{Book Review} Cinderella Screwed Me Over by Cindi Madsen

Cinderella Screwed Me Over
by Cindi Madsen
Published by Entangled Publishing
Published October 22, 2013
Length 400 pages
Source: publisher for honest review

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.

 Witty, hilarious female protagonist. Intelligent, charming, hot, hunky male lead. I was instantly hooked. Darby's characterizations of all her exes as Disney / fairy tale princes are hilarious and well thought out analogies. I giggled at her description of Prince Charming; I've NEVER thought of him that way! And she's right...as girls we're conditioned to dream of a man sweeping us off our feet and solving our problems as opposed to being taught that we are okay on our own and a partner just makes it better.

I found Darby enchanting, worthy of a few eye-rolls, infuriating, and adorable. I found Jake's responses to her absolutely perfect and liked how intrigued he was be her. So much so that he put up with her weird little rules and tried not to frighten her away by bringing things up she wasn't ready for. He's very astute and caring and you wonder just how much abuse he's gonna take!

Darby's family is just as heart-warming, although I really didn't like her sister in law, Anne. I also was annoyed by her friend, Stephanie, but only because her habits with her phone is a pet peeve of mine. I applauded Darby when she told Jake off when he ignored her at dinner all night to answer business calls. She also admonishes Stephanie for the same phone behaviors and I liked that Darby was so honest.

Sweet romance, very clean, intriguing characters, tons of chemistry, and a hilarious portfolio of exes that does a wonderful job of highlighting how she got to her rules, this was so worth the read!

HEA? It's based on fairy tales, what do you think? ;)