Monday Book Review: Dirty Damsels, by Peggy Jaeger

Dirty Damsels (Dotcom Girls series, Book 1) by Peggy Jaeger
Published July 2019 by Limitless Publishing

About the Book:

When I first saw Cynderella all covered in soot in that sexy maid uniform, I knew I wanted to be her Prince.

She’s a smart and savvy businesswoman who’s built her cleaning company from the ground up. But now that Dirty Damsels was booming, I’ve been hired to arrange a hostile takeover.

But the temptation of having her was too much to ignore...

We ended up spending one night together—a night neither of us will forget. Now, I want more. I need more. I want to spend every night, skin-on-skin, with my beautiful Ella.

Problem is, when she finds out who I really am, she’ll never forgive me.

My Take:

When I saw Peggy Jaeger had a new book, I hit the "buy" button without a second thought. Really. I didn't even read the blurb, or realize this was a remake of a classic fairy tale (which is a weakness of mine!) I saw the author's name and purchased. And am so glad I did!

Great writing, great characters, and a great retelling of everyone's favorite bedtime story.

I love the way this author gets inside her characters heads and I simply love the way she tells a story. Dirty Damsels is another example of superb storytelling, as Jaeger gives us a classic Cinderella tale with a modern twist, as well as a dash of her trademark quirky humor in her heroine's voice.

Written in first person POV, this modern day Cinderella didn't wait for a prince to rescue her when her father died and stepmother abandoned her. Instead, she started her own company, put herself through college, got an MBA, and is now a highly successful small business owner. Who is now about to fend off corporate raiders. When she meets Buddy, she's instantly drawn to him and the one-night stand almost seems inevitable. And steamy! (This is definitely a few shades steamier than Jaeger's previous books, but the author's trademark sensuality and longing are all still right there in her descriptions.)

And THEN she finds out Buddy is on the team of corporate raiders.

The chemistry between Ella and Duncan "Buddy" Prince crackles off the page. The modern twist to the evil stepmother and nasty stepsisters was also so much fun to read. The fact that the "Prince" doesn't rescue Cinderella in the traditional sense also worked for me, as did the thread of the "forgiveness" theme running through the background, a concept Jaeger has explored in previous works.

Jaeger did a remarkable job breathing new life into this timeless fairy tale and I absolutely loved every minute of this story. The secondary characters are well-developed and add to the story -- and make me hopeful that there are more stories in this series to look forward to!

Five stars for a steamy, satisfying read that leaves you smiling and still wanting more.

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