Happily Ever After by Kelly Oram Series: Cinder & Ella #2
Published by Bluefields on 2017-04-11
Length: 342 pages
Reviewing eBook from My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2017 New Release Challenge
The end of one story is often the beginning of another. Hollywood heartthrob Brian Oliver and his Cinderella princess Ellamara Rodriguez have finally found love outside the digital world. But leaving their anonymity behind creates a whole new set of obstacles for the nation’s new favorite sweethearts. With the stress of Brian’s fame and the pressures of a new relationship weighing down on them, the It Couple quickly begins to wonder if they can hold on to their newfound joy, or if maybe happily ever after is only a fairy tale.
Happily Ever After by Kelly Oram is a perfect follow-up to her Cinder & Ella, picking up about a week later. I’ve read Cinder & Ella more times than I can count and have multiple copies (my original Kindle copy, a paperback copy, even an Audible copy which I highly recommend). Seriously as I write this, I want to go back and read it. Brian and Ella are two of my all-time favorite characters and their relationship is another favorite of mine. Happily Ever After is the sequel I didn’t know I wanted or needed. Cinder & Ella pretty much ends on a high note and suggests that the couple gets their HEA, but as the title of the sequel suggests this book is their HEA and how they achieve it. Honestly I loved it, but then again I’ve yet to read anything by Kelly Oram I didn’t enjoy.
Ella is a hard pill to swallow in this book. She was in a really dark place at the end of Cinder & Ella. She had just exited an intensive, inpatient therapy program to overcome her depression, and I thought the author does a great job of bringing those insecurities and doubts about Ella to light in the sequel. It was present in the first book but is fleshed out better here. It’s been a year since her mother died and she is struggling, she’s never had a chance to fully grieve. Ella is still recovering herself and now she has a support system and people on her side. It’s amazing to read her growth.
Brian is Brian *swoon* He is self-centered, a little too Hollywood at times, but ALWAYS and I do mean always there for Ella when she needs him. He puts her needs first, showing her and telling her constantly how much he loves her. It’s sweet, a little over the top, but done in such a way as to be believable. I love how he loves her 😀
The plot is simple really. It’s about these two people who we fell in love with building a relationship. A real, long-lasting, all-consuming, loving relationship. Something Ella desperately needs as her life at home with her dad and step-family falls apart. While this book focuses on Ella and Brian (and I did love that), I missed the familial relationships and themes explored during the first book. It’s present here, but not to the extent it was in Cinder & Ella. I missed that.
Overall, I loved this book! It made me laugh, cry and swoon. I cheered Ella and Brian on and yelled at them through my kindle when they were being stupid. I do think it needs to be noted that while the first book is a mature YA, this book is new adult with some mild language and a few steamy scenes, so I don’t recommend this to anyone under 18. If you enjoyed Cinder & Ella or you’re looking for a light romantic read, I highly recommend you get your copy ASAP!
About Kelly Oram
Kelly Oram wrote her first novel at age fifteen--a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which her family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and likes to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, four children, and her cat, Mr. Darcy.
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