Maximillian Shaw, Duke of Westbourne, has returned to London to find a wife, but he doesn't want his sisters or his cousin Delia to know. Delia, who works for the hotelier Cesar Ritz, has promised Ritz's legendary chef Escoffier to provide research for an upcoming feast, but since she must leave town, she asks Max to contact her research associate, bookshop owner Evie Harlow, to collect the information. When Max enters the bookshop, accompanied by three young swells with more hair than sense, he's intrigued by Evie, despite her work-worn appearance. A night of drinking with his companions leads Max to an impulsive wager: he claims he can turn Evie into a society beauty in just a few short weeks.

Really, I shouldn't have even bothered to pick up this book because the Cinderella trope is one that no longer sits well with me. While I do enjoy a good, independent, working middle class heroine, Evie's character felt inconsistent. I was glad Max brought up the wager to her immediately, but I didn't like how he kept pressing her (even if he wasn't super forceful about it). And overall their relationship seemed like it might have been better as friendship, because the attraction level wasn't wholly believable.

Delia's character was the most enjoyable to me, so I was sorry she wasn't on the page more. And the side plot with Rory, Evie's childhood friend, was really cringeworthy.

Maybe 10 years ago I would have enjoyed this book more. Now? Not so much. 2 stars.

Thank you, Forever/Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

This book about a bookshop owner and a Duke is a story that I didn’t know I needed in my life. It was an entertaining and fun read.

I adored Evie! She is independent, intelligent, determined and kind. I immediately loved her character and the dynamic she had with Max. They have a lot of similar traits and while they are at odds in the beginning, I appreciated how he pushed Evie out of her comfort zone. I also loved his honesty and the fact that he immediately told Evie about the bet rather than the typical storyline of the bet being found out later and pushing the characters apart. It felt refreshing and made me want to find out more. I inhaled the first half of the book but there were a few spots in the second half that I wished had moved along just a tiny bit quicker (mostly because I wanted Evie and Max to be together immediately). This is a book I’d recommend to fans of Julia Quinn, Erica Ridley and Amalie Howard.

If you're a fan of books like the Bridgerton series, this one is for you! I loved the setting and the characters.

Rating: 3.75/5

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been meaning to read Laura Lee Guhrke’s books for some time now and “Bookshop Cinderella” is my first introduction to them. It wasn’t a terrible read, in fact it was lovely, funny, and admittedly pulled me out of my reading slump. I didn’t expect this to be set in the early 20th century, I thought, like most of the historical romance novels I’ve read, it’ll be set in the 19th century or earlier. But I guess it makes sense. How on earth would our Cinderella be able to own a bookshop? Evie is our Cinderella and she inherited her bookshop from her late father. Ever since his father’s death, she powered through paying all the remaining debts and successfully run the bookshop. A wallflower Cinderella then meets her Prince Charming, who also happens to be her fairy godmother. I loved that concept, that her Prince Charming, Max, is also her fairy godmother. Well in this case, a duke. I loved their relationship and how it grew into something beautiful. Even though the last page of the book was perfect, I still wished there was an epilogue. I just love them. Their love was pure despite how it started.

Oh, how I love this Victorian-era twist on Cinderella!

Our sweet heroine is smart, owns her own business, contemplates wearing trousers, and being absolutely ok with making her own way as a proverbial 'spinster'. Rather than dashing off to marry some dusty chap just because she needs to be married in the eyes of society, she waits for love!

<b>THOUGHTS: </b>
- Not often that we have a con man element in regency romances and I love that!
- This is a fun take on the era when it started to become more socially acceptable to marry outside one's social/socioeconomic class and I'm ALL for those types of English romances!!

**Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for this advance reader copy. I received this book for free but all thoughts are my own. - SLR 🖤

ARC Review
Actual Rating 3.5/5 stars

I love Pygmalion retellings that involves a “glow up” and this is exactly what Laura Lee Guhrke is serving up! Evie Harlow is a struggling bookshop owner who is propositioned by Max, the Duke of Westbourne, with an offer to make her the incomparable of the season. After her initial refusal, Evie is determined to put all the naysayers in their place and accepts the Duke’s wager.

It was a cute and quick read with lots of witty banter, but the overall chemistry between Evie and Max fell flat/lacked for me at times. This book is definitely for lovers of fairytale retellings and HRs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for a chance to read and review an advanced copy of this book!

I really enjoyed this one! I liked the fact that she was in on the bet from the beginning so it wasn't an issue later in the relationship. I thought their budding relationship was sweet. I look forward to reading more in this series.

Bookshop Cinderella was my first book I’ve read by Laura Lee Guhrke and it probably won’t be my last! It was very She’s All That meets Bridgerton. It was well written but I didn’t connect with the Duke or really buy the romance, but it was still a really fun read and I would recommend it!

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

Someone made a bad choice and look. He is about to do it again. Two people from two different classes have to make a decision that is right for them both. Fun to watch as they finally reach a decision.

It had been a while since I had read Laura Lee Guhrke's historical romance and I very liked going back to her work, losing myself in her words. Bookshop Cinderella was refreshing and very well written. I liked the characters both individually and together. I did find the chemistry lacking sometimes though. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book and would recomment it.

I loved this book. It’s so fresh and delicious.
I think what I loved most was the communication between them. He came out immediately about the bet and his intentions and their banter was always so on point and hilarious at times.
It was my first book by the author but it won’t be the last one because I enjoyed the writing and the characters a lot. I’m definitely looking forward to more by her in the near future.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

I didn’t expect to like this as much as I did. I could have used another sex scene, but overall this was great. He fell first, and goodness he was very fantastic. The red herring of her other suitor could have been a little more drawn out but was well executed and a great distraction. Very fun, very angst.

Sigh. Max and Evie. Sigh.

My first Guhrke! Loved this!

Max, a Duke, has come to town to marry the “right” woman. Evie, a friend of his cousin, is a bookstore owner with excellent research skills and even better personality. Turns out the right woman isn’t at all what he planned.

Max’s rude “friends” bet him Evie can’t be popular. He takes the bet. She agrees to take a holiday from work and have some fun with the ton.

First, LOVE that he is immediately honest with her about the bet. Think Pygmalion, My Fair Lady, & She’s All That, but better. (If you haven’t heard of She’s All That please don’t tell me and make be feel old.)

He’s funny, self deprecating, smart, and determined to show her a good time.

Evie is just as smart, realistic (almost to a fault), determined to be a success, and a real feminist.

This book is funny, wonderfully descriptive, and sexy.

Also the conclusion of the bet is very very romantic.

Bookshop Cinderella is out June 20th.

Thank you to Guhrke, Hachette, and NetGalley for the ARC.

A charming take on turning a middle-class, bluestocking bookstore owner into the belle of the ball. London, 1896, Evie Harlow runs the little bookshop she inherited from her Father and performs other jobs such as transcribing manuscripts and researching topic for other to augment her meager living. A long time client, Lady Delia, has asked her to research exotic foods and decor to assist the famous chef, Auguste Escoffer to produce his annual dinner for London’s Epicurean Club. Lady Delia asks her cousin, Maxmillian Shaw, Duke of Westbourne to pick up the research at Harlow Bookshop and get it to Chef Escoffier as she needs to be in Rome and doesn’t have time to run this errand. Max has always loved his somewhat flamboyant cousin and reluctantly agrees. Max is in London because it’s time to marry a aristocrat like himself, a woman who will not love but will respect and like, a woman born a raise to take on the role of Duchess and all that entails. Ten years ago, Max impetuously married Rebecca, a young American woman who was completely out of her depth in her new role. The marriage crumbled almost immediately, Rebecca fled back to America and died after a carriage accident. Max is determined not to make the same mistake with is second marriage so when he meets and is instantly attracted to Evie, he knows they will never suit. However, in order to keep Lady Helen the woman who Max has set his matrimonial sites on, he agrees to keep an eye on her reckless and arrogant younger brother. When the brother and his equally foolish friends follow Max to the bookstore, they disparage Evie and her store. Max bets the younger men that he could turn Evie into the toast of the town and the Cinderella story begins. Of course, Cinderellas always get their prince…

I was happy to see a new series coming out from Laura Lee Guhrke.
Bookshop Cinderella missed the mark for me. I really like the MMC the Duke of Wesbourne. He had some really swoon worthy lines, delivered quite perfectly. Evie and I just didn’t connect. And the subplot with Rory was just unnecessary.

But, there was a HEA.

Another great book by Laura Lee Guhrke! The characters were very well written and I found myself drawn to their love story.

I loved this book!! I loved the characters, the title, the plot everything. It was a fun story and a quick afternoon read. I thought it was delightful from top to bottom. I would recommend to others.

Did you like She’s All That but we’re super irritated by Freddy Prince Jr’s character not telling Lanie Boggs she is a makeover project? Same. This author gets a million brownie points for the hero telling the heroine straight away that he make a bet because some jerks were being cruel about her and he wants her cooperation to prove them wrong. Since disaster has struck, she decides why not and with a villain hiding in plain sight, we want them to get their happily ever after.

✨She’s All That but make it historical✨

I’m a huge fan of the movie She’s All That, and Bookshop Cinderella did have those vibes, especially as the book caught its stride. Max frustrated me a bit more than Zach Siler—maybe the Freddie Prinze Jr. effect is just THAT strong—BUT the bet was revealed to Evie right away so that was a breath of fresh air!

I ended up liking this one more than I thought after a rocky beginning, but I wanted a bit more from the ending. It took me longer to warm up to Max than to Evie, because she was mainly just a relatable queen. He was a jerk at the beginning and I was annoyed for a time, but overall I liked Max by the end. There wasn’t an epilogue and it made me SAD because I was finally invested in their relationship and then it just ended!! I hope to see more of them in book two. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the last chapter a lot, but I give me a glimpse into their future!!

I was worried about how the Rory character would be handled, since I’m not a fan of one character thinking they’re in love with someone else…but I think it was minimal angst here. She saw pretty quick that he was a foolish peacock with no care for her and I love her for it. Max was also attempting to court someone else and while that too scared me at the beginning, I enjoyed how Max came out of it completely invested in Evie.

Overall, Bookshop Cinderella was a pretty light and sweet romance once it got going. This was my first book by the author, but it’s evident that Guhrke is a seasoned writer, as the style was charming. I don’t think it was entirely memorable, but I will read the next book in the series! I think you’ll have a good time with it if you like My Fair Ladyish etiquette lessons, opposites attract, and bookish settings.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 🌶️🌶️*/5

*We got one scene that I thought was well written and pretty good! We got the iconic “statues aren’t THAT big” line 😌

Bluestocking entrances Duke
Ms. Gurke’s tale of a book seller and a duke is a sweet romance with a bit of heat. Great descriptions of characters, scenes and clothing.
Evie Harlow inherited a struggling book store from her father and made a go of it, not rich but getting by. When she encountered Max Shaw, they rubbed each other the wrong way, but she captured his interest.
Enter a few acquaintances of his and a bet. Soon they are working together and falling in love.
Sweet sexy romance. Recommended for historical readers looking for same.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC to peruse gratis and offer my opinion in the same.