Title: The Cinderella Pact
Author: Sarah Strohmeyer
Publisher: Dutton Adult
Year: 2006
Genre(s): contemporary fiction, romance
Part of a Series: No.
Rating: 
Why I Read It: It was on my Goodreads list but I think I put it on after watching a TV movie based on the book.
Summary: Nola Devlin works as an editor at fashion/gossip magazine Sass! and her main focus is on their popular advice columnist, Belinda Apple. Except Belinda Apple doesn’t exist – it’s all Nola, who pretends to be Belinda since no one gave her a chance, unable to look past her weight. But when Belinda’s advice inspires her friends to lose weight and have their Cinderella moments. Nola agrees and finds that once she starts to take control of her life, everything changes.
Review: I totally forgot about why I wanted to read this book in the first place until I started reading it. I pictured Belinda Apple as actress Poppy Montgomery and when I checked her IMDb, I realized I had seen her as Belinda Apple (and Nola Devlin).
It’s funny how memory works, huh?
I will say that there’s a scene that was handled better in the movie than the book and it was that scene I remembered the most. Too bad, I think it really drove home a good moral better than the book did.
Now I will admit that I did go back and forth about this book. I did have to keep in mind that it was published in 2006 and does seem to be a product of its time – namely with the fatphobia and some misogyny (Nola has strong “Not like other girls” vibes and it was hard to overlook how Strohmeyer described the women we weren’t supposed to like). Since the story was told from Nola’s perspective, I tried to keep in mind that maybe she would learn that these mindsets were part of her issues. She kinda did but I felt the book could’ve explored it a bit deeper.
I did like the moral of the story – the best way to change yourself is to change your mindset – but I don’t think it was executed in the best way. Nola seemed to be a giving person even before she got that advice and what she needed most was to have a better support system. She always supported everyone else and we really only glimpsed them supporting her back at the very end. It felt like too little, too late.
Well, except Chip, her love interest. He did provide her some support in the beginning and I wished we had seen more of that between them as the story developed. I was still rooting for them but I felt Strohmeyer could’ve given us a little more. His development just stopped once he left New Jersey and I wished we had seen him more rather than having him vanish for a good chunk of the book. That’s never good for a romantic lead.
Most of the supporting characters did feel like real characters and some were appropriately fleshed out. Nola’s friends Deb and Nancy had their own lives, struggles and dreams. Even Eileen, her sister, got more fleshed out as the story progressed. So bravo to Strohmeyer for that.
Bottom line: A pretty good read if you’re looking for something light, just remember it is a product of its time.
Sex: Mentions but nothing graphic.
Moonlight Musing
What’s something about your life that you want to change?
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