The Cinderella Reversal is a fast paced, fast read forced proximity romance with some complications and miscommunication but mostly an easy read. I enjoyed it and read in one sitting, the characters are nice and non threatening, there is an adorable kid and the situation is mostly light. There are some layers to the characters but nothing that you need to think hard about and process which is exactly what i was looking for in a novel right now. I recommend for a light easy reading story.

"The Cinderella Reversal" is a heartwarming romcom about Annabella, engaged to a man for her father's business, who ends up accidentally married to Ian, a lawyer in the small town she stumbles into. They navigate their predicament with humor and warmth, forming unexpected bonds. While the protagonist, Annabella, is relatable but not deeply connected with, the dynamics between characters, especially with Ian and his daughter Maggie, shine through. The story is filled with banter, learning curves, and genuine moments, making it an enjoyable read despite its familiar tropes.

The Cinderella Reversal by Anna Banks is a heartwarming romantic comedy. AnnaBelle Mason has just made a life changing commitment and was quickly looking for an easy escape. She books a random flight and finds herself at a bar called The Drowned Rat chatting it up with a handsome stranger. Chatting turns to taking shots, taking shots turns to leaving the bar together, and leaving the bar together turns into a marriage. The next morning they quickly try to annul the marriage but, a judge is not having any part of it and instead forces them to live together for 30 days before they can go their separate ways.

Annie is the last type of person that Ian Jackson would ever picture himself with. She is a big city girl while he loves his small town life. She believes in love and he has done everything in her power to avoid ever falling in love again. His first marriage did not work out and resulted in his wife leaving him for another man. The only good thing that came out that it was his daughter Maggie. The dynamic between Annie and Maggie is magic. They are so sweet together and I think Maggie helps bring out a different side in Annie.

Annie's dynamic with Maggie also helps Ian start seeing her in a different way. He also sees the way that she does her best to fit into her new surroundings which were not what she was used to. I loved the banter between these two characters. They kept each other on their toes and forced each other to grow in unexpected ways. It was all done very well and make it enjoyable for me as a reader.

The Cinderella Reversal is a pretty straight forward story. It follows the usual formula of a romantic comedy so there are really no surprises. I enjoyed this because I knew (or at least I hoped) there would be a happy ending. It's also a quick read so if you're looking for something simple and that will make you smile, this is one you should check out.

Unfortunately, this was not a book for me. I have recently attempted to delve into genres not part of my norm, this includes the rom coms. I wasn't able to continue with this book after the first few chapters. I hesitate to leave any kind of a review because I'm certain this book will appeal to many readers.

I had recently read a book that was very similar but was more interesting. The characters were just flat. The whole story felt like a cliff-notes version of the story she intended to tell. It had so much potential but just fell short for me.

Summary :

Annabella Mason of the St Louis Masons gets engaged to help her father's business. She wanted to enjoy the last of her freedom before getting married and ends up in a small town located in New Mexico. Annabella ends up at a bar called The Drowned Rat, chatting up a handsome stranger and calling for shots of tequila.

Ian Jackson is a divorced lawyer who shares custody of their daughter. He is intrigued by the new stranger sitting at the bar in The Drowned Rat. They spend the night talking and doing shots of tequila. The night ends with Anna and Ian married. Ian called his judge friend to get the marriage annulled. Only, His Honor is not so amused by the circumstances and requires that the two live together for 30 days before he'll annul the marriage.

My Thoughts:

This was a good read. Annabella and Ian had an instant connection and acted on it. The story had a nice flow to it. I really like Anna Bank's writing style.

Annabella's character was your stereotypical rich girl. She didn't know how to do many of the routine items like cleaning a house because she had maid to do it for her. I do like how she was written to learn how to do it. She did hire a cleaning service but asked them to teach her as they cleaned. Ian and Annabella learn to love each other in those 30 days. Annabella and his daughter also love each other.

I would read more books written by Anna Banks.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for this complimentary copy.

A fun read. I liked how it was told from both points of view, and what a great character Maggie was too.

📚ARC REVIEW📚

The Cinderella Reversal by Anna Banks

Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5
Spice level: 0/3
Genres: Contemporary romance
Tropes: (VERY loose) fairytale retelling, miscommunication trope, different worlds, marriage of convenience/fake marriage, HEA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This one missed the mark for me. I think if you’re looking for a cute, short, Hallmark Movie-type read where the plot details don’t quite add up, you may enjoy this one.

The characters are witty and funny sometimes, and I think the overall plot is cute. But there are a lot of details that don’t make a ton of sense, and the characters don’t have consistent personalities.

Overall, this one wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for a copy of this to read.

‼️Book specific notes, may contain spoilers ‼️

-you can’t just get legally married without filing for a license with a state office; usually has a wait period. Even if their state does not have a wait period, it was the late evening when they “got married” so there wouldn’t have been anywhere to get the paperwork from

-Annie/Bella is rich, could she not have just paid a different judge/lawyer to annul their (not actually legal) marriage?

-she handles the transition from having money to being essentially broke way too well

-the whiplash I got from Ian yelling at Annie/Bella to the point of tears to almost immediately being like “oh never mind, thanks for cleaning my office” is extreme

-it rubs me the wrong way that Annie/Bella goes from having aspirations of being a writer to accepting that she’ll just be a socialite wife to then diving headfirst into being a traditional housewife. I just feel like her personality isn’t consistent throughout this (very short) story

-in the end, she sells a lot of her Dad’s property to make some money. You can’t just sell someone’s house and boat unless you’re listed as the owner.

This was a super fun and cute novella! I absolutely loved reading it as a palette cleanser in between my harder subjected books.

This book is a really simple, easy romance read. Just a simple romance. The idea that they're not allowed to get an annulment because the judge wants to make them give the marriage a chance is a little hard to believe and to base a love story off one character cheating on her fiancé is just overall a weird thing...but it was still a not bad read.

This was a fun read. Watch a princess turn into a house wife as you follow this delightful couple. So much fun!

This was a cute but predictable read that reminded me of a Hallmark movie as evidenced by the closed door romance. Amiable characters including Mr Grump, the male MC. While there was physical attraction, I didn’t really feel the romance since any “getting to know you” interactions between Annie and Ian were rare. I liked how Annie became proactive in helping her father get out of debt.

Witty descriptives abound in this new novel from Anna Banks! It’s a fun romp with a familiar plot line. Read in an evening so while definitely less graphic than others in the genre still a good read.

This was a cute quick romance to read. I picked it up between my Fantasy books as a good Palette cleanser. The small-town rich woman scene was cute and easy to digest as you follow these two in their 30 cohabitation as the romance progresses there really is not a lot of Angst or anything too out of the ordinary it was pretty straightforward but enjoyable.

Thank you Net Galley and Entangled for this ARC

A sweet contemporary romance. Bella Mason is a St. Louis socialite. Due to her father's failing business, she has made the decision to marry the wealthy Monroe Tucker, on the condition that his family will save her father's company. Seeking a discreet place to drink away her woes before giving in to her future, she hops on a plane to a random small town in New Mexico. In the local bar she meets Ian Jackson, who matches her shot for shot, hearing her life story along the way. As the night goes on, they drunkenly decide to get married... and do so immediately. With the light of day come the regrets, but the local judge refuses to grant them an annulment until they live together for thirty days. Romance ensues.

This is a quick and sweet romance. The main characters definitely fit the opposites attract trope. It's nice to watch them both develop, as Bella works to learn skills she's never needed in her affluent lifestyle and Ian starts to open up to the possibility of love after his failed first marriage. They fall for each other very quickly though. Maybe not the most realistic, but fun along the way. Plus, Ian's daughter, Maggie, is such a cutie. I loved how Bella instantly connected with her as well. Enjoyable read overall.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I felt like I was reading a Hallmark movie. It is a simple and easy romance read that has zero twists and turns and is very predictable.
I had a hard time reading this with the way that the dialogue was written, it just seemed so fake. I had to reread too many sentences because it just didn’t flow the was a normal conversation should. I also had a hard time with the characters and believing their connection since most of the dialogue was internal and their relationship moved so quickly. I just wanted so much more.
Also, the dual POVs are in third person.


Thank you NetGalley and Anna Banks for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy!

This was a fun, cute little read. I read this very quickly, as we race through a 30 day sham marriage with some quirky small town events along the way.

So glad Entangled and NetGalley sent me this eARC 🥰

I really enjoyed this book! There was nothing overly surprising or dramatic but that's ok. It was like watching a Hallmark movie in your most comfortable clothes with a mug of tea. I knew everything would work out in the end, that there would be hijinks and challenges along the way, that something would happen that seemed unsurmountable but would be taken care of by the end of the book. The idea that they're not allowed to get an annulment because the judge wants to make them give the marriage a chance is a little hard to believe so it is probably necessary to suspend logic for a moment. After that though, it's fun to see the characters grow and change because of their interactions with each other. There is basically zero spice in this book, so if that's something you're looking for, you'll be disappointed. It's alluded to but just fades to black before anything actually happens. My only complaint is how quickly and efficiently everything is sorted out in the end. It just felt too easy and didn't match all the concerns throughout the book about how everything could go wrong. Other than that, it was an enjoyable and comfy read!
Thank you so much to Entangled and NetGalley for the EArc of this book!

Rating: 4.5/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

Would you marry someone who you know that you will just hate being married too? What if I told you that you would be doing it for your father, so you could save his company.

I loved this heartwarming romcom. All this started with a few, okay a lot of shots in a bar and then next thing you know is your married. What to do next? The banter between the characters, the learning process and getting used to having to share your space with someone was done so well. I loved the grumpy meets sunshine, the small town, fake relationship and even the single parent trope was not a big deal for me because the way the author wrote this book was the main focus, but it was still an important one.

The characters were relatable, but I didn’t connect that well with Annie like I would have liked too. I can relate to how she handled the situation with the accidental marriage to Ian, learning to cook, shopping wisely. No, she is not a spender at all, but I can relate to her shopping at Walmart for clothes that would be better for her to wear in a small town, rather than her suits/nice clothes. For me it’s the opposite. I have a hard time shopping for business women clothing (so expensive) rather than for casual. I liked the fact that she was calm for the most part and knew how not to judge others but to let them show you their true colors. I liked that she was not judgmental about Maggie, Ian’s daughter, but instead she took to her right-away, and it wasn’t really forced but you can see the friend blossom between those too.

Ian was really the good guy in a small town, I loved that he was not what Annie was looking for at all but ended up being what she needed. I liked that he was able to understand the situation that they were in, and how he handled it. Later you will find out why the judge, Harry, made them cohabitate for 30, and omg it's such a cute story. Maggie, Ian’s daughter, was so cute, and I loved that she was so cute, and very smart for her age. I loved the banter between all the characters, I laughed several times while reading it and I didn’t mind the closed-door romance. All I would have changed is to have a little more character development from MMC or the MFC.

I have read other books by this author, and I can’t wait to read more. If you want to read a small town rom coms, with closed door romance, and found family you need to pick up this book and read it.

I want to thank Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for this book.

Normally I love any book published by Entangled and I truly tried to get into this one, but it just didn't too it for me.

The dialog was smiled and the sentences just did not flow correctly. I also, was not fond of the plot.

The main character was engaged, and cheated on her fiance. Why not break it off.

Sadly I can not recommend this book. I give it three stars.