The Cinderella Deal - Jennifer Crusie

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The Cinderella Deal - Jennifer Crusie

Description~
Daisy Flattery is an incorrigible free spirit with a soft spot for strays and a weakness for a good story and a bit of adventure. Why else would she agree to the outrageous deal offered by her button-down, workaholic neighbor Linc Blaise? The history professor is desperately in need of a fiancée to capture a dream job at a local college—and Daisy is up for the challenge. But something funny happens on their way to the altar that breaks all the rules and changes the game. Falling in love was never part of the bargain. Their little charade has taken in everyone—including themselves. Now with the proverbial midnight hour approaching will the fairytale finally be over or will opposites not just attract but live happily ever after?

I must admit…this is a typical Jenny Crusie book…quirky yet lovable character falls for uptight and snooty counter part! Lol BUT BUT BUT it totally works! JC NEVER gets old to me and in this little gem she shines!

Linc (like I said) is a bit snooty and uptight. He has lied to a potential employer about his marital status to get a teaching job at a college! Linc is frantically trying to think of just the right woman to pose as his wife…in walks Daisy. Daisy is Lincs erratic upstairs neighbor whos recently quit her job to peruse painting! When Daisy sees this as an opportunity to get the rent paid she jumps on board with Linc and his charade! Little did both know that a bit of each other ends up rubbing off and they find themselves dealing with a love that runs deeper than any façade. What happens when time runs out on their Cinderella Deal??? Will the shoe fit or will all be forgotten at the stroke of midnight?

This was such an adorable book! Ok so like you read above Daisy decides to take Linc up on his offer. So they go down to the college, introduce her to everyone and he gets the gig! Great right…WRONG! After he gets the job and moves they both sorta start to miss each others company. They fought constantly but it only made them bend to each others different ways. Well so when people start to ask around where his wife is he starts to question if he should make the jump to REALLY marry her…WHICH HE DOES! Lol I just knew this was a recipe for disaster b/c how would you marry someone for a year then split without a thought…well you don’t! The story quickly turns into Daisy and Linc not only falling in love with the town and its people but with each other! :*)

I love books where opposites attract and this one is a prime example. Linc and Daisy made such a funny couple! Linc is very traditional and plain so when that meets up with Daisys wild and outrages personality things go haywire! From the wedding planning, the in-laws and the animals this book was a wild little ride!

My fav part~ Daisy being the artist she is decides to “redecorate” their house…well when Linc gets home he sees all this holey furniture and crazy colors. He TOTALLY flips hurting Daisys feelings. This is a great overall example of the book b/c once he realizes how hes hurt Daisy (by seeing what those things meant to her) he made amends. He learned to think outside the box and see beauty where it truly is…from within.

Daisy crawls her way into his heart in more ways than one. She takes care of his sick mother, and him when hes sick, his students come over to help her around the house or to just hang out, and she even gets to be close friends with the deans wife! By the end of the book she starts to be who she thinks everyone else wants her to be but Linc shows her he loves her how she is! :o) This book warmed my heart but also made me laugh (like JC always does)!

Oh my Snippet is Linc describing Daisy! LOL!!!! It’s the beginning of chapter one and it totally cracked me up!

Snippet~
The storm raged dark outside, the light in the hallway flickered, and Lincoln Blaise cast a broad shadow over the mailboxes, but it didn’t matter. He knew by heart what the card on the box above his said:

Daisy Flattery

Apartment 1B

Stories Told, Ideas Illminated

Unreal but Not Untrue

Linc frowned at the card, positive it didn’t belong on a mailbox in the dignified old house he shared with three other tenants. That was why he’d rented the apartment in the first place: it had dignity. Linc liked dignity the way he liked calm and control and quiet. It had taken him a long time to get all of those things into his life and into one apartment. Then he’d met his downstairs neighbor.

His frown deepened as he remembered the first time he’d seen Daisy Flattery in the flesh, practically hissing at him as he shooed a cat away from his rebuilt black Porsche, her dark, frizzy hair crackling around her face like lightning. Later sightings hadn’t improved his first impression, and the memory of them didn’t improve his mood now. She wore long dresses in electric colors, and since she was tall, they were very long, and she was always scowling at him, her heavy brows drawn together under that dumb blue velvet hat she wore pulled down around her ears even in the summer. She looked like somebody from Little House on the Prairie on acid.

LOL! Ok go get the book! ;o)

I give this book a total of...