The Cinderella Deal Review

The Cinderella Deal
by Jennifer Crusie
Genre: Romance, Chick Lit
Format: Audio
Midnight Minute: A cute, breezy romance full of quirky characters and some truly quirky pets.
From Goodreads:

New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Crusie brings humor and storytelling magic to this modern-day romance about a match with a dubious beginning—that is destined for a fairy-tale ending.
 
Daisy Flattery is a free spirit with a soft spot for strays and a weakness for a good story. Why else would she agree to the outrageous charade offered by her buttoned-down workaholic neighbor, Linc Blaise? The history professor needs a makeshift fiancée to secure his dream job, and Daisy needs a short-term gig to support her painting career. And so the Cinderella Deal is born: Daisy will transform herself into Linc’s prim-and-proper fiancée, and at the stroke of midnight they will part ways, no glass slippers attached. But something funny happens on their way to make-believe bliss, as a fake engagement unexpectedly spirals into an actual wedding. Now, with Linc and Daisy married and under one roof, what started as a game begins to feel real—and the people who seem so wrong for each other realize they may truly be just right.

Midnight Thoughts:

~ I used to be a Chick Lit girl.  For a whole year or two, that's pretty much all I read, except for the occassional Stephen King book to keep my title of Midnight Book Girl.  I read one or two Crusie novels, and enjoyed them but I can't remember which ones they were because I read so many Chick Lit books.  
~ I picked up Crusie's Maybe This Time at the library a couple of years ago and loved it- still remember everything about it.  Since then I've been meaning to read more of her novels, but if wishes were books... well, I still wouldn't have the time to read everything I want to!
~ Thank goodness for Audible.com sales!  
~ It took me awhile to warm up to Daisy, she was a little too hippy and out there at first, and I still don't get her clothing style.  But once I warmed up to her, and understood her "stories", I loved her.  She's the kind of person that I wish I was.  She loves people, opens her home to them, but I need a heck of a lot more personal space between me and the public at large.
~ Linc was totally uptight, but for some reason (perhaps because I'm more uptight then I pretend I am to myself?) it was easier for me to connect with Linc.  
~ The premise is a bit silly- the fact that Linc would need to have a wife just to get a job?  He could have just sued... but this is a romance novel, so I'm willing to cut it some slack since I love "marriage of conveniences that turn into something more" plots. 
~ My favorite part was the animals, which I will make clear in my Midnight moment.
~ Um, Daisy puts up with quite a lot of manhandling from Linc's boss, which I found out of character.  But, it's not like I read this book for the realism.  
~ I'm not a huge bow chick a wow wow gal, but this book could have used a little more... bedroom scenes?  Or near misses.  Linc and Daisy go insanely long periods without even a little physical interaction.  I don't need it to be explicit, I have Showtime for that, but a bit more would have been nice.
~ I love the setting in this book!  The house that Linc and Daisy originally rent apartments out of, and the house and town in Ohio felt as real as if I'd been there.  It was cozy and quirky and I loved it.  
~ I am forgiving some of the peach coloring and the numerous floral motifs because this book was originally published in 1996.

Timeless Characters:

Daisy- she's a bit of a hippy, and wears truly bizarre clothing for a grown woman, but she's warm, talented and charismatic. She needs some straightening up!
Lincoln- handsome, serious, broody and type A, he definitely needs a little loosening up!
The Dude That Hires Linc: sorry, it was an audio I listened to in the car, so his name escapes me. But I will say he is a sexist pig.
Chickie- long suffering wife of The Dude That Hires Linc, and immediate President of the Daisy Fanclub (also, founding member).
Cute Vet Dude- his name says it all.
Eyeore Proffessor- not his real name, but I think they actually refer to him as Eyeore, so I'm not just making this up.  I actually really liked him- obviously not enough to remember his name, but still, he was gloomy fun.
Julia- Daisy's friend and past hook-up of Linc's... that part weirded me out a bit. I don't think I could sleep with a guy knowing my bff had already boned him.  'Cuz I'm a classy chick. Obviously.
Linc's Various Students: briefly made me want to be a college prof and force them to come over and back cookies for me too.
 

Midnight Moment:

The first was Daisy's paintings.  You don't find out until a ways into the book exactly what she paints, and I have to say, I loved it!  Especially all the detail in Lizzie Borden's house.  I want that painting!

The second made me pause the audio so that I could laugh and laugh.  Daisy has weird animals, an older cat that appears to be dead most of the time, a screechy little kitten named Annie, and a one eyed-broken-tailed-gimpy dog named Jupiter.  At one point Linc, who has succumbed to the charms of the mangy mutt, is proudly praising him in front of guests, at which point Jupiter falls over on his side.  I chortled.

Maybe you had to be there...

Stop The Clock:

I don't know if this book is for everyone, it didn't age particularly well, but the setting and extra touches made me love this book.  I was going to give this a 3 and 1/2 rating, but the animals and Lizzie Borden painting kind of needs some recognition of their awesomeness.

Jennifer Crusie — Website | Jenny Crusie

The Cinderella Deal gets a Midnight Book Rating of: