What do you think?
Rate this book
Cinderella in the Boss's Palazzo
This Cinderella is about to realize exactly where she belongs in this enchanting workplace romance from USA TODAY bestselling author Julia James, inspired by the classic Jane Eyre.Stepping into his luxurious world……as his forbidden Cinderella!Haunted by a toxic divorce, wealthy Italian Evandro has sworn off romance—but he can’t ignore his simmering chemistry with Jenna, his young daughter’s fiery new tutor. After yet another clash, their attraction boils over one fateful evening…Jenna blossoms with each stolen kiss, their clandestine affair transforming her from plain Jane to passionate lover. But if cynical Evandro won’t let go of his past, Jenna will have to walk away from him and the glittering palazzo she’s come to call home…From Harlequin Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.
193 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 30, 2021
39 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Julia James
719 books164 followersJulia lives in England with her family. Mills and Boon novels were Julia's first "grown up" books she read as a teenager ("Alongside Georgette Heyer and Daphne du Maurier."), and she's been reading them ever since.
Julia adores the English countryside ("And the Celtic countryside!"), in all its seasons, and is fascinated by all things historical, from castles to cottages. She also has a special love for the Mediterranean ("The most perfect landscape after England!") — she considers both are ideal settings for romance stories! In between writing she enjoys walking, gardening, needlework and baking "extremely gooey chocolate cakes" — and trying to stay fit!
Julia adores the English countryside ("And the Celtic countryside!"), in all its seasons, and is fascinated by all things historical, from castles to cottages. She also has a special love for the Mediterranean ("The most perfect landscape after England!") — she considers both are ideal settings for romance stories! In between writing she enjoys walking, gardening, needlework and baking "extremely gooey chocolate cakes" — and trying to stay fit!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 29, 2021
This is not a Cinderella story. It’s a very close retelling of Jane Eyre. Right down to the names. Jane=Jenna
Edward = Evandro
Etc.
The H/h meet at dusk when heroine is out for a walk and steps in front of the hero’s car to warn him a rockfall blocking the road. She is the new tutor for the H’s daughter.
The H/h quickly fall in love, but their love is thwarted by the divorce demands of the ex-wife:
They’re separated for awhile, but it all works out when:
I don’t know how a reader who isn’t familiar with JE would like this plot plopped down in a contemporary HP. I liked it, but then JE is one of my all time favorites and I have a soft spot for Julia James.
Edward = Evandro
Etc.
The H/h meet at dusk when heroine is out for a walk and steps in front of the hero’s car to warn him a rockfall blocking the road. She is the new tutor for the H’s daughter.
The H/h quickly fall in love, but their love is thwarted by the divorce demands of the ex-wife:
They’re separated for awhile, but it all works out when:
I don’t know how a reader who isn’t familiar with JE would like this plot plopped down in a contemporary HP. I liked it, but then JE is one of my all time favorites and I have a soft spot for Julia James.
August 6, 2023
3.5 stars. I enjoyed this story, bit of a tear jerker for me.
March 10, 2021
I love Jane Eyre - it is an absolute masterpiece and Edward Rochester was my first hero and has retained a special place in my heart. I sincerely applaud the author for her homage to the book, but I'm sorry - it just didn't work for me and I think that's because the plot is so rooted in the time period in which it was originally set.
Jane goes to Thornfield in 1807 and the majority of the action is between 1807-1810. The last chapter ends in 1819. The themes of religion, responsibility, class, passion, and principle are set against a background of the emerging Industrial Revolution and examines the role of women. Charlotte Bronte created a world that was totally believable, and conflicts that were serious obstacles for our heroine.
In this modern version, Rochester is divorced but tied to his divorced wife because
The class references in this updated version just seem so cliched and tired and irrelevant today, whereas in Jane's time - they were crucially important constraints.
I read it and I rather enjoyed a lot of it as the hero and heroine were well drawn, but I suspect it would have been a better book if the author had not tried to tie it so closely and obviously to 'Jane Eyre' and simply written a story about a couple coming together and dealing with the fallout from a vicious divorce. A good try.
Jane goes to Thornfield in 1807 and the majority of the action is between 1807-1810. The last chapter ends in 1819. The themes of religion, responsibility, class, passion, and principle are set against a background of the emerging Industrial Revolution and examines the role of women. Charlotte Bronte created a world that was totally believable, and conflicts that were serious obstacles for our heroine.
In this modern version, Rochester is divorced but tied to his divorced wife because
The class references in this updated version just seem so cliched and tired and irrelevant today, whereas in Jane's time - they were crucially important constraints.
I read it and I rather enjoyed a lot of it as the hero and heroine were well drawn, but I suspect it would have been a better book if the author had not tried to tie it so closely and obviously to 'Jane Eyre' and simply written a story about a couple coming together and dealing with the fallout from a vicious divorce. A good try.
April 7, 2021
Because I love Jane Eyre.
February 17, 2022
(read in french, under the title « Séduction au palazzo »)
Some books are SWEET. It doesn't means everything inside is fluffy-pink-and-shiny-happiness, but that's it's perfectly possible to have as a hero a true gentleman, not toxic, not dominant, though haunted by his past but not making everyone pay for his torment, who knows to truly apologize and puts his relatives' well-being before everything else. Add a little girl discovering stability and affection after having known only a glamorous, loveless life with her mother, and a relatable, « everybody » heroine who must help the two to reconnect while finding her own balance, and you get « Cinderella in the Boss's Palazzo ».
There's so much kindness between the characters, freshness and calm in the book ! Ni rivalties or quarrels, just human beings getting to know each other and growing closer while enjoying the italian dolce vita. Evandro falls for Jenna's personality before getting attracted by her common face, which she learns to love herself. Even the revengeful ex stays a thing in the background, despite the divorce's secret requirement we guess right from the start. The palazzo's luxury is shown through its woods, its rose garden, the hills overlooking everything else, but Evandro doesn't artificially shows his fortune. So, it works. A sweet romance, an adorable child, dreamy landscapes, an Alice-in-Wonderland-like tea party... Even when things get complicated, it stays soft. No meanness, no fights, no anger. And it's delightful.
Alright, some plot twists come out of the blue, especially towards the end, but as in « His
Pregnant Christmas Princess » read a bit earlier, I suspect the french translation to be responsible of some brutal cuts within the story's flow. Of course, I plan to buy the american edition to check it. But even like this, the book has an almost fairytalish feeling, and it would be a shame to miss it. One of the best Azur (the french equivalent of the Present line, though you'll find some Romance releases in it too) I've ever read.
Some books are SWEET. It doesn't means everything inside is fluffy-pink-and-shiny-happiness, but that's it's perfectly possible to have as a hero a true gentleman, not toxic, not dominant, though haunted by his past but not making everyone pay for his torment, who knows to truly apologize and puts his relatives' well-being before everything else. Add a little girl discovering stability and affection after having known only a glamorous, loveless life with her mother, and a relatable, « everybody » heroine who must help the two to reconnect while finding her own balance, and you get « Cinderella in the Boss's Palazzo ».
There's so much kindness between the characters, freshness and calm in the book ! Ni rivalties or quarrels, just human beings getting to know each other and growing closer while enjoying the italian dolce vita. Evandro falls for Jenna's personality before getting attracted by her common face, which she learns to love herself. Even the revengeful ex stays a thing in the background, despite the divorce's secret requirement we guess right from the start. The palazzo's luxury is shown through its woods, its rose garden, the hills overlooking everything else, but Evandro doesn't artificially shows his fortune. So, it works. A sweet romance, an adorable child, dreamy landscapes, an Alice-in-Wonderland-like tea party... Even when things get complicated, it stays soft. No meanness, no fights, no anger. And it's delightful.
Alright, some plot twists come out of the blue, especially towards the end, but as in « His
Pregnant Christmas Princess » read a bit earlier, I suspect the french translation to be responsible of some brutal cuts within the story's flow. Of course, I plan to buy the american edition to check it. But even like this, the book has an almost fairytalish feeling, and it would be a shame to miss it. One of the best Azur (the french equivalent of the Present line, though you'll find some Romance releases in it too) I've ever read.
books-i-dnf-d
November 18, 2025DNF’d in the first chapter. It’s not great, and it’s too short.
DNF’d on page 89. I’m not loving it, and the book is too dark for me.
DNF’d on page 89. I’m not loving it, and the book is too dark for me.
March 22, 2021
What a waste of the chance for a Jane Eyre retelling! So disappointing :(
story: 2/5 (the variations from JE were in part good but there was not enough of them, especially as regards the resolution of the story)
characters: 3/5
dialogues: 2.5/5 (too much talking apparently in an unsuccessful attempt to recreate JE-Rochester talks, just meh and too much internal monologues)
angst: 2/5
steaminess: 2/5
story: 2/5 (the variations from JE were in part good but there was not enough of them, especially as regards the resolution of the story)
characters: 3/5
dialogues: 2.5/5 (too much talking apparently in an unsuccessful attempt to recreate JE-Rochester talks, just meh and too much internal monologues)
angst: 2/5
steaminess: 2/5
April 1, 2021
Poorly written book. There was no romance in there. It was like a poorly written Literature book, not believable in any way shape and form. I kept reading it hoping it would get better but finally had to realize it wasn’t working for me. I rarely rate a book below 3 stars and I rarely write reviews but this was really bad.
Read
September 13, 2021keep your temper, nobody wants it.
self-pity was both objectionable and pointless
safer not to want what could not be. Safer to stay invisible.
Never hide again
sometimes one can know a person well when a harmony exists between them that has nothing to do with how long one has known them...
The world new-made
Protest rose in her like a litany.
love is not love which alters when it alteration finds... O no! it is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken.
self-pity was both objectionable and pointless
safer not to want what could not be. Safer to stay invisible.
Never hide again
sometimes one can know a person well when a harmony exists between them that has nothing to do with how long one has known them...
The world new-made
Protest rose in her like a litany.
love is not love which alters when it alteration finds... O no! it is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken.
March 10, 2021
So! Many! Exclamation! Points!
Also, there's absolutely no way that the cover model would ever be considered plain, even sans makeup.
Not the worst book I've ever read, but I was taken out of the story a lot.
Also, there's absolutely no way that the cover model would ever be considered plain, even sans makeup.
Not the worst book I've ever read, but I was taken out of the story a lot.
April 27, 2022
Cinderella in the Boss’s palazzo
I have read much better romances by Anne Mather etc. the story line was very predictable and the plot had a few ups and downs, but not enough for me.
I have read much better romances by Anne Mather etc. the story line was very predictable and the plot had a few ups and downs, but not enough for me.
May 22, 2022
Couldn’t get into it
September 12, 2022
this was a good book
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews