The Cinderella Deal

I was in a bit of a slump recently and therefor in need of being cheered up; so I grabbed this random book by Jennifer Crusie who has never yet failed me in that regard – her novels are my first aid box kit emotional emergencies. According to a brief preface by the author, The Cinderella Deal was her first novel for Bantam, and the first one where she moved away from pure comedy to something with more heart to it. While I rather disagree with that assessment of her previous novels, as I always found them quite touching myself, I agree that there is a bit of a difference between this and a novel like Manhunting – although I’d argue that it’s not so much a lack of heart in the latter but rather a feeling of raised stakes in The show more Cinderella Deal.

In this later novel, the protagonists seem to be more involved, seem to get entangled with the plot and each other with their whole being – which might be just a way of saying that with The Cinderella Deal Jennifer Crusie moved from situation comedy to character comedy. Almost as if to make that point, the characters of the protagonists here are pretty much total opposites of each other – he is a serious, rather OCD academic, she a flighty, somewhat insecure artist. Things work out pretty much as expected – he needs to produce a fiancée to get a job, she needs money to pay her rent; they find out they rather do like each other after all, so when they need to continue their charade and pretend to be married as well, they are both quite willing to, even if not yet ready to admit that to themselves…

As the novel’s title already indicates, this is very much a fairy tale, so one should not expect too much in the way of realism, but Crusie manages to make the change of heart her protagonists undergo sufficiently plausible to not break suspension of disbelief, deviates enough from standard Romance formulas to keep things interesting, and, as always with her novels, is just sheer, exuberant fun guaranteed to brighten up a gloomy mood. It might be the literary equivalent to chocolate cake, but it’s by far the best chocolate cake you’re likely to get, and one I’d leave many a main dish for. show less

I almost never read romance, but when I do it's almost always Jennifer Crusie. She has a way of writing romance without the melodrama, and even when there is angst, it's almost always short lived and smothered in wry humour. The fact that all her characters staunchly defend and rescue animals makes it even easier to fall into her stories; her characters are just so easy to like.

The Cinderella Deal is one that I've had on my shelves for ages, but sort of thought I'd already read. Turns out I hadn't. It's one of her earlier books and one of the simpler plot lines but Crusie is so damn readable I was quickly lost in the story.

What I thought was a beautiful touch was the thread of faith that runs through the narrative. Daisy refuses to show more take a false vow before God, and when her mother-in-law is ill she gives Linc the Bible to read to her.

Normally I'd be complaining here because I've almost never seen any author weave faith in without brandishing it like a battle axe (my perception is admittedly touchy about this) but Crusie was awesome. First, she never dwelled on it; it was just a part of the narrative in the same nonchalant way Daisy painted the walls. Second, in those few scenes, it was always books from the old testament mentioned, which are just as applicable to Judaism as they are to Christianity. The only reason a reader would assume Daisy is Christian at all is because of the off hand mention of the Bible itself as the source of the reading. I liked the way it was done; it felt sincere, more inclusive, and not at all like flag-waving.

If you like light hearted, easy, entertaining reads, I maintain that you just cannot go wrong with Crusie. show less

Daisy Flattery is a free spirit, an artist with a penchant for adopting stray animals and telling stories that are “unreal but not untrue.” She couldn’t be more unlike her upstairs neighbor, Lincoln Blaise, a reserved academic who dreams of becoming a college professor. But fate brings Daisy and Linc together in a surprising way: Linc has just been interviewed for a great job at a small liberal-arts college, but the unspoken catch is that he needs a wife if he wants to get hired. Linc immediately invents a fiancée and offers Daisy money to pose as the lucky woman. Daisy doesn’t like Linc much, but she’s flat broke, so she accepts his proposal. But the more time they spend together, the more Daisy and Linc realize that their show more fake relationship might actually have a real future.

Is the premise of this book preposterous? Yes, yes it is…but this book was such a fun little read! Despite the incredibly familiar opposites-attract plot, this book seemed like a breath of fresh air to me. I just really loved both Daisy and Linc; despite appearances, they are both fundamentally kind, big-hearted people who are ready to take a chance on love. There’s a great mixture of romance and humor, and I think it would make a wonderful chick flick. I also enjoyed the book’s setting, which is primarily a small college town with plenty of quirky secondary characters. I would definitely recommend this book to people who are feeling grumpy or depressed — it’s an instant mood-lifter! show less

I loved this one! I listened to the audiobook for a week on my commute, so I know the experience might have been more favorable than reading the book itself because the narrator was fantastic, but this was a really fun story. There are so many very awful takes on this trope of "for work I liked about a relationship and now I'm stuck finding someone to pretend to be my fake significant other" but this was done very very well.

These two are very opposites attract. They make each other crazy at first... and continue to do so in smaller parts throughout the rest of the book. And I loved that--at base they stay two very different people, but they do each make some small sacrifices and changes to blend a little more with the other person in show more ways that doesn't destroy their own personhood. Part of the story is each of them recognizing and understanding the need to do that for one another but also figuring out where the line is between bending and blending versus losing part of their own important uniqueness.

This was just a fun story and it's great to see characters really grow and change. This was my first Crusie, but I'm definitely looking for more now. show less

Daisy and Linc are neighbors, their lives rarely intersect. Linc has applied for a job as a college professor in another state. He realizes very quickly that the powers-that-be expect a traditional family man to fill the position. Linc does the only thing he can think to do, he claims he's engaged.

When he gets called back about the job, he has to produce a fiancée. One thing he does know about Daisy is that she's good at telling stories. He makes her a deal, if she helps him he will pay her back rent.

Daisy needs a change in her life and ultimately excepts. When she sees the new town, she falls in love with it. It would be perfect for a fresh start, she liked the professors' wives, she finds an art studio that could show her work and a show more little vet's office that she could take her cats too. But she's just supposed to be pretending, she's not supposed to actually move.

Linc gets the job and plans to tell everyone that Daisy broke up with him when he returns in the fall. But he soon realizes, that is not an option.

At first these two barely like each other. Daisy is a kooky girl and that sometimes embarrasses Linc. And Daisy thinks Linc hates cats and is a womanizer (thankfully she's totally wrong about the cats).

Soon Daisy and Linc, two cats and a one eyed dog are all living together as a family. The line between pretend and reality starts getting blurry.

I liked the characters. If Linc had hated cats for real I wouldn't have liked him at all. I'm glad that was a misunderstanding :) and Daisy really was kooky but as kind hearted as could be. show less

Funny story about a straight laced professor Linc who needs a fake fiance and asks a flighty artist Daisy. I enjoyed all the quirky characters even the pets and the fast paced plot had plenty of homey emotional moments as opposites gradually become friends.

Read from January 17 to 20, 2013

Listened for Fun (Audio)
Overall Rating: 3.75
Story Rating: 3.50
Character Rating: 4.00

Audio Rating: 3.50

First Thought When Finished: This was a cute, short read with some really great characters.

Story Thoughts: I thought the story was cute but it didn't wow me. It was a quick read though that will leave you grinning. Yes the story is predictable but the characters (which I will talk about in a minute) were delightful. The setting, town, and situation were just quirky enough to be believable and enduring at the same time.

Character Thoughts: This is where the story shined. I really loved Daisy and was a little upset at people's perception of her. Yes she was a tiny bit flighty, a whole lot flower child, but show more she was wildly talented and smart. It took awhile for me to warm up to Linc but when he started melting towards Daisy, I started melting towards him. The last 3 chapters I really fell in love with him and was so happy how this story wrapped up. Their love made me smile! (Not a spoiler--it is a romance after all)

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Susan Boyce at a Running Time 5 hrs and 57 mins

I thought Susan did a decent job with the audio. The pacing was excellent and the voices were pretty well done. I wasn't a huge fan of some of the women's voices but overall it was an easy listen.

Final Thoughts: This wasn't my favorite Jennifer Crusie book but it was still cute. It would be great for a sunny afternoon on the porch with some ice tea! show less