Book Review: Cinderella Screwed Me Over by Cindi Madsen

NOTE: I received the eARC via Netgalley and Entangled Publishing. Thanks so much!

Before I start with the real side of this review, I want to say that I'm in love with Cindi Madsen's writing. Ever since I read All the Broken Pieces, I was hooked, and have been waiting hungrily for each following publication of hers. I sound crazy fanatical, I know. I'm not, I just love her writing style, the depth that she creates in each of her characters, the fluidity of her stories... etc. etc.

I was immediately drawn into the story, even though Cindi chose to begin this one with an analysis of fairy tales and how they affect young girls. What expectations they give us all at a very fragile age, and how they obscure our world making our understanding of it more or less unrealistic. Throughout the book, there are a bunch of 'case studies' as the lead female, Darby, calls them. They're basically Darby's say on her past relationships. In them she compares each guy to a fairy tale prince, based on their similarities, and reasons why the relationship didn't work. Mostly, the reason was that her expectations of the guy were NOT realistic.

Which is why she swore off guys, off romance, well... mostly off fairy tale kind of romance. She even has a bunch of rules that she knows she MUST stick by or she'd end up with a broken heart once again.

I honestly loved Darby. She was brave - she did have a whole bunch of twisted relationships behind her back and she still found the strength to go on and accept love when it finally struck her. Sure, it took a while, but who cares? She was also smart - yeah, she did fall for some of those bastards, but never for their dumb lines. And she was also honest and I admire that trait in any character. She also had a very nice sense of humor, which I adored. The guys she dated seemed to be stuck up in the butt and never got her jokes, but I got them and enjoyed them very much. I even laughed out loud, to the very annoyance of my husband, but that's irrelevant.

Then, Jake saved her from smashing her face on his restaurant's floor and wham! Darby was sucked into a whole new world of emotions. She was confused and protective of herself most of the time. I didn't like it that for the sake of protecting her own heart, she actually came close to breaking Jake's, but hey - a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

I loved Jake though. I felt bad for him, seeing that he had to go through so much just to get Darby to go out with him. He was really kind and besides being handsome, he was also funny and laughed at her jokes. He was also patient - he waited for her over the span of several months just to accept one date! He wasn't braggy confident of himself either. Jake was rather understanding, and tried to give Darby the comfort she'd been lacking in past guys. For grace's sake, he even passed the freaky brothers' test! If that wasn't a sign for Darby, that it sure was for me!

Anyway, I just want to say something in conclusion. Something that really impressed me with this novel. It's the final revelation of Darby - that there is love in this world, and one special person to wait for. But what comes after meeting that one person is more important - that's keeping them. Life isn't easy, there will always be hardships that couples will have to go through. Even when it seems that the passion is gone, the feelings of love and companionship still remain and yes, they matter, and yes, THEY ARE WORTH FIGHTING FOR.

My rating is 4.5/5 stars

Book review: Cindi Madsen has rocked my boat again!

NOTE: Thanks to Entangled for letting me read this amazing book!

The only other book I've read by Cindi Madsen is All The Broken Pieces. It was so good, that I just had to request to read this one too. To tell you the truth, I'm glad I did, because it definitely didn't disappoint.

Act Like You Love Me is a very light read, full of romance, memories and realistic characters. It had me laughing and crying. There were places I felt extremely overjoyed, and scenes that literally made my heart clench. In other words, it was amazing.

Full review here.

Blog tour: All the Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen

I've been waiting for today for so long! I can finally do some promo for this awesome book! All the Broken Pieces by Cindi Madsen was phenomenal! I totally recommend it to all readers who love a beautiful contemporary mystery mixed with nice elements of romance!

Summary:

What if your life wasn’t your own?

Liv comes out of a coma with no memory of her past and two distinct, warring voices inside her head. Nothing, not even her reflection, seems familiar. As she stumbles through her junior year, the voices get louder, insisting she please the popular group while simultaneously despising them. But when Liv starts hanging around with Spencer, whose own mysterious past also has him on the fringe, life feels complete for the first time in, well, as long as she can remember.

Liv knows the details of the car accident that put her in the coma, but as the voices invade her dreams, and her dreams start feeling like memories, she and Spencer seek out answers. Yet the deeper they dig, the less things make sense. Can Liv rebuild the pieces of her broken past, when it means questioning not just who she is, but what she is?

My review:

OMG! OMG! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! This book was so incredibly awesome!!!!! It took me several days to finish it only because I had a major exam to study for, otherwise I would've devoured it for one day!

All The Broken Pieces, in my opinion, is where Pushing The Limits meets One Moment. But it's also so much more! It's got a unique plot where most of the story revolves around this extremely humongous secret that just made me want to keep going so I could see if my theories would come out to be true. The rest of the story had all the romantic moments a teen girl would want to read about. Heck, it had all the cute stuff any girl/woman would want to read about.

So, I guess what I want to say is that the book was just perfect for my taste. I loved every bit of it: the plot, the world building, the characters, the writing style... it was so brilliant that I'm definitely putting it on my to-reread list.

Now about the characters, let me give my humble two cents.

*Olivia, a.k.a. Liv, is the lead female, who's mind consists of a plethora of jumbled up thoughts and feelings, none of which seem to be her own. She wakes up one day from a coma, unable to remember even her own name. Her parents are the only secure thing in her life- her rock and shelter. Until memories start to come back to her, and they aren't anything to be proud with. even so, Liv turns out to have this really awesome personality. She's a good friend, doesn't keep a grudge, loves with all her heart and doesn't care to conform to the popular group. I can say that she's my type of girl.

*Spencer starts off as a complete jerk. He doesn't care to talk to anyone, to think of anyone. And he has a pretty good reason for it. But when Liv steps into his line of sight, he's unable to hold his own. He's mesmerized and completely thrown out of his comfort zone. It's great that Liv turned out to be to building block he needed in order to re-enter life. Also, the fact that Spencer turned out to be the one person Liv could rely on was really adorable.

*Mr. and Mrs. Stein, Liv's parents were full of secrets, but they were also amazing as characters and parents.

*Keira was a friend everyone would love to have in high school.

So, in conclusion I can only say thanks to Entangled Publishing for letting me read this wonderful book.  And thanks to Cindi for writing it!


In my opinion, Cindi has a lot to give to the reader community. I love her imagination and her writing style. I will definitely be looking out for more books from her. 
Here's some info about Cindi:

Cindi Madsen sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children.

Cindi's website: http://cindimadsen.com
Cindi's blog: http://cindimadsen.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @CindiMadsen

In her shoes ~ 30 ~

Every Tuesday I will pick a character I've read about recently, perhaps even the week before, and try putting myself in her shoes. What things would I do differently? What have I learned from her behavior? That kind of thing. You are welcome to participate if you want, just please link back, so we could build a nice community of followers. Thanks!!! :)

All The Broken Pieces featured one very brave young lady, who captured my attention in the most spectacular way. Liv was in a coma after a frightening car accident. She doesn't remember anything when she wakes up. She doesn't know who she is, who her parents are, or what happened.

She accepts her parents' story for what happened, but all the while feeling in her gut that something is terribly wrong.

Going through an assortment of weird events, Liv keeps her mind around. Even with all the broken memories that keep popping in her mind, she doesn't break down. She's so strong and brave that I am in awe with her.

Through all the different events, Liv stays true to her new self - she respects people, she doesn't defy authority, she is just really nice and open. I really truly loved her!

Who's shoes would you like to step into this week?

Cover reveal: All the Broken Pieces

There's this HUGE blogger campaign today, revealing the cover of this amazing new read: All the Broken Pieces by debut YA author Cindi Madsen.

Now let me tell you, I fell in love with this story when I saw the cover and read the blurb, and I just knew I had to share it with you. And of course I added to my TBR list right away. So here it is!

Blurb:

What if your life wasn’t your own?

Liv comes out of a coma with no memory of her past and two distinct, warring voices inside her head. Nothing, not even her reflection, seems familiar. As she stumbles through her junior year, the voices get louder, insisting she please the popular group while simultaneously despising them. But when Liv starts hanging around with Spencer, whose own mysterious past also has him on the fringe, life feels complete for the first time in, well, as long as she can remember.

Liv knows the details of the car accident that put her in the coma, but as the voices invade her dreams, and her dreams start feeling like memories, she and Spencer seek out answers. Yet the deeper they dig, the less things make sense. Can Liv rebuild the pieces of her broken past, when it means questioning not just who she is, but what she is?

 And the author has been sweet and kind to provide an excerpt of this amazing novel! Check it out!!

Olivia reached up, feeling the tender spots on her head. Her fingers brushed across a row of—were those little ridges made of metal?

            “Careful. The staples are almost ready to come out, but it’s still going to be sore for a while.”

           Staples?!Her stomach rolled. I have staples in my head? She lowered her now-shaking hand. “Can I get a mirror?”

           Mom looked at Dad, then back at her. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Not until you’ve healed a little more.”

           Mom patted Olivia’s leg. “You just relax. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

           The two of them left the room, but when Mom swung the door closed, it didn’t latch. Olivia could hear their voices in the hall.

           “I still think we should…” She couldn’t make out the rest of Dad’s muffled words. “…know if I can do this.”

           “…late for that,” Mom said. “We’d lose everything, including…” Her voice faded as they got farther away. “…have to move.”

Olivia could tell the conversation was tense, but the words were impossible to decipher now. Holding a hand in front of her face, she turned it back and forth. A plastic tube ran from her arm to a machine next to her bed. She peeked into her nightgown and stared in horror at the long red stripe running down her chest.

           Sick.

          You’re alive. You shouldn’t be thinking about looks.

          Lowering her hand, she scanned the room. I wonder how my face looks. From the way Dad stared at me, plus the fact Mom won’t let me see a mirror, it must be bad.

          Brains are more important than looks.

          That’s what ugly people say.

          Olivia put her hands on her head and squeezed. “Stop it,” she whispered to her arguing thoughts, hysteria bubbling up and squeezing the air from her lungs. What was happening to her? Why didn’t she recognize her parents or know where she was? Who she was? Tears ran warm trails down her cheeks. “Just make it all stop.”

Well, I sure did enjoy this!! Did you? If you did, make sure to support the author by connecting with her thru any or all of the following means:

http://www.facebook.com/CindiMadsenBooks
https://twitter.com/#!/search/cindi%20madsen
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1029223.Cindi_Madsen
http://cindimadsen.com/