I just really enjoyed this book. It was just really easy to get lost in this book. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

This was a quick read that I had a lot of hopes for. The premise was great but felt that it fell short. For me, mainly the super fast instalove was a smidge too much for me. I would rate this at a 3.5 or a 3.75

That being said, the characters of Nate and Claire were great. The diversity of their characteristics was refreshing. Claire being described as the "quirky, people-pleasing bookworm" was super relatable. The spice level within the relationship was...great.

While I know this was a 'fairytale' at times Nate was a bit too perfect and was semi distracting. Regardless, the family aspects, love, spice and wit made this a fun read overall.

I don't read many fairytale retellings and I don't think Cinderella would be my favorite story to be retold anyway, and this book didn't really change my mind. Unfortunately, I had a really hard time with the tone of the book - it felt like it was written for a teenager - and there wasn't enough character development to balance out what was happening.

Honestly this was an utterly disappointing cliche. The love interest was the stereotypically perfect rich guy but has no more personality than a cardboard cutout. The main character was like Hilary Duff's character from A Cinderella Story except much less interesting and more of a wish-fulfillment self-insert than anything else.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I had to DNF this book at 30%. It did nothing for me except give me a headache from the eye rolling. Definitely not for me.

This book was…. something.

The writing was mediocre. It almost seemed childish. The spicy scenes? Oof. I’ve read a ton of cringe-worthy scenes, but this takes the cake. I found myself laughing out loud… and not in a good way. I didn’t like that the book lacked cultural diversity either. It was just not the book for me.

This was a miss for me but I would check out more by the author in the future. I felt like this Cinderella story struggled because of the main characters. Their insta love thing was too trope-y and the love interest was not great. I wish Claire had shown more growth throughout as well. I would not likely recommend this but I appreciate that it was an own voices novel and I hope that this author has a better second showing.

* I was provided with a free ebook copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for this.

How to Survive a Modern-Day Fairy Tale is a modern day retelling on Cinderella, in which our main character Claire meets major billionaire Nate and is swept off her feet. This book started off very strong for me but unfortunately it quickly became quite awkward and cringey. At the beginning of the book, Claire is struggling with her family's expectations and wants to open her own business selling decorated cookies but doesn't want to disappoint her family by not being a high earner. When she meets Nate, she very quickly becomes inspired by his business success, but also seems to become less focused on her business because of their relationship.

My main issue with this book is that Nate and Claire's relationship moves incredibly quickly and is mostly driven by Nate, who is set up as this totally amazing guy (though I found a lot of his dialogue to be super cringe). Whenever Claire expresses any doubts (like that it's weird he wants to marry her after dating her for 3 months) she is treated like it's a flaw that she feels like way because she's untrusting, not because she's being rational. I thought Nate and Claire had quite an unhealthy relationship, and by the end I was really just reading it to find out how it ends, rather than being invested in the story.

This book does contain quite a few spicy scenes and they were probably the best written in the book. I think the author has the potential to write a really good romance, the characters just need to be a bit more realistic in my opinion.

A really sweet cute take on Cinderella. I enjoyed this one, thought it was a unique read but it was a little too YA for me

I loved it and and I'm curious for more of Elle's voice in future books! And I liked the MC plus the writing style.

How to Survive a Modern Day Fairy Tale was a fun twist on the classic Cinderella story. I love the diversity within the story. Super fun and cute story I would recommend! Thank you NetGalley!

I wanted to love this book, but didn't quite connect to the story. I had a hard time believing the romance between Claire and Nate.

Claire Ventura is nothing like the poised and perfect heroines she reads about in her favorite romance novels. She’s a quirky, people-pleasing bookworm with a loving yet obliviously intrusive family and a passion for cookie decorating—all rolled into a five-foot-two Filipina American fueled by chamomile tea.

Then she meets Nate, billionaire CEO of a global tech company, the modern-day Prince Charming who sweeps her off her feet. Though he does his best to convince Claire that he’s genuinely head over heels for her, she knows he’ll soon realize she’s more underwhelming Plain Jane than jet-setting socialite. And once he meets her family, if their initial questioning doesn’t scare him off, then their tendency to decide “what’s best for her” certainly will.

Between her whirlwind romance with Nate and her meddlesome family, Claire wishes she had a fairy godmother to guide her. But this is the real world in the twenty-first century, and the only way to get her happily ever after is by grabbing firm hold of what she really wants—and letting her heart be her guide.

Go to IG: @entre.mi.libro.y.yo to read the full review.

First of all, I want to thank the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for providing me with this book.


Soooo this book. I liked it, just not that much.

What I liked:
It's a fun and quick read, ideal to kill time.
Nate was kinda cute.
Claire's family relationships.

What I didn't like:
Sometimes, the way the characters speak is kind of ridiculous, I mean, nobody speaks like that in real life.
The end was kind of silly in my opinion, the conflict is resolved abruptly.

So this was a 3-star read for me.

The premise of this book sounded amazing, a fun and flirty rom-com, the cover is great and the title is clever. The actual plot was not good. Since this is marketed as own voices I wanted there to be more Filipino culture sprinkled throughout the story. There's a huge family with meddling aunties and two sisters and some mentions of food but that's it. The spicey scenes were cringe. The main characters had a toxic relationship and shouldn't be together. There was no character growth for Claire, she stayed the same the whole time. It felt like this book needed more polishing before being published.

This was a cute rom-com. As a half Filipina I loved that we have representation in a contemporary Romance book because you don’t see that a lot. I loved Clair and her family, and liked her relationship with Nate. Sometimes her choices though really irked me but overall it was a cute fast paced story.

Uh no. Not the modern fairy tale I wanted to read. It was cliché and predictable. The main character was annoying.

Why I requested this Netgalley arc: The gorgeous cover, #ownvoices debut, a Cinderella retelling as a "fun, flirty romcom". Basically, all the things I usually love. By the time I got round to reading the book, it had dipped to a 3.22 rating and it took me only a few chapters to see why.

First - the writing (particularly the protagonist's voice) came across as juvenile. The entire book read more like a Wattpad story (in fact, I've read better there) instead of a published adult novel. I was actually shocked to learn that Claire is 30 years old because I felt like I was reading middle grade/tween fiction (not even YA).

Second - there is hardly any cultural/own-voices or Cinderella element. I know this is largely a romance novel, but I was hoping to learn more about Filipino culture and hence was disappointed by the lack of depth. What we have is a huge family including some annoying aunties and two sisters, all of whom are one-dimensional with no backstory. There were just some fleeting mentions of Filipino food but that's about it.

Third - the steamy scenes scenes were cringeworthy. --- "He was a big boy, indeed. Claire had seen several penises in real life, and all of them were perfunctory enough. But this was not a regular penis. This was a cock – long and thick and beautiful all at once. He had the kind of dick that belonged in porn, and Claire was certain her eyes were deceiving her." (34%)

Fourth - This book made me realize just how much I dislike the insta-love trope. The romance was super fast-paced and bland, with no development or buildup. The characters do acknowledge this, which I appreciated. I tried to read the book like I would a fairytale (quick, fluffy, minimal conflict) but it just didn't work for me.

Fifth - Claire and Nate are clearly incompatible. Claire does not grow at all throughout the book and remains unchanged (and not in a good way). Nate is manipulative and a red-flag love interest who employs the 'love bombing' tactic in the guise of big romantic gestures. Definitely not my idea of ideal characters or characters I even really like or find some sort of connection with.

All in all, I find myself asking "What was the point of the book?" It would have been preferable if the book decided to pull an unconventional twist and go against the fairytale stereotype by having Claire choose herself. Not fun, not flirty, not steamy, and zero connection to the characters - definitely not my idea of a modern fairytale.

What do you do when a book has almost every cliche or trope you despise in literature? You try to coherently make a point out of the immense disappointment. First of all, yes, retellings are fun, but that doesn’t mean the male love interest has to be this perfect caricature who probably stepped out of those original fairy tales that remain problematic despite the so-called perfect characterisation. I know male protagonists written by female authors often lack realism but there’s only so much disbelief I can suspend for a romance I hope to enjoy. I mean, are we not tired of typical fictional men who love playing video games, are great at seducing the girl, have private jets, are workaholics and basically billionaires? I would be lying if I say they don’t sound charming but sadly, saturation triumphs here. Give me a mafia romance instead; at least his personality would then have some texture through everything that’s outright bad or morally grey.

Secondly, I’m forced to wonder: are we calling every common trope a retelling nowadays to sound fancy? Sure, Cinderella has that swoony romance that transcends class and social hierarchies, but that doesn’t mean every romance treading the trope of ‘a plain, average girl meets a famous, rich guy’ can be called a retelling of that fairytale. Thirdly, let’s not talk about what’s sexy in this book because when seduction only translates to “you’re so hot” and phallus descriptions include phrases like “this was not a regular penis”, I would rather search for the smut tag on AO3—those actually perform better. Lastly, ambitious heroines with narrations that focus on their career are a win for me but when the romantic arc outweighs those aspirations, my inner feminist gets a little sad. Not that women can’t prioritise love over their passionate dreams, or seek both at the same time, but when you repeatedly talk about setting up a business and are nervous about taking a leap, I wish for you to think a minute longer before choosing ‘true love’. Especially when you have been judgemental towards female side characters who are housewives.

Having said all of this, I did appreciate the theme of family and culture making a subtle impact on one’s priorities, the goodness of caring for the elders, and those comments from relatives that get too deep into your head. Of course, Claire, the heroine, managed to win points from me for her desire to pursue her passion for baking because yes to female entrepreneurs! But unfortunately, all the major tropes were too cheesy for me and when it’s all topped with instalove, I end up asking: how to survive reading this modern-day fairytale.

This book turned out to be such a disappointment. It started off really nicely but then the insta love felt a little too insta, and I couldn't bring myself to root for them. The heroine also seemed a little too immature to be as old as she was. I ended up DNFing this.