and as a people pleaser, she puts her family before herself. She is quirky and adorable, and I just wish there were bigger moments of strength for her. Claire is so determined and dreams so big, I wanted her to have that time to shine that was about her, rather than about her love for Nate, and I never really got that. Nate too is so sweet and giving, and he may be a workaholic, but he makes sure Claire know she is cared for. I really appreciate how much support he gives Claire. In terms of a romance, everything feels a little fast. There are moments that feel so sweet and genuine, but the book seems so centric to Claire he’s a side character in the romance and I want their emotional connection to come through more. The physical aspect of their romance shines the most, and there are a few steamy scenes between these two. I also loved Claire’s best friend Todd and Nate’s assistant Craig. Both are such good and genuine friends that are supportive in a way that felt authentic and honest rather than a way that pacified them. I have a lot of different thoughts with this. On one side, I was frustrated by her relationship with herself, her family, and Nate, everything moved fast. I wanted more moments with Nate and Claire, in terms of vulnerability, and I wanted more resolution with her family, as she had some relatives that weren’t supportive of her dream, and her sisters were a little too selfish. But on the other hand, I loved the growth in the relationships with her sisters too. And the romance with Nate was sweeping and adorable and he really treasured her. How to Survive a Modern-Day Fairytale is sweet and a fast read that had moments that made me smile. Claire was such an interesting character I just really wanted to hug and support, and the whole book just had me craving a cookie!

“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.”
I really like the premise of this book despite being a bit cliche, I appreciate the multicultural twist the author was going for. She delivers a cute, fun romance mixed with the difficulties of family dynamics.
This book has insta-love and regardless of how i feel about that trope, i was able to enjoy the story. I would have loved to see a bit more development of the characters and some situations did not feel real (even for a romance book).
The resamblance to Cinderella is really obvious and makes sense given that this is a retelling. I understand that the context of the relationship with the love interest presents obstacles, he is a billionare and fairly known wile she is just a normal girl. The miscommunication between them is a bit annoying but nothing terrible.
Overall this was a well-written own voices story that delivers a cute romance and i truly ejoy however did not love.

To say this book was a “mess” is a massive understatement. From the underdeveloped characters to the boring and long-winded dialogue, there are very few aspects I actually enjoyed.
The relationship between the two leads is problematic and has no substance. I found Nates “romantic” gestures to be creepy and controlling and it reads more like a horror story than a romance.
The dynamic between Claire and her family was promising, especially the relationship with her grandmother, but it ultimately went nowhere and was overshadowed by her toxic relationship.
The only `Fairytale” this resembled was a Grimms Fairytale and like a Grimms Fairytale should be used to scare children into learning lessons, like- don't marry an egotistical billionaire after dating him for a month and give up on all your hopes and dreams.

This reminded me so much of the HBO Max show “Made for Love” which has the exact same premise, but takes place ten years later when the female lead is trying to escape her controlling tech billionaire husband.

I had high hopes for this story, but it was a complete mess. The meet cute was great, but a wishy-washy heroine and a rarely on the page hero does not make a successful story. It was insanely rushed and far too many side stories or tropes were mixed in and should have been heavily edited. I was so pleased to see diversity and an older character on the page, yet it read more like a teenaged soap opera.

Love in fairy tales are the ultimate insta-love stories. I mean Prince Charming takes one look at Cinderella and needs to dance with her. One dance and he’s all in. Sure, that’s believable in a fairy-tale world, but nowhere else. And that’s the problem with this story. The author is writing a fairy tale where a rather scatterbrained young Filipino woman almost hits him with her car and he falls in love with her in just one look. He pursues her and courts her as any woman might dream of being courted, including jetting her to Paris for a romantic vacation waiting around for him while he speaks at a tech convention.

Besides the problems working out their different financial situations, there is also the problem of how to mesh their lives together. He needs to be jetting around the world giving speeches and overseeing his latest acquisitions. She’s trying to establish her own cookie-baking business. So she needs to be in one location so she can bake and deliver her cookies. How do they resolve that issue? Well, we never really find out. They need a fairy godmother to figure that out for them.

If you enjoy a romance with a billionaire falling for an ordinary woman, you’ll enjoy this. If you get irritated by a totally unmotivated insta-love story, this will irritate you. It’s quite clear why she falls for him - he’s a perfect book boyfriend, but it’s not clear what there is about her that instantly draws him in except that she doesn’t recognize him when she first meets him and treats him naturally.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

How to survive a modern day fairy-tale had a good plot though I lost interest very early on in the book.

I was not able to get into the romance since it was instant love. The set up wasn't believable and I had trouble connecting with Nate as a character. He had some red flags as a male interest like when Claire initially decided she wasn't going to pursue him at the beginning.

She didn't respond to his texts after she left their agreed location and he showed up to her apartment basically uninvited. That part didn't really sit too well.

I did like the family dynamics and Lola. I even liked how Claire was trying to work a job at the bookstore and have a side gig too. The romance was just what fell flat to me this time.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for allowing me the chance to read and review. This was a one star rating because I didn't finish early on.

I am actually quite conflicted about this book, in a way I haven't felt about a romance in a while. Was it exactly what I needed this week? Yes, it was. Did I struggle to accept some parts of it? Yes, I did.

I think my main issue with this book is that it is insanely insta-lovey. Seriously, the characters fall in love in about ten seconds. On the one hand, I quite enjoyed it, since it meant that we could see them in a relationship and explore the actual problems that come with dating someone, instead of them only getting together at the end and us wondering "Okay, but what happens now?" I think that, given who the characters are and what the obstacles were for their relationship, it was a story-telling decision that ultimately worked. That being said, instalove is one of my least favourite tropes, so it was hard to altogether ignore it.

I did also think that the romance was very unrealistic. Sure, it was great to see our protagonist absolutely adored by her love interest, a hot and caring billionaire, but come on. For someone who claims that overt wealth makes her uncomfortable, Claire doesn't seem all that bothered about their wealth disparity. Perhaps it is the current political and environmental situation, but it was very hard for me to see a tech mogul and his private jets as swoon-worthy. I get the vibe the author was going for, but it made me slightly uncomfortable.

While those were my two main problems with the book, I have to admit I really enjoyed it. I was a big fan of Claire, and even Nate - ridiculous wealth aside - was an absolute sweetheart. I thought Claire's relationships and interactions with her family were some of the strongest aspects of the book, so I would have enjoyed seeing some more of that; and if Cruz ever decides to pull a Krista-and-Becca-Ritchie and create a whole series out of the three sisters and their love lives I will definitely be reading.

Overall, while unrealistic, it was a sweet book based on a sweet romance.

** An ARC was provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. **

I wanted to love this book. I really did. I loved the culture in this book. I love reading these romcoms and contemporary romance chick lit books that are cut and pasted replicas.

Unfortunately this book way excelled past a romantic comedy trope and went straight to unbelievable and not relatable. The main character annoyed me, she did questionable things with a questionable love interest. I don’t know there were red flags, her family was intense, I just didn’t love this one. The cover is great. The premise is…good, but it was lacking in so many ways.

Thank you netgalley for providing this copy for me to read and review honestly.