"The Cinderella Pact"

(Reviewed by Amanda Richards JUL 29, 2007)

"We are all Cinderellas, no matter what our size. This is what I, Nola Devlin, fervantly believe."

The first thing you should know is that this isn’t your traditional Cinderella story, although it does have a fairy tale ending. This fab and funny novel follows the ups and downs of Nola Devlin, a plus sized magazine editor who is leading a double life.  When her application for a job as an advice columnist is given the round file treatment, Nola creates the perfect alter ego, complete with British background, photo-shopped, bony chested, ultra skinny glamour picture and pink cowboy boots.  To her surprise, “Belinda Apple” is a smashing success, and becomes the elusive star of the magazine.

One of her glib responses comes back to haunt her when her two best friends decide to follow Belinda’s dieting tips after an embarrassing incident at a restaurant, and she reluctantly agrees to a “Cinderella Pact” to lose weight by a certain date.  Her friends Deb and Nancy take different approaches to losing the weight, and each one has to face up to the consequences.

Nola herself has a hard time, not only with the diet and exercise, but also with keeping her identities straight, and her life becomes increasingly more complicated when:

1. Her sister decides to get married and wants Belinda to be the matron of honor;
2. She meets a great mystery guy who may or may not be named Prince “Chip” Charming;
3. A background check by the magazine reveals that Belinda isn’t all she claims to be;
4. And, she has to act as a go-between for a hot British columnist whom the tabloids have linked to the beautiful Belinda.

Fast-paced and funny, with likeable characters and despicable villains, this one is a must for fans of Bridget Jones’ Diary and the Stephanie Plum series.... or anyone who is already a "Bubbles" fan.

• Amazon readers rating: from 30 reviews

Read a chapter excerpt from The Cinderella Pact at the author's site.

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Bibliography: (with links to Amazon.com)

• The Secret Lives of Fortunate Wives (2005)
• The Cinderella Pact (June 2006)
• The Sleeping Beauty Proposal (June 2007)
• Secret Love (June 2008)
• The Penny Pinchers Club (June 2009)

"Bubbles Yablonksy" Series:

• Bubbles Unbound (2001)
• Bubbles in Trouble (2002)
• Bubbles Ablaze (2003)
• Bubbles A Broad (2004)
• Bubbles Bethrothed (2005)
• Bubbles All The Way (November 2006)

Other:

• Barbie Unbound: A Parody of the Barbie Obsession (1997)

 

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Book Marks:

• Official website for Sarah Strohmeyer
• Word Nerd interview with Sarah Strohmeyer
• The Mystery Reader review of Bubbles Unbound
• Mrs. Giggles review of Bubbles in Trouble
• Book Reporter review of Bubbles A Broad
• The Mystery Reader review of Bubbles All the Way
• Dear Author review of The Cinderella Pact
• Trashionista review of The Sleeping Beauty
• Dear Author review of The Sleeping Beauty
• BlogCritics review of The Sleeping Beauty

 

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About the Author:

Sarah Strohmeyer grew up in Bethlehem, Pensylvania. She graduated from Tufts University, with a degree in International Relations. She was a newspaper reporter for twenty years, though claims she was not very good at this job. Nevertheless, she has worked as a journalist for many publications, including The Boston Globe, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and Salon.com.

Her first novel was Barbie Unbound written shortly after she and her husband moved to Vermont, at a time when she was experiencing deep postpartum depression, and surrounded by politically correct mothers who did not let their daughters play with Barbies. This led her to write the Bubbles Yablonsky humorous mystery series. Bubbles Unbound won an Agatha Award and Romantic Times Award for Best First Mystery. Television rights were sold to Oxygen.

She lives with her husband and two children outside Montpelier, Vermont.