Always Alex by Becki Lee comes out on November 25th. While it technically happens at Christmastime, it’s not necessarily a Christmas book. Nikki McAllister and Alexander St. Claire grew up together. When she shows up to a masquerade ball dressed as Cinderella, he doesn’t recognize her, but he’s still drawn to the woman in the Cinderella costume.
Where the Cinderella Story Begins
Even though Nikki grew up as the daughter of a single mother who struggled to make ends meet, she’s been best friends with Krisi St. Claire, the daughter of a millionaire, since they were children. When Krisi asks Nikki to take her place at a Christmas masquerade charity ball, Nikki reluctantly agrees.
Nikki wears a Cinderella costume to the ball. As she arrives, Krisi’s brother (who Nikki has crushed on for years) approaches her. They spend most of the ball talking and dancing. Only as their time is drawing to an end does Nikki realize he doesn’t recognize her because of her costume. Not wanting to reveal her identity, she runs away, leaving behind a shoe in true Cinderella fashion.
My Thoughts
This was a cute story. It is the third in the series. I have not read the other books in the series or any other books by this author. While the book did make sense on its own, it’s clear that some of the characters were from previous books. I wish that I’d read them first. For example, the first book in the series involves Krisi’s love story, and the second involves a friend’s love story. I think I would have enjoyed this story more knowing more background information.
While I liked this novella, I felt like there were some plotholes in the story, which is something that I feel is common in novellas. I can’t say much more than that without ruining the plot. I just wanted more background and I wanted a better understanding of the previous relationship between Alex and Nikki. Maybe, I would have understood that better if I’d read the previous books.
It seems like Nikki and Alex know each other super well at times, but then there are things that I feel like they should have known about each other that they don’t know. For example, Alex knows Nikki’s favorite comfort food, and he understands why Christmas is such a hard time of the year for her. Yet, he spends a good portion of the ball talking and dancing with her, but he doesn’t recognize her. I feel like he should know what she looks like as well as what her voice sounds like. They grew up together. Nikki’s not really trying to hide her identity. Yet, a simple Cinderella costume is enough to make her unrecognizable to Alex. It doesn’t make sense.
Warning: Tiny Spoiler
I can get past Alex not recognizing Nikki. After all, maybe he really did recognize her. He just didn’t want to admit to himself that he was falling for his sister’s best friend. It feels a bit off, but I can look past that.
Yet, the thing that bothered me the most about this book was that there was there was a lady who was completely manipulative throughout the whole book. She was a complete jerk. She even tried to convince Alex that she was the lady who wore the Cinderella costume. Yet, in the end, I feel like we’re meant to look past her manipulation and feel like she’s actually a good, although a bit misguided, person.
Is It Clean?
This is a clean novella. There’s no swearing, sexual content, or violence. There is talk of death, poverty, the differences in classes, and parents trying to force their children to marry people they don’t actually love. At one point, because there is not room at the hotel, an unmarried male and female share a hotel suite, although she sleeps in the bedroom and he sleeps on the couch in another room.
While I gave this novella 3.5 stars, I did enjoy reading it. I do like Nikki and Alex together, even if he is completely oblivious at times. I’d at least try another book by this author, probably the first in the series, before deciding whether or not to read more of her books.
