Review: If The Shoe Fits by Sandra D. Bricker
Julianne used to believe in fairy tales; she’s been watching for Prince Charming to come charging in on his white steed ever since the day her mother read her Cinderella for the first time. But she’s never come close to finding the perfect man-instead she’s always tripping over her childhood best friend, Will. And who finds their Prince Charming on a 10-speed bicycle on the other side of the cul de sac? Well… Julianne does. Only she doesn’t have a clue.
She and Will are attorneys now, and they’ve joined up in private practice in a beautiful Cincinnati office building that overlooks the Ohio River. And then one day Julianne is on her way to court, and runs right smack dab into Prince Charming. But when she looks again, all she finds is a metaphoric sign she is certain came straight from Heaven: The Prince’s toolbox has fallen off the back of his truck, and a work boot along with it. What better way for God to grab the attention of a Cinderella-in-training than to show her a glass slipper…errrr, work boot?…waiting to be reunited with its owner?
So she sets out to track down the mysterious Prince Charming. He’s the most gorgeous guy she’s ever seen…and a caring animal rescuer, too. Surely he must be the soul mate God has prepared her for.
But, Julianne’s prince is starting to look less and less charming all the time. No matter how she tries to romanticize him, he just keeps tumbling down off that dumb pedestal. And with the Bar Association dinner coming up that will honor her for her outstanding charity work over the year, Julianne wants so much for her friends and colleagues to see her with someone besides her best friend Will. To make matters worse, Prince Charming has no designs on wearing a penguin suit and attending a stuffy old dinner. With her pride pressing in on her like sticks from a cactus, Julianne sinks to the bottom of the proverbial barrel and actually offers to pay Paul to be her date.
Julianne is on a collision course with God’s perfect plan for her life…if only she could open her eyes and see it before it’s too late.
After I requested this book via NetGalley [but before I had been approved], I “applied” for a position on Sandie’s Launch Team for this book and I am so glad I did.
It wasn’t quite what I expected, but nonetheless and wonderful read. Julianne and Will are simply perfect and I love the chemistry between the two of them.
The only problem?
Julianne seems to cut off her nose to spite her face when it comes to Will. She simply can’t let herself believe there could be a future for them – no matter how many times God seems to give a sign.
Instead, she does her best to turn the rescuer of a poor dog into her Prince Charming, but it simply isn’t to be. He does bring “Charming” into her life, but this man? He’s a poor substitute for the real thing.
This is the first in Sandie’s series of modern fairy tale retellings and I’m looking forward to the next one. While I agree – completely – of Julianne and Will’s perfection for each other, I’d love to see Mr. Not-So-Charming get a story of his own – wherein his “faults” are “fixed.” Or at least he finds his own Ms. Right. I’ve not got a clue what Sandie has planned, but I’d guess that’s not it.
Even so, I loved this Cinderella retelling and can’t wait for the next one.
Overall rating: 9 out of 10 stars