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Michele's lack of focus in life hasn't bothered her, until the day she finds herself with mounting credit card debt, unable to afford her rent, and without a job. While her meddling family questions how she can end up in this predicament, at the age of 29, and single to boot, Michele doesn't want to admit the truth. All she wants to do is sew.
Faced with the prospect of moving back into her parents' house, Michele throws a Hail Mary pass and applies for a TV design contest, Made for Me. In order to win the contest, Michele will have to compete with nine other contestants to design the new wardrobe for Duchess Maryn Medrovovich, who's about to marry Prince Stephan of the United Republic of Montabago.
While in the seclusion of the show, Michele starts to realize where her focus in life should be, and what's truly important to her. However, a dashing competitor might just cause her to lose her focus once and for all. Can Michele keep her eye on the prize while being true to herself?

271 pages, ebook

First published October 4, 2016

1103 people are currently reading
1553 people want to read

About the author

Kathryn R. Biel

27 books372 followers
Kathryn R. Biel writes low-to-no spice contemporary romance, rom-com, sports romance, and women’s fiction full of humor, heart, and happily-ever-afters. Her books balance the drama and challenges of real life with witty banter, strong heroines, and swoony cinnamon-roll heroes. Whether she’s writing laugh-out-loud romantic comedies, emotional women’s fiction, or heartfelt sports romances, Kathryn delivers stories where resilience, love, and laughter take center stage.


Kathryn is the author of more than 20 books, including the award-winning Live for This, Made for Me, and The UnBRCAble Women Series (Ready for Whatever, Seize the Day, and Underneath It All).

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5 stars
579 (33%)
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641 (36%)
3 stars
415 (23%)
2 stars
88 (5%)
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24 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 167 reviews
Profile Image for Julie .
4,248 reviews38k followers
February 11, 2018
Made for Me by Kathryn R. Biel is a 2016 publication.

Adorably fun!

Michele can’t seem to pinpoint her niche, or settle into a career, and her life is maybe a little disorganized and messy.

Her ADHD could be partially to blame, but Michele is tired of the way her life is going. When she loses her job and her boyfriend dumps her- again- she auditions for a new fashion related reality show where the winner will get to design the wedding gown for a future princess.

This could be the fresh start Michele has been waiting for. Can she get herself together and put her sewing talents to good use, launching a new career for herself in the process?

This is a super lighthearted story about second changes and new beginnings. Michele’s big Italian family is a hoot, and the large cast of characters is zany and fun, even if things do get a little busy at times. There’s also a little romance in the air, the outcome of which might have taken me a bit by surprise!

This book is a real mood enhancer, which goes very easy on the angst, and made me smile, feeling proud of Michele’s success and happy to see her get a sweet HEA! I really needed a book like this right now, after reading some pretty dark and heavy material. Not only that, this was the perfect cure for a cold, gray, gloomy winter day. I enjoyed it so much, I’ve added the next two books in the series to my TBR pile.

3.5 stars
Profile Image for Stephanie Anze.
657 reviews123 followers
April 4, 2020
Michele's life is aimless: she has mounting debt, no job, is about to lose her apartment and has no alternative other than to move in back with her parents. There is one thing in her life that she absolutely loves (aside from her family) and that is sewing. When she learns of Made For Me, a design show competition whose premise is to design the wardrobe for Maryn Medrovovich, the future Princess of Montabago, Michele decides to give it a go. She is surprised to learn that she is one of the ten contestants selected to participate. As the cameras begin to roll, however, Michele learns this is a much harder endeavor than she initially thought.

I came across this book by chance. The fact that it was free made it more appealing. I was genuinely surprised by how much I came to enjoy reading this book. My first thought was that was a very Project Runway like in theme and style. Michele is lost and the only thing she is sure about is that she loves to sew. Made For Me is a last effort to see if she can live off what she loves. When she is cast as one of the ten contestants, Michele does not know what her odds of winning are but she is thrilled to be part of it. Its hard work though and dealing with the personalities of all the other contestants is even tougher. With each challenge, Michelle learns, not just design, but also of herself. This book is so much fun (that made me add one more star to my rating). I loved the descriptions of challenges and the clothes. The drama among the contestants was so absurd and silly and yet I loved it all. The descriptions were spot on and could clearly picture the images in my head. The characters are interesting and varied, maybe they border on cliches but that was part of the experience. Yeah, I figured the way this was going to end but it did not matter for the journey was so enjoyable and entertaining. This was so worth the read. If you are looking for a fun, easy, fast and entertaining read look no further. This was so much better than I anticipated and I am interested in reading further in this series.
Profile Image for Myrn🩶.
755 reviews
February 21, 2017
Made for Me encompasses all things chick lit: charm, humor, romance, and a great ending. Highly recommend the novel if you like this type of genre with fashion/design thrown in. Good novel but I liked I'm Still Here more. 3.5★s!
Profile Image for Tracie Banister.
Author 7 books468 followers
November 5, 2016
Royalty, fashion, and competitive reality shows—these are a few of my favorite things, so I couldn't help but enjoy reading this book! Made for Me tells the story of Michele Nowakowski, a half-Italian, half-Polish, closing-in-on-thirty singleton who starts off the book losing both the sex buddy she'd hoped would one day be her boyfriend and her go-nowhere job in a boutique. Not wanting to move home with her parents and eager to finally do something with her sewing/fashion design skills, Michele decides to go for it when she hears about a casting call for a new reality show where contestants will have to design clothes for a royal bride-to-be. To her surprise (and delight), she ends up on Made for Me and soon she's in a pressure cooker situation, doing her best to showcase her talent on a tight deadline every week all while making friends (as well as enemies) with the other contestants. Will this show be the chance of a lifetime for Michele, or will she fall flat on her face in front of millions of viewers?

Michele is a flawed heroine (my favorite kind!) who doesn't always make the best decisions, but I rooted for her throughout the story and cheered whenever she had a small victory, either personally or professionally. She had quite a journey in the book, and it was great to see her find her voice as a designer and gain confidence along the way. There was a romantic element in the book as Michele is instantly attracted to fellow contestant, Asher (a man with a British accent is hard to resist!), and she starts to see an old family friend, Lincoln, in a new light. I definitely preferred one of these guys over the other, but I won't say which one. He and Michele have a really lovely chemistry and rapport right from the start, though. Another aspect of this book I really liked was Michele's large, Italian family and all the funny, little quirks the various members had. They were great for comic relief, and provided Michele with a constant source of both exasperation and loving support.

I hope that some producer at Bravo or Lifetime reads this book and gets inspired to make a TV show with the same premise as the one in Made for Me, because I think it would be so much fun to watch! (Of course, that producer will need to compensate the author for her very clever idea.)

If you like Chick Lit and never miss an episode of Project Runway, this book is the perfect read for you! I look forward to reading more stories of this kind from Kathryn Biel as I think she has a good grasp of the genre and knows how to deliver a satisfying story.
Profile Image for Barbara.
650 reviews81 followers
October 5, 2016
This was the perfect palate cleanser after reading a heavy, engrossing,historical fiction novel. This was my first book by Ms. Biel and I look forward to others. The story was funny with plenty of laugh out loud moments, as we follow Michele's adventures in fashion design. Her life is going nowhere, she's in debt, loses her job, her boyfriend's a douche and she just might have to move back in with mom and dad at age 30. Thankfully, she takes a chance at a spot on the new reality show, Made for Me. It's like Project Runway meets Say Yes To the Dress. Keeping her spot on the show won't be easy, but somehow Michele perseveres. She makes a few friends, a few enemies, and maybe finds love. You'll have to read the book to find out. Thank you to the author for the e-copy to read and review.
Profile Image for Samantha March.
1,102 reviews326 followers
October 4, 2016
I received a review copy
Oh yes, was this ever the book for me! Adorable cover, first of all, but the plot sounded fantastic and so chick lit. Michele was a very real heroine, super relatable and I loved her! The reality show concept was so much fun to read about, the romance drama was a bit juicy, and I was guessing until the end what her outcome would be – in love and career! I also loved the royalty bit, as I’m a big royal watcher myself, so that was a lot of fun! Overall a fantastic, snappy chick lit read that I recommend!
44 reviews2 followers
March 20, 2017
Girl who cant get it together. Sort of like me!

I could relate to the main character, never getting her ducks in a row. The fun part was reading someone's disasters from not organizing her life. It wasn't my life and my disasters are never funny until about ten years have passed. This is a new author for me and I've put her my list of Authors to Read. This list is the only organized thing in my life. Go figure. Hurry up and start reading this book. I'm getting ready to download the followup book, New Attitude.



Profile Image for Charanya.
271 reviews32 followers
April 6, 2018
4 Stars!!

I have a confession to make I don't have a single fashion bone in my body, nor do I like reality shows but somehow I stumbled on this book with both these elements and found myself loving it and being thoroughly entertained.

Michele and her huge, intrusive Italian family were a barrel of laughs. This book starts off typically, with down on her luck heroine her cheating boyfriend, with no money, no job and on the verge of being homeless. She's however a master seamstress/designer, and so she reluctantly enters a reality show that gives the chance for the winner to design the wedding dress for Maryn, would-be princess of a tiny, obscure republic. Despite her fear and her general laziness, being close to her passion for fabrics and buttons (!!) is all she has at this moment and she grabs on to the opportunity. She self-proclaims to have had ADHD when she was a kid and hence her flaky, impulsive behaviour continues even in her adulthood and whenever she becomes distracted the author employs a bit of incoherence and scatter brained approach to those sections making it authentic and funny! :)

The charming leading man (no spoilers!) provides the calming and grounding force and his always there for our Michele and is up against a formidable opponent forming the ubiquitous love triangle. My only grouse with the book was the ending was rushed, although heartfelt and we see it coming all along, there's not enough time invested with the main couple and the other guy who was perfectly friendly and nice suddenly became an opportunist out of nowhere.

But these are minor grouses, the majority of the book is spent on the actual reality show and Michele finding her passion and focus (sort of ;)) in her life. You are delved into a world with fierce competition, friendships, catty fights and loads and loads of fabric, muslin, silk and laces! Even a novice like me could visualize the beautiful creations that Michele brings to life owing to the author's vivid descriptions - a fashion aficionado would love this one! The results for each round of the reality show had me at the edge of my seat, that's how much the author made me care for Michele! :)

A clean, fun book and my first of the author, picked this up one up as part of the Kindle Unlimited spree that I am in!
Profile Image for Arielle Joy.
395 reviews30 followers
November 25, 2016
Made for Me follows a prior novel called Completions and Connections. The main character in the first novel was Catherine. This novel focuses on Catherine’s best friend Michele.

This novel was so much fun and I loved it! Biel’s characters are charming and likable. On a personal level, they were also quite relate-able for me. I studied fashion design in school and I used to get wrapped up in my sewing projects. I wasn’t quite as talented as the main character here, but it brought back some fun memories for me!

I read this novel while traveling to Oregon for a long weekend vacation and this novel thoroughly kept me entertained during my flight there and back.

This novel was fun, flirty and filled with comical chaos and humor. I thoroughly enjoyed Biel’s writing and I can’t wait to see what she creates in this future.

5/5 stars for a novel that felt like it was made for me!
Profile Image for Bethany Clark.
526 reviews
March 8, 2018
Such a fun read! For those of you who love Project Runway, Made for Me would be right up your alley!

Michele has no focus but is an amazing designer and has a talent for sewing. But a good job seemed hard to come by and living with her parents was the end of the road. She needed to do better and then she saw the ad for a TV design contest. What did she have to lose?

Not only is she winning challenges but she is also creating friendships and a possible love interest?

The final challenge is designing the wedding attire for the soon to be princess of Montabago and if she wins she would design her wardrobe for a year! WOW!

Can Michele make it to the end? Can she be the designer she's always wanted to be and pursue dreams beyond Etsy?
Profile Image for Kristen Lesperance.
202 reviews9 followers
December 13, 2018
I downloaded this as a free ebook and I wasn't sure about it at the start. The writing seemed a little novice but as the story progressed the characters started to form and the storyline came together. I enjoyed it and I may read the second book in the series.
Profile Image for Laura.
313 reviews1 follower
March 27, 2018
A feel-good and cozy read.

So sweet and cozy. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the quirky characters. Michelle is that friend we all know that you simply love for their good heart. This book is for anyone that loves the concept of Project Runway and sewing.
Profile Image for Danielle Donaldson.
Author 10 books12 followers
July 19, 2017
Perfect and fun! Great fast read for a day poolside or at the beach. Loved how it felt like a season of Project Runway and really getting into the heroine's mind.
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
6,067 reviews113 followers
March 4, 2020
Michele is 29 and her life is not at all what she thought it would be. After she looses her job, she moves back home with her parents and panics about what to do with her life (again). She signs herself up for a Project Runway style show where they will be designing clothes for the new Princess of Montebago including her wedding dress. In between the reality tv chaos, homesickness, and trying to guess what a future princess wants from her wardrobe, she is of course having boy trouble. As Michele struggles to figure out what she wants to do with her life after the show, it become pretty clear that the better question might just be who she wants to spend it with! I already bought book 2!! Can't wait!!
Profile Image for Sandra Hutchison.
Author 11 books84 followers
Read
December 29, 2021
I'm calling this a book about art even though it's about an underemployed clothing designer, because her passion for design is the animating force of the book, which takes us through a reality show designing contest fraught with the usual competitive intrigue. I couldn't really care less about clothing design, but Biel keeps me interested in it anyway. There's also a romance, but I'd say it's secondary. A pleasant read about a nice young woman who ultimately gets rewarded for her talent, hard work, and principles, even if she can also be a bit impulsive and unfocused. If you like mostly clean first-person chick lit, I recommend it.
Profile Image for Paula Bothwell.
1,622 reviews44 followers
November 14, 2018
Made for Me (A New Beginnings Book Book 1) - PG13
Violence: none
Language: fewer than 20
Sex: alluded to.

It's fine. Our heroine is mentally and emotionally all over the place and over the top naive, so that was annoying. I'm not going on with the series.
490 reviews9 followers
March 31, 2020
Very enjoyable read. Of course, it boggles my mind that anyone who reaches 30 and is still so naive exists.
The clothes that were designed were absolutely beautiful, but, I will say, I would not ever purchase the jumpsuit that won under any conditions. A zipper up the back in a jumpsuit? Certainly precludes you going to the ladies room by yourself.
But I will be reading the next book in this series to see what goodies Ms. Biel will come up with next. Hopefully they will be as entertaining as this one was.
401 reviews2 followers
January 7, 2022
Adorable!

Yes this book was a teeny bit predictable but I couldn’t help falling in love with Michelle, the main character and her big, stereotypical Italian family. I also love Project Runway so the premise of the book was an automatic win for me. Happy ending, romantic without graphic sex and a lovable heroine!
Profile Image for Michelle.
49 reviews11 followers
March 23, 2017
A great book for those days you want an easy, fun read.
Profile Image for Kate O'Keeffe.
Author 66 books851 followers
May 11, 2017
This book is such fun, feel-good chick lit, I wanted to wrap myself up in it and totally forget about the world. I know less than nothing about sewing and don't watch those reality shows like Project Runway, but was totally riveted by this story! I defy anyone to read this and not feel all warm and happy inside. Totally perfect chick lit, right down to the last stitch.
Profile Image for Pontiki.
2,514 reviews9 followers
December 15, 2018
I know this genre is meant to be light and fun, but this book comes of as annoying and being.

Michele is entering a reality show to design clothes for a soon to be princess. Interesting idea. Except I don’t really like Michele. She’s immature, Whitney, unfocused, and unmotivated.

Although self-deprecating can be a way to be humble, she seems to make no effort to put her best foot forward. When she meets the princess-to-be, she shares all her failures, but says she loves seeing.

Then, she doesn’t have the confidence to disagree with something the princess wants for her wedding dress, even though she knows it won’t work.

Oh, and she’s got no clue about how to handle Asher’s bisexuality, and is being such a “good girl” by not having dec with him, but lives with him in her room, cameras rolling. What’s the point?

The only person I do like is Lincoln, but he’s not given nearly enough air time until the end.

Instead of a book about a reality show, this has the drama and inanity of a reality show, a “reality book” per se.

KU
Profile Image for Lexi.
415 reviews6 followers
December 26, 2018
Prekvapivo podarené, aj keď totálne predvídateľné, ale asi som práve niečo také milé potrebovala...
10 reviews
March 10, 2020
I'm a creative person and I love Project Runway so this book was right up my alley
Profile Image for Beverly Diehl.
Author 5 books76 followers
November 22, 2022
What if a princess-to-be needed a new wardrobe? What if the Powers That Be decided to turn it into a reality show? What if life was going to push totally at loose ends Michele into becoming a contestant?

Havoc ensues. I'm not a designer nor fashionista, myself, but I loved all the descriptions of the various outfits, and why they did/didn't work.

I began this book a little annoyed with Michele, but found myself liking her better as SHE gained more confidence in herself. Fun read; I'll be diving into the others in this series.
Profile Image for Aline Riquelme.
303 reviews1 follower
December 14, 2018
A dream come true

Life is not easy for Michele, but she has her crazy family to support her, although many times they look like working for the opposite site. She has her loyalty for her friends and family deep craved in her soul as long as het passion ti sew. Kathryn is perfect putting all this ingredients together in a very funny and romantic book! I loved it and cannot wait to read more about this group.
26 reviews
March 9, 2020
Sweet

Very sweet inspirational story. You will have a perfect weekend with this feel good book. Will definitely read more !
536 reviews4 followers
February 28, 2017
Fun, funny and a good story too.
165 reviews
January 30, 2019
Fun and entertaining!

If you liked project runway then "made for me" is for you! From down on her luck to top designer and woman on top of the world, this story is well written and will make you smile!







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