About the Book:Title: The Truth About Happily Ever After
Author: Karole Cozzo
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication date: May 16 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Chin up, Princess, or the crown will slip.
A theme park princess must put her life back together after her happily ever after falls apart in The Truth About Happily Ever After, a contemporary YA romance from Karole Cozzo, author of How to Keep Rolling After a Fall and How to Say I Love You Out Loud.
Everything was supposed to be perfect. Alyssa has a job she loves, working as Cinderella at her favorite theme park; a fantastic group of friends; and a boyfriend who will no longer be long distance. But as the summer progresses, her prince becomes less charming and more distant, and Alyssa’s perfect summer falls apart.
Forced to acknowledge that life is not always a fairy tale, Alyssa starts working to pull her herself back together. Fortunately, she doesn’t have to do it alone. With her friend Miller’s support, she’s determined to prove that she’s more than just a pretty princess. And with his help, maybe she’s finally ready for something better than dreams. Maybe she’s ready for something real.
Author Bio:Karole lives outside of Philadelphia, PA with her loving husband, exuberant little girl, and smiley little boy. She adores YA Romance, because it would be awesome if life in general had a requisite feel-good happy ending rule. Vices include obscene Haribo gummy consumption, addiction to Starbucks NF vanilla lattes, and tendency to hoard Bath and Body Works 3-wick candles.
Review:
I'm a sucker for theme park princess books, so I knew after reading the description of this book I had to read it! The Truth About Happily Ever After was a cute read that will appeal to a lot of readers who are looking for something light to read. It felt like a good summer read to me, so it's coming out at the perfect time. I really liked how the author tied Disney into this without ever saying the actual name. I thought the way she went about it was brilliant, and it added to the atmosphere of the book. While I wasn't sure about our MC, Alyssa, at first, I did grow to like her. This book is all about the importance of friendship and how sometimes true love comes to you in the way you didn't originally expect!
While I have no actual experience to relate to with being a theme park princess, I could easily believe that this is an accurate portrayal of what the actors have to go through. However, I hope it's not that cutthroat and that people aren't picked apart like that because it's such a shame if that's truly the case. I also did grow to like Alyssa's character, which surprised me. I was very hesitant at first because I she originally seemed like the stereotypical blond airhead and I was really hoping the author wouldn't give into that trope. But let me tell you, after the princess stuff falls away...Alyssa becomes a very relatable and realistic character. I was really rooting for her to have her happily ever after in the end! Her growth throughout the story was excellent and I liked that she realized what was truly important.
The one thing that I had a problem with (which is similar to others who reviewed this book) is the focus on Alyssa's weight. Yes, it makes sense it the story, but there were times I felt it was a talked about a bit too much. I mean there were many instances where Alyssa was verging on eating disorder type behavior and I didn't really like the way this was portrayed. This could easily be damaging to a young girl in many ways because of the park's unrealistic expectations. However, I will say that I applaud the author for including a character such as Miller, who actually confronted Alyssa about her behavior before it went too far. This doesn't always happen in real life (which is extremely sad but ultimately true), and I was happy that Alyssa was able to realize how far she was going and how unhealthy her mindset was toward her body and image.
My only other complaint was that the ending did feel a little rushed and childish at times...so it didn't really match up with the rest of the book. However, I definitely was happy with how the story ended and who Alyssa ultimately ended up with. I would recommend checking out this book if you are a fan of Disney and want to read about a realistic happily ever after.
While I have no actual experience to relate to with being a theme park princess, I could easily believe that this is an accurate portrayal of what the actors have to go through. However, I hope it's not that cutthroat and that people aren't picked apart like that because it's such a shame if that's truly the case. I also did grow to like Alyssa's character, which surprised me. I was very hesitant at first because I she originally seemed like the stereotypical blond airhead and I was really hoping the author wouldn't give into that trope. But let me tell you, after the princess stuff falls away...Alyssa becomes a very relatable and realistic character. I was really rooting for her to have her happily ever after in the end! Her growth throughout the story was excellent and I liked that she realized what was truly important.
The one thing that I had a problem with (which is similar to others who reviewed this book) is the focus on Alyssa's weight. Yes, it makes sense it the story, but there were times I felt it was a talked about a bit too much. I mean there were many instances where Alyssa was verging on eating disorder type behavior and I didn't really like the way this was portrayed. This could easily be damaging to a young girl in many ways because of the park's unrealistic expectations. However, I will say that I applaud the author for including a character such as Miller, who actually confronted Alyssa about her behavior before it went too far. This doesn't always happen in real life (which is extremely sad but ultimately true), and I was happy that Alyssa was able to realize how far she was going and how unhealthy her mindset was toward her body and image.
My only other complaint was that the ending did feel a little rushed and childish at times...so it didn't really match up with the rest of the book. However, I definitely was happy with how the story ended and who Alyssa ultimately ended up with. I would recommend checking out this book if you are a fan of Disney and want to read about a realistic happily ever after.
Happy reading :)
~Cassie
This sounds like a really cute and fun read! Great review, Cassie! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for this book! It sounds so adorable and fun!
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