If the Shoe Fits

Once Upon a Romance #1

by Laurie LeClair

What happens when a modern day Cinderella's dreams don't involve getting married?

Romance? Love? In this Once Upon A Romance Series Book 1 romantic comedy, Charlotte (Charlie) King doesn't have time for either one. All she wants is her late father's dream to come true by making his beloved King's Department Store thrive again. However, her stepmother has other ideas. Charlie agrees to help her stepmother find grooms for her sheltered stepsisters. In exchange, the stepmother will release her stronghold on the store's budget. After all, one good deed deserves another, right? But, Charlie has no idea what her heart's in for when...

Alexander (Alex) Royale, dubbed by society newspapers as Prince Charming, arrives for dinner to meet the all-female King family. His ailing grandparents yearn for his marriage and then the baby carriage. Well, that and running the family company. Having unsuccessfully searched for months, Alex doesn't hold out any hope in finding his future bride among the King sisters. However, all his expectations, including his idea of a business-like marriage of convenience, vanish the moment Charlie crashes into him.

When Alex sets out out to win over Charlotte, he has no idea he has to bargain with the stepmother, secretly buy the store, court Charlotte after the wedding, and, oh yeah, be featured in Charlie's new fairy tale ad campaign, The Charmings, based on them. Can a guy ever get a break?

The couple never factored in falling in love with each other. Now, faced with losing all their families ever wanted, Charlie and Alex must choose: Do they live their families' dreams or do they finally live their own?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Amazon, Ebooks

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Bestselling author Laurie LeClair writes romantic comedies, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and women’s fiction. Laurie has a not-so-secret love for characters who make her laugh, cry, and who linger in her mind long after the story ends. Laurie’s habit of daydreaming has gotten her into a few scrapes and launched her to take up her dream of writing. Finally, she can put all those stories in her head to rest as she brings them to life on the page.

Laurie loves to write, read, bake, travel, and discover new adventures. She considers herself a New Texan (New England born and raised and now living in Texas). She lives in Central Texas with her husband, Jim. Laurie loves to hear from her readers.

You can contact her at
http://www.laurieleclair.com
http://www.twitter.com/LeClairbooks http://www.facebook.com/laurieleclair.75

Check out Laurie’s website contests and sign up for her newsletter to get insider information and to be automatically entered in her newsletter giveaways at http://www.laurieleclair.com


Books by Laurie LeClair:

Once Upon A Romance Series (romantic comedy)
If The Shoe Fits - Book 1
Waking Sleeping Beauty - Book 2
Taming McGruff - Book 3
The Reluctant Beauty - Book 4
Awakened By A Kiss - Book 5
Tangled At First Sight - Book 6
Finding Mr. Just Right - Book 7
Making A Splash - Book 8

The Heart Romance Series(contemporary romance/smalltown romance)
Secrets Of The Heart - Book 1
Crimes Of The Heart - Book 2
Lies Of The Heart - Book 3


The Bounty Hunter Series (romantic suspense)
Murphy’s Law - Book 1
Riley’s Rules - Book 2

Wanted: Fairy Godmother (romantic comedy)

The Sweet Spot Series (romantic comedy)
The Dating Dilemma - Book 1

Runaway Wife (romance, women's fiction)

The Long Journey Home (romance, women’s fiction)

Sweet Summertime (romance, women's fiction, second chances, reunions)

The Heart Remembers (holiday romance, contemporary romance)

Reviews

[Alexandra Florence · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story was okay, however the entire book felt rushed, emphasised by the plot line that developed extremely quickly. The links to Cinderella were obvious and more importantly were relevant and did not confuse the plot line. In the novel Alex has to marry quickly, his instant proposal is therefore understandable, however Charlotte's reasoning for accepting so soon after meeting is unclear. It is therefore in the details that you can find faults, the lack of detail emphasises the rushed quality of the book.

Within the story Charlotte and Alex have an instant connection and a good marriage, I therefore do not understand the turbulent part of their relationship. Personally it felt like Laurie LeClair wanted to include reconciliation between Charlotte and Alex, and therefore the change from a happy marriage to upset between the two felt unnatural in the narrative.

This is a short story of over two hundred pages, and I believe that the story suffers in LeClair's haste and need to create a short story. If the Shoe Fits is a story for light reading.

[Raewyn Muscat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Geez, I feel like the Captain of the fun Police...I really wanted to like this book but it just annoyed me so much. I'd love a dollar for every time the author wrote "she felt I tightening in her middle" or he did. Just so predictable. It's a great "I don't have to think too much book". But that's about it. I really struggled to finish it.

[Trish Lleone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I'm too old for stories like this, or maybe it's really just not my cup of tea because I could not finish the whole book and have lost interest in getting myself to the last page. I have been trying to finish this for the last two weeks and usually I could finish one whole novella in a single night.
LeClair could use some cliffhangers to make readers want to eagerly turn to the next page and apply a bit more diversity in her characters. Charlie is all too nice, all too charming, all too smart, all too beautiful and sexy - too good to be true. Same with Alex Royale. This makes it difficult for readers to relate. Create personalities that real people can associate with, there is nothing wrong with protagonists being jerks sometimes, in fact a character that has his or her share of weaknesses is always an interesting character because it makes the reader wonder how that character is going to work around her weaknesses.
The book has its good points, though. It is refreshing to read a story that does not detail its characters' sexual trysts - that is something I would like to applaud LeClair for. I can recommend 'If the shoe fits' to my teenaged nieces although I would warn them that it's a fairy tale romance story fairy tales don't happen in real life.
Anyway, enough said. I didn't finish the whole book so I guess that makes me less of an authority to do a review. :)

[Tracey Cramer-Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story started slow and too cliché for my tastes; I thought I would likely not finish it. Luckily, this take on the Cinderella story got better.

Both characters are driven by needs related to their families: Charlie wants to save her dead father’s department store, and Alex needs a wife and heir for his grandparents. The fact that they marry for convenience but then actually do come to love each other is sigh worthy… and in this modern tale, there are some sex scenes (fairly tame by today’s standards but certainly not part of the original Cinderella story). In the end they both make a realization about why they are driven, and a conscious decision to change. So in that regard, it is satisfying.

This was a very light read, each character pretty much what you expect, no real surprises. Everybody loves Charlie, Alex isn’t the playboy he’s been made out to be, the stepmother is a monster… then hey, one twist: turns out the stepsisters got a bad deal and are actually nice.

[Chelsea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am all for a bit of fluff reading, and free chick lit I try not to judge too harshly. But this.
First of all the writing is VERY heavy handed, things happen because the author wants them to, nothing in here feels organic. She had a plot outline and followed it ruthlessly dragging us along for the train wreck.
Second, the dialogue is atrocious. More of the heavy handed-ness here. The help was supposed to be English at first but then changed her mind and went Irish for a blink and then southern maybe? Characters couldn’t make up their minds about who they were as people. It went from super formal to poor “slang” all in one sentence.
Third, and MOST OFFENSIVELY, this actually could have been a BRILLIANT Cinderella retelling or at least very good. The basic structure was there and I so badly wanted it to work or at the VERY least be cute.
Good idea, very poor execution.

[Hikari Saaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't expect myself to like this book this much. I began expecting it to be more of a quick, pleasant read. it turned out to be very interesting in a quiet, adorable, and sweet sort of way. I love all the references to charming and don't mind the cliches which surprises me. the story felt fresh and the heroine felt real. I have to repeat that I loved ALL the subtle and not so subtle references to Cinderella throughout the book *chuckle*

[Annabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book - It's one of those perfect stories... it had a bit of cinderella but in the modern world
if you love a good romance book this is a book to read :)

[Laura]

I DNF'd really early, so I can't write a very helpful review, but I could tell that the things that bothered me weren't going to improve and life is too short.

[Nazia Shafik · Rating 1 out of 5]

⭐/5. Sorry but wedding arrangements for business purposes and then planning on divorce once the male protagonist has to sort his business out in another state, but comes back because the female protagonist is expecting his baby! And she ends up willing to give her family business to the employees to do with it what they wish, the same family business she fought for and worked hard to bring it back on top?

Not my cuppa ☕

[Literary Chanteuse · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

Interesting little twist on the Cinderella and Prince Charming storyline. I expected it to be more of the how they met rather than how they keep their relationship. Sweet romance story.

[Kiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun but I didn’t love it.

[Stephanie Benson · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. Ehhhh, it was actually really cute for the first half of the book but just about 50% of the way it became a snooze fest. It was difficult to finish and the ending was just very uninteresting.

[Lisa Mandina]

Wasn't bad, I just didn't have any urge to go back and finish it. So I'm moving on to other books!

[lemonysnickety · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish

I have a bunch of issues with this book, though I understand some are personal and stylistic choices. However, I have finished plenty of books I did not enjoy, but couldn’t get past chapter 5 here.
There’s an abundance of telling and not showing, and then the actions and behaviors contradict openly what we’ve been told. For example, rather than evil or cruel, the stepmother and stepsisters just seem a bit rude, (and so is the main character herself, who ignores someone they know walking right behind them??). The rosy contradiction is the main character saying over and over she only cares about her father’s store (like who makes a 9 year old make a promise to you on your death bed to grow your store brand? Really?) but then she just flirts with the love interest (I don’t feel any chemistry between them) and doesn’t try to help her stepsister with him/she’s bad at her job of marketing (but then in the office, it sounds like her job is different, so whatever).
The perspective changes needlessly quick, sometimes for just a paragraph, and all it does is interrupt the flow of the story.
The internalized misogyny is off-putting as well. Women don’t like *being catcalled, like the love interest seems to think; the stepmother wants freedom, that doesn’t make her a ruthless money-grubber*; the stepsisters are infantilized (literally no a clue how old they are, it sounds like they should be near MC’s age, but they read as 15 with matching dresses and being called “girls” instead of women).
Biggest issue is probably that the story jumps ahead—Charlotte is holding a napkin and shoving it in Alex’s face before we’re even told he had ice cream on it; just multiple instances of thinking I somehow missed a line but no, it’s just written (to me) poorly and unclear. I don’t expect Tolkien level, but there’s just too many frustrations to bother reading more. Feels like maybe an editor could have helped sort out some of the flow, sequence of events, and the show-don’t-tell issues.

[Reading Rediscovered · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a modern retelling of the story of Cinderella.


Charlie King wants to save her late father's department store. But her step-mother knows that profits are down and doesn't want to put in the work to save it, so she stops all of Charlie's attempts to make the store profitable again.
Alex Royale, known also as Prince Charming, wants to find a wife to satisfy his ailing grandparents wishes. He meets Charlie and falls instantly in love.
But in order to win Charlie's hand in marriage, Charlie's stepmother says he must buy King's Department store.
He does so, but with the plan to eventually sell because he also needs to save Royale Enterprises (his grandparents company).
Unshared information threatens to pull Alex and Charlie apart, but as the two fall deeper and deeper in love, they find the solution to all of their problems - selling the beloved yacht to save both King's and Royale.


I loved this book! It was very sweet in the retelling, and the few scenes hinted at a physical relationship but were not graphic or distasteful. I enjoyed seeing how the two of them worked through their differences and communication problems to come together as a united husband/wife team.

[Connie N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

#1 in the Once Upon a Romance series

Loosely based on the Cinderella story, this is a light and pleasant read. The main characters are warm and friendly, and their insta-love is sweet. Of course, there's a mean stepmother who is holding the purse strings from Charlie, keeping her father's legacy (King's Department Store) down despite Charlie's constant efforts to revamp it. And Alex Royale is the tall, dark and handsome "prince" who is being courted for one of Charlie's stepsisters, although he falls for her instead. The whole story moves forward quickly, without a lot of substance. The idea of the "Charmings" being the focus of the store's window dressings was cute, but I didn't really like the fact that Charlie displayed her personal life to the whole world before she shared it with Alex. And Charlie's friend Dolly seemed to interfere in everything; I understand her loyalty, but she came across as pretty bossy and intrusive to me. And their total lack of tact with her stepmother naturally caused tension that could have easily been avoided. Altogether an easy book to read, but not particularly stimulating or compelling. That being said, I'll probably look for the next book in the series to learn more about the stepsisters.

[Pooja Peravali · Rating 1 out of 5]

Charlotte King is fixated on saving her father's department store - and to that end she marries Alex Royale, and falls for him in the process.

I was intrigued by the notion of a Cinderella story with a focus beyond the romance, but unfortunately I did not enjoy this book. The characters are flatly flawless, the plot doesn't make much sense beyond the story going where the author wants to push it, and there is no real conflict or conflict resolution. I did not see why Charlotte chose to marry Alex, or why the story went the way it did. Do not recommend.

[CassieV · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Not terrible, but just not a lot of depth to the characters. The end just wrapped up way too neatly without the characters actually discussing anything. It bugs me when authors totally overlook any need to actually RESOLVE problems in a relationship and this is definitely one that does that. If you need a quick freebie to fit a challenge (like I did!), then go for it, otherwise, there are better books out there.

[Janna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome modern Cinderella Story. Totally loved it and can't wait to read the next book in the series.

[Ty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pink, oh the pink! This was incredibly cheesy, but cheesy is much needed every once in a while. It was entertaining... interesting...

[Irène Wadowski uliasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

C'est un livre qui ,idéalement se lit près d'un feu de cheminée. Il est plein d'émotion, joyeux.

[Alexandria Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet

*****Spoilers*****

I loved this story! Fell into it from the beginning and never came back up. It was so sweet, a spin on a Cinderella telling. Charlotte King, Charlie for short has two step sisters who aren't bratty and a step mother who isn't wicked either but some of her actions brush up against that line. Alexander is Prince Charming in the story, his family is rich and he meets Charlie when he attends a family dinner at the King household at the request of his grandparents in order to look for a bride. The Kings have name recognition along with a famous store. Charlie is excited by the prospect of Alex's attendance because once one of her sisters is married, her stepmother promised to make certain investments in the King family store that Charlie's father started. Just so happens that Alex is much more interested in Charlotte than he is in either of her stepsisters and offers for her hand in marriage instead. The catch? The stepmother demands that Alex sell Charlie's family store, her legacy and the only thing of her father's that Charlie has, not to mention that she considers the employees her family. Alex and Charlie marry quietly with a small group of family present but Alex doesn't reveal the deal he made with her stepmother right away.

When Charlie finds out about it, she works out with Alex a compromise to give her six weeks to make a difference in the store. Since her father died, her stepmother had rejected many of Charlie's ideas for the store and Charlie was confident she'd be able to bring King's back to life. While both Alex and Charlie work on their separate endeavors, their compatibility and attraction to one another are evident. There aren't any steamy scenes but with their friends Dolly and Edward, Alex and Charlie make a go for it and find a way out of their predicament by the end.

[Gina Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book at no cost through Amazon Kindle a year or two ago but never read it. I used the book series to fill prompts for the 52 Book Challenge 2023

There are 3 books in the series and I did read all three this past week. I used each for a prompt.

Prompt 5, Title starting with the letter “I”
If The Shoe Fits, Once Upon a Romance Book 1
Author: Laurie LeClair

Prompt 9, A book with a dedication
Waking Sleeping Beauty, Once Upon a Romance Book 2
Author: Laurie LeClair

Prompt 16, Featuring one of “The Seven Deadly Sins”
Taming McGruff, Once Upon a Romance Book 3 (Wrath)
Author: Laurie LeClair

Throughout the series there is the thread of their father leaving the evil step mother in charge of his daughter Charlie, and the deceased father's estate. The father had married Agnus and adopted her two daughters, Francine and Pricilla. The family business is King's Department Store.

There is so much that goes on in the stories to figure out what happened with the will and why did it contain things that were so different than the father had been.

Read all three books. They're sappy and romantic and sweet but underneath all that is a great story of anger, even wrath-they want to destroy someone and they don't care who gets hurt if they're in the way, they will ruin the person the vengeful wrath is focused on.

This book could also be used for

2, features an inheritance
5, title starts with "I"
9, book with a dedication
11, book about secrets
20, siblings
31, set in a workplace
44, a contemporary setting

[Glenda Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is on the Romantic Comedy, If the Shoe Fits. This is the first book in the Once Upon a Romance Series. It's a delightful, modern day Cinderella story. It's well written, humorous, and delightful. I know you are going to love it. I look forward to reading the two stories of her step sisters.

Charlotte King is a graphic designer in her deceased father's department store, Kings. Her step mother refuses to work with her and update the store. She is called to a family dinner where her mother is trying to marry off her oldest daughter to a man dubbed by the press as Prince Charming. Charlie is determined to marry the girl off. Hopefully then her mother will listen to her business ideas. She is blown away when she meets the only man she's ever been attracted to.

Alexander Royale, millionaire playboy, is to be offered up to marry one of the King's daughters. His grandparents want a grandchild, an heir. They are both having health issue so the time has come. The evening had been the most boring night he has ever endured until Charlie breezes in. She changes everything. Knowing this deal will probably mean she'll never forgive him, he makes a deal to buy the store to marry Charlie.

A humorous journey of ups and down as they both try to figure out just what is it they want and what is important. This is a great trip.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like cute romantic stories, you'll like Laurie LeClair's book, If the Shoe Fits. It's the first book in the Once Upon a Romance series. Similar to Cinderella, Charlotte (Charlie) King has an unpleasant step-mother and 2 step-sisters, Francine and Priscilla. All she wants is to keep her late father's store--King's Department Store, in business. She thinks updating and renovating are the keys to success. Meanwhile, she is using her marketing talents and people skills to promote her stepsisters to prospective grooms. Her first candidate is Alexander Royale--AKA Prince Charming. What she ends up with is a proposed marriage of convenience when Alex proposes to her instead. Can a marriage work when 2 workaholic "family comes first" types, get together? I really enjoyed this story and Charlie, Alex, and Dolly. They made me smile a lot. I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only got this book because fairytales are my subject and because it was on free give-away. Having had a look inside, however, I decided that it wasn’t really for me and kept it in the non-downloaded section of my laptop Kindle reader. When the reader inexplicably dumped everything except this and another ebook which really wasn’t me the other day, and I needed something to read while on my stepping machine, I was compelled to read this as the lesser of two evils.

And it’s actually not bad. ‘Cinderella’ updated to the present time, complete with wicked stepmother and two stepsisters, Prince Charming and a feisty Cinderella within the echelon of America’s elite. Pretty, frothy, saccharine-sweet, with no bad language, no sex, no nudity and True Love winning through; so if that’s your ideal read, go for it. And there’s a sequel, not to mention a whole catalogue of fairytales updated by Ms LeClair. What more could you wish for?

[Terri Zumbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

An effervescent romance

Starting out as a quest for an arranged marriage, IF THE SHOE FITS manages to very cleverly stay true to much of the Cinderella fairy tale while putting more emphasis on the leadership and resourcefulness of young businesswomen.

The relationship between Charlie and Alex relies on him being smitten with her intelligence as well as vivacity. Charlie lights up his life previously devoted to his grandparents to the point that seeking the arranged marriage was to please them.

I loved that they fell in love do instantly. That Alex could not resist Charlie after only one meeting, and that they couldn’t bear to be apart. Alex was such a loyal, devoted grandson even denying himself what he wanted more than anything to make them happy.

This would be known as a closed door romance, but that doesn’t lessen the heat the author creates between the Royales. I really enjoyed the story.

[Trudi Jorda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte (Charlie) King is struggling to keep her late father's legacy, 'King's Department Store alive after his death but due to her Step Mother's management is unable to make the needed changes to enable to grow and thrive. She makes a deal with her Step Mother to help her two step sisters find husbands but in the process the first candidate, Alexander (Alex) Royale, dubbed by society newspapers as Prince Charming, falls in love with her and they marry very quickly! The store is bought by Alex and he gives her free rein to do as she likes to make the needed changes but his grandparents are not happy with the drop to the Royale personal fortunes. I won't give away any more of the plot but want you to know that I could not put this book down ! I loved the characters and so badly wanted a happy ending! If you get the chance to read this totally sappy, romantic book and need a bit of hope-- read it!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, Flirty Cinderella-like story

This author puts a very new twist on the classic Cinderella situation. The characters are fun and the storyline is fairly solid but I felt there were some things missing. This is a “sweet” read so if you’re looking for those steamy sexy scenes you won’t find them here, which is fine cuz sometimes it’s nice to read a clean novel. But I had trouble really getting into the story due to big chunks of time missing and it felt like I was “time-hopping” ahead too often. I Leo would’ve preferred for the conversations and interactions between Alex and Charlie to be much more detailed and less vague. I felt like I was always waiting for more. The wrap up was a nice HEA but left me wanting for a more complete resolve at the end. Overall, it’s a good young adult read.