Reviews

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

Only show reviews with written explanations

emmanoel's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Is it crazy if I give this book 5 stars…… yes. But I am going to do it any way because it was so cute and well written and I loved it! A fat girl Cinderella retelling? Sign me up! Julie Murphy was able to combine these worlds of Cinderella and the bachelor and fashion into a beautiful piece of art. As a fat girl who loves fashion my heart sang reading this! Definitely will put more Julie Murphy reads on my tbr, it was so enjoyable and perfectly executed!

butterreadsbooks's review

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3.0

I really liked it up until the last part where she started making stupid choices.

meghan_plethoraofpages's review against another edition

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4.0

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

This was so fun!! All I knew going into this was it was a modern Cinderella retelling featuring a plus size protagonist & a Bachelor-style dating show. I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting at the cottage - I greatly enjoyed it!

Cindy recently graduated from college; after losing both her parents she’s lost her creativity - a student of fashion design, with a particular love of making shoes, she’s had a creative block. Headed to her stepmom’s to nanny her triplet younger step-siblings for the summer, she meets a funny & charming guy on the plane. Her stepmom is a reality tv powerhouse, with numerous dating shows. Cindy ends up a contestant on the newest season of essentially ‘The Bachelor’.

Cindy’s love story and her creative passions are the main storylines here, the story is body positive, I really appreciated the representation. The dating show premise was fun, and I continue to enjoy them even though there have been quite a few rom coms in the last year featuring a dating show setting. The characters were all vivid, each contestant spotlighted was well written.

I really enjoyed the cutesy romance between Cindy & Henry. Their stolen moments, secret dates and late night chats were swoony. Yes, there is cheese. Take one look at that cover, and tell me you weren’t expecting it! Of course there’s cheese and I’m here for it. It’s a sweet, quick read that had me smiling and staying up late to see how things would work out.

I’d recommend if you need a fast read to cheer you up, something light with a realistic protagonist in a very unrealistic but fun setting. I loved Dumplin’ and this debut adult novel was just as enjoyable. Many thanks to Disney-Hyperion and Netgalley for free access to an e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

kamalie4's review

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funny hopeful medium-paced

4.25

evarano's review against another edition

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5.0

I absolutely loved this! Not expecting that, but it was so good. This was a very loose reimagining of Cinderella, and it was just sprinkled in throughout the story. I liked how Cindy’s family was lovely and supportive, rather than awful. I loved Cindy’s job, her passion for fashion, her friendships and her relationship with Henry. This book is well written, but also very well balanced. It’s funny and very inclusive. I loved the Bachelorette aspect of this as I used to love the show. This was super entertaining and I loved it!

ari_bryce's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I loved Cindy and how she was written as independent but still craved and needed support from friends and family. She felt human and not just another romance protagonist with little to no thoughts and dreams. Her whole journey through this Bachelor-esque reality show had me rooting for her from the start. She knows how to stand up for herself and others when met with adversity. We need more romance books like this and I'm excited to read the next one in this Meant to Be series, By the Book.