Posted by DonnaRelease Date: October 1st, 2014
Finished Date: September 23rd, 2014
Publishers: Bluefields
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source: For Review
Format: eBook
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source: For Review
Format: eBook
Pages: 275
It’s been almost a year since eighteen-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she’s been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father’s home and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she’s capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she’s not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who’s ever meant anything to her—her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder.
…
Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.
…
Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.
The Review: Kelly Oram is back with another smashing story with Cinder & Ella and I'm so glad she decided to try her hand at a fairytale re-telling but new adult style!
I won't re-cap the blurb for you because fairy telling stories are pretty much a given, what I will tell you is that even though we've all read the story of Cinderella, Kelly Oram definitely puts her own spin on the story and so Cinder & Ella becomes an unforgettable read. I loved it.
From the moment I started the story, I just knew I was going to love it. It's loveable and touching, and yes emotional but it's a story that you can root for and the banter from the characters is simply full of laugh out loud moments.
Cinder & Ella are fantastic characters and for me, I didn't think a couple could top Avery and Grayson from The Avery Shaw Experiments. And while they are still my favourite, Cinder & Ella come in a close second. I adored the connection they had and the message I felt that came across was that internet people can become a very real part of your life and I really connected with that part of the story.
In all, Cinder & Ella is a fantastic read. It's light, cute but also steamy with that added emotional touch. A perfect job well done by Kelly Oram!
Thank you to Kelly Oram for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you so much for letting me stop by today to talk about my new release! Cinder & Ella is a Hollywood-style adaptation of the classic fairy tale Cinderella. In the book, Brian and Ella share a passion for all things reading and fantasy. Ella has a book and movie review blog, and “met” Brian the day he wrote her an email about a post she’d written on his favorite book series. While they agreed that The Cinder Chronicles was the best set of books ever to be penned, and that the author was a genius, that was pretty much where their mutual understanding stopped. Brian’s bold letter about Ella’s post, and Ella’s heated reply, sparked a strong Internet friendship that carried them both through some difficult times.
Excerpt from the book:
“I met Ella through her blog over three years ago, after I came across a post she’d written about my favorite book series.” He flashed the audience a devastating smile. “You guys might have heard of it—The Cinder Chronicles by L.P. Morgan.”
Cheers erupted, and after the noise died down Brian continued on. “She had this insane theory that Prince Cinder should have chosen Ellamara instead of Princess Ratana, which of course I absolutely had to argue with. I wrote a very nice and polite Letter To The Editor explaining how completely misguided her theory was.”
Brian chuckled, but I scoffed. “Nice and polite? He called me a pig-headed, naïve feminist romanticist!”
Everyone in the room laughed, and even I had to smile because a secretive smirk crept over Brian’s face. No doubt he was thinking about the exact same thing I was.
“When she wrote me back, it was love at first fight.”
For today’s blog tour stop, I thought it would be fun to share with you guys, the actual letter that Brian wrote to Ella, which you won’t find in the book. Enjoy!
Brian’s Letter To The Editor
From: Cinder458@gmail.com
Subject: Words of wisdom…?
More like the absurd ramblings of a pig-headed, naïve, feminist romanticist. As much as I respect your love for the greatest book series of all time, I simply cannot let your backwards ideas stand without argument. Ella, the real hero of The Cinder Chronicles? In what reality? Was Obi-Wan the hero of Star Wars? Or Mr. Miyagi the hero of Karate Kid? I don’t think so. If Ellamara were the hero of the story, they’d have to change the title of The Druid Prince to The Boring Book About That Weird Chick No One Cares About.
And you think Cinder should have chosen her over Princess Ratana? ARE YOU CRAZY? Ellamara was a too-good-for-everyone, cryptic-just-to-be-difficult man-hater. All she ever did was give a bunch of vague, unhelpful advice and constantly harp on Cinder and try to change him. So typical of a woman. And she was way too stubborn—always thought she knew best, and always had to be right about everything. (Kind of reminds me of someone…)
Ratana was so much better for Cinder. I mean, come on. She was as fierce a warrior as he was. She was always up for an adventure, supported Cinder when he had risky ideas, and believed in him when no one else did. Plus, she was a princess. She understood the kinds of responsibilities Cinder had as the leader of his people. She was raised to be a queen. She could help Cinder run the kingdom after he took the throne. If Cinder had chosen Ella, it would have ruined the book.
I hate to say it but, as entertaining as your blog post was, it sounded a bit defensive. Are you sure you didn’t just hate the fact that Cinder chose the beautiful, fun, popular, rich chick instead of the quiet, shy outcast? Hit a little too close to home maybe? You know, they say our favorite characters are often the ones we can most relate to. Hence the reason Cinder is my favorite character ever written. He’s awesome. He’s impulsive and passionate. I’m impulsive and passionate. He’s under a lot of pressure. I’m under a lot of pressure. I’m awesome. He’s good looking. I’m good looking… You see what I’m saying?
You’re probably just like Ellamara, aren’t you? Only you’re much more capable of stringing together coherent thoughts. I bet you’re shy and awkward in real life, but you come alive online. You should stop hiding behind your blog. I’ve read a few of your posts. You’re funny, and though your opinions are severely misguided, you show a great amount of intelligence in your writing. Your wit and sarcasm are totally awesome. You’re pretty, too. I mean, the braces are a little unfortunate (been there, done that, hated it), but you still have a beautiful smile and your eyes are stunning. I bet if you borrowed a little of Cinder’s confidence you’d have the guys flocking to you like crazy.
From one die-hard fan to another, I sincerely hope this letter will help you realize how wrong you are, and that the book is absolutely perfect the way it is. But considering how obstinate you seem, it’s more likely we’ll have to agree to disagree. Still, your blog is pretty cool. Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Your newest follower,
Cinder458
About Kelly Oram:
Kelly Oram wrote her first novel at age fifteen–a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and loves to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and four children.
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1 comment:
This sounds like something I would really like :) Must get my hands on it!
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