Smitten by Books

Seducing Cinderella
Author: Gina L. Maxwell
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Pub. Date: July 20, 2012
ASIN: B008NGFLPC
Pages: 155
Digital Price: $2.99
Amazon ~ B&N

Mixed martial arts fighter Reid Andrews’s chance to reclaim his title as light heavyweight champ is shattered when he’s injured only months before the rematch. To make sure he’s healed in time, his trainer sends him to recuperate under a professional’s care—Reid’s best friend’s little sister, all grown up.

Disorganized and bookish Lucie Miller needs some professional help of her own. She’d do anything to catch the eye of a doctor she’s crushed on for years, so when Reid offers seduction lessons in exchange for 24/7 conditioning for the biggest fight of his career, Lucie jumps at the chance.

Soon Reid finds himself in the fight of his life…winning Lucie’s heart before she gives it to someone else.

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REVIEW

Mixed Martial Arts champion Reid Andrews is furious that he has to spend his time going to physical therapy for an injury but his career is on the line and there is no other choice. With two months away from the fight to win back his title, Reid is determined to go in and give it all he got. When he shows up at his therapist’s office, he is surprise to see his best friend’s sister crying over a man.

Lucie Miller knows she is viewed as a ‘plain jane’ and there is nothing she can do about. She secretly hopes that the doctor she works with will finally see her. When Reid walks in her door as a patient, he offers her a chance to finally get the man of her dreams and help him get his title back.

This started off so good. A hot and sexy MMA fighter and a bookworm plain Jane who can’t keep their hands off of each other has all of the potential. Reid is an alpha male all the way through but I don’t think the author plays on that fact. When you think of a fighter, you think of a tough, ass kicking guy. While Reid is all of those things, she shows a softer side to him. He is very artistic and has a lot of insecurities from his douche bag of a father. Instead of showing all of the wonderful qualities that make him hard and soft at the same time, the author shows glimpses. I find it hard to believe that a bad ass would know about make-up, hair, and clothing for woman. There should have been an explanation to that part of his persona. I just wanted to really get to the core of Reid’s personality.

Lucie is a good heroine. She is smart and has a bit of smart mouth. She has always liked Reid but she is very insecure, so she doesn’t believe anything he says which became annoying at times. As he offers his help with seduction, he peels back the layers to her complexity. He shows her that his attraction to her is authentic but it always has been. She didn’t need a wardrobe or personality change to attract a good looking man. By the end of the book, Lucie showed more maturity and growth.

I debated whether to call this a straight up contemporary or an erotic. The sex scenes are hot and I loved every one of them. However, there’s a cheesy feeling to the story that soften the steaminess of the book. It is that same hokey feeling that I gravitated towards in the same. By the end, I had hoped that Lucie’s prince would come to claim his Cinderella.

Overall this is a nice and steamy read. I look forward to what’s next from this author. I hope she gives Lucie’s brother a story or maybe Vanessa.

Rating: 3 (Satisfactory)

Heat-Level: 4 (Hot)

Reviewed by Samantha

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MY TAKE

My dueling review will be brief (okay, maybe not that brief) but suffice it enough to say, I definitely enjoyed SEDUCING CINDERELLA more than Samantha did.

I won’t go over the plot yet again. You’ve been there done that twice at this point.

First and foremost, in order for me to love any romance novel, I have to fall for the hero. Ms. Maxwell made sure that happened for me. Reid is delicious, as in scrumptiously so. We get to see the many different aspects of his personality and they all meld together in a way that gives him depth.

Lucie is wonderful too. She’s a woman with insecurities, which I think everyone can relate to on some degree or other. But she’s also logical and is determined to go into her next relationship leading with her head and not her heart—which isn’t to say her heart won’t be somewhat involved in her decision-making. To her, she and Reid are opposites and the whole “opposites attract” thing is better done in novels than real life. Been there, done that for our Lucie.

Together they make a great couple as they begin falling for each other. Don’t get me wrong, the lovemaking in this book is scorching hot and I enjoyed it tremendously but what I enjoyed even more was watching the attraction between them build as they came to realize it—and fight it.

I knew from jumpstreet the doctor would end up being the shallow type. He’s not the villain or anything like that but he only notices her after the sexy makeover. I was a little surprised at how things ended with Reid and his father but it still didn’t make me like the man any better. Call me cynical, but I have this thing that stops me from feeling much of any sympathy for parents who realize the huge mistakes they make with their children when their children are fully grown and the damage they’ve inflicted has been done. Yes, better late than never as the saying goes but it would be so much better if they hadn’t messed them up in the first place.

All in all, I really enjoyed Ms. Maxwell’s first offering. I see a very bright writing career ahead of her and I can’t wait to read what she puts out next. Oh and right now this book is a steal at $1.18 on Amazon.

Rating: 4 (Very Good – Recommend)

Heat-Level: 5 (Scorching)

Reviewed by Beverley