Cinder Nanny by Sariah Wilson is an enjoyable read. Its flaw is that it adheres too closely to the Cinderella story, with heroine Diana having a heart so gold that it almost overwhelms her personality, and hero Griffin's main characteristics being that he is super rich and super hot and just so, so kind. The niceness in the story extends to the family that Diana nannies for -- they pay her way too much, give her way too many perks, don't care that she lied about her credentials, and embrace her as family when they barely know her.
Diana's back story is that she was raised by a con-artist mother, who is now in prison. The plot does not involve Diana confronting her mother or finding her humanity -- she is a non-entity. Diana's beloved sister needs a kidney transplant, but the sister's ex-husband has violated a court order to keep her on his insurance and because of that she is not eligible for Obamacare. (The health insurance issues make no sense, but I credit Wilson for at least trying to come up with an explanation.) So Diana is trying to save enough to pay for her sister's kidney transplant -- the transplanted kidney being one that she, of course, will donate.
Diana lies about her qualifications and is hired to be a nanny to a sweet, cute little boy named Milo. Her lack of qualifications don't matter because, through sheer good luck, she is able to diagnose the boy with a sensory issue relating to how he perceives himself in physical space. She is able to teach him to ski because the ski resort where the novel takes place just happens to have an instructor who specializes in teaching kids with this issue. She is able to teach him French because hero Griffin's niece, and playmate of Milo, happens to speak French.
Griffin's backstory is that he is a British lord raised by a mean grandmother who controls his pursestrings. He also has a heart of gold, as demonstrated by the fact that he is raising his brother's illegitimate daughter so that the mean grandmother won't find out about her. Like Diana, he has no apparent character flaws.
Diana's character growth consists of her accepting that she is not evil like her mother and is therefore worthy of love. (Question: can someone who is evil also be worthy of love? What if they're only kind of evil? What if they have a back story?) Griffin's character growth consists of -- well, none, he just goes about his life and ends up slightly less rich than when he began by making a decision that was in no way difficult for him.
This is not a terrible book. It's just that it's all dessert and no protein.
Note from Jasmine Gold: As the name of this blog indicates, I write erotica. Check out my dark, dystopian novel about naked sex slaves, Mindgames. Your darkest fantasies, with a phenomenal plot and characters you will come to think of as beloved friends. Available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited and in paperback. Or read my book of short stories about hot, consensual sex, The Mature Woman's Guide to Desire, available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited.
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