Really enjoyed reading this. Sweet romance with substance. Really enjoyed reading the bonus material too.

I thoroughly enjoyer this book and couldn't put it down. I like how it takes a spin on the classics Cinderella story. I think it is a great YA novel because it discusses issues and feelings teen girls feel. It sends a great message about embracing who you are and not changing for anyone. Also, always following your heart. I also enjoyed the bonus material told from Jake's POV and the sequel book. I am looking forward to more books with Mattie and Jake and can't wait to recommended this book to others.

Quirky and snarky Mattie Lowe is not having a good year. Her mother (divorced) seems to hate her and belittles her online. The school mean girl is out to get her...AND her beautiful stepsister Ella is the most beautiful girl in school AND dating Mattie's secret crush, the football captain Jake Kingston. After suffering one too many humiliations, Mattie has had enough. She rallied enough support and ran for class president... against Jake. Yes, Ella can keep the Jake... and Mattie will rule the school. But the transformation comes with a price... Will she be okay if Jake wanted to date HER instead? What about her sister? What will the class mean girl do? What will Mattie wear to the masquerade ball?

It's basically high school drama but done pretty well. There's the HEA, which basically means Mattie win at everything. She got good relations with her stepsister, she got her borders clear with toxic mom, she got a kiss from Jake, she won the class president election... AND the mean girl got put in her place. Obviously, it did take a little bit of deus ex machina to get there, and Jake came across as slightly dreamy, but I guess it's swoon-worthy for high school girls.

I think this was a little too young-adulty for me-- my fault, for selecting a book from the wrong genre. I didn't personally end up finishing it, but I could see how pre-teen or teen girls would find this a fun adventure; a nice modern play on Cinderella.

Back in the 1980’s (when I was young) I was obsessed with boys, music and books. I would go into town on a Saturday with my friends and usually spend far too long in WH Smiths pouring over the books and trying to decide what I was going to buy next. I had a part – time job and would spend my money on buying a new album and a book, once a month. I loved the Sweet Dreams series of books and I would take such a long time trying to decide which one I was going to buy next. There were probably over 200 of these books and I just loved them. They were completely alien to me. They were all set in American High Schools and the girls and boys had cars and their own phones in their bedrooms. Things that an English schoolgirl could only aspire to.
The kids in these books all had such glamorous lives and I couldn’t get enough of them.
This book really reminded me of these.

I really enjoyed this take on the Cinderella story. Matilda – or Mattie for short – feels like she is everything that her beautiful, friendly, clever and selfless stepsister isn’t. Ella’s mother died a few years ago and both girls have been brought up by Mattie’s dad ever since. They go to the same elite school and Ella is one of the more popular students and is dating Jake Kingston, the football hero of the school. Unfortunately, Mattie has also secretly been in love with Jake since she was 9 years old.

Mattie and Jake have a couple of run in’s. The first one being in detention when Mattie refuses to cover for Jake after the teacher leaves the classroom. Soon after this Mattie and Jake are paired together in a project.

At this point the author gets the feelings and behaviour of Mattie absolutely perfect. The way that she reacts to him, obsessing over every little thing that he does and says. All the while she is trying not to literally drool and reminding herself that he is in fact dating her stepsister.

This is also where the relationship between the sisters really comes into it’s own. Mattie has spent many years of assuming who or what Ella is without actually getting to know her and seeing the girls begin to become friends is a really nice thing to read. This is also when Mattie begins to grow up and stop feeling as though the whole world is against her.

I also loved the references to the wonderful John Hughes films of the 1980’s. At this point, I feel that I ought to point out that Sixteen Candles is one of my very favourite of his films and I think that Jake Ryan is perhaps one of the nicest guys in a film.

There are plenty of morals in this story and I would have adored this book when I was 14 and although this was still rather twee, I found myself unable to put this book down.

It all moved at a nice pace and kept me reading. I think I managed to finish the book in a couple of hours as I really enjoyed having an insight into the lives of Mattie and Ella. I hope there are going to be more books as I’d love to know what happens with Ella and how Mattie’s dad gets on with his new girlfriend.

This was a light, enjoyable - if somewhat predictable - read. Enjoyed it thoroughly

2.5 Stars
Meh, it was okay. Overall this was fluffy and predictable. While I'm definitely older than the target demographic I enjoy YA, but this one seemed young to me. Mattie ended up annoying me. Her lack of self esteem, constantly putting herself down, her Inability to talk to her dad, her dislike,of Ella, her lack of empathy, or being able to even understand how others feel, all made her into a somewhat disagreeable character for me.

This is a sugary sweet read, great for any adult or teen! Mattie has a problem. More than one. The love of her life is dating her perfect stepsister, she's pretty much invisible at school, and she now has to join a school club. After a rather eye opening talk with her crush in detention she decides to run against him for the school presidents position. After many, many ups and downs Mattie finally sees a bit of the real Jake. She's still in love.
Mattie was a pretty awesome character and I'm glad she wasn't the run of mill shy, timid, loner girl most portray nowadays. She's got a backbone and she's full of some pretty great wit. Jake is our All American high school crush. We have all had a Jake in our life. Super sweet, super handsome, super athletic, the list goes on. Yet Jake is really sweet deep down and has some pretty overbearing parents that lets us forgive some of his "bad days". I usually don't talk about secondary characters but I loved Ella. She's the girl you want to hate. Perfect, beautiful, sweet, hard-working, smart. Ella was all that and more and she worked off Mattie perfectly. She was so easy to like and I hope she gets a book.
Overall I'm definitely going to get a copy for my own daughter to read! Maggie's story was definitely one I'll share. She grows a lot throughout the book and the ending was perfect!

The way this book is written makes me and most women think same gorgeous, over helpful step sister already hate her
But is all as it seems does Ella have the good life Mattie believes
Sometimes we can't see what is right in front of us
The writer actually made me think how I view myself and how others view me it was quite cathartic
So what looked like a chick lit book made me look at me just like Mattie
For that alone the writer deserves praise so thank you and can't wait for next book

5 glorious and shiny stars for laugh out loud fun, humor, wit and causing my emotions to run the gamut. This is a book for all you teens out there or parents of teens or anyone who wants to just have fun while reading about some high schoolers. Ok, I know what you're thinking...you're past the high school age and so grateful to be on to greener pastures and happily content. Or you're thinking, never again for high school. Well I'm here to tell you that no matter if high school is a distant memory (and not really pleasant at that), or high school is a fabulous memory, or you're still in high school navigating all the ups and downs, this book could have you laughing and sighing for the happily ever afters (and of course I'd be remiss if I didn't say the journey that gets you there).

Aside from enjoying previous books that I've read by this author, the whole twisted Cinderella concept caught my eye and had me wanting to experience this book. I'm a huge Cinderella fan! Love, love, love Cinderella! She's my favorite, but I think I might just say I love the stepsister just as much or more in this version. Ella, our Cinderella character, is absolutely fabulous in this book. Even though at the beginning you want to dislike her because reading from the point of view of Mattie the stepsister, you feel the frustration and hurt from her regarding their relationship. But honestly, you just can't but help love her and that's part of Mattie's frustration.

What a fun spin-off on these two characters. I could go on and on about the dynamics between Mattie and Ella, how there's a good connection but there are walls built up to protect each other. I could talk about the change in those dynamics when one wall starts to come down and the girls get to see the other side of each other's walls. Oh it was great. Hurt to healing and a fuller joy of life.

I think this is a great read for teenage girls. Yes, it's positive and happy and sappy. But there are plenty of moments of sorrow and introspection. Some real soul searching and laying bare the truth of who you are. I love how real the characters seemed with their struggles and learning that the hurt can be fixed with truth and courage. And kindness. I can't not mention kindness when talking about Cinderella.

And hello, can I just say Jake Kingston???!!!! Every teenage girl's dream boy for sure! I can't wait for my teenage daughters to dive in and enjoy this book. Yes, there's teenage romance but it was sweet and lovely and fun. And guess what? Bonus features in this new version of the book...Prince Charming...er I mean, Jake Kingston's point of view. Yes! The whole book is from Mattie's perspective, but after the end the author gives us several key chapters of just Jake talking and thinking. It was so fun to reread those scenes from his thoughts. He's the best! Can I just say 16 Candles? Oh Jake a million pats on the back for your wonderfulness. Every young teenage girl needs a gentlemanly young man in their lives, even if he's just a good friend.

There's plenty of teenage angst and lots of real life angst as well. Heartache and not young love type of heartache. Broken family and dreams and lives type of heartache. Mattie and Ella have kind of an unconventional life and I loved watching how their perspectives changed as they grew and matured. I loved their friendship growing as they relied on each other and helped each other. A girl needs a good friend to lift and support her. Someone who will love her unconditionally. Not just teenage girls but old girls too! And I loved seeing these two ladies find that in each other.

So many funny one liners. Another book that I found myself highlighting like crazy and laughing out loud while reading! Definitely one I'm going to (and already have) tell many friends about. It's a book I'm going to tell my teenage daughters that they must read and I'm hoping to find myself rereading it several times over. Mattie's humor is fun and very witty. I wish I could share every single one of those moments with you in my review to show you how much I just love her character. But of course I can't. So if you're a YA genre lover, a good witty book lover, a Cinderella fan, a sweet clean high school romance lover then I highly recommend this book for you. If those aren't your thing, no worries, I'll enjoy it for you! ;-) I'm sure I could ramble on more and more about this one. Even as I'm typing these words right now I'm thinking of more fun and fabulous moments that I loved. Now excuse me while I go wait for book two (there's a little preview for that at the end of this book)!!!!!

Content: Clean.

I received a copy from the publisher, Kindle Press, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

This book pulled me right in.
I am not one for drama and those were your typical high school drama.
Your normal “ugly” girl (normal/ugly = not a cool/popular kid) is in love with the high school it guy.
and to make more drama her stepsister is already dating him.
Just add in tons more drama, some really cute parts and a good writing style and this book earns itself a good old 3.5 stars in my book.

Another book I really wanted to like but I could not get over the poor pitiful me when it was so not true.

I enjoyed this book greatly, there was a lot of moments where I laughed. Some of the prose read like an adult trying to sound like a teenager, too much explaining at other points, but for the most part it didn't ruin the story for me. I'd give this book to any of my friends looking for a quick, lighthearted read that will leave them in a good mood.

This was a very nice twist to the Cinderella (or insert any fairytale with sisters) story. Sweet read and some references to the classic 80’s rom-coms!!
Ella has everything, knows everybody and can’t do wrong. That makes Mattie despise/hate her.
Jake, Mattie’s crush since she was 9, is dating Ella, but is spending more time with Mattie and she can’t ignore the zings and the pull.
When Ella finds out about the crush, instead of being jealous, she starts helping Mattie get the guy.
The sisters grow closer, but Mattie listens to the mean girl in school and almost falls for it.

NetGalley provided a free copy and I’d def recommend this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Ugly Stepsister Strikes Back. The references to different 80's movies was dead on. The witty banter between Jake and Mattie kept me hooked. Excellent read. A big thank you to the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book.

I just thought this was a fun Cinderella type stories. It had fun characters, a good plot and was well written. I thought it had a good message about believing in yourself, taking risks and standing up for what you believe in. I liked the relationship between Ella and Mattie, and how supportive Ella was of Mattie. She was just a cool chick. I liked Jake, he was a fun character.

Oh my Buddha! I enjoyed this book even though I don't always read YA genre. It was a modern day twist on the Cinderella story. I think that my generation will get more of the references to the John Hughes films.
I was thankful to get a glimpse into Jake's perspective at the end of the book.
I have read other books by this author and really enjoyed them as well.

I liked this novel, even though I must admit that the cover wasn't too promising (the one on the NetGalley website is better, at least). I ended up really liking Ella, Mattie's stepsister, so I'm glad that she was part of the story, too. The only issue I have with this novel is the fact that I can't see what made Mattie and her love interest fall for each other. It's kind of the main part of this book, so that's a bit unfortunate. However, I liked many of the smaller parts of this book, so it was a nice read.

This is a fun retelling of Cinderella for the teenage crowd. I enjoyed this from beginning to end.