Seattle Cinderella by Gail Sattler

Sattler has created a modern tale of Cinderella, her “wicked” stepmother and hateful stepsisters.

Cindy inherited half of her father's muffler shop when he died. Growing up in Seattle, Cindy had worked with her dad in the shop. Now an adult, she is determined to keep it going and make it profitable. She puts in long hours and Luke, the handsome owner of the car rental business across the parking lot, notices her too.

The other half of the muffler shop is owned by her ornery stepmother. To keep some peace in her step family, Cindy has hired her step sister Annie to help with the bookkeeping at the shop. When Luke asks Annie to help out at their business while their accountant is home sick, Annie finds some irregularities. Skeptical, Luke wonders if Annie is at least incompetent, and at most, a thief. But Luke's partner Brent has fallen for Annie and is determined to find the truth.

Cindy's other step sister, Zella, is frustrated with her mother's attempts to marry her off. On a whim, she decides to get out of the house on Friday nights and joins a book group at the local library. She finds out too late that it is not a group that reads book but one that writes them. She doesn't know it but the handsome man across the table is her favorite author who writes under a pseudonym.

Last is Farrah, the dear friend of Cindy's mother. She practically raised Cindy when her mother died while Cindy was young. Now fifty, she is resigned to a single life. The only love she had was diagnosed with cancer while they were engaged. He had called off the wedding, not wanting her to be strapped with the medical bills when his benefits ran out. She still feels the pain. Then she meets Dr. Matt, the veterinarian at the local animal shelter. They find they have more in common than love for stray animals.

The four romance stories form a nice collection. The characters are interwoven throughout as the overall story progresses. These are simple romances. There are no complex plots nor deep thinking characters. These are four light stories that will ease your mind. They are well done. Each one can be easily read in an evening, a pleasant couple of hours.

Gail Sattler lives in Vancouver, B.C. With her husband, three sons, and various animals. She is the office manager for a web design company and plays bass guitar in her church's adult worship team. She writes for Barbour's Heartsong Presents line where she was voted Favorite Author three times. She has also written a number of novellas for Barbour's anthology series.

Barbour Publishing, 352 pages.

I received an egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review.  The opinions expressed are my own.