Seducing Cinderella (by Gina L. Maxwell)

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Seducing Cinderella rating: 6 STARS

Release Date: July 20, 2012

Fighting for Love series rating: 6 stars

"Seducing Cinderella" is book 1 of the Fighting for Love series

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How are the sex scenes?

Passionate and memorable with emotion that will make you forget to breathe.

How are the story lines?

Entertaining and character driven.  Seducing Cinderella constantly revolves around the hero and heroine's relationship.

Would you read it again?

In addition to the two times I've already read it?  Yes.  

My bookclub's reading it now.

Summary

Reid Andrews a/k/a Randy Johnson is a thirty-four-year-old UFC fighting champion who just tore his rotator cuff while training to regain his title.  

Lucinda "Lucie/Lu-Lu/Lubert/Lu/Luey/Luce" Miller is the physical therapist Reid must use for rehabilitation, and also happens to be his best friend's baby sister.

Reid needs full time physical therapy and Lucie needs Dr. Stephen, her sexy co-worker who's romantic intentions are currently towards Lu's uninterested friend.  To achieve their goals, they strike a deal:  Luce will get Reid ready for his rematch and Reid will help Luey nab Dr. Clueless Dumbass...or, Stephen.

Review

Gina L. Maxwell's Seducing Cinderella is a modern romance with scene-stealing characters and chemistry that proves everyone is having sex all wrong.  Her writing is impeccable, but she had me at the dedication:

"...I searched for, and finally found, THE THING I WAS MEANT TO DO."

I still tear up reading that.  Good for you, Gina.

Reid is beyond hot.  There's no other way to put it.  With his body and hair and tattoos and confidence and words...ohh, his words.  In their first scene together Reid tosses Lucie on the exam table, stares deep into her eyes and breathes, "So, Miss Miller, tell me where it hurts."

Everywhere.  Dies.

We find out fairly soon that Lucie more than fancies Dr. Stephen - she loves him.  This is expounded upon and picked apart later, but thank you Gina for giving us a heroine who truly wants another guy.

Gina's writing is seduction on paper with lines like, "His breath feathered the drying strands tucked around her ear, and when he spoke, the vibrations from his voice rippled along her neck."  Lucie thinks she'll never survive Reid's lovemaking.  I felt I wouldn't survive Gina's writing.  Her meanings are so layered and her descriptions and comparisons are so original that it took two days to read 155 pages.

155 pages?

Seducing Cinderella sure as hell feels like a 90,000 word novel with 12 subplots and guest walk-ons.

Reid pursues Lucie from the beginning, though he (and I) never noticed.  Upon a second reading, I realized that Gina’s subtle hints ease us into the big “I love you” making it the natural next step - instead of a sudden scene crash so many other novels die from.

Gina uses the best unique phrases.  My favorite: “…pushed him with the strength of a baby bird.”  Find that scene and we’ll talk about how accurate this sentence is.

Seducing Cinderella is true to its title.  Reid is seducing his Cinderella and she is sometimes clueless to his seduction.  So she says careless things, mentioning Dr. Stephen at inopportune times.  Genius.  Now we get to read great emotion and actually see Reid and Lucie struggle.  Then when Reid demands to know why Lucie chooses Stephen...

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

In nine words Gina sums up feelings I could describe to you in four paragraphs.  I’ll repeat.  Genius.

The ending almost threw me into a seizure.  Gina pushed the story one way – so much so that I was sure we would have a Rocky reenactment of Reid in the ring shouting “Lubert.”  We didn’t. 

I then thought we may read the classic “let down” scene, where the characters finally see one another and have the story end two sentences later.  That didn’t happen either.

What did happen was an ending that became predictable only right before it was read and a few lines that may remind you of a Young Adult romance.  (The title is Seducing Cinderella, after all.)  Gina did not end this novel on a Young Adult note, but she ran head first towards that line and thumped it.

I sat there with tears in my eyes, my adult mind being completely at peace with the heart-tugging journey and my teenage heart beating staccato from the melodramatic ending.

...

Food for thought - despite my usual dislike, Seducing Cinderella contains the most erotic and beautifully written oral scene I have ever read. 

Now go forth, purchase, and find it.

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Learn more about Gina Maxwell and her upcoming titles on her webpage, blog and Twitter.

Published by Entangled Publishing, LLC

Disclaimer: No compensation was received for this review. Novel purchased by Sallie.