Sadly, this just wasn't for me, but I think someone in the mood for a cheesy, unrealistic romance would probably enjoy this.

Things I liked:
- Claire's relationship with her family, especially with Lola, was touching and nicely done
- Claire's independence and desire to pursue her business

Things I disliked:
- Instalove
- Too cheesy and unrealistic for me. I know this was the point, but it just became too much for me to enjoy the story.
- Nate was basically perfect and one-dimensional until the last couple of chapters, when he kind of became a jerk
- The main "conflict" was that Claire was insecure and overwhelmed. The only concrete reasons she had to feel this way were 1.) a couple of mean Instagram comments and 2.) one negative experience with the paparazzi, but she already felt insecure before those experiences.
- The dating app incident felt like a user data privacy violation

Content: Several scenes with adult content that were decently easy to skip through.

This story really is a modern-day fairytale. Claire works at a bookstore, as she tries to grow her own business of cookie decorating. Her meet cute with Nate is one to remember. She has no idea who he is and is surprised upon learning he's the billionaire owner of many technology and media companies. He sweeps her away in a whirlwind relationship.

The story is really fast-paced with a bit more instalove than I prefer. But it also has some heavier aspects, as Claire navigates family issues including caring for her grandmother with Alzheimer's. Additionally, there's some thoughtfulness about extreme wealth and how money should be spent. I really enjoyed that Claire was Filipino-American, and Nate was Japanese American.

There are some funny puns and hilarious nicknames. If you like super steamy romance and a fairytale relationship, this is a great book for you.

Thank you to Entangled and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

3.5 stars rounded up

There’s always a special shelf I mentally have for stories where protagonists are torn between the demands of traditional family values (whether done so obliviously or not) and the need to seek out one’s unique identity in a place of birth vs. the place of ‘ancestry’ so to speak. And it’s a complex but fascinating one at heart especially when discovering the depth of those familial and cultural ties to the ‘motherland’ brings you to a crossroads where your aspirations seem to go directly against the values espoused by your family.

I thought ‘How to Survive a Modern Fairy Tale’ would be delving slightly into this conundrum as well, but it turned out that the story was mostly a really quick, instalove romance that bloomed between Claire and Nate without much rhyme or reason as both hurtle—at breakneck pace—down the love-road after an accidental meeting. Claire being sucked into his glitterati tech-world is probably part of the fairy-tale dust that Elle Cruz scatters liberally all over the pages, along with a huge dose of serendipity that helps smooth the very few road-blocks the insta-couple face in front of them, as the overarching vibe of ‘I just knew she was the one’ drove Nate’s sudden and inexplicable response to Claire.

I think the lack of believability was my main issue with the whole book; maybe it’s cynicism and jaded-ness speaking now but there were constantly points where I found myself pausing to evaluate their relationship with scepticism and while waiting for the other shoe to fall past the very early love-declarations from both of them. In this cinderella-esque tale of ‘average girl meets famous, rich guy’, I’m afraid ‘How to Survive a Modern Fairy-Tale’ just didn’t do it for me.

How to Survive a Modern-Day Fairy Tale sounded as though it would be a sweet, feel-good romance I could just breeze through. Unfortunately, it wasn't that for me.

I couldn't get over the insta-love between Claire and Nate. There was no progression of their relationship or developing of feelings, and while their meet-cute WAS cute, it turned very strange very quickly.

I wanted to like it, but this story just wasn't for me.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

How To Survive A Modern-Day Fairytale

Review:

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.”

As a Filipina girl and a romance reader, I am excited to read this book written by an American-Filipina girl. I love reading books that I feel represented. I love how the author incorporate some Filipino traditions and tagalog words inside the book and it feels like home.

The story is about Claire Ventura, a modern protagonist in a modern fairytale world. She is a normal girl working with a day job and dreaming of having her own business with her cookie decorating side hobby. One day, an unfortunate incident happened and she met Nate Noruta, a Tech Billionaire. They had a meet cute moment and sparks fly. Their first date is kind of over the top, well I guess if the guy is a billionaire, it’s kind of semi-possible. Nate is the Prince charming, handsome, rich, sexy and doesn’t ride a horse to sweep you off your feet but private planes and sports cars.

Claire as modern day woman, has many challenges in terms of dealing with Family, she loves her sisters and respectful to her aunts and relatives. I understand her predicament living in a big family set up, her yes attitude as a sign of respect, also she’s close to her grandma or Lola who deals with Alzheimers. I also understand how her relationship to a billionaire would put her to doubt herself, to be insecure and to lose focus, personally and professionally.

To be honest, there are some things inside the book that were unnecessary and kind of dragging especially in her family. I hated how she made a big deal of a situation and didn’t communicate properly, but I think the author wants me to understand that a modern day fairytale is not going to be settled by a flick of a wand. A modern day heroine is not the one who will be save by the prince but it’s vice versa. Claire may have hurt her prince charming but love prevails and she realized that she have to be strong and accept that love can conquer all. Overall, I did enjoy this story and I know that the author have a big potential to write more engaging stories.

Thank you very much Entangled: Amara, NetGalley and Author for this addictive new novel!

I loved this book! Not only is it brilliantly written but the story is engaging and lovely
With likable characters, witty dialogue, a romance that made me swoon, as well as the most wonderful ending, all worked together to make A Sweet Mess a thoroughly delightful story!
Every word, every chapter just had me falling more and more in love with these people!
I had fun reading this, this was a great escape read, I could not stop turning those pages, and the romance was definitely swoon worthy.
Nothing makes me happier than reading a story that allows you to feel every emotion the characters are!

I will post closer to pub date!

For all the romance readers out there, Elle Cruz debut novel How to Survive a Modern-Day Fairy Tale takes the romance readers ideals and makes them come to life. This was such a fun "modern-day" twist on the standard fairy tale in which every girl wants to find her prince. He may come in all different forms but for Claire he came as the handsome CEO Nate. I absolutely loved their personal and professional relationship situations. Overall a great read and take on the modern-day fairy tale and keeps the romance reader dreaming of their own.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

In general I thought the story was sweet, the meet-cute was charming, and the leads were well suited. The female lead did feel quite young/immature - this may have been the intention.

Insta-love, or very little build up between the leads, doesn’t really suit my romance reading preferences. I would have enjoyed understanding *why* they liked each other so much, and some tension, rather than jumping into things so quickly. However, I appreciate this is a personal preference - I’m sure many will enjoy the whirlwind.

My other issue with this one is that I didn’t quite completely understand the tension between the sisters in enough detail - I would have liked more history of Ro’s behaviour.

In short: it was sweet insta love - not in line with my personal tastes but others will have a good time!

I know it is about a modern-day fairy tale, but it was a bit too insta for me and too unbelievable. Claire meets Nate, he asks her out and immediately she imagines a relationship, they are intimate very quickly. He flies her to Paris on their first real date... and her sister (who thinks she met someone at a dating app) is completely okay with Claire flying somewhere to meet an unknown person...
Yes, I know it is fiction and I love the heroine being swept off her feet... but it felt so odd. As if the author wanted this to be a fairy tale too hard.

Claire is a really nice person. She loves her family and is very sad her beloved grandmother is in a home after her Alzheimer's is worsening. She loves to bake special cookies and works in a book store. I immediately liked her, who wouldn't.
Maybe I was just in the mood for something a bit more realistic.

Anyway, I would love to see what this author comes up with next and please don't keep my opinion from trying out this book! Love the cover and the fact Claire is from an immigrant family and the family dynamics.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this modern-day spin on the wonderful fairy tale ending stories that I have grown up hearing. Claire was one of the most relatable MC's I've read in a while, capturing your attention with her quirky and very real personality. I adored that she was a bookworm, just like me and never shied away from being true to herself! We have the gorgeous Nate who is the CEO of a mega tech company who dotes on Claire and wants to show her that true love and those perfect fairy tale endings are truly possible. I enjoyed reading the challenges that Claire and Nate have to navigate with their professional and personal lives as they try to balance a new relationship that could possibly lead to their happily ever after. This was the perfect kind of read to pick up after a long day at work and brought with it plenty of smiles and oh so cute moments.

A delightful contemporary romance! I highly recommend for anyone who has contemporary romance burnout - this one is so fresh and so inventive. I couldn't get enough!

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 degree in Women’s Studies and an internet cookie decorator all rolled into a five-foot-two package fueled by chamomile tea.

Then Claire meets Nate, the CEO of a mega tech company, and he takes her to Paris. Hailed as the next Mark Zuckerberg, Nate is a fast-rising star in the tech industry, and he’s just fallen head-over-heels for Claire. Together, Claire and Nate must learn to navigate their personal and professional lives and, in the end, Nate proves to Claire that fairytale endings are really just the beginning.

This is a nice twist on a fairy tale. I like how the heroine isn't the typical blond, blue-eye ingenue. The writing is sharp and entertaining. I like Claire's family as well. They are interesting and likable. What a nice happy story.