Customer Reviews

The Cinderella Deal

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this book yet! This is my favorite contemporary romance of all time! Smart, sexy, funny, human....My HIGHEST 5-star rating. I can't rave about the quality of writing in this book enough. Great setting, characters, story-- A small, perfect, pleasing gem.

Eccentric Daisy Flattery collects thrift-store furniture, stray cats, and wishes her life were as interesting as the stories she tells.
When her upstairs, uptight, but incredibly gorgeous neighbor Linc Blaise needs a fiancee to clench a position as a history professor in a small-town college, he, against his better judgment, can't think of anyone who could lie better than Daisy Flattery, professional storyteller (and starving artist).
Linc, a workaholic, with his chrome-and-glass furniture and black Porshe has his life just the way he wants it. He finds himself maddened but attracted-against-his-will to Daisy, with her stray cats, cracked Tiffany lamps, and compulsion to embellish her life at faculty gatherings.
When Linc and Daisy conveniently break up after Linc is hired for the position at the college, the chair of Linc's department makes it clear that a fiancee/wife was part of the bargain. Linc is sufficently compelled to make a temporary "Cinderella Deal" with Daisy that will change them both.

This book is so good the above synopsis doesn't do it justice. Jennifer Crusie's other novels provide the best example of her unique, sharp dialogue. Daisy Flattery-Blaise is a frizzy-haired, granny-dress-wearing romantic and also a feminist. She won't change who she is to please Linc or anybody else. The melding of these two characters is riotous, clever, and pleasing.
FYI: Published in 1996 by Loveswept, this romance is now out-of-print, but well-worth finding. It is the length of a serial romance.

One of the best romances Ive ever read. A story of a real (and unorthodox) woman who meets a real (and orthodox man). A wicked stepfather, a pretend marriage and a procession of animals keeps the story out of the minds of the characters and in the imagination of the reader. Funny and touching with no incidences of rape, undue influence, physical abuse and victorian morality poipular in traditional romances. A good read for real women.

"The Cinderella Deal" is a beautifully tender and moving romance. It may be one of Crusie's earlier works, but her inexperience isn't obvious. Crusie manages to inject both funny and touching moments into a wonderfully developed romance.

Linc and Daisy are two very different people, and at first they aren't sure whether they really like one another. But gradually, Linc begins to appreciate Daisy's warmth and compassion, and Daisy notices Linc's steadfastness and deep-rooted passion. Gradually, they come to truly know and love one another in a very special, moving way. This is -not- your typical genre romance.

Both main characters are well-developed, as are the secondary characters. The earnestness of the characters, and Crusie's incredible gift for conveying emotional depth, make this truly a wonderful romance.

"The Cinderella Deal" is a prize, not just for Crusie fans, but also for those who love a good romance. It's also a hoot! I truly hope that the publishers realize what a possible audience they have for earlier Crusie titles ... and gives us some reprints. Personally, I am thankful for interlibrary loan!

The premise is pretty basic: Conservative professor makes up a "fiancé" when interviewing for a new job at a small Ohio college. Out of sheer desperation he asks his quirky neighbor to pose as his bride-to-be. Things heat up when the "pretend" relationship ignites some very real feelings.

It was hard to warm up to the two main characters. Linc Blaise is the poster boy for a 1980's yuppie male, complete with track lighting and chrome and leather furniture. Daisy Flattery doesn't fare much better. With her baggy thrift shop clothes, velvet hat and sloppy apartment I was getting a distinct "bag lady" vibe. It's as if the author is screaming "See, she's UNIQUE; she's DIFFERENT" but it feels like she's trying too hard. As the story moves along they do develop a certain chemistry; Linc begins to thaw and Daisy tones down the flaky artist persona. There are a slew of supporting characters and while a few are rather funny most are pretty forgettable.


This was a quick read and I have to say my feelings were pretty neutral. It wasn't bad but nothing about the story stands out or sets it apart; a fairly predictable contemporary romance. If you like your characters "over the top" then you might enjoy this more than I did. If you are new to Crusie I'd recommend you look into some of her later work like `Bet Me' or `Welcome to Temptation'. The characters are more three dimensional and they really showcase her talent for smart and funny dialog.

Some mild sexual content; no strong language.

Like all of Crusie's books, The Cinderella Deal is hilarious and original. Lincoln Blaise is a stuffy professor who needs a wife to get a job at Prescott College. Daisy Flattery needs a break to get a jumpstart on her artwork and to keep the wolves at the door. They make an arringment to stay married for a year and then they will divorce. Like all Crusie novels, trouble ensues. This is a really great book. I definitly recomend it.

This book is a reprint of one of Jennifer Crusie's earliest works, and it shows. Crusie's best works are smart, funny, strong, and original, as are the characters they contain. (See Faking It and Bet Me, among others.) Although there are hints of that humor and intelligence here, they have yet to be fully developed.

'The Cinderella Deal' is a short, fairly formulaic, early 90's romance. Daisy and Linc begin as almost caricatures of themselves; the loosey-goosey anything goes hippie, and the uptight type-A college professor. Linc's tenure requirements lead to the fake marriage deal, and they are forced to spend time together. From there, a few bumps in the road, they each loosen up a bit and begin to accept the other person for who they are, and ta-da, love blossoms.

'The Cinderella Deal' is well written for what it is, and Crusie's most ardent fans, or those looking for a quick and simple beach read, will enjoy it. Those looking for the normal brilliance of Jennifer Crusie, however, will be disapointed.

STORY BRIEF:
Daisy is an artist; she paints pictures. She also tells stories at local libraries and book stores. She buys clothes and furniture at thrift shops. Her home is full of color. She adopts damaged dogs and cats. She's desperately in need of a thousand dollars for back rent and other necessities.

Linc is Daisy's neighbor. He drives a black Porsche which Daisy calls the nazimobile. His home is decorated in black and white. He is an English professor at the city college. He wants a teaching job at Prescott College which would give him time to finish writing a book. During the job interview Dr. Crawford (dean of humanities at Prescott College) makes it clear that Linc be married. Therefore, Linc tells Crawford he is engaged. Crawford insists on meeting Linc's fiancé. Linc hires Daisy to pose as his fiancé for 24 hours to meet Crawford. She agrees for $1,000.

After Linc gets the job and starts working, he informs Crawford that he and Daisy broke up. This is unacceptable to Crawford who insists Linc get her back.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
I had one problem which is a pet peeve of mine. Soon into their relationship Linc was falling for Daisy and desired her sexually. But he refused to act on it or to show her that he cared. And Daisy did the same thing. She never let Linc know that she desired him. I saw no reason for them to "deny that they wanted each other" other than as a plot device. This went on for four months. If you don't mind that, it's a fun story.

I noticed another reviewer was unhappy with Daisy being self-absorbed. An example given was Daisy moving Linc's furniture out to make room for hers. But after Linc discussed this with Daisy, she worked hard to recover and repaint her own furniture to make it more appealing to Linc. He also ended up liking where she put his furniture - a good place for his home office. They communicated over their differences, so I wasn't as troubled over this part of Daisy.

DATA:
Story length: 278 pages. Swearing language: mild. Sexual language: none. Number of sex scenes: 2. Total number of sex scene pages: 5. Setting: current day unspecified city and Prescott, Ohio. Copyright: 1996. Genre: contemporary romance.

OTHER BOOKS:
I reviewed the following Jennifer Crusie books.
5 stars: Bet Me, Anyone But You, Welcome To Temptation
4 stars: Charlie All Night
3 ½ stars: The Cinderella Deal
3 stars: Crazy For You, Getting Rid Of Bradley
2 stars: Faking It, Fast Women, What The Lady Wants
1 star: Tell Me Lies

I typically like Jennifer Crusie books but the plot of this is virtually identical to "Strange Bedpersons", and neither book is very good. Female leads in both books are labelled as "Free-spirited" and the readers are expected to forgive them any behavior based on that. Neither male or female characters are very likable. I periodically re-read my Crusie favorites (Getting rid of bradley, bet me, ...) but these will go to the salvation army--they weren't worth a first read, and certainly not a second.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge Crusie fan. I have read "Welcome to Temptation," "Faking It," and "Fast Women" DOZENS of time. Stories are SO good, so well-thought-out, so FUNNY. This one is NONE of those. The characters are undeveloped. I just couldn't put a face on Daisy at all. No depth. In the beginning, she was portrayed (vaguely) as being free-spirited, independent, and interesting. She grew less and less as the story went on, and by the end, she was a a combination of June Cleaver and Stepford Wife. Linc was just an unlikeable man without a personality. No one else was even notable. In her other books, she made her characters so dimensional and fun - you could always count on witty dialogue and puns and references to pop culture. None of that. And what a dumb pretense of a story! In what WORLD would this actually happen? I'm putting this book on ebay with no minimum bid. Does that tell you anything?

I enjoy Jennifer Crusie; no one does snappy dialogue better.

But I felt the heroine in this book was very self-absorbed. After being offered a temporary home - the marriage of convenience - she moves ALL of the hero's furniture out of sight and all of hers in - without even talking to him. It's not her house! He offered her a room to paint in, but she throws a fit about not being able to live in a "sterile" house. Again, it's not her house, but she demands that he change it for her.

She paints HIS house the way she likes it.

She puts up a nude picture of him in her show, and is hurt when he's upset about it.

Why is HER way better? Because she's a "free spirit", she's allowed to tromp over his feelings? She's allowed to embarrass him in the name of romantic kookiness?