Cinderella Screwed Me Over by Cindi Madsen
Darby Quinn has a bone to pick with Cinderella. Burned one too many times by ex-boyfriends, Darby has lost all belief in the happily-ever-after that the fairy-tale princess promised her. She's sworn off love, Prince Charmings, and happy endings and she's happy about it. Really. Or at least she was…until she met Jake, her gorgeous neighbor and the manager of her favorite restaurant. But Darby has rules about dating, ones she's culled from her years spent with so-called “princes,” and starting something with Jake would break all of them.
Charming, fun, and unwilling to give up on her, Jake doesn’t fit any of the profiles Darby has created from her case studies of ex-princes-gone-bad. Finally presented with her own Prince Charming, can Darby take a chance on a happily-ever-after?
Full of wit and sarcastic humor, Cinderella Screwed Me Over proves that sometimes the perfect love, like a perfect pair of shoes, is just within your grasp.
Publishes in US: October 22nd 2013 by Entangled Publishing
Genre: NA/adult contemp
Source: bought
Series? no
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes Books
Author stalk away: site, blog, twitter, facebook, goodreads
I chose to read this one because it was a Christmas gift from my husband, but I added it to my TBR which is why he bought it for me. I added it because the title is catchy and I read All the Broken Pieces and liked Cindi's writing style. I am pretty sure that one of my blogging buddies wrote a good review which led me to add to goodreads as well.
Sure, Darby is jaded, but it makes the premise all the much stronger. She is burned on dating, and I love how she presents the case studies and the comparisons that she makes to the princes and princesses from disney and other known places. She has some pain, and she's made rules for herself in order to keep from getting hurt again.
I loved the friendship aspect in this book. Darby and Stephanie have been close since they were kids and I love their connection, history and unwaivering support for each other. Of course, Stephanie is getting married to a nice man and they are a good fit, which shines some doubt on Darby's outlook in her weaker moments.
And more and more her weaker moments come when Jake is in the picture. He comes into her life like a storm, breaking some of her rules, and showing up everywhere. There is an undeniable chemistry between him, and he has so many things that are right about him, that doesn't break her rules. Jake is funny, forgiving, and takes things in stride.
It was a journey watching Darby change through the novel, and learning more about her past, what's formed her into the person she is today. Her interactions with Jake and heart to hearts with Stephanie really help to reshape her perspective.
I also appreciated Darby;s relationship with her step-brothers. They are still close, and hang out. Which leads to fun but also to talking out their lives. I just like that family is involved and even though we know that their relationship hasn't always been perfect, in fact it seemed to start the exact opposite, but then they started being closer and closer as the years went by.
The ending was sweet but a little rushed in my opinion. I really wanted to know what they both decided about the big questions of the future and if things worked at least for the immediate future. I guess I just wanted more of the characters.
My question to you, my lovely readers:
Have you ever sworn off dating?
