Review: Cinderella lets the ball roll between her legs...
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 12 4, 2013
I feel a little bad about rating this book only 2 stars because I've rated worse books higher but I expected more from this book than I did from those others so I don't feel bad enough to change my rating.Cinderella Steals Home was not a bad story, it just wasn't all that great either.  It was the type of story I enjoy when I go in with low expectations and no interest in being emotionally invested.  That may sound like a jab but it wasn't meant to be.  Sometimes that is what I'm looking for.  I think if I were to reread this book while I was in that mood, I would have enjoyed it more.  There were a few things that kept this book from being good: poor character development and Holly and Doan' s relationship are just a couple.Character (and sometimes story) development was seriously lacking here.  There were loads of characters whom we learned next  to nothing about.  Justin, Natalie, Natasha and Tanya were just a few examples.  Justin, Holly' s brother, could have been such a strong character and had serious subplot potential (estranged brother and sister reconnect after nearly a decade apart?) but no such luck.  He was in the book plenty but he was pretty much just there, in the background flirting with girls, playing baseball, swimming or throwing teasing "meaningful" looks at Holly that weren't really all that meaningful.  We really didn't  learn much about  him besides that he played baseball, he didn't mind sloppy seconds and he didn't mind pushing his emotionally damaged, player friend on his sister.  Seriously, was he trying to hook his friend and sister up from the very beginning? Why? And what exactly was his story?  What did he think about his father, mom and sister and all of their issues? Especially his Mom, she pretty much abandoned him.  None of these things were at all addressed.  What about Natalie? I know we met her  in Cinderella in Skates but these are stand alone  books and therefore she should  have been properly re-introduced.  She was supposed to be Holly' s new BFF but they never interacted outside of work and we learned nothing about her outside of her boyfriend Shane was a pro-hockey player, they were deeply in love but in a long distance  relationship, she knew Justin and some of his friends from high school, and her grandma owned the cafe.  And what was the point of Natasha?  How did she add anything to the story?  Then there was Tanya.  Did Dad marry a trophy wife or did she have some redeeming qualities that we weren't privy to?  And if she was just a trophy wife, doesn't that sort of negate his and Holy's cathartic moment.  There was just so much material here that Syms did nothing with.  Even Holly and Doan could have been better developed.Holly's and Doan's relationship bugged me sometimes.  I routed for them but there were a few things that just got under my skin.  First, why is Holly so angry about Doan racing down a busy street at the beginning of the book but it barely registers later when it really, truly should have?  Second, what exactly does Doan see in Holly at first?  He just seems to like her immediately for no apparent reason.  Third, talk about anti-climatic and luke-warm.  Finally, I find it really hard to believe that Holly would not have caught on to Doan' s "secret" and even harder to believe that no one would have clued her in.There are very few books that I would encourage people not to read and this is not one of them.  However, I won't likely be recommending to anyone either.