Julie Murphy is the New York Times bestselling author of several books, including Dumplin', now a Netflix original movie starring Jennifer Aniston. She lives in North Texas with her husband, dog, and cat. Visit www.imjuliemurphy.com for more.
Cindy loves shoes. A well-placed bow or a chick stacked heel is her form of self-expression. As a fashion-obsessed plus-size woman, she can never find designer clothes that work on her body, but a special pair of shoes always fits just right. With a shiny new design degree but no job in sight, Cindy moves back in with her stepmother, Erica Tremaine, the executive producer of the world's biggest reality dating show. When a slot on Before Midnight needs filling at the last minute, Cindy is thrust into the spotlight. Showcasing her killer shoe collection on network TV seems like a great way to jump-start her career. And, while she's at it, why not go on a few lavish dates with an eligible suitor? But being the first and only plus-size contestant on Before Midnight turns her into a viral sensation—and a body-positivity icon—overnight. Even harder to believe? She can actually see herself falling for this Prince Charming. To make it to the end, despite the backhanded compliments, conniving producers, and a house full of fellow contestants she's not sure she can trust, Cindy will have to take a leap of faith and hope her heels—and her heart—don't break in the process. Bestselling author Julie Murphy's reimagining of a beloved fairytale is an enchanting story of self-love and of believing in the happy ending each and every one of us deserves.
This series, Meant to Be, is focusing on retelling a bunch of Disney's classic fairytales, and the perfect place to start is with Cinderella. The quintessential fairytale has a lot of recognizable elements, yet Julie Murphy takes complete creative license, making this retelling entirely fresh and imaginative. The novel itself incorporates familiar elements—a stepfamily, the father and mother's deaths, even the idea of being late for the ball and a fairy godmother (or two)—while also providing unique twists on each of those things. Rather than an evil stepfamily, we see one that has a complicated relationship that's still functioning. Instead of just a father and a mother dying, Murphy develops conversations of death and grief and joy to more fully develop Cindy's character. Each of these elements is used in their own unique ways, crafting a story that starts to feel less and less like a retelling, and more and more like an original the further along you go.
One element that definitely wasn't in any of the original Cinderella fairytales, though, was the reality TV narrative. Cindy, via channels of fate and decision, ends up on this world's version of The Bachelor, Before Midnight. With a lot of nods to the much-loved franchise, Before Midnight is very clearly representative of the reality show. It seems to me like a lot of authors are now becoming obsessed with reality TV as a stage for romance novels. One only has to remember Alison Cochrun's The Charm Offensive to realize that contemporary romance can take any stage, in any form. Cindy's story is no different, and in fact is empowering for women as she chooses to join this shaw last minute. Knowing that Murphy watched a lot of episodes of the show while writing makes the incorporation of the show and all its plot points (the producers, the other women) feel natural. Bachelor Nation will certainly eat this story up, as the entire schematics of the show are modeled after The Bachelor, making for some plot elements that are familiar but always entertaining.
While arguably there is nothing more romantic than chance encounters that lead to grand gestures and a life together, readers don't see a whole lot of their favorite romance novel interactions between the two main characters. Having a book that takes place on the set of a reality TV show—where we know the leading person is not interacting with their contestants—definitely explains this, as Cindy and Henry aren't able to fully connect the way we want them to. Each time they talk, we want them to go on for longer, to go deeper, and it's just not realistic in their environment for that to happen. This is why, personally, I felt the book could not fully gain that fifth star. While each interaction between Cindy and Henry felt personable and real, especially taking their surroundings into account, it wasn't entirely enough to convince me he'd fly across the ocean three-to-five weeks later to make things right. Now, maybe that's where I needed to suspend my "contemporary" bias in favor of one that loves fairytales, but seeing as how the entire novel took a very realistic approach up until then, I could not do it.
However, this book has so much more going for it than its romance—Murphy's poignant ability to talk about all the difficult topics under the sun. She covers what it's like being a plus-size woman, especially on a reality TV show; the difficulties of suppressed grief, and the ways in which it bubbles back to the surface; and how in the world we're supposed to choose joy and choose ourselves. These are the conversations that made the book for me. While I wished each of them were talked about more—more!—I felt like Murphy did a fantastic job weaving in elements of these and more into Cindy's story. Cinderella is a two dimensional character—Cindy is anything but. This is only true because of the way Murphy gives Cindy space to be an entire person the pages of the novel. She's relatable but also has her own sense of humor, provides representation for so many women while also staying true to her style and background. It is this individuality of the main character that makes If the Shoe Fits as powerful a retelling as it is, and makes me eager to read more from the Meant to Be series.
If you loved this imaginative retelling as much as I did, then you won't want to miss the next novel in the Meant to Be series, penned by the one and only Jasmine Guillory. By the Book will be out May 3rd, and you bet I will be picking that up wherever books are sold. Stay tuned for my review!
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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