Julia James

A Cinderella for the Greek by Julia James was an interesting take on the classic tale "Cinderella".

This book didn't sit well with me even though I really wanted to like it. The story itself is a classic that I love (who doesn't love a Cinderella/Princess tale?) but what lies within the story is what bothered me. The big problem with this book for me is the comments about Ellen (our Cinderella's) weight. She isn't as thin as her step sister Chloe, and our male counterpart Max points that out a few times. The comments weren't healthy criticism's either, but he gets over her "ugliness" to be able to fall in love with her. It's that part of the story that turns my thoughts sour on this book. Everything else within the novel is quite lovely - the tale, the romance, the plot lines - it's all great but that little part. At first, Max does not describe Ellen as beautiful, but slowly he begins to love the way she looks. It felt kind of silly in my mind, since the description of her sounded to be nice (but comparing her to the thin step-sister...).

I liked that Max wasn't forceful as many male leads are these days. He's caring and tries his best (even if at times it seems a little forced). I liked that he was interested in Ellen's charity and that he seemed to be overall a good guy. The other characters (like the Evil Step-Mother and Evil Step-Sister) were perfectly evil in every way. The plot line followed the narrative it should have as well.

I felt this book got a lot better once it moved forward and continued to grow the relationship between Max and Ellen. That adds an extra star in for me as a reader. I think there was lots of potential here, to be honest! I'd like to read more by Julia James because I'm sure she has gotten better as her writing has continued.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely! It is a really good book, it's just not for me! It is a lovely Harlequin Romance that should definitely be picked up if you love an ooey, gooey romance or a retelling of Cinderella!

Two out of five stars.… (more)

This was a three star read with moments that stretched to 4 stars for me. It was sort of different in that the heroine was not attractive. The hero didn't fall for her until she'd had a make over which is fairly typical in HP land. Still he tried not to hurt her feelings. And one of the elements that worked for me was that her makeover was very much a make over of her self confidence and I really think that the hero was responding to her new feelings about herself more than to her new looks. And I watched enough episodes of What Not to Wear back in the day to realize that a spa type makeover can really change a person's appearance.… (more)

3-1/2 stars. This didn't sound like something I would like but I was sucked in pretty quickly. This was different in that the heroine, the child's aunt, did not hold on to the boy unreasonably. She was honest and realized that the hero the boy's uncle and grandmother really could give him a better life and just as much love. She took the money though which of course led the hero to thinking that she was a money grubber. I liked the dynamic between them when they meet up again 5 years later. The hero manages to fall for her even though he thinks very poorly of her. I would have loved to see a book where that was the upshot but of course she had a good reason for taking the money. Heaven forfend that an HP heroine ever just want to get out of poverty. Still a pretty good read.… (more)