Thirty-two-year-old Ella's life is busy enough running
her evil stepmother's cleaning business, without adding Christmas into the mix.
She doesn't have time to play Cinderella in her local festive pantomime, but
she recently lost her father, who loved the show and helped out every year, so
she finds herself being fitted for glass slippers anyway. Her life may be
falling apart, but she won't let his memory down.
Then Ella meets brooding and handsome stranger,
Alexander, who is playing Prince Charming, and her heart skips a beat. Might
this knight-in-shining-armour inspire Mistletoe's best show yet? But Alexander
quickly makes it clear that he doesn't want anything to do with her or their
town's traditions. And as the night of the show draws near, it's one disaster
after another, with the ugly stepbrothers falling suspiciously ill, and
Alexander rolling his eyes at every chance he gets. Ella is exhausted and can't
help but feel she's letting everyone – including her father – down.
But when an on-stage kiss gets a little too heated
between Ella and Alexander, she's surprised when he offers his muscled shoulder
to lean on. Under the spotlight, Alex's gentle encouragement of the child
performers and his adorable pre-show nerves make Ella wonder if there may be
more to her prince than she thought. As props go missing and scenery falls
flat, can Ella and Alex bring the town together for one last showstopper? And
as the curtain falls on the performance of her life, will Ella find her
fairytale ending?
Fun Christmas book with a Cinderella theme. I liked the
interweaving of the real-life Cinderella with the village play. The characters
were realistic in their situations and their actions.
Ella is an artist whose art takes a back seat to the
other things happening in her life. Her father died a year or so earlier, but
not before asking Ella to look after the family business, her stepmother, and
her stepbrothers. The company is Magic Mops, a cleaning service, but Ella is
the only one doing much work. Lucinda is demanding and selfish, and her two
stepbrothers constantly call out with excuses; everyone but Ella can see right
through. She's exhausted from doing everyone else's work, and because of it,
she misses many lessons with famous artist Henry.
Alex is also an artist who has come to Mistletoe to study
with Henry. He works for his father in the family business and is on a short
hiatus for the lessons. His dad still expects Alex to keep up with his work
remotely.
Ella and Alex did not get off to a good start. A runaway
dog and a car driving too fast for the conditions nearly led to disaster, and
Alex's cold attitude left an unlikeable impression. Ella was doubly dismayed to
find they would both be working with Henry. Henry has a unique way of drawing
the best out of his pupils, though it takes some time for them to see results.
One of Henry's methods is to get Alex to broaden his
experience. To do this, he ropes Alex into helping with the village Christmas
production of Cinderella. It was funny and painful to see Alex floundering with
things so far outside his experience.
I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Ella
and Alex. It is rough initially, as Ella sees Alex as cold and unfeeling, and
Alex thinks Ella is irresponsible. Their attitudes begin to change as they get
to know each other. I liked seeing Ella encourage him to embrace the feelings
he suppressed for so long. She also helps him develop confidence in his
artistic ability. Working together on the play adds a layer of complications when
a practice kiss as Cinderella and Prince Charming gets out of control.
Their complicated lives leave both wondering whether pursuing
a relationship is possible. Alex will return to Edinburgh by Christmas, and Ella
is stuck in Mistletoe running the family business. Trouble looms when two
misunderstandings stir up Ella and Alex's insecurities. The first was dealt
with easily, and I loved how Alex gave Ella the moral support she needed to
tackle the problem. The second one involved Alex and his father and was
especially painful to watch. Alex's reactions were intense, and he said some
hurtful things to Ella. It takes serious self-examination for Alex to break
free of the chains that kept him struggling for acceptance. I loved his
"aha" moment and the joy he finally embraced. His big moment at the
end was sweet, romantic, and fun.
The secondary characters were terrific and added lots of emotional
growth and development opportunities. Ella's stepmother was a selfish and
manipulative woman who thrived on making Ella's life miserable. Her stepbrothers
were spoiled and selfish. Though I detested them in the beginning, by the end
of the book, they showed great promise in turning into decent human beings. The
artist, Henry, who instructed Elle and Alex, could be insensitive, but he made
good points with his instructions. It was interesting to see how he struggled with
his relationship with Ella's godmother. I loved Mae's relationship with Ella
and her support and understanding as Ella faced the challenges in her life. My
favorite was Hunter, the young boy who was a budding artist and so much like
Alex. Their conversation in the café was sweet, and I loved how Alex helped
him.
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