Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me

by Julie Wright

Overview

A modern, reimagined Cinderella story.
 
When aspiring author Charlotte Kingsley finally gets published, she thinks all her dreams have come true. But the trouble begins when her publicity firm reinvents her quirky online presence into a perfectly curated dream life. Gone are the days of sweatpant posts and ice cream binges with her best friend, Anders, replaced instead with beautiful clothes, orchestrated selfies, and no boyfriend. Only, that carefully curated fairy tale life is ruining her self-esteem and making her feel like a fraud.

When a bestselling author takes Charlotte under her wing—almost like a fairy godmother—she helps Charlotte see the beautiful person she already is and the worth of being authentic. But is it too late to save her relationship with Anders? The clock is quickly ticking towards midnight, and Charlotte must decide between her fairy tale life and the man she loves, before he’s gone forever.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629726076
Publisher:	Shadow Mountain Publishing
Publication date:	10/21/2019
Series:	Proper Romance Contemporary series
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Julie Wright wrote her first book when she was fifteen, and has since written twenty-three novels. She has a husband, three kids, a dog, and a varying amount of fish, frogs, and salamanders (depending on attrition). She loves writing, reading, traveling, speaking at schools, hiking, playing with her kids, and watching her husband make dinner.

Editorial Reviews

08/19/2019

Wright (Lies Jane Austen Told Me) spins a modern-day and very meta Cinderella tale. Aspiring author Charlotte Kingsley lives in Boston and writes ad copy for an eyewear company as she continues to get rejection letters for her fairy tales. Whenever a rejection upsets her, she leans on her friend Anders Nilsson, and soon a romance blossoms. Charlotte is inspired to write nonfiction and takes time off from her day job to work diligently on a book about living an authentic life, believing that all of her dreams have come true when a small press agrees to publish it. But her freelance publicist—whose fee has consumed every penny Charlotte can scrape up—wants to control every aspect of Charlotte’s life and believes she’ll be more marketable on social media if she pretends to be single, threatening her new romantic relationship with Anders. Charlotte’s friend Lillian Christie, a fellow author full of wise advice, provides her with the stabilizing force to remain true to herself. This fast-paced, lighthearted romance also carries a moral lesson about falsehoods getting in the way of the quest for true happiness. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"This sweet, heartfelt tale of authentic characters facing intriguing challenges is at once very romantic and charmingly chaste."

starred review Booklist

2019-09-15
When a writer's life is turned upside down by sudden success, she finds that getting everything she wants comes at a price.

Aspiring author Charlotte "Lettie" Kingsley writes fairy tales and hopes to be published. When she gets one more rejection, her feelings of pique lead her to an inspired idea: She'll write a self-help book called The Cinderella Fiction that will encourage readers to live their best lives. She takes vacation days from her full-time job—which consists of writing "descriptions about fun and sassy eyewear that leads to a fun and sassy life, which is actually the most fictitious thing I've ever written"—and pours all the life lessons she's learned from her own disappointments into the book. Amazingly, she attracts the attention of her dream agent, Jennifer Apsley. Meanwhile, Lettie and Anders, her Scandinavian hottie neighbor, have realized their feelings about each other have moved beyond friendship, and Lettie, who's never been interested in a long-term relationship, decides to give one with Anders a chance. Lettie's agent has big plans for the book and has created a team to make it a bestseller, including a PR firm that demands a complete makeover for Lettie. From wardrobe to apartment to a new nickname, "Char," every detail is changed to create an image that inspires admiration and a legion of followers. However, it also means that her real-life relationships are affected, and the new Char is so different from the old Lettie that she'll have to sift through what she wanted, and what she's gained, so she can live her own best life, authentically.

Wright updates "Cinderella" with a modern twist and smart, satisfying details.

Kirkus Reviews

Caroline Shaffer narrates this contemporary friends-to-lovers fairy tale. When aspiring author Charlotte Kingsley receives yet another book rejection, she is inspired to write a bestseller about the myth of real-life fairy tales. As her writing career soars, her relationship with her best friend and neighbor, Anders, deepens into more. Shaffer gives an energetic performance, keeping the listener engaged with the characters’ exploits. She navigates both the life-changing events and emotional roller coaster Charlotte experiences, managing to maintain the humor in the story without sounding contrived. In voicing the characters, Shaffer maintains clear differentiation. A modern-day Cinderella story, this is a delightful listen for those who like a sweet romance complete with a happily-ever-after. A.L.S.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

FEBRUARY 2020 - AudioFile