This is my first book by this author. Several characters in this story had a previous book and this is #3 in the series. They are friends and employees and are seen in a few scenes, so this book easily stands alone. They are mostly connected to an older lady named Hazel who runs what is called The Cinderella Project, a dating service I guess you can call it.

April is the woman in this story who decides she needs the Cinderella Project. Her sisters friend found a fellow so thats how she knows the company. She doesn't want a man but she wants a makeover to get a job/promotion. She has an small crush on Jase, as does everyone in the company and it looks like he will get the job she wants. BUT he is a terrible choice unfortunately he is very cute and loveable and so he will get the job on charm and so April wants Hazel to show her how to have confidence and be charming and go after what she wants and sell herself. So thats what she hires her to do.

Meanwhile Hazel's husband runs a financial company with a man, Finn who has a nasty past and who she wants to use to help April. Finn's past includes a father he is terrified off and he knows he might have to leave town suddenly and so by helping Hazel he hopes he can get her to help her husband when the time comes for him to leave town. (yes, his motivation was sketchy to me too.)

So the first part of the plan is a bar where Hazel gets April to go over and flirt with Finn. And well thats what the description of the book calls their first date by fate. Its really Hazel manipulating them both and thinking they are perfect for each other. The truth is April thinks Finn is a gazillion miles out of her league. Finn on the other hand is very distant from anyone, he knows he might have to leave, but well April makes him feel happy.

And thats why Finn slowly chases April and April well she enjoys his attention and how everyone at works sees them together, and before you know it she has a fake boyfriend.

I really enjoyed this book. I laughed and giggled and was very entertained. The pace of the book is slow. For most of the book its just heavy kissing. If you want erotic, this is not the book. But if you want a sweet, romantic and fun story - then you will love this one.

My only real issue with the story was Finn's past. It was just so awful, it was hard to believe and identify with him. I loved Finn but his solution of running away well that was really hard to respect when he came across as this alpha male type.

I just couldn't get invested in this book.

April Swanson is a bit of a doormat, she is so invested in keeping the peace and making everyone happy that she really doesn't know what she wants. She works for a wholefood company, even though her secret pleasure is making cup-cakes. Her mother is a best-selling psychologist who takes out all her frustrations over her failed marriage on psycho-analysing her daughters. Her elder sister Erica is (frankly) a bitch - the ugly sister to April's Cinderella. When her latest crush seems in line to get the promotion that April wants, she decides enough is enough and contacts the Cinderella Project to get her the promotion she craves. And this is where it went downhill for me. The owner of the Cinderella Project, Hazel, is a supremely deluded matchmaker who gives horrifically bad advice. She advises April that getting the promotion is all about making herself more attractive on a cosmic scale and by approaching a 'real' man in a bar she will gain that aura of attractiveness.

The real man in question, Finn, seems to do a really shady job (or does he?). He's like a tall, dark brooding Viking full of menace - the sort that has deep dark secrets. The ying to April's yang. She's all Pollyanna, over-sharing and total honesty (of the 'I ate the free peanuts while you were away from the bar' variety) whereas he's all brooding secrecy.

I see that this is the third in a series, if I had seen the series title I might not have requested this - I think it would have been more appealing to me if the Cinderella Project hadn't featured. There are references to the previous Cinderellas and their other halves and intimations about future couples. Whilst I understand that this is the nature of these series it starts to feel like a production line to me the reader.

This was too cutesy, too interfering old women, too many secrets kept too long for no apparent reason, too vague for me. Like a cup-cake, too sweet.

This one just didn't work for me. I had a difficult time connecting with these characters and getting invested in the story. The writing is very good and the characters well developed, the story itself just didn't do it. A little too much family craziness for me.

an ok read

Via NetGalley, I was able to read Tell Me True. The opening of the story was absolutely awkward. And I don't mean our characters "meet cute" awkward (though, there is a contrived "meet cute"), I mean awkwardly written. The prologue and intro to our main characters were really difficult for me to absorb, I wish author Ally Blake had minimized so much of the extra character/back story/noise and got quicker to April & Finn getting together. The story worked better after those two connected. Those early parts felt as if it was written as an afterthought and didn't mesh as well as the writing in the main story.

The Cinderella Project series blends the magic of adolescence with the drama of real life. The concept is complex and innovative, but may not always work. Tell Me True gives an optimist, an eccentric and a reformed bad boy center stage. April was flaky, Hazel flighty and Finn a hard to read puzzle, but for all of the craziness, Ms. Blake never skimped on the charm. Tell Me True, will not solve wars or mend broken hearts but in a world of chaotic turmoil, April, Hazel and Finn served a more important purpose. To take a reader out of their head and bring on a smile. It did what it was meant to do.

April Swanson saw what The Cinderella Project had done for her best friend JJ. She met the love of her life while on a cruise ship. So when April needs help landing a coveted promotion at her job, she enlists the help of the organization. Little did April know she would be getting more than she expected. She might actually lose her heart to a man she met at a bar during one of her first tests.

Finn Ward has been contemplating leaving his job and town when his father is released from prison. He wants to keep those he is closest to safe and doesn’t want anything to do with his father. But when he meets April, things get a little more complicated.

This was a cute story. I liked April and Finn’s characters. They had great chemistry together even though they had opposite personalities. It was fun watching their relationship form. The book also referenced to characters from previous books so you caught up with them a little bit too. There were some slow spots in the book and a few spots where I got confused and had to go back and reread what I had just read to get back on track. But the ending was sweet and made up for the areas where I had trouble.

Imagine stepping into a fairy story. Well, Tell Me True is like that. This story is touched with fairy dust throughout and very much a Cinderella story throughout.
Set in modern day Sydney. This story sees fairy godmother Hazel taking our heroine April and turning her life upside down. Hero Finn is a pawn in the game yet from the moment he and April meet both of them feel a connection.
Ally Blake has a wonderful way with words. Her story is warm and witty and tender and touching. It grabbed me and moved me and held me captive until the last page. Don't get me wrong. This story is very much tongue in cheek yet it deals with serious issues like trust. I laughed at times and held my breath at others.
Tell Me Tre is captivating and an utterly delightful read. Recommended!

sorry I didn't really like this book. For whatever reason it didn't hold my interest.

A sweet romance with a bit of pixie dust. Hazel, the fairy godmother of Cinderella Operation has set up an encounter between April and Finn. There is an instant connection and great chemistry but with complex family issues, makes it hard on their relationship.

I had a hard time with this book, a lot of family issues on both sides, where I wish we spent more time on the relationship of April and Finn. I really enjoyed the writing style of Ally Blake.

The New Year is always a cosmic new beginning, a journal with fresh, unblemished pages simply waiting for us to write our new story on… except when it seems that this year will be like all the other past ones. But be careful what you wish for, you just might get it… if not exactly as you wished for.

April is getting tired of being the good girl, the one others feel quite free to use to get themselves ahead, to berate for their own pleasure, or simply ignore as not important enough to bother. She sees the writing on the wall at work, at home and in her personal life… and she’s about to take a risk by contacting The Cinderella Project for a few wishes for herself.

Finn is dark, brooding and has convinced himself that he needs no one – except that he seems to have gathered up people along the way of his life who would disagree with that assumption. He has secrets, ones that if not haunt then nag at him. What he really wants is peace and to protect those that he does care about, even if that emotion confuses him at times.

Wishes are odd things… we often get what we need, instead of what we wish for, if only we can recognize the difference.

I enjoyed Tell Me True for exactly what it is – a lighthearted, charming romance with a bit of whimsy and a touch of magic from the lore of Cinderella fairy tales. With a cast of characters that does make mention of people from the earlier books, I would mention that this is not a stand alone story completely. Oh, you could enjoy it, of course. But if you’ve followed the series picking up bits and pieces of past romances will add to the enjoyment of this one.

On the surface it would seem that April and Finn are total opposites. She’s a good girl that doesn’t want that role anymore, he’s a reformed bad boy who isn’t comfortable in either role but makes his own unique place in the world. Yet together they bring out the best in the other and fill in some empty spots perfectly. It’s not going to be smooth sailing by any means, but the sense that they will find their way to each other in spite of wishes is very clear.

Sometimes you simply want a story that lets you smile and feel good. That’s exactly what Tell Me True gave to me. I enjoyed myself very much.

*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*

Looking for a light-hearted story where disparate characters really work well together, then look no further, this is a drama packed story to put a smile on your face.

After her parents’ split up, April Swanson has tried to keep the peace between everyone, acting as go between striving to maintain the status quo and not let anyone rock the boat. She’s sunshine on two legs, always encouraging others and putting on a happy face, even when this is a facade hiding her true feelings. This actually makes her something of a doormat, always there but rarely appreciated. With the New Year, she decides to make a fresh start and signs up for help with The Cinderella Project, wanting to be helped to achieve the promotion she really wants. That decision is what sparks off all the turmoil that follows and leads on to her HEA!

Finn Ward has a hidden history that is now in danger of being revealed. He’s done well for himself with the support of some very caring folk who treat him as part of their family. However, his real father has been back in touch and that is bad news as far as Finn is concerned . . . .

As the Cinderella Project starts with April meeting Hazel in an up market bar, she spots the brooding man at the bar . . . With Hazel and her team endeavouring to manipulate situations, April and Finn deciding whether to fight their mutual attraction or give in to it, a sister and mother who have their own agendas that aren’t to April’s benefit together with even more craziness along the way, this is a cute romance with plenty of twists and turns to escape into.

Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC of this novel. This is my honest review.

This is a sweet tale of love against all likelihood. While looking for help getting a promotion, the character instead gets help finding love, against her own wishes. The characters are lovable and hot. Definitely a great read.

Tell Me True by Ally Blake is book number three in the Cinderella Project series. This is April Swanson and Finn Ward’s story.

Well, at the beginning of this book I thought this is just a funny and silly romance. It was little hard to follow at first. However, after getting into the story you realize that there is more at stake here. There are some really funny and silly moments but Finn and April are dealing with some really serious and emotional issues. Watching April and Finn’s characters develop, change, and fall in love made this book for me.

FYI, includes mature content. I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Ally Blake is the queen of romance, she creates these fantastic feel good reads with sassy, real,life characters with heaps of flaws but big personalities.

This was a fun contemporary romance that reminded me a little bit of The Hating Game, which I really enjoyed. The characters were adorable and I enjoyed the plot line overall.

If you like stories of opposites attracting and fairytale endings you'll enjoy this third book in the Cinderella series. It comes complete with an interfering fairy Godmother!