Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Cinderella and the Geek by Christina Phillips

Synopsis (via Goodreads): I'm not looking for love or a Happily-Ever-After because I know how that ends. I just need to concentrate on my degree and look after myself. But there's something about my boss, Harry, I can't resist. It's crazy since he's so hot and smart it should be illegal.

And then, just like Cinderella, I have my night at
the ball and a midnight kiss, and for a week all my sexy daydreams come true. That fake date changes my life in a way I could never imagine. It turns out, Harry wants me too.

But I’m off to pursue my dreams, and he’s taking his business to the next level. There’s no way this fairytale has a happy ending, but that doesn’t keep me from wishing for it. 
I hold open the door for Alice. As she walks outside, her perfume dives straight to my dick. Don’t even think about rising to the occasion. Too late.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Also, the quote I used may have changed or been altered in some way, but I am quoting from what I received.

This one started off so well, until my eye started twitching (which it is still doing). In all fairness, I don't think the eye-twitching is in any way related to Cinderella and the Geek, but the book was responsible for a ridiculous amount of eye-rolling. Alice was so insecure, and I absolutely hated how many times she called herself "ordinary," because she didn't look like a model or have perfect hair every day. There is nothing wrong with wearing your hair in a ponytail if it's what you want to do. 

"He’s the most gorgeous guy ever, and me, well, I’m so ordinary it’s not funny."

Like I said, it started off well. I enjoyed the information about Blitz and The Plains of Exitium. I love RPGs and wish they had gone into a little more detail. Obviously that wasn't the focus of the book, but it would have been a bonus. Watching Alice and Harry come together (after working closely for nearly a year) was fun at first, but their insecurities and cluelessness really started to grate on my nerves. It felt like they were purposefully misreading things just to be difficult. I really wish they had just spoken their thoughts out loud, and maybe confronted some of their ever-present concerns, but no. Things have to completely fall apart before anything can be done about it.

I did like certain aspects of the book. For example, the first time they're intimate with each other is from Harry's perspective. Normally these things are told from a female's view, and it was nice to see how a guy would react in that situation. Those scenes were brief and scarcely detailed compared to other books I've read, but they were sweet and endearing. 

Alice and Harry were choking on unspoken thoughts and feelings, and I was continuously trying to give them a mental Heimlich maneuver. I finished the entire book, but I lost hope about halfway through. The story was interesting enough to make me want to see how everything played out, but even that was anticlimactic.

(I will be posting My Weekly Pull later this week! My son turned four, so we've been doing family stuff the last few days. I'm really behind on everything, but I don't mind! I love spending time with my kiddos. Also, FOUR. MY BABY! ๐Ÿ˜ญ)

22 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday to your son. Hope you all are having a fun together.

    Yep I had a few of eye rolling reads. Bummer it did not work for you.

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    1. Thank you! We spent his actual birthday at the beach, and we've consumed an impressive amount of pizza (per his request)! We were thrilled when he chose tofu tacos the following day, lol.

      It was an okay read! I didn't love or hate it, but found it obnoxious at times. The actual story was good, I just didn't like all of the self-loathing.

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  2. Sorry this wasn't quite what you were hoping for, hopefully your next read is a better one!

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    1. Thanks! It wasn't awful, but it's hard when you don't like the characters.

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  3. I thought this was YA and then I saw that quote

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    1. Err, yes. ๐Ÿ˜ณ I would say this is NA!

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  4. Happy 4th birthday to you son! My grandson just turned 5.

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  5. Oh no! The blurb sounded so good! I think I'll probably add this to the wishlist anyway and give it a go when the right mood strikes me.

    I feel you're pain on your son turning 4! Mine turns 7 next month and I have no idea where the time went! I hope your little one had a wonderful birthday week. (And no matter what, he'll always be your baby :) )

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    1. I'm happy and sad about it, lol. I love watching him grow, but it breaks my heart to think about how old he is now. People tell you that it will "fly by," but I didn't really understand until I had kids.

      I hope you like it! The premise is wonderful, but all the self-hate was hard to swallow.

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  6. Happy birthday to your little boy! This book looks so cute so I am a little disappointed to learn that it has a few issues and may cause some eye rolling. I am glad that there were some things about it that you did enjoy though.

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    1. Thank you! I was really enjoying it at the beginning! I thought their shy romance was adorable, but then there wasn't any character growth. They just stayed stuck in their own heads.

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  7. Aw, sorry this one was a bit more eye-roll inducing than anything. I'd get annoyed with the "ordinary" comments too. Sheesh! That's cool that the first time they are intimate it's from Harry's perspective though! That's definitely rare.

    Happy birthday to your son! :)

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. Right?! I loved that we got to see that from his perspective.

      Thanks! He's getting so old! ๐Ÿ˜ฑ๐Ÿ˜ญ

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  8. Aw bummer,, it's a pet peeve of mine when people don't communicate and everything falls apart BEFORE they talk it out. It just seems too plot- convenient you know? The RPG element sounds kinda good tho.

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    1. That's exactly what happened here. Everything falls apart, but they believe it to be for different reasons (if they ever really knew at all), and then only figure it out (sort of) once they try to apologize for the wrong things.

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  9. Characters who are super insecure like that grate on my nerves too. But I'm glad you at least enjoyed a few things about the book. That's nice that the author used the male POV for the first intimate scene!

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    1. I agree! Although, now that I think about it, that was the only intimate scene with details. Everything else was vaguely referenced. There's quite a but of snogging, though.

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  10. Ugh I hate when a book makes me roll my eyes. Glad there was some things you liked though. The male POV for the intimate scene sounds different and refreshing. Great review!

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    1. Thanks! It was a refreshing aspect, and I loved the idea behind the story, it was just the overwhelming urge I had to shake the characters until their words popped out. They kept internalizing ALL of their thoughts and feelings, so NOTHING was resolved. Stagnant would probably be a good word.

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“Stuff and nonsense. Nonsense and stuff and much of a muchness and nonsense all over again. We are all mad here, don't you know?”
― Marissa Meyer, Heartless