ARC Review: If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

“I would highly recommend this ten-times over to anyone.”
~ Under the Covers

Recommended Read!

Cindy, is a recent fashion school graduate who is working for her stepmom as she figures out her next steps. Because her stepmom is the executive producer of a reality show, Cindy, along with her two stepsisters, ends up appearing as one of the contestants competing to find true love. As the one plus-size woman on the show, Cindy quickly becomes a fashion icon, model for body positivity, and a voice for inclusivity. Cindy’s motivation for agreeing to participate in the show was to gain some publicity in order to get a job offer in the fashion industry. However, Cindy may leave the show finding more than she thought.

Julie Murphy strikes again! I absolutely love this author and her books. I believe this is her first non-young adult book, intended to be the first in her new Meant To Be series, which will be contemporary retellings of classic Disney princess stories. So, while this may seem like a take on a classic fairytale story, nothing about Murphy’s version is as traditional as it may seem. Despite the fact that I was able to predict the general idea of the ending, the way in which Murphy went about getting to the end was a delightful surprise that I wasn’t anticipating.

This story will make you laugh, smile, and feel good all around, as this is truly a rom-com done right. It was a very enjoyable, stress-free, fast read. It only took me about three sittings to finish this book, but every time I reached for it I felt like I was reaching for something comforting and familiar, like the feeling of re-watching all of the The Office episodes. Yes, it was in fact that enjoyable of a read.

Murphy really excels at the diversity in her books—the characters featured here are plus-size, black, gay, bisexual, and nonbinary. I can’t think of many books that include such an array of representation through its characters. These diverse characters are definitely supporting characters, though. The focus is clearly on Cindy’s experience navigating the fashion world, and the world in general, as a plus-size woman. Therefore, the individual experiences of these diverse characters go unexplored. But I don’t think that was a short-coming of this book at all —the supporting characters didn’t strike me as caricatures. Murphy depicted them well and respectfully. They just weren’t the focus of the book. Nonetheless, it was nice to see a variety of characters, even if they were in a supporting role in this story.

If The Shoe Fits is out August 3rd, 2021 and I would highly recommend this ten-times over to anyone. Murphy is an extraordinary writer with a gift for contemporary storytelling.