I believe in books.: Review: How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True

Author: Sarah Strohmeyer

Release Date: April 23, 2013
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 320

Summary: When cousins Zoe and Jess land summer internships at Fairyland Kingdom theme park, they are sure they've hit the jackpot. With perks like hot Abercrombie-like Prince Charmings and a chance to win the coveted $25,000 Dream & Do grant, what more could a girl want?

Once Zoe arrives, however, she's assigned to serve the Queen—Fairyland's boss from hell. From spoon-feeding the Queen's evil lapdog caviar to fetching midnight sleeping tonics, Zoe fears she might not have what it takes to survive the summer, much less win the money.

Soon backstabbing interns, a runaway Cinderella, and cutthroat competition make Zoe's job more like a nightmare than a fairy tale. What will happen when Zoe is forced to choose between serving the Queen and saving the prince of her dreams?

Why I Loved It: The cover of this book screams cutesy chick lit full of adorable moments. That's what I was expecting, and thankfully the book delivered full on with some substance to make the book worth a read other than the cute story. And let me tell you, I adore books that are set in amusement parks. That atmosphere is just such a fun one to experience in a book. Going Vintage had some of that along with The Probability of Miracles. There is so much imagination filling such places. Especially, the idea of "Fairyland" made me want to read it. That just sounds so whimsical.

Anyways, I will say that I have not read Sarah's other book, Smart Girls Get What They Want. I have it on my bookshelf, but so far it has gone unread. I need to do that! *Blogger problem #520* Anyways, I have heard that it was even better, so that is another to add to your TBR pile *if it's not there already.*

So this book? What's it about anyways? Ok so Zoe and her cousin Jess are interning at Fairyland, the new replacement to Storyland *which Zoe's mother took her to as a child* and things are just going to get interesting. Jess's family, facing some financial problems the past year *at least*, has had a serious lack of cash lately. Jess really needs the $25,000 grant that goes to a boy and girl at the end of the summer. Zoe is determined to make sure it happens. When they get their assignments, it seems that Zoe has no cast assignment *which means she isn't a princess, or fairy tale character, or "furry".* She is undecided. Turns out, she is going to be the assistant to the woman who runs the park. And my goodness, what a crazy one she turns out to be. She is crazy and demanding and pretty much ridiculous most of the time, but she is probably my favorite character in the book.

As the story goes along, I was amazed at how good the character development was in the book. I really came to understand Zoe and The Queen and many others. I came to really admire Zoe with her loyalty and sense of integrity. The Queen was just hilarious and had such a crazy way of talking. I was cracking up on most of the parts involving her "speak" throughout the story. She uses way too many words when few would do the trick. Like when she needed Zoe to get the "intruder out of her ocular perimeter" when most people would say get the thing out of my eye. It was amazing!

I have to say that the selling points of the book though were Zoe's quirky and cute sense of humor, the romance budding throughout the story, and the incredible plot. The plot? Oh it was full of so many twists and turns I wasn't sure where I was at times. And it was a good feeling. I would be going one way, and then all of a sudden something would happen, and I would have to rethink my entire opinion of that character or situation or so forth. I love it when authors keep me on my toes without keeping me completely confused the whole time.

I wasn't expecting the ending. At ALL. Maybe I am just awful at guessing *not usually* but it got me. That made the story even better for me. So if you are looking for a cute and light read that is well written and incredibly funny, pick this one up! It's the perfect book to usher in springtime!