Book Shelf: Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram

It’s been almost a year since eighteen-year-old Ella Rodriguez was in a car accident that left her crippled, scarred, and without a mother. After a very difficult recovery, she’s been uprooted across the country and forced into the custody of a father that abandoned her when she was a young child. If Ella wants to escape her father’s home and her awful new stepfamily, she must convince her doctors that she’s capable, both physically and emotionally, of living on her own. The problem is, she’s not ready yet. The only way she can think of to start healing is by reconnecting with the one person left in the world who’s ever meant anything to her—her anonymous Internet best friend, Cinder. 

… 

Hollywood sensation Brian Oliver has a reputation for being trouble. There’s major buzz around his performance in his upcoming film The Druid Prince, but his management team says he won’t make the transition from teen heartthrob to serious A-list actor unless he can prove he’s left his wild days behind and become a mature adult. In order to douse the flames on Brian’s bad-boy reputation, his management stages a fake engagement for him to his co-star Kaylee. Brian isn’t thrilled with the arrangement—or his fake fiancée—but decides he’ll suffer through it if it means he’ll get an Oscar nomination. Then a surprise email from an old Internet friend changes everything.

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Review:

Cinder & Ella is the sensational latest release from Kelly Oram and is an extremely entertaining and addictive contemporary read that blends tonnes of adorable moments with friendship, humor and romance. Oram introduces readers to a fun and sometimes emotional twist on Cinderella that will have you giggling, smiling and falling in love with the characters and their story a little bit more with the turn of every page!

Wow! Can I just start by saying what an amazing read Cinder and Ella was! Honestly, one of the best books I’ve read lately. Loosely set in Oram’s V is for Virgin world, Cinder & Ella is a deliciously fun twist on the Cinderella fairytale and features Kelly Oram’s trademark wit and humor woven together with a delectable romance and adorable friendship.

Cinder & Ella is told through the dual POV’s of teenager Ellamara "Ella" Rodriguez and her best friend and internet buddy, Cinder. A blogger and book lover, Ella is still managing to re-establish her life after a terrible accident left her horrendously scarred and took the life of her mother. Now living with the father who abandoned her years before, new stepmother and two "evil" stepsisters, Ella is struggling to adjust to life at a new school and new town, where she is bullied and ridiculed. Her only solace is reconnecting with Cinder, a boy she has spoken to online for years but has never actually met, not knowing that Cinder is actually heart-throb and acting sensation, Brian Oliver, the lead actor in her favorite book-turned-movie series.

I always seem to enjoy Kelly Oram’s novels and Cinder & Ella was no exception—in fact it may be my new favourite! As a reader and blogger I found it so easy to connect with and relate to Ella. Obviously I couldn’t understand exactly what she was going through, but it was easy to emphasise with Ella. Smart, witty and passionate about books, Ella was so very likable and I truly found myself rooting for her. Oram explores Ella’s Cinderella like life beautifully, but also manages to give it a fresh and fun twist that sees some of the "villain’s’ become friends. Honestly, it was just so much fun to read and I really didn’t want to put it down.

I adored the relationship Kelly Oram depicts between Ella and Cinder. From the moment Oram writes their first online interaction readers see in the book, it’s obvious they’ve got chemistry, and their quick, sharp banter makes for some really excellent scenes. I feel like Oram did a fantastic job with their relationship and I never once doubted the depth and authenticity of their feelings for one another. Perhaps it may have come across as strange that two people who had never met could love each other under different circumstances, but here are two people with a legitimate friendship that has developed over three years of connecting and communicating online. It had nothing to do with looks or status or fame—just the opposite actually, but Ella and Cinder honestly cared about each other and I was just dying for them to finally meet in person.

Kelly Oram creates a great dynamic with not only Ella and Cinder, who are just too cute for words, but the other characters as well. As a fairytale retelling, you kind of expect the dynamics of Cinderella to be present, but I also appreciated seeing Ella bond with the family she is forced to live with as well as the friends she slowly makes in the book. Brian Oliver is a thrilling and cheeky leading man who truly adores Ella, and is willing to put her above his career as long as she’ll be with him. He loves her, and knows her and at the end of the day I found it beautiful that he loves her regardless of her scars.

Entrancing from beginning to end, Cinder & Ella was just a plain awesome read. Rich in friendship that develops into romance and non-stop wit, banter and sass, this novel is one you won’t want to miss and is perfect for fairytale fans and contemporary lovers alike!

Rating:
Source: Sent for review by the author (Thanks Kelly!)
Format: Kindle ebook
Buy it: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Recommendation: This is a brilliant contemporary fairytale retelling and you'll love it!
Cover: Pretty, but doesn't do the book as much justice as it could.
Will I read sequel/continue with series: This is a standalone novel but I'll always read what Kelly Oram releases....