Many people love the story of Cinderella; here is a woman who after her father dies she is forced to be the servant for her step-mother and step-sisters. She manages to get to the ball with the help of a fairy godmother, meets the prince, falls in love, leaves behind a shoe as her only calling card. The prince does not give up; he takes the shoe and uses that to find her (because apparently only one person could fit into one shoe size but this shoe was created by a fairy godmother so it does have magical qualities I suppose). Anyway, he finds her, they marry and live happily ever after. This story is so beloved that it has inspired so many versions to be created. There was one year where I think 3 different takes on Cinderella had been made into movies.
I discovered a modern version of Cinderella with a new twist. I absolutely loved it! There was nothing, N.O.T.H.I.N.G. that was typical of the original Cinderella in this book. Jennifer Kloester created a beautiful and believable world in her book The Cinderella Moment.
The Cinderella Moment is the story of Angel, she is the daughter of the cook (Simone) and they live in the DeTourney household in New York. They had moved to New York from France when Angel was only 6 because her father needed surgery. This is where Simone took a job working for Phillip de Tourney (he is also from France), Phillip was a widower who was left to raise his daughter Lily by himself; he had cut off all ties to his mother the Comtesse de Tourney. Lily and Angel became best friends.
The story starts out with Angel and Lily as teenagers. Lily loves acting and has applied for the London Drama Academy for a 2 week summer program. Angel is entering her designs in the Teen Couture to be judged by Antoine Vidal. Margot is dating Phillip; she and her teenage daughter Clarissa have been invited to stay at the de Tourney house while Phillip was away on business. Clarissa also wants to win the Teen Couture. She wants to win this so badly that she steals Angel's designs and enters them as her own. Angel must find a way to get her entry in before Clarissa's copycat entry can be turned in.
Margot tells Lily that she is to go to visit her grandmother the Comtesse de Tourney; whom she has not seen since she was five years old. Her father does not talk to his mother. Lily does not want to iss out on the London Drama Academy so she comes up with a plan that will help not only herself but Angel as well. Angel will go to Paris. She will pretend to be Lily de Tourney and swap out her designs for the copycat designs that Clarissa had entered. Meanwhile, Lily would go to London for her 2 week drama academy. After Lily is done with London she will go to France to explain to her grandmother why they had swapped places. Angel reluctantly agrees to this plan.
Angel had not anticipated Nick, the handsome young man who remembers Lily from the last time she was in France 11 years prior. He seems like the kind of boy that she could fall for, she must stay away from him so that he does not find out the truth. The Comtesse de Tourney takes Angel out immediately for new clothes that would be proper for her to wear during the Summer Season, in which Lily (Angel) is be introduced into Paris society. Will Angel be able to keep up this masquerade? Will she be able to stop Clarissa from using her designs to win the Teen Couture?
This book has so many unexpected twists and turns that you will love it. It stays fresh and captivating the entire way through. Though I am not a fan of fashion I found myself loving the details of the dresses, loving the passion that Angel feels for fashion, a passion that she shares with the Comtesse.
This is a far cry form your typical take on Cinderella, it is a far cry from the modern twists on Cinderella. This story is fresh, new and feels completely new! I highly recommend this book.
The Cinderella Moment can be found at Amazon for Kindle it can also be found at Barnes and Noble. If you are from Australia there is an Australian version.
Happy Reading!
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