Firstly I love the main character - she is perfectly relate able, and I think a lot of girls feel they are in the same position as her, except perhaps without the flawless (step)sister, rich background and of course the pink hair! Mattie Lowe is amazing, and is now a heroine of mine!!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND

You probably know me well enough by now to realise that while I’m more than happy to wander between genres, I’m a romantiphobe. The only books that I voluntarily sign up for knowing upfront that they will involve kissing are by Chris Cannon, who sucked me in with talk of bookstores and food and a liberal sprinkling of banter, and Melissa McShane, who upped the ante by giving me a magical bookstore!

So, how did this book wind up on my TBR pile? Your guess is as good as mine. It probably had something to do with the fact that this story is told from the perspective of the ugly stepsister, and you know how much I love a good underdog story.

“So come here, Cinderella. You need to see this.”
“I think you’re confused as to which one of us is which girl in that story.”

Mattie’s stepsister, Ella, is practically perfect in every way. She’s gorgeous, kind and loved by everyone. She’s a cheerleader, she volunteers, she fundraises and she is happy to clean their home, even though they’re super rich and have staff employed to do that for them. Mattie’s father is so rich their home comes with its own part of the beach!

Mattie, despite being everything that Ella is not, can’t hate her. Ella is too adorable to hate. Although, the fact that she’s dating the boy Mattie has been in love with for half of her life isn’t exactly helping.

“I went from raging mad to helplessly in love to totally confused to completely embarrassed in the space of a few seconds when I was with him.”

This was a light read but I enjoyed it much more than I expected I would. Sure, the requisite romance novel eye rolls were there, my favourite of which happened when Mattie did the whole superhero thing. She changed her clothes and donned a mask and hey, presto! She was unrecognisable to the boy she’d been spending so much time with. He didn’t even recognise her voice.

Despite this, I liked the main characters. Mattie was a good underdog, even though she needed some self esteem. Ella was loveable, even though she was too perfect. Jake, who was almost too perfect himself, had vulnerabilities that endeared him to me. Though, I did want to punch him every time he thought of Mattie’s best friend as a “poor man’s Jon Snow”, “wannabe Edward Scissorhands” or “Guyliner”.

I wanted to get to know Trent, said best friend, better because he was sidelined for most of the book. I also wanted Mercedes Bentley to have more page time. Surely a girl who is not embarrassed to be named after two cars is worth getting to know. Come to think of it, maybe she is mortified by her name and that’s the reason she feels called to be a mean girl.

There’s drama and what ifs and that really irritating lack of communication that I’ve come to expect from my limited experience reading romance novels. If the lovey dovey teenagers actually communicated, their story could be all about the HEA by chapter two.

I’ve got to give Jake credit for summing up the plot of pretty much any romance story for me (change the pronouns where appropriate):

“He likes her. She likes him. They find out.”

Now, this is probably going to be the most unexpected thing you’ll hear me say in the near future: I’m planning on reading the sequel.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kindle Press for the opportunity to read this book.

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

I really loved this! It was a lot of fun, well written and the characters were well developed! I highly recommend this for others!! This was an important read and I found the book to be so great!

I love that this book instead of focusing on the pretty girl, such as Ella, focuses on an average more down to earth/relatable character.
Bravo Sariah.

I won't delve into the pros and cons of this book because after reading 20% I admitted the fact that it wasn't for me. It is like it seems: a fluffy romantic retelling with some humor, and if I were to have read it when I was younger I would've thoroughly enjoyed it - as will others I'm sure. So if the plot piques your interest, I'd say go for it!

To be honest I wasn’t sure about this book to begin with, but as I got more into it I’m glad I don’t give up. This is a fun quirky teen book. I love the last few chapters from Jake’s point of view. Really adds a nice element.

Matilda (aka Mattie or Tilly) is a tall, awkward, fuschia haired, manga drawing girl with the perfect stepsister--Ella. I guess I'd always thought of Cinderella's stepsisters as being lazy, ugly, with big noses, big feet, and grating, irritating voices. In this modern re-telling, Mattie does not come off across as that way at all. In fact, I think she is just a very insecure girl. Her mother all but abandoned her when she was young and has very limited contact with her and her dad is a busy, distracted artist. I loved the relationship that these two girls shared with one another.

Jake. It's interesting to think that everyone has their idea of a perfect guy. He's perfect for one, but not the other. He was great!! And patient.

Loved this story!!

Content: clean!!

I have to admit I wasn't so sure about this book but thought I would give it a try. Mattie is the stepsister of one of the prettiest and most popular girls at school, Ella. It isn't Ella's fault that she is beautiful and dating the best looking guy at school and Mattie's long time crush, Jake. Tired of being left out and done with waiting for her own fairy godmother to show up, Mattie decides to change her life. She'll start by running for senior class president against Jake.

This story has lots of fun twists in this book and it is such a fun read. There is additional content at the end from Jakes POV which is really a great addition! You also get a sneak peek at the next book in the series (which I already ordered and downloaded to my kindle!) This is such a great YA novel! I hope to read even more about these characters in the future!'

Mattie was annoying at times with her inability to see her self worth. Ella was great though. She showed how good she was inside and out. Scott and Mercedes made good villains. Jake was cute but confusing at times.

Over all a good read but this book should have ended when it did. The extra scene at the end killed it for me. I did like the extra scenes from Jake's point of view though even if they weren't really necessary.

The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back is a fun quick read with some lessons that are good for a teenager to learn while growing up.

This book teaches not to assume the personality and reasoning of other people as not everyone is the same as the rest of the people in their book or doing things just to upset you and make you look bad.

The romance in the book was sweet and Jake as a character was fun with depth, seeing him not just as a romance but what else is going on in his life.

I would recommend this book for teenagers who enjoy romance in a highschool setting

*ARC received from publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

The title alone of this young adult novel had enough flair to intrigue my appetite for more than a glimpse of the cover. For a YA debut, the meat inside had me giggling outside of my mind (i.e. I lol’d). Stereotype tropes— such as the requisite jock and cheerleader ruling the roost— used in this story did not hold true to modern era high school where the student body is no longer made up of old-fashioned cliques. Mattie, the protagonist, spent too much time obsessing over a boy, Jake, to the point of indecent shallowness, making her a bit monotonous at times, and keeping her very flat as a character.
I enjoyed the use of male perspective in the book. My only wish is that there were more of that perspective! His input would have distracted from the female lead’s repetition, and given dimension to a rather 2-dimensional cast. I did enjoy the book's plot and humor, but the characters' lack of development impacted the overall tone.
I truly look forward to reading the sequel to this debut to see how much Wilson will grow her writing style and plot lines with the charming duo of Mattie and Jake.

I received this book for free from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lets start by saying I love a retelling. This story was no different.

It was a Cinderella retailing with a twist on the "Ugly Stepsister". In this book, Ella is everything that Mattie isn't. They go to high prestige school but Mattie doesn't care to be apart of the in-crowd but she does however have her eye set on a very attractive guy, but as it goes, it would Ella's boyfriend.

When Mattie and Jake have a school project together, things begin to change. But to Mattie's surprised, things are not always as they appear to be.

It does end of a bit of a cliff hanger for me. So I am very curious if this is going to be a series.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a very high 4 star. I recommend this to anyone that enjoys a good retelling.

Hi,
I'm sorry to say that, having read the beginning of this book, it does not seem to be my thing. I don't want to denigrate it unfairly due to that, so I will be pulling it from my shelf. Thank you for allowing me to read it, even if it didn't turn out to be for me.
Thanks again
- Thelonia

An okay story. Definitely wasn't what I was expecting but it's an entertaining enough story.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to read this book as I absolutely loved it. It was such a cute retelling of Cinderella without it becoming a fairy tale. The author has a way with words and allowing the reader to feel as the protagonist feels. I loved the lightheartedness of it and would definitely recommend it.

Nerdy, go getter Cinderella? Heck yes! This fun retelling is such a good RomCom and I'm a huge fan of Sariah Wilson. Honestly, you can't go wrong with her books. She's got it down. It's a book you'll want to stay up late for or give people the hand while reading. Cute, fun and great characters.
5 stars

I LOVED this book so much!! (Evidence: I have read this AT LEAST five times in the five or so years it has been since it was originally released.) The updated version with Jake's point of view was PERFECT! I've been a Sariah Wilson fan for quite a while, but this book cinched the deal when it was originally released and she proved just how skillful she really is with this update! can't wait to read more of her work, especially about Mattie and Jake!

Sweet and romantic, "The Ugly Stepsister's Strikes Back" was a cute retelling of Cinderella, albeit with a nerdy twist. I look forward to reading book 2!