The Cinderella Deal

The story lines are so wonderfully woven and real that once you start with jennifer crusie you can't stop. I'm working my way through all her books. JC if you are reading this. Please please where is your next book? I've now read all the online ones. I'm so desperate I'm even contemplating buying hardback versions that haven't been converted.

I LOVED this book. It was my first Jennifer Crusie novel, but the first of many. She might even be my new favorite author of romantic comedy, but I should probably read at least one more before I make that official. I swooned my way through this book. It was sweet, it was sexy, it was funny, it was well-written and fast paced. The characters were incredibly charming and likeable, from Daisy and Link to Julia, Art, Chickie, Crawford, Booker etc. Highly recommend if you are looking for a feel-good book that puts a smile on your face.

As always, this auther delivers sharp, witty, slightly sarcastic dialog for her female leads .... I have yet to read a book by Jennifer Crusie that did not leave me chuckling over how well her female leads manipulate the various men in their lives ... a good read to just relax and enjoy

Jennifer Crusie is one of my favorite authors. I love a healthy dollop of humour mixed with my sweet romance and she serves up a tasty treat complete with hot fudge in The Cinderella Deal! It's not sickly sweet though. There are some issues to chew on, some tender and frustrating and upsetting moments to wade through as well. It wouldn't be a very good "story" if there was no adversity, now would it? Daisy is a wonderful, rich, and interesting character. She and Linc have some growing pains but develop in the course of this story in wonderful and sometimes surprising ways. I was thoroughly engrossed and enchanted and wish I could visit them on cookie baking day.

The Cinderella Deal is a standalone novel from author Jennifer Crusie. I just loved her book Bet Me and ever since I read it I've been trying to find another book as funny as that one by her. I haven't found it yet but that's not going to stop me from looking!

The Cinderella Deal focuses on lead characters: free spirited Daisy Flattery and workaholic history professor Linc Blaise. Linc needs to be married in order to get his dream job and Daisy agrees to help him out. The situation ends up benefiting them both but the question is: Will Daisy lose herself after all this time pretending to be someone else? Will Daisy and Linc's arrangement end in happily ever after like it did for Cinderella? Overall I liked this book. I enjoyed the incorporation of art in the story, and I really liked Daisy's character in this book; she had an endearing way of looking at things. “People throw away too many things because they always want new. But if you look at old things, they have history and personality and spirit. The things that I have that I love best are the old things that I’ve rescued. They have stories of their own, and then I fix them up and they’re part of my story too.”

My favorite quote:
“I am not detached from reality. I’m perfectly capable of taking short vacations from it, but I always know how to get back.”

Daisy Flattery gave up her teaching career in order to give in to her free spirit. But her paintings just aren't cutting it when it comes to her finances. So when her neighbor, Linc Blaise asks her to pose as his fiancee in exchange for a tidy sum of money, she isn't exactly thrilled, but she is willing. Though the nonexistent relationship is supposed to end after a party thrown by his prospective new employers, Linc needs her help a little longer, as he's supposed to produce a wife. The two agree to a marriage of convenience that will allow Linc to keep the new position at a local college while also allowing Daisy to save money and dedicate serious time to her art.

That Daisy and Linc are true opposites is what makes this story so charming and fun. They learn to deal with one another's quirks, and they grow to love them just as readers do. There is great byplay with secondary characters, including Linc's uptight mother, Daisy's best friend, Linc's college students, and the boar members at Linc's college. As much humor as there is in the story, there is also a sense of two characters really getting to know, and love, each other. The secondary characters help in developing the story and forcing Daisy and Linc to see past their differences to the love they share.

Though not touted as a holiday romance, quite a bit of the story takes place during the Christmas season, so readers looking for a good holiday romance will find it in this book.

Daisy Flattery's life is something of a mess. She left her teaching job four years ago to 'pursue her art' but so far she hasn't been able to catch it. She's almost out of money, she's adopted a second cat and she's not sure what she should do about the bills that are threatening to overwhelm her. Lincoln Blaise is in a little bit of a mess himself. It's really not like him and he can't believe he did it, but he did. He told a lie - in fact, he told a whopper. During his interview for his dream job (history professor at Prescott College), Blaise figured out that they were looking for a family man. So he said he was getting married. Now he's got to produce a fianceé and God help him, the only person he can think of is Daisy. Crazy, messy, embarrassing Daisy.

When her uptight, buttoned-down neighbor Linc (he of the dark suits and the Darth Vader car) comes to Daisy with a business proposition, she's stunned. If she'll consent to play his fianceé for forty-eight hours, he'll get her out of her financial hole. Daisy is both thrilled and horrified. Because the kind of fianceé Linc needs? She's not anything like that person - and she's not sure she can keep the pretense up for an entire weekend. When forty-eight hours stretches into several months, there's no telling what could happen.

The Cinderella Deal is undoubtedly a romantic comedy, but is has a much keener edge than some of Jennifer Crusie's earlier works. There are moments in this book - several of them, in fact - when you might find yourself feeling a bit teary. There's a journey to happily ever after and it's not always a smooth one, but Ms. Crusie makes you believe that fairy tales can come true.

I became familiar with this author from one of the many visits I have taken to the library. While I have normally strayed from the genre of romance, I have to admit that this book is not your "cookie cutter" version that you would normally see. This story offers more emotion and less fluff.

Think about it.... Two completely opposite personalities using each other to obtain their individual goals, but manage to learn something much deeper. Love did not happen at first sight... it grew through learning.

There were some moments that made me giggle, but there was a strong message that managed to come across that made me actually cry. It was the observations that both Daisy and Linc manage to see regarding change for the greater good. Daisy for conforming to Linc's demands of what a wife (even a "fake" one), no matter how miserable she was, being noticed by Linc seeing the hurt his strong actions caused touched me deeply. It is that compassion that reigned with this story and how I felt it is worth 5 stars and possibly more. Kudos to Ms. Crusie for making a romance novel that actually has a deeper story attached.

This is a cute story with nicely drawn characters who get on each other's nerves and fall in love while doing that.
As with other J. Crusie novels, there's humor involved. I laughed out loud several times.
This is summer beach reading at its best! Or a good one to walk a few miles while listening to it.
I checked out the audio version of this book from my local library.

Crusie is my go to author for quirky characters and different Heroes and Heroines. I will pick up one of her books when I just want something good to read. I've been in a weird reading funk lately so instead of grabbing a new book to review and read, I got one of Crusie's backlist books from the library. Wow, don't know why it took me so long to read this one.

This book has the tall, dark straight laced hero, and the free spirited, artist for a heroine. I LOVED the fairy tale theme of Cinderella. In this book it has one of my favorite themes - the "H/H are forced to marry but not really know each other." I usually see this in historical books, so I just love it when I come across it in contemporary. At first Linc is embarrassed of Daisy's clothes, her weirdness and messy ways. She can't stand his Darth Vader Black car, black clothes and modern furniture . They are total opposites - but they just work. She gets him to relax a little when she brings home a one eyed crippled dog, and he gets her to organize her life and start painting again.

This was a quick read of just under 300 pages. I recommend picking this one up on a Sunday morning to read for the day. I laughed out loud and also shed a tear or two.

I loved this book, it was sweet, fun, emotional, and romantic. Daisy is great, she is a free spirit, she likes to show her personality in all things she does, wears, and surrounds herself with. Linc is the complete opposite, he is stuffy, rigid, and proper and these two butt heads often but when they get together it made for a laugh out loud time. I liked the premise of this book and I liked how descriptive Jennifer was with her writing. I loved how slowly but surely Linc saw the real Daisy and could not live without her and Daisy finally saw where she needed to be willing to be open minded to some of Linc's ideas and it changed everything. Them as a couple is great and I could not have been any happier with the ending.

Linc Blaise lies in an interview so he could stand a better chance of being hired by a private college. He needs to find a fake fiancé quickly for the follow up meeting. Daisy Flattery has run out of money and her prospects for making enough from her art seem slim. It's a perfect storm for two people in a jam.

This was my first Jennifer Crusie novel and I couldn't be more pleased. While the premise of the book is a bit outlandish, the actual story as delivered simply isn't. These are extremely likable characters, even when they were behaving badly. The romantic conflict was not protracted and the relationship between the two leads flourished honestly and sweetly. It was well written and the dialogue was fresh and succinct. Lastly, Crusie did a wonderful job in illustrating Daisy's talents beyond her canvas painting.

If I have any criticism it's the decision by the author (**SPOILER ALERT**) to have Daisy's best friend be a former lover of Linc's and not address the ick factor of that.

I highly recommend this short but pleasing book. It surpassed my expectations.

This book was so predictable and pretty boring. The characters weren't very likable, and they only seemed to like each other for physical reasons. I also got tired of how many times Linc, the male character, talked about how Daisy wasn't normally his physical type or how she was "round". Wow, how astonishing that he fell for her, despite her roundness. The book was a quick read but I enjoy a bit more depth and believability in my chick lit (which is saying something, since I normally can tolerate some pretty unrealistic moments in my chick lit..).

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.

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?

Cinderella got her happily ever after with the prince, the unique cats, the battered lovable dog, and a castle filled with charm, friends and family. A must read for those of us who believe in happily ever afters.

"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!

Short and sweet, makes me wish I could be Lincoln to find my own Daisy. Jennifer Crusie writes about intelligent gifted characters, that draw you into their story. Great story, 2nd only to Agnes and the Hitman.

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.

I enjoyed this one mostly because falling in love came as such a surprise to both characters.This is actually the first "have to get married" story I have read in a long time where the premise was actually believable. Both parties intended to get something out of the marriage and considered it incidental. Falling in love wasn't even considered. As always, the side characters were funny also.

Daisy and Linc are the epitome of "opposites attracting". They agreed to act as an engaged couple until Linc got the job he wanted so much and Daisy would get enough money to keep her afloat for a while longer. But things were about to change for both of them. The journey they took was enlightening but I felt Ms Crusie could have added more humor in her description of certain scenes. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a lighthearted, easy read.