Cinderfella

Fairy Tale Romance #6

by Linda Winstead Jones

A Fairy Tale Romance

Charmaine Haley is a modern 19th century woman who plans to return to Boston after a brief visit home to her father's Kansas ranch. She intends to remain single, teaching other women that there's more to life than serving a man and having his children. Her father has other ideas.

Neighboring farmer Ash Coleman attends the Haley masked ball with the intention of having a little fun. Nothing more. A dance, a little conversation, and a kiss or two, and his intentions change.

A single boot left behind sends Charmaine's father on the hunt for the masked man. Can a woman who doesn't believe in romantic love and a farmer who needs a wife find happiness before the stroke of midnight?

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Fairy Tales, Cinderella, Historical Fiction, Contemporary Romance

292 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

Linda Winstead Jones is the bestselling author of more than eighty romance novels and novellas across several sub-genres. She’s easily distracted (Look! A squirrel!) and writes the stories that speak to her in the moment. Paranormal. Romantic Suspense. Twisted Fairy Tales. Cowboys. Her books are for readers who want to escape from reality for a while, who don’t mind the occasional trip into another world for a laugh, a chill, the occasional heartwarming tear. Where will we go next?

More information can be found at lindawinsteadjones.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, and at www.facebook.com/LindaWinsteadJones or www.facebook.com/LindaHowardLindaJones.

Reviews

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charmaine Haley, the daughter of a rich cattleman, returns home to Kansas after being in Boston for the last 8 years. Her two older sisters are married and living in Boston. Charmaine's father wants at least one of his daughters to remain in Kansas and marry someone who will someday inherit his ranch. But Charmaine wants to return to Boston and has no desire to marry. Her parents decide to have a masquerade ball in her honor with hopes that Charmaine will meet a man. During the ball, Charmaine dances with a masked stranger and later is found in a compromising position which causes her father to get the shotgun out. Ash Coleman knew Charmaine years ago and she had even swore she was going to marry Ash but his life the last few years have been less than ideal. He had no intention of attending the ball, but he changes his mind and then finds himself running from an angry father with a shotgun.

A different take on the Cinderella tale. The Cinderella in this story is the hero who is stuck with the stepmother and two stepbrothers. Charmaine, in turn, is the "prince" or princess in this case. It was actually a rather cute story but it didn't reach it's full potential. Nor did it resemble the fairy tale all that much. The evil steps turned out to be irritating but not evil. I'd probably still recommend this to someone looking for a Historical Romance set in the American West.

[When Funmi Met Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cinderfella: A cute and well written 4 star read given the correct mindset


This is a very cute book. I'm only 18 so I remember quite vividly my transition from Young Adult Romance to Adult Romance. I wish I could have read this book then! It is a great intro to adult romance book. It has a familiar theme, basic concepts, humor, and an abundance of adorableness. The sex is pretty low steam and I daresay no one will be learning any new tricks or having hot flashes over it. Its a fun read and great read if you are new to Adult romance!

[Shasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this spin on Cinderella. Ash is a Hero. There were some parts that were irritating but by the end those were resolved. I loved that they were both virgins for their marriage. There are tasteful intimate scenes but I wouldn't recommend this for YA or younger.

Mature content, hea

[Lori ◡̈]

Note to self: heroine is the super anti-marriage, don't you dare hold a door open for me ultra-feminist type.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (1/15/2022)! 🎁

[FULVIA BELLINATO · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms Jones delights us with an extremely original retelling of a classic tale that will keep you glued to the pages and with a plot twist you won’t see coming!

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This revamping of the Cinderella story is fun and sweet. It takes place when Kansas was "out west" and there was still a conflict between farmers and ranchers, like in the musical Oklahoma. The heroine has been sheltered and has developed some naive and contemporary ideals that don't fit well with the realities of life back home. The hero is good-natured, long-suffering, and hard-working. However, he is not experienced on the relationship front, spending his time running a farm. The wicked step-mother is suitably self-centered and spiteful. The step-siblings are appropriately useless. And the heroine's father is quite a character. Having grown up loving musicals like Oklahoma and The Music Man, I enjoyed the way the story developed a great deal. It was sweet and funny and full of misunderstandings. There is even a nasty character who turns out to be a rat in sheep's clothing.

The story is wrapped up really nicely, with a HEA for multiple characters.

[Ewa · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something truly magical about these Jones' stories. Her writing isn't top-notch and I've seen better ideas for plot, but I find her stories enchanting.

This was real gender-reversed Cinderella. There was mean stepmother with two ugly step-brothers, a godfather, a ball and a shoe.

Really good.

[Frances Mihulec · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel is great for a laugh or twenty if you need one. I found it painfully obvious the author has never visited Kansas and/or done proper research on the state, but as far as the romance - but it's pretty decent for a cute, fluff story. To be fair, though, I probably would have adored this book around age 10-12.

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

didn't care about anyone. i like the idea of them being cute when they were younger and I liked the hero's situation. but the characters yuck, indecisive, flippy and didn't believe when they said they 'loved or needed' anything. since they didn't the night before but now they do?

[Hilari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and sweet

This story is very well written. More books like these need to be available today (though this was written in the 90's). Not only for the writers, but for us readers who like a plot and a story. Great book!!