Stefanie's Thoughts: The Truth About Happily Ever After by Karole Cozzo

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 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.


**Thanks for Swoon Reads/ Raincoast Books for providing the ARC**

Happy Friday,

Or should I say happy long weekend! I can’t believe its Friday and I’m so ready for the weekend. I’ve got no plans other than binge watch movies and read as much as I can.

I had the pleasure of getting an ARC of The Truth about Happily Ever After by Karole Cozzo. I haven’t read any other books by this author before so I was excited to read a book by an author I’ve never read; plus that synopsis sounds amazing. I love books that take place at theme parks (couple other favorites of mine include Devoured by Amanda Marrone and How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer) and it probably has everything to do with how much I love Disneyland.

Alyssa was a great main character; while I didn’t love her at times, particularly when she went sorority/party girl, she still had a great work ethic and took her job as Cinderella very seriously. That was my favorite thing about her, I think for readers who read this will understand that hard work pays off and you shouldn’t take even a summer job lightly. I liked her too that she wasn’t perfect, but made sure she was the best version of herself she could be. She was so strong after her breakup and it was nice to see someone being able to bounce back in a positive way. Talk about epic girl power!

Jake was actually a terrible character and I disliked him from the very first page we got introduced to him. He was so rude and treated Alyssa like complete crap at times, when all Alyssa wanted to do was care for him and work on their relationship. Needless to say, glad he wasn’t around for the entire book.

Then there’s Miller; just his name screams nice and caring. I loved him and how much of a great friend he was to Alyssa. In comparison to Jake, he was the boy you want to know. He was there for Alyssa when she needed a friend and only ever wanted the best for her.

I really loved this book. The setting was my absolute favorite; from the apartments they all share as co-workers to the theme park itself; LOVED IT. That theme park man, I want to live there. Having just finished a musical, it was so cool to me to read about all the behind the scenes working of the park, including sets and costumes; and then the best part: secret tunnels! I know I read about secret rooms in Disneyland, so this only made me love this book more. However, some of the strict rules the cast have to adhere too seemed a bit too strict, but who am I say these aren’t actual rules that other theme parks make their employees follow.

This story was such a fun one and while I went in thinking it would be just pure fluff, it wasn’t. Included were some moments of realness, raw and emotional. Any book that deals with self-worth, body image and self-love really hits home for me. One of the strict rules the workers have to maintain is that all princess have to stay a certain weight and size. This is always a tough subject to write about and Cozzo did a really good job at exploring this topic.

I think anyone as obsessed with Disney as I am would love this book; not only that but it takes place in the summertime and I always get really connected to books that are written in the summer. I feel that summertime is a time when anything is possible.

Solid 4.5 stars out of 5 for this one. After reading this, I’m going to be reading Cozzo’s previous books and I hope they are as wonderful as this one.

Until my next review,

Stefanie