You know one thing that I am incredibly proud of? Always being able to choose great historical romances to read. :') Many thanks to Forever for giving me the chance to review Bookshop Cinderella!

I absolutely adored reading this book! Bookish stories always, always mesmerize me, and Bookshop Cinderella was no different. Max and Evie were such great characters! Their chemistry was incredible, and I loved seeing how their romance grew throughout the book. :') The class differences between them added a unique touch to the storyline. I was really intrigued to see how Max and Evie navigated their differences as they belonged from different parts of the society. I absolutely adored how Max made Evie see how beautiful and incredible she was as a person - LOVE LOVE LOVE.

That being said, I wish Evie and Max got more time together on page! (maybe that's just me because I loved their romance a lot) I am definitely looking forward to the next books in the series! <3

Evie and Max, I love you. I might want to be Evie when I grow up in that she owns a bookstore and people seek her out when they need information. I'm enjoying the many Cinderella historical romance retellings that are coming out right now! Read this is you enjoyed My Fair Lady or She's All That, fun side characters and historical romance! I'm interested to see who the rest of the series will focus on! I would love a book about Max's cousin Delia.

I also really loved that Max was up front with Delia from the beginning about the bet he made involving her and she was a willing participant in the whole makeover/scheme to win.

I haven't read Guhrke before and I ended up enjoying this one, apparently the first in a series. The heroine knows about the bet from the very beginning, which I appreciate! We get to she her go off on the hero (deservedly!) and that the ridiculousness of the premise is interrogated by the characters - no stone is left unturned. It's full of banter, fun friends, solid consent, and is low-angst to boot, making for a new-to-me author that I'm excited to return to.

This book is Bridgerton meets She's All That! It was a great regency era take on the 90's movie without being too repetitive and predictable. The Duke was a little insufferable at the beginning but he quickly grew on me and Evie was a relatable character and headstrong. Looking forward to seeing what the next book in this series is about!

Historical romance meets Pretty Woman in Bookshop Cinderella. The fact that it centers around a strong-minded bookstore owner did my bookish heart good.

Evie is an ordinary spinster who is financially struggling to keep her bookshop afloat. If someone came along and offered to give me a makeover and a lavish two-month vacation—all expenses paid—I would jump at the opportunity. However, Evie is not so easily swayed by Max’s proposal to transform her into the diamond of the season—even if he is a duke with charisma to spare.

I loved seeing Evie overcome her insecurities as she prepares to dazzle at the ball. The banter and the simmering attraction and Max is really enjoyable. I wasn’t mad at the spicy moments either. My one complaint is that there’s all this build-up to the ball and the big bet, and the whole thing is over in just a couple pages. I wanted a chance to savor everyone’s reactions to Evie. Overall, an entertaining read.

Recommended for fans of:
Historical romance
Pretty Woman
Bookworms

I think I’m really falling for regency romance. This was a lovely book. I thought it was less Cinderella and more She’s All That/Pygmalion, but whatever it was it worked for me. And now that I see it’s part of a series, I’m very excited to read more.

I loved this one. As someone who is notorious for not reading the summary before picking up the book, I was so excited to learn that this one is a "My Fair Lady" trope, which I absolutely adore. And I knew right away that Max was going to be an iconic hero, and not be the more problematic elements that the trope usually falls into. I was giggling and kicking my feet in the air throughout this. I am absolutely obsessed.

I always love a good Cinderella inspired story but throw in a bookshop too?! This one was fun. I enjoyed her growth and the couple complimented each other well. Like the aspect of the forbidden romance due to his rules he had to follow and how he built her spirit up.

Evie is a whip-smart but sheltered bookshop owner. Max is a duke and a rake with a heart of gold, all the things a good historical hero should be. While the wager trope is not one of my favorites, in Bookshop Cinderella it was handled with humor and heart. There were times when Evie was a bit too naïve, but overall this was an enjoyable read from a favorite author. Good for fans of early Tessa Dare. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

Love a good make over story!! Bonus points that she knew it was happening. Never realized how much it annoyed me having the betrayal plot line for the behind-her-back makeover until this book.

A low angst, fun read from Laura Lee Guhrke. The relationship was well formed and not rushed and a well rounded plot! Historical romance with a modern rom com feel to it.

Bookshop Cinderella is the first book in a new series by Laura Lee Guhrke. I have read this author in the past and enjoyed her historical romances, so I was ready to jump into this one.

This one ended up being okay for me, it is very low angst and just light and sweet. Which I don’t always love with my reads, so definitely a personal preference. This has My Fair Lady and She’s All That Vibes, with the heroine in on the situation from the start. Basically, she’s a bookshop owner and he’s a Duke who takes a bet to turn her into the “diamond of the season”. I like the class difference romance setup in historicals and am always here for bookish characters. The characters in this one just fell a little flat for me and I wasn’t that swept up into their story. I also got tired of how often she tries pushing him away, I was ready for them to just get together and last already. All that said, this author has an ease to her writing that makes it fly by and I think it’s a great historical romance for someone in the mood/or who enjoys a low-angst, sweet read.

Thank you to the publisher (Forever) for an ARC, all thoughts in this review are my own!

She’s All That but even better! Makeover, knows about the bet, finds out about her friend, learns about the ton, and learns about herself along the way! I just loved this one! I just loved the plot of this one and loved the Duke and Evie so much- they had chemistry from the start. These two are just so cute - with dancing lessons, Evie getting to be herself, working together, learning to pamper herself, and both of them falling in love.

I can’t wait for more of this series and more of Laura’s work! If you like historical romance I highly recommend this book and if you love cinderella or underdog stories I also recommend this to you as well!

Thanks to Forever for this book

Bookshop Cinderella is the latest book from author Laura Lee Guhrke taking on a She's All That/My Fair Lady vibe. Evie Harlow is used to being alone. Since her father passed; she runs the family bookshop and manages to keep it afloat but her days are becoming monotonous. When the Duke of Westbourne comes into the bookshop on an errand for his cousin, he finds himself defending Evie to his acquaintances. They make a bet that Max can't turn Evie into the belle of the ball at the end of the season. She must dance every dance that night or Max will lose 100 pounds. Evie agrees to go along with the bet and move into the Savoy. Max sets her up with new clothes and dancing lessons. They quickly go from adversaries to friends and eventually lovers.

I am so grateful that Guhrke made it so that Evie was in on the bet. I loved Max and Evie's verbal sparring and how he convinced her to do it by calling it a vacation. This is a sloooooowwww burn. It was almost 82% and they were kissing for the second time. It was totally worth it though. It started out a little slow but it picked up as the story went along. Evie really had the space to grow into herself. You could see her confidence building as it went along.

I'm really hoping that Delia is the next to get a book! I'm really looking forward to more of Guhrke's storytelling and will checking out her back catalogue pronto.

Thank you to NetGalley, Laura Lee Guhrke, and Forever Grand Central Publishing for this eARC. All opinions expressed are my own. #netgalley #lauraleeguhrke #forevergrandcentralpublishing #bookshopcinderella #scandalatthesavoy

Laura Lee Guhrke has done it again. I picked up Bookshop Cinderella on a Tuesday when I was bored and had nothing to do. By Wednesday I was re-reading my favorite parts and marveling over an author who can turn an age-old story into something fun and new.

Maximillian Shaw, Duke of Westbourne, is determined not to marry beneath him. Before the reader has a chance to think him snobbish, however, it's made clear that his prejudice stems from valid reasons and is offset by his genuinely good nature. Max's first marriage (at the ripe old age of twenty-two) was to the daughter of a Colorado coal miner. Ill-equipped to handle the demands of her new station, his first wife soon found herself alienated and miserable in British society, while Max was helpless to do anything more than watch her spiral. After her death he spent years avoiding the disastrous prospect of falling in love again, but ten years later he finally determines it is time to remarry in order to beget an heir. However with the wisdom of experience, Max comes to London planning a match with a woman of appropriate station and experience.

Evie Harlow is exactly the opposite of everything Max is looking for - the middle-class proprietor of a book shop, she only enters Max's sphere when he comes to see her on an errand for his cousin. However something about her sparks his interest, and when some rude young men insult her Max finds himself defending Evie… defending her so strongly that he ends up placing a bet that he could transform her into the season's Incomparable. And so an acquaintance that should have gone nowhere turns into a Cinderella-and-fairy-godfather relationship, which quickly deepens into love.

Although I can understand being skeptical at the premise, I'm here to attest that Guhrke handles it deftly, striking just the right notes to make this scheme come off. The eccentricities of the aristocracy can be blamed for the outrageous bet, but then Max does the honorable thing by fully explaining it to Evie (and is appropriately embarrassed to boot). He ends up selling it to her as a well-timed vacation, and they're off to the races without it feeling too silly.

Once they're in the realm of this Cinderella-like story, Max and Evie quickly grow close. There's a palpable chemistry between them that only grows over time, and all the ways in which they try to pretend to themselves that it's just friendship only heighten the tension. I particularly loved the awkward moments when Max and Evie would try to apologize to each other, having fully misunderstood the other person's thoughts. They're so delightfully human and funny as they stumble over each other, it's impossible not to love them as a couple.

I also loved the way that Guhrke balanced the characters between being responsible adults but still having room to grow. At twenty-eight (Evie) and thirty-two (Max), they both pretty much have their lives together and can be relied upon to make good choices. However they also still have blind spots in their love lives, and Evie with her self image, which is where they have the opportunity to grow over the course of the book. As Max opens himself up to the idea of again trusting and marrying someone from a lower social class, and Evie starts to believe in her own beauty and worth, we get to see some real vulnerability from each of them.

Although I would have told you a week ago that I'd read enough Cinderella stories for this lifetime, Bookshop Cinderella proved me wrong. In this book Laura Lee Guhrke has written a light-hearted romp which presents a playful version of reality and will give you characters who practically jump off the page. It should prove the perfect addition to any summer vacation or lazy weekend.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever (Grand Publishing) for an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

This is my second novel by Laura Lee Guhrke and I will admit, I think maybe her books just aren't for me.

"Bookshop Cinderella" was fine - it lacked some of the spice I tend to enjoy in some of my favourite historical romance authors; and the story dragged a bit.

I did enjoy Max and Evie - individually they were each strong characters - Max was charming, thoughtful and kind. Evie was smart and strong-willed. Together they had believable chemistry - and I liked that they built a "friendship" prior to either of them developing feelings for the other person.

But loving characters didn't make me love this story. This wasn't a case of the book or the writing being bad - it just wasn't for me.

Bookshop Cinderella by Laura Lee Guhrke is a historical romance novel featuring a widower, a wallflower, and a wager. In a refreshing change of pace, the wallflower–Evie–knows about the wager and willingly participates in the scheme that transforms her from drab bookshop owner to belle of the ball. Unfortunately, other aspects of the novel failed to deliver. In particular, Max’s reluctance to marry outside the aristocracy isn’t a compelling reason to keep the couple apart when the book does little to convince readers that he was devastated by the death of his first wife. I think the book would’ve been more interesting if his characterization had included a greater depth of emotion. Overall, I enjoyed the book (and I love the cover!), but this novel doesn't quite make it onto my favorites shelf.

A dashing duke, a shy bookshop owner, and a wager that is life-changing. That is what Laura Lee Guhrke gives readers in "Bookshop Cinderella".

Evie Harlow and Maximilian Shaw (Duke of Westbourne) meet under rather simple circumstances. He goes to her shop in search of information for the famed Escoffier (a real person who I've had the pleasure of reading about). He happens to see some young men in the shop being obnoxious and he herds them out. It is these idiots he ends making a wager with: they thought Evie unattractive, Max said not so, and they challenge him to make the ugly ducking a swan by the end of the social season. He says "You're on" and the story processes from there.

Naturally Evie initially refused to participate in the wager, but fate intervenes via a flood in her bookshop. She then decides to engage in the wager. As they spend time together, sparks fly, kisses and more are shared. But an unexpected scandal almost derails the happily ever after. Thankfully, Evie finds the courage to seize her happiness with Max, and we get the Cinderella ending.

I had taken a break from reading Guhrke's books. They just weren't catching my interest. But I'm glad I read this. It reminded me of why I liked her books. It's a sweet romance that has passionate moments, as well as moments of self-revelation. Both characters have baggage that almost keep them from embracing a relationship with each other. Yet, when it counted they were able to let go so that they could move forward together. More importantly, they made a promise to work together so that their marriage could be the best it could at all times.

The one snafu was the villain, but thankfully he doesn't overshadow the story. Quite honestly, he was more of a nuisance than a villain. And then there were Evie's female friends Delia and Anne. Loved both! They gave just the right amount of support without seeming overly feminist.

Overall an enjoyable read. I look forward to the next book in this series. Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this arc, which I voluntarily read and reviewed.

More like a 3.5 rounded up. I think Guhrke's romances have sort of lived in that easy read space for me, where I know exactly what I'm getting when I dive in, and while I haven't read a lot of her backlist I did enjoy the start to this new series a lot! Obviously, the <i>She's All That</i> comparisons abound, but this book definitely rose in my estimation when Max revealed the bet to Evie early on, giving her a full understanding of the circumstances behind his offer (even if she couldn't necessarily have estimated the scandal that would result!). I would've liked to see a little more toward the end — the last couple of chapters are about hastily resolving the third act and then wrapping up accordingly, and I almost would have preferred another chapter beyond the final one since on its own it resolved very abruptly. But overall, a delightful read!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

See love blossom between two unlikely people in this slow-burning romance that made me think of My Fair Lady and Pretty Woman.

I just loved Max and Evie. Max’s arrogance initially was truly breathtaking, the way he made the bet and then waltzed into Evie’s store and basically told her he can save her from herself. And every interaction thereafter showed his confidence, except when he became vulnerable to Evie and started comparing her to his first wife. Evie was solidly living in her comfort zone. I loved her cheekiness when dealing with Max. She had to face down her own insecurities and self-doubt when she started to see herself the way Max saw her.

Between the exquisite sexual tension slowly building and building and wondering what Rory was up to, I was one huge bundle of nerves and expectations. The ending made me sigh. I wish there was more, I would’ve loved to see Evie be the duchess, and put her own quirky stamp on it.

I can highly recommend this if you like a steamy historical romance where a Duke convinces a working-class woman to take a chance on him. This is the first book in a new series and I’m already looking forward to the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was a little worried in the beginning because the whole 90s "wagering to turn a nobody into a somebody" schtick has been done before, and it doesn't always stand up to today's standards, but I was very wrong. Despite the initial wager being very cringy, Max is her biggest supporter in every way, extending far beyond the wager from the very beginning. It's a little predictable, but there's comfort in knowing exactly what you're going to get from a good histrom. The chemistry is on fire, and the two characters are so dynamic, from the hero realizing he can't compare everyone to a terrible mistake to the heroine understanding that she's standing in her own way. A fantastic love story with depth and humor!