Sarah Strohmeyer The Cinderella Pact

The Cinderella Pact

Sarah Strohmeyer

Dutton, June 2006, $24.95

ISBN: 0525949577

Her day job is a Sass magazine editor. Her peers and staff assume she is an overweight spinster. At night Nola Ann Devlin turns into highly regarded Sass magazine ethics columnist Belinda Apple; a model built British expatriate. Belinda's article on losing weight leads to her (as Nola) and her two best friends, Nancy and Deb to heed the advice; they form the Cinderella Pact to help each other lose weight and maintain a slim lifestyle.

Wealthy attorney Nancy hires a personal trainer. Married with children Deb decides to undergo surgery. Nola cannot afford a trainer and fears the surgery operation. However, Nola runs into personal problems accentuated by her Sass superiors trying to uncover the identity of their superstar Belinda. With her car broken, Deb rides to and from work with Chip, who roots for her in a weightlifting contest against a macho male at the gym she joined. She is attracted to Chip who reciprocates, but he too has a secret identity. Hiding them lead to trust issues between them; not hiding them lead to bigger trust issues.

This lighthearted romp based on the American makeover craze is a bubbly and zany tale that readers will enjoy as they root for the three females to succeed in their underlying real objective: find someone to love them. As Nola or as Belinda, the heroine holds the fun story line together with a solid support from family, friends, workers, and especially Chip. Fans will appreciate Nola's efforts to become more like the outgoing brassy Belinda in a fine serio-comic frolic.

Harriet Klausner