Before the Midnight Bells

Once Upon A Romance #1

by Jessica Woodard

Eleanor Emberton isn't sitting around waiting for a handsome prince to rescue her. In fact, she's determined to save not only herself, but her entire family from her stepmother's headlong plunge into financial ruin. The situation is dire, though, and her work as a seamstress isn't going to keep her stepsisters from the poor house. That is, until the king declares a month long celebration in honor of his daughter's engagement. Suddenly everyone needs new outfits for the royal ball, and Eleanor begins to feel some stirrings of hope.

Max Wellesley is a loyal and true blue friend, which is the only reason he let Princess Vivienne talk him into this mad scheme of a fake engagement in order to outsmart her father. He hasn't really considered the consequences of his actions, though, not to himself, his father, or his friend--and certainly not to the mysterious young woman he meets, ironically, at a ball for his own fake engagement.

Before the Midnight Bells is a fresh look at the Cinderella story, filled with humor and intrigue, and a modern sensibility about how fairy tales ought to go.

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Historical Romance, Retellings, Cinderella, Ebooks

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 27, 2011

Reviews

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the first half. However when I got to all the sex scenes the relationship began to appear superficial and only based on lust, considering the two had only known each other about two weeks. The reader is well informed of the sexual tension between the couple, but I was disappointed that a deeper relationship didn't ever seem to develop. I'm told that they love each other but not told or shown why, other than for reasons of attraction. Despite the underdeveloped romantic relationship, I liked the original twist on the Cinderella story. If you are a sucker for fairy tales like I am, you'll probably enjoy your read.

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really enjoy fairy tales and Cinderella is top on my list. I was excited to read this take on it and really enjoyed it until Ella started acting out of character. I should have known that it would lead to inappropriate relations between her and Max since it is considered a "romance". That is not romantic. It was so superficial. I wanted to finish it because the story was so interesting but I thought that I would be ashamed if my children saw me reading it even if I skipped over the sex scenes. Sad. It had potential.

[Lucinda Gunnin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun retelling of Cinderella

What if the prince rescued Cinderella only for her to rescue him right back. Max and Ella’s story is fun, irreverent, and deliciously smart. Kudos to Ms. Woodard!

[MrsJoseph *grouchy*]

Bought this one by accident! Thought I was getting the KU edition, later realized I bought it for $3.99!

I am SO HOPING I like this. But I am feeling nervous...

[Maria (a) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interestingly for a fairy tale retelling - especially a Cinderella one - this book is all about working hard to get what you want. The passive protagonist is replaced by Ella, a girl who is desperately trying to keep her family afloat by working as a seamstress, a family which is not so much evil as just generally oblivious about life and really bad with money. Before the Midnight Bells strips the story of most of its magic and evil forces, raising the stakes instead by making you actually care about the entire family.

I really loved the princess' story as well, and am definitely planning on buying the next book to see how it continues. She's another example of the 'go-getter' attitude that's through this entire book; she wants something and she does everything in her power to make it happen.

Really, the most 'passive' of the main characters is Max, who is just a bit too scared to take the steps he should be taking.

For about 20% of the book, the story suffers really badly from 'if you would just communicate this story would be over by now', with only sheer horniness getting in the way of Max and Ella talking. That got annoying *fast* and almost bumped this down to a four star rating for me, but the ending was just so awesome that I couldn't get myself to do it. So, 4.5 stars, but rounded up to 5 for Goodreads.

[Kristin King · Rating 3 out of 5]

(HEAT Warning) I always enjoy retellings of Cinderella like the movie Everafter. Although this went in nicely surprising directions, Woodard built this romance from the classic construct. Ella struggles to start her dress shop to support her step-mom and sisters who aren't really so cruel as more self-centered. A series of costume balls to honor the engagement of the Princess to her prince charming launch Ella's shop, but the she meets a charming young gentleman who, like herself, is more interested in the buffet than dancing at the ball. Their repartee is witty and fun--they really hit it off. Romance, conflict, sneakiness and such ensues. Quite enjoyable.

The downside, from my perspective, is the HEAT (i.e. graphic sexual description) of their 3 or 4 torrid interludes. I guess sex sells, and the motivated can skip over those pages, but it was just too much, IMO. I sure wish books had ratings comparable to movies.

[Juana "Darkness" Duran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things get all loopy in this Cinderella story. Seamstress Ella Eberton is ready for the ball in two seconds or less. When she arrives she has no clue who she is going to meet at the food table. Well none other than the duke of Yarrow. Max as he formally to friends and family. And Max being the idiot accepts to help his friend the Princess Vivian escape her father. Her father the king doesn't take that so lightly. But Max had to go and drag Ella from left to right, and ruining her name. And we all know that rumors can spread like wild fire, and next time you look people will start treating you like your a nobody. But in this story everything gets fixed sort of while telling the truth to his Highness the king.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The little girl in me fell in love with this beautiful rendition of the classic story, Cinderella. The story flowed in a light-hearted, easy to read manner. I thought the fact that the step-mother and step-sisters were not evil, just quirky and a little dim witted, was a great twist. The romance between Max and Ella was just perfect. I can't wait to read the next book about Vivi and hopefully learn more about Ella's godmother too!

[michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was the cutiest story a spin off of cinderella BUT she was loved and cherished by her step mom and sisters she was not a slave and the handsome prince was the one that hid who he was....it was super cute.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, I think I'm a little biased... You tell me. How is it?

[Pam McCallister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

[shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these series of books but the last two are not on kindle so frustrating grrrr

[Lyndi W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freebie from Amazon for Kindle.

I decided to bust out my Kindle again today and look through a bunch of the freebies I had purchased to take with me on my Wi-Fi-free vacation. DNF'd a few, but then I found this gem.

Obviously based on the tale of Cinderella, I was expecting the ridden-hard-and-put-up-wet evil stepmother, terrible stepsisters, hidden identities, kingdom-wide searches for a lady with a particular shoe size... the usual. Fortunately, there was nothing 'usual' about this story.

The stepmother is flighty, shallow, and a little hair-brained. But she's not evil. She may take Ella for granted, but she doesn't abuse and misuse her like we usually see. I actually liked the stepmother, as clueless as she was.

The stepsisters are both hilarious. At the ball, Prudence won't dance with a redheaded man because redheads can't wear pink and if they had kids, the daughter couldn't wear pink. Yeah. She's serious. Beatrice is like, I dunno. She's big in every way. They both cared for Ella and their quirks made this writing of these characters stand out more for me than any others.

Ella was... a doormat. For a while, anyway. She felt the need to take on every single responsibility. Not that she was asked to or forced to, but she was the only one that acted like an adult in the family, so she did it. When she finally stood up for herself, I was like "hell yeah!" but I wish the scene had had a bit more confrontation. The stepmother needed Ella to say "enough is enough", but it just wasn't happening. Ella has a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue. While I disliked her need to take on the weight of all the household problems, I loved her otherwise. Her reactions and musings felt natural, believable, and were usually quite funny and smart.

Max could have had a little more personality. No... he had personality, but I guess he needed a bit more character development. I didn't feel like I knew him as well as I knew Ella. But he was a nice prince and I liked his loyalty to both Vivi and Ella.

This was a very funny book. I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times and I felt weird reading out in the sun because I probably looked like a loon staring at my lap with a grin on my face for 2 hours. Since the book is on my Kindle, I can't copy+paste some of my favorite quotes at the moment, but I will shortly.

So, yeah. This isn't your typical Cinderella story. It's part fairy tale, part historical romance, part comedy. I don't know how to say it better than that without giving specific moments that I especially enjoyed... which I might do later.

I highly recommend this book! It now costs $2.99, but at 235 pages, I feel like it would be worth it. Great story, fun dialogue, unique characters... and fae Godmother, of course.

[Stacy Sabala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review- Before the Midnight Bells by Jessica Woodard

In this first book in the Once Upon a romance series, Ella’s father dies twelve years ago and she has been taking care of her stepmother and stepsisters since then. Unfortunately her step mother spends frivolously and her family is on the verge of losing their home. Ella has opened a dress making shop. She is determined to save her family.
Max’s father is a duke and his best friend is a princess. Princess Vivienne has talked him into a wild scheme. They are betrothed, at least kind of. As a result balls are being held to celebrate the news. Max meets Ella at the first ball. They hang out at the food table in an out of the way room hiding from the crowd. They have fun and hit it off. Ella has no clue who he really is though. Max almost ruins everything.
This was a great story. I love the fact that Ella is loved by her stepmother and stepsisters. She isn’t abused. She is just the one that keeps the family afloat. Her character is smart and talented. The author gave her independence and a job. I liked her instantly and rooted for her throughout the book.
Max was caught in a bad situation. He didn’t handle it well. I felt bad for him. He did act like an idiot which added to the story. His behavior helped the story develop. It was fun to watch him struggle a bit but sweet how he treated Ella.
Princess Vivienne, on the other hand, was a bit of a spoiled brat. Didn’t care for her at all. She wanted to leave and was focused on what she wanted instead of how it might affect others. She was not my favorite character. Even though I sympathized with her situation, I didn’t like her plan.
The author did a marvelous job of taking a beloved fairytale and turning it into a positive story. Ella was a great character that stood up for herself. Awesome read! I give it a 4 out of 5.

[Lucina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I liked it. From reading some reviews I feared the story would be all about sex and too explicit, but that was NOT the case. It was more tame than most romances and not overly explicit. Although I think that the story would be better and more suitable for a wider audience without the sex scene it didn't bother me. It was nicely done and definietly not porn like. I tried so many New Adult/Contemporary Romances in the last time and those were ful of sex and extremly explicit language. The word cock was used here like five times, I tried (and didn't finished books) that were NOT promoted as erotic romances where fuck and cock were used each 50+ times each. That is too much! At least for me.

I found the story to be entertaining and a light read. I liked the ending and that Ella never stopped dreaming and living her dream. She still does what she loves in the end. Yes, she was too good and selfless in some scenes, but I think that's how "Cinderalla" just is. Sweet, good and selfless. Overall this a nice story but without anything memorable about it. I liked it and didn't regret reading it.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having read several books that were horribly written it was very refreshing to read something worthwhile. I love fairy tales, there is just something about them that draws me in. This book is "loosely" based on the story of "Cinderella". The characters were well developed and I loved the fact that Ella's step family acutally loved her, albeit they are a bit selfish, but not in a mean way.

The character of Ella's godmother is woven into the story here and there and adds some mystery. She is a guiding light in most ways but doesn't outright interfere. I hope the author tells her story a little more in her sequels. I love Max and his fierce loyalty, but he really is a typical male (act first, think later).

Obviously you hope for a happy ending for Ella and Max but just when you think it will happen for them the story takes an unexpected turn. It kept me interested from the first page to the last, I would definitely recommend it.

I enjoyed this book very much and purchased the second one in the series "As the Last Petal Falls". Now I'm waiting for number three...

[Brittni Scott]

As with most of the books that I have read recently, I seem to be choosing ones that are only the beginning of a series. As much as I enjoy these stories, it is rather disheartening to find out said books have only recently been published with many sequels in the works. Quite disappointing, especially for someone like myself who goes through books like a runner goes through water. That being said rather unsuccinctly, I really enjoyed this story. I liked how the stepfamily wasn't portrayed in such a dark light. The stepmother was merely fickle and her daughters quite similar, but none were evil. Ella was not forced into her role as caretaker, but merely felt more responsible for the role than her stepmother. The storyline between Ella and Max didn't feel rushed like in some romances, but still gave me as the reader a reason to continue with them until the "end."

[Melanie Kyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this eBook free through "Pixel of Ink" and then later couldn't remember if it was a young adult title (I read a lot of children's literature and YA stuff) or a normal adult title. Well, it's "adult" fiction! Nothing too over the top, but definitely a romance novel and not a child's tale! I loved the way the author recast the Cinderella story-- all the characters have much more substance, particularly the "Prince" (who is a Lord in this story). It's also far more than the simple "girl meets boy" story with a secondary plot about the princess who wants to run away and look for her lost mother-- apparently the main plot in the 2nd book of this trilogy. I am not sure if I will actually shell out money for the 2nd book, but if I can find it free or reasonably priced, I definitely would like to read it.

[Jess O. (From Jess to You) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 stars! I liked this charming novel and how it put some new twists to a classic. I thought that it was a nice change to have Ella's stepmother be someone that was nice to her and loved her in her own way, yet flighty enough that Ella still needs to step up and take care of everything. I'll agree with the book's characters when I say that Ella's beau was a little bit of an idiot in the way he went about everything, which would have been fine but it made the ending not as enjoyable as I would have liked.

Nevertheless it was very cute and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys new twists on Disney classics!

- On a side note -
It's been a Cinderella weekend for our family, from my daughter watching all three Cinderella movies on Disney Junior to me reading this novel it was full. =0)

[Silverana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would say that this is a much better version of the original Cinderella. We get more interaction between Ella and Max, not just that one time midnight meeting. The dialogue between the two is fun and engaging! They do become intimate but it is not until in the later part of the book, not throughout the whole book as some reviewers mentioned. I did get a little annoyed at how Ella let go of Max when she found out the truth, but only because it seemed to go on a little too long. But besides that, I loved this book. It is definitely worth a read.

[Jennifer Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute story. The classic Cinderella story but with a little twist. The stepmother, Millicent, wasn't evil, but really flighty. The stepsisters, Beatrice & Prudence, mean well, but can be as scatterbrained as their mother. Ella isn't like most damsels in distress, she has a brain & she uses it to try and save her family, misguided though they are. Loved all the characters with their flaws, and all the drama that ensues. Great read and I look forward to Vivienne's tale now.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a humorous and sweet twist on Cinderella. I this versionn the Stepmother and stepsisters are not mean just flighty. Ella and Max have a wonderful chemistry. they both have wit which I like. There were parts of the story that were a bit rushed. Vivi's part was one of them. But since I have already read her story I was able to keep up. There is a love scene in the story but it was not drawn out or too graphic. Overall this was a decent fairy tale remake.

[RedRedtheycallmeRed · Rating 2 out of 5]

I downloaded this book more than 2.5 years ago and I finally got around to reading it. It's a quick read, a retelling of the Cinderella story, but I couldn't really connect with the story.

It seems like it should be an historical romance, but the actions of the characters don't fit the time period. And the book is quite sweet, PG rated, so the sex scene didn't feel like it fit. I have no objections to sex scenes in books (tame or graphic), it just seemed out of place here.

[⚜️XAR the Bookwyrm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a retelling of the Cinderella story. While our Prince Charming was a complete idiot and jerk, our Cinderella really wasn't that bad. Not only that, her stepfamily wasn't hateful, just slightly clueless. It was an interesting story, but nothing overwhelming. Max, aka Prince Charming, and his fumbling/bumbling ways made the drag on more than it needed to. I'll probably continue with the series, but I was slightly disappointed in this read.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Different take on Cinderella story with Eleanor "Ella" Emberton trying to keep her family in their home and off the streets because of their irresponsible spending habits. She uses her sewing skills and sense of style to run a small shop to pay the bills. She meets Max at the ball and the sparks fly. It was a good light read between my usual thrillers and historical fiction books. I liked it enough to download the second book which is based on my favorite tale, "Beauty & the Beast".

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a nice twist on Cinderella. I think re-telling Cinderella well is hard since it has been re-told so much.

It's nice that the stepmother and stepsisters aren't really wicked. They're ditzy, impractical, and have no money-sense, but aren't mean or horrid.

And, instead of it being a prince, it's the son of a duke (who is actually engaged to the princess).

There is a fairy godmother, but she's more intimidating than magical in this case.

All in all, a very satisfying story.

[Allison Hurd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eleanor is amazingly human. I love that this retelling of Cinderella doesn't have any of the tired-and-largely-unbelievable Evil Step Mother stuff in it. The relationships outside of the budding romance were fun to watch, because all of them felt more like the types of affection you'd find in real life. The love interest is compelling and strong, and their scenes nearly went too quickly, they were so entertaining.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little spin on the Cinderella story. The part I liked best was that the step mother and step sisters were not evil. They may have been a bit daft, but I may have liked the original Cinderella telling if the step relatives were not so mean - not just mean, but super uber-mean. So, this was nice to see them a bit dopey but not intentionally out to hurt the lead character.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I enjoyed the new take on the Cinderella tale and thought that it was definitely more for adults compared to children. It had humor, drama, romance and everything in between and multiple balls instead of one. I recommend this book if you are looking for a happily ever after story.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully refreshing take on Cinderella. The "refreshing" aspect, I feel, comes from Ella's family, which is not mean-spirited at all, simply empty-headed and actually tries to be very supportive. It still has all of the rags-to-riches glamour, however, and the costume balls are wonderfully rendered.