If the Shoe Fits (Meant to Be #1) by Julie Murphy (2021)

 

Written with permission from Disney, If the Shoe Fits is the retelling of the classic Cinderella story with a modern-day twist.  Cindy is not the perfectly proportioned princess we all remember from the Disney movies but is a plus-size girl with a stepmother (Erica) and stepsisters (Anna and Drew) who are a bit shallow but have Cindy’s best interests at heart.

After graduating design school in New York with a degree in shoe design Cindy returns to her stepmother’s house in California until she finds employment in her chosen field.  Cindy agrees to be temporary employed by her stepmother as nanny to her two half siblings.  Erica is the executive producer of America’s favorite reality show, Before Midnight, a fictional version of The Bachelor. On the flight home, Cindy feels an instant connection with her handsome seatmate and spends her time flirting with him, imagining she’ll never see her Prince Charming again after they land. But this is a fairy tale where dreams come true right?

When Erica needs a last-minute replacement to fill a slot on Before Midnight, Cindy volunteers, hoping the media attention might help jump-start her fashion career. As the first plus-sized contestant in the history of the show, Cindy expects her show tenure will be short. That is until the eligible bachelor on the show turns out to be none other than Prince Charming from the plane, the heir to a fashion empire. Cindy is now all in.

Soon Cindy is encountering backstabbing contestants and a show wardrobe that doesn’t include her size. Cindy faces each challenge with spunk and courage and becomes an instant inspiration for other women that look like her. Princesses everywhere will love her!

A great beginning for a series that promises to entertain. I can’t wait for the next one!

4.18 stars on Goodreads, 4.5 on Amazon

Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson (2021)

 

I LOVE reading historical fiction. More times than not I learn new things, in addition to enjoying a good story. Sisters in Arms has both covered. It is the story of the 6888^th Central Postal Directory Battalion (known as the Six Triple Eight), the only all-Black female battalion deployed overseas during World War II.

The story beings in 1942 with the formation of the U.S. Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (soon to become the Women's Army Corps or WAC). Forty black women were allowed to enter the first WAAC officer candidate class. This is when we meet our heroines Grace Steele and Eliza Jones, two women who could not be more different but grew to respect one another.

This well-written, engaging novel follows Grace and Eliza from the WAAC application process, through basic training until their discharge at the end of the war. It is a story about dreams, friendship, courage against all odds, and the prejudices the women faced from white officers, enlisted men, and the general population. Unfortunately, some things have not changed. Some of the supporting characters actually existed and others are fictionalized but based on actual people.

I would recommend this to any history buff.

3.7 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 on Amazon

For more info on the WAC and the Six Triple Eight Battalion, check out https://history.army.mil/brochures/wac/wac.htm and https://history.army.mil/html/topics/afam/6888thPBn/index.html