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Say Yes / The Cinderella Solution
"Say Yes" / Lori Foster
Begging wasn't her style... but she would if he wouldn't
Sara Simmons had decided that, for her, marriage and happily ever after wasn't meant to be. Still, she wasn't averse to having a fling with sexy Gavin Blake. But Gavin wanted more, and his new motto was "Why buy the bull if you can get the beef free?" It was driving Sara crazy, trying to keep her hands off him while he played virgin to her Don Juan....
"The Cinderella Solution" / Cathy Yardley
The woman of his dreams was right under his nose...
When Charlotte Taylor's best friend, Gabe Donofrio, agreed with her that she wasn't the type of woman men fall in love with, she bet him a thousand dollars she'd have a marriage proposal in three months. Then she turned her tomboy self into a sexy siren, The World's Most Eligible Bachelor moved in next door... and Gabe realized he'd made a big mistake!
Begging wasn't her style... but she would if he wouldn't
Sara Simmons had decided that, for her, marriage and happily ever after wasn't meant to be. Still, she wasn't averse to having a fling with sexy Gavin Blake. But Gavin wanted more, and his new motto was "Why buy the bull if you can get the beef free?" It was driving Sara crazy, trying to keep her hands off him while he played virgin to her Don Juan....
"The Cinderella Solution" / Cathy Yardley
The woman of his dreams was right under his nose...
When Charlotte Taylor's best friend, Gabe Donofrio, agreed with her that she wasn't the type of woman men fall in love with, she bet him a thousand dollars she'd have a marriage proposal in three months. Then she turned her tomboy self into a sexy siren, The World's Most Eligible Bachelor moved in next door... and Gabe realized he'd made a big mistake!
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 2000
About the author
Lori Foster
434 books11.7k followersSince first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly and New York Times bestselling author. Lori has published through a variety of houses, including Kensington, St. Martin’s, Harlequin, Silhouette, Samhain, and Berkley/Jove. She is currently published with HQN.
Lori hosts a very special annual “Reader & Author” event in West Chester, Ohio. Proceeds from the event have benefited many worthy causes, including the Hamilton County YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, the Animal Adoption Foundation, The Conductive Learning Center for children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy, and The One Way Farm, Children’s Home.
Each year Lori donates all proceeds from one book to charity. You can see the benefit romance books here: http://lorifoster.com/benefit-books/
Career Highlights
•In 2001, Lori received the prestigious Romantic Times “Career Achievement Award” for Series Romantic Fantasy.
•In 2002, Lori’s book Too Much Temptation was the top-selling romance title for Amazon books.
•In 2003, Say No To Joe was the second “Bestselling Original Contemporary” romance title for Waldenbooks.
•In 2004, Lori Foster was a clue in the New York Times crossword puzzle.
•In 2004, The Secret Life of Bryan was the “Bestselling Original Contemporary” romance title for the BGI group.
•In 2005, Lori received the prestigious Romantic Times “Career Achievement Award” for Contemporary Romance.
•In 2006, Jude’s Law was the “Bestselling Romantic Comedy” romance title for the BGI group.
•In 2007, Lori launched a new “urban fantasy” series under the name L.L. Foster. See more on her “dark side” at www.llfoster.com.
•In 2007, Causing Havoc was among Amazon’s Top Ten Editor’s picks in Romance.
•In 2008, Hard to Handle made #2 on The New York Times.
•In 2009, Servant: The Acceptance was Amazon’s #1 Editors’ Pick in Romance.
•In 2010, Lori was a clue in the USA Today Quick Cross puzzle.
Lori hosts a very special annual “Reader & Author” event in West Chester, Ohio. Proceeds from the event have benefited many worthy causes, including the Hamilton County YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter, the Animal Adoption Foundation, The Conductive Learning Center for children with spina bifida and cerebral palsy, and The One Way Farm, Children’s Home.
Each year Lori donates all proceeds from one book to charity. You can see the benefit romance books here: http://lorifoster.com/benefit-books/
Career Highlights
•In 2001, Lori received the prestigious Romantic Times “Career Achievement Award” for Series Romantic Fantasy.
•In 2002, Lori’s book Too Much Temptation was the top-selling romance title for Amazon books.
•In 2003, Say No To Joe was the second “Bestselling Original Contemporary” romance title for Waldenbooks.
•In 2004, Lori Foster was a clue in the New York Times crossword puzzle.
•In 2004, The Secret Life of Bryan was the “Bestselling Original Contemporary” romance title for the BGI group.
•In 2005, Lori received the prestigious Romantic Times “Career Achievement Award” for Contemporary Romance.
•In 2006, Jude’s Law was the “Bestselling Romantic Comedy” romance title for the BGI group.
•In 2007, Lori launched a new “urban fantasy” series under the name L.L. Foster. See more on her “dark side” at www.llfoster.com.
•In 2007, Causing Havoc was among Amazon’s Top Ten Editor’s picks in Romance.
•In 2008, Hard to Handle made #2 on The New York Times.
•In 2009, Servant: The Acceptance was Amazon’s #1 Editors’ Pick in Romance.
•In 2010, Lori was a clue in the USA Today Quick Cross puzzle.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 30, 2023
2 great stories about couples making their happily ever after!
LOVED both these couple and the tales of how they overcome their "unloved & unlovable" status! Super cute and well worth the read! Kudos to both authors for sure!
LOVED both these couple and the tales of how they overcome their "unloved & unlovable" status! Super cute and well worth the read! Kudos to both authors for sure!
February 3, 2018
Say Yes - Lori Foster - 2.5/5 - Sara finds her fiancee cheating on her and flies off the handle. Gavin is thrilled because he finally has a chance to try for a relationship with her. Only now, Sara has sworn off marriage and that's exactly what Gavin is looking for. So he decides to tempt her, to show her how indispensable he can be to her life and to really show her what a healthy relationship looks like. But Sara isn't done pushing for the fling that she wants, tempting Gavin at every turn. And he's just as determined to hold off for a declaration of love.
So the story itself wasn't so bad. The premise is a little shaky I think with a woman who wasn't even in love with her fiancee getting so crazy angry and then swearing off marriage. One would think she might draw the conclusion that the thing that was missing that might have made it work was actually love. But no. Sara is something of a neurotic mess and I just didn't find her or her tendency to collect animals all that charming. But I give Gavin major props for patience and putting up with her. Overall it was a fluffy sort of story which I think attempted humor but I didn't really go for it. YMMV.
The Cinderella Solution - Cathy Yardley - 3.5/5
Charlotte, or "Charlie" since she's a tomboy, just-one-of-the-guys kinda gal, is best friends with Gabe and the two of them have always challenged one another through wagers. After a wedding and a particularly hurtful realization that Gabe only saw her as another guy, not even a pretty girl, Charlie decides to take on a wager that she can get a proposal out of a guy within a month. Gabe has been perfectly happy keeping Charlie where she is in the "just friends" category, but sees that this could shake up the status quo...and he's right. Suddenly he sees Charlie as a very attractive woman and has no idea how to get things back on even keel. He's crazy jealous of the guy that Charlie does meet, but he doesn't realize what it is...he's still convinced Charlie's just a friend, but now he's attracted to her. Charlie on the other hand figures out that she's in love with Gabe pretty early, but he's not so quick on the uptake and he's likely to break her heart before long.
This was a classic make over story and friends-to-lovers combined. I like the friends-to-lovers, not so much the make over thing. I just don't like the idea that a guy has to see a woman turn into a "stunner" in order to finally be attracted to a woman (or to see her as a woman in the first place). Charlie was pretty likeable, even though she was in crazy denial over her reasons for hanging out with Gabe and accepting herself as one of the guys. She caught on pretty quick. Gabe was classic ignorant man who doesn't realize that his actions cause the very thing he's trying to prevent - the loss of his best friend. I did like that Charlie didn't walk away as a beaten down, broken doormat of a girl - instead she reminded herself that she was beautiful and intelligent and Gabe was the one missing out...but she didn't ignore the hurt. It really was an enjoyable story.
So the story itself wasn't so bad. The premise is a little shaky I think with a woman who wasn't even in love with her fiancee getting so crazy angry and then swearing off marriage. One would think she might draw the conclusion that the thing that was missing that might have made it work was actually love. But no. Sara is something of a neurotic mess and I just didn't find her or her tendency to collect animals all that charming. But I give Gavin major props for patience and putting up with her. Overall it was a fluffy sort of story which I think attempted humor but I didn't really go for it. YMMV.
The Cinderella Solution - Cathy Yardley - 3.5/5
Charlotte, or "Charlie" since she's a tomboy, just-one-of-the-guys kinda gal, is best friends with Gabe and the two of them have always challenged one another through wagers. After a wedding and a particularly hurtful realization that Gabe only saw her as another guy, not even a pretty girl, Charlie decides to take on a wager that she can get a proposal out of a guy within a month. Gabe has been perfectly happy keeping Charlie where she is in the "just friends" category, but sees that this could shake up the status quo...and he's right. Suddenly he sees Charlie as a very attractive woman and has no idea how to get things back on even keel. He's crazy jealous of the guy that Charlie does meet, but he doesn't realize what it is...he's still convinced Charlie's just a friend, but now he's attracted to her. Charlie on the other hand figures out that she's in love with Gabe pretty early, but he's not so quick on the uptake and he's likely to break her heart before long.
This was a classic make over story and friends-to-lovers combined. I like the friends-to-lovers, not so much the make over thing. I just don't like the idea that a guy has to see a woman turn into a "stunner" in order to finally be attracted to a woman (or to see her as a woman in the first place). Charlie was pretty likeable, even though she was in crazy denial over her reasons for hanging out with Gabe and accepting herself as one of the guys. She caught on pretty quick. Gabe was classic ignorant man who doesn't realize that his actions cause the very thing he's trying to prevent - the loss of his best friend. I did like that Charlie didn't walk away as a beaten down, broken doormat of a girl - instead she reminded herself that she was beautiful and intelligent and Gabe was the one missing out...but she didn't ignore the hurt. It really was an enjoyable story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2025
I have been doing so many ebook reviews lately, I think I was getting burnt out. I NEEDED the feel of an actual book in my hands with real pages I could flip through!
I feel like these Harlequin Duets are the original RomComs! I enjoyed reading these.
If you can't find humor in a woman chasing another woman down the street with a rake in her hands after finding her in bed with her fiance' then this books not for you.
and
Charlotte and Gabes barter and bets are a hoot. We all have that "one friend".
These books were full of humor, sweetness and happily ever afters.
I feel like these Harlequin Duets are the original RomComs! I enjoyed reading these.
If you can't find humor in a woman chasing another woman down the street with a rake in her hands after finding her in bed with her fiance' then this books not for you.
and
Charlotte and Gabes barter and bets are a hoot. We all have that "one friend".
These books were full of humor, sweetness and happily ever afters.
December 21, 2020
I loved this book. I got it for Lori Foster’s story. It’s a really fun and sexy read. Loved how patient Gavin is, he’s really wanted Sara for a long time. Loved how she kept bringing home more pets too. Will she finally get the nerve to tell him she loves him?
August 29, 2017
Two short stories by two different authors in one book. Both were good reads that made you laugh or smile in parts. Would recommend to others.
January 15, 2020
2 in 1
Both these stories are great reads! Great characters, believable dialogue, and true - to - life situations. Perfect for a rainy January weekend!
Both these stories are great reads! Great characters, believable dialogue, and true - to - life situations. Perfect for a rainy January weekend!
October 25, 2020
Both stories were good. Very romantic.
Read
March 4, 2024Read the Lori Foster, dnf the Cathy Yardley around 30%. I don’t love the oblivious male best friend trope.
December 30, 2011
I really enjoyed reading these stories. They made me laugh and keep turning pages. I've always liked Lory Foster's books but this was my first encounter with Joan Reeves and I find that I quite like her work. A new,good author for me to read just in time for I was running short this time of the year. Her writing style is funny, down to earth and filled with free spirited characters that grow into their.
July 11, 2011
The cinderella solution was a wonderful story, had me laughing out loud, and crying too!
November 22, 2013
Both stories were very sweet, charming and funny! Would recommend to anyone that likes a good Harlequin book.
Each story - 4.25 stars
Each story - 4.25 stars
March 27, 2016
Both titles were amazing!!! But I now have found another author to follow. I've always loved Lori Foster's work. But now, I'm so excited to read more of Cathy Yardley's stuff.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews