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A Kiss at Midnight (Fairy Tales, #1)

Eloisa James

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Eloisa's Fairy Tales

When Beauty Tamed the Beast
By Melany · 10 posts · 39 views

last updated Feb 15, 2011 07:37AM

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Jul 17, 2011 Melissa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-reads

This is plain and simply a retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale in a conventional period romance sort of way. There are no real surprises in it if you already know the Cinderella story, and yet . . . this was super sweet to read. I truly enjoyed the story and got all smooshy inside when the hero and heroine find their happily ever after.

Kate is the heroine of the story who has been demoted from her spot as a relatively well-to-do daughter of a father who quickly dies, leaving her in the care This is plain and simply a retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale in a conventional period romance sort of way. There are no real surprises in it if you already know the Cinderella story, and yet . . . this was super sweet to read. I truly enjoyed the story and got all smooshy inside when the hero and heroine find their happily ever after.

Kate is the heroine of the story who has been demoted from her spot as a relatively well-to-do daughter of a father who quickly dies, leaving her in the care of her new step-mother. The step-mother has complete control of Kate's father's fortune, and she refuses to spend it on Kate. In fact, she refuses to spend the money on anything other than an excess of clothing and frou-frou for her and her daughter, Victoria. Kate has the opportunity to leave this existence which now has her living in the attic and working hard to help run the estate -- neither a servant or a gentle lady. However, she stays on because she feels as if she is the only person who is preventing her step-mother from ruining the lives of the remaining servants and tenants on the land.

Things change for Kate in a bizarre (and frankly contrived) way when she is asked to travel to a castle with Victoria's fiance, Algie, pretending to be Victoria until Algie gets the approval of his uncle, the Prince Gabriel. While at the castle Kate is decked out in the most ridiculous ensembles with bright wigs and equally gaudy dresses. However, despite her getup Gabriel becomes interested in her due to her witty conversation. He quickly discovers her secret. One thing leads to another, and before they know it they find themselves in love. Should be a great thing -- right? Well, not exactly because Gabriel is newly called to manage a family castle in England along with a menagerie of animals and people sent with him by his brother on the continent. He feels an obligation to all of these people and animals, but he does not have the means to take care of them. Help will soon be arriving in the person of a young Russian princess who has been promised to him. He is a prince. She has lots of money. It is an excellent economic arrangement. But obviously it is not a match of the heart. That creates the conflict of this story. What is more important -- the duty that Gabriel feels to his tenants, family, animals, and position as a prince or his love for Kate?

This is a Cinderella story, so as a reader I know how things will end up from the beginning. There is no suspense as to whether or not our leads will end up together in the end. What would make or break this story was the skill that Eloisa James had in telling it. Would I be enveloped in the magic of the story, or would I be rolling my eyes with the predictability of the plot? At first I thought that the story took a bit of time before it actually grabbed my attention. However, once the story moved to the castle where Gabriel and Kate could interact often I thought that the story took off. Gabriel was an excellent prince for this story. He had all of the duties and responsibilities of his position to deal with, and he took those duties seriously, but he was also a brilliant scholar of ancient history and archaeology. His actions, especially at the end of the novel, show his strength as a character and a romantic lead. Kate is also a strong heroine for the story. One of the reasons that Gabriel falls for her is because she does not simper and fawn over his every word when they meet. As a prince he is used to women falling over his every word, so when Kate stands up for herself and her ideas he is mesmerized. The story was a sweet story with wonderfully rich writing. James has a way of writing that doesn't make me think that I'm just reading a run-of-the-mill romance story that is probably worth a dime a dozen. Instead the vocabulary is advanced. The characters are nuanced and deep. The story resonates. The pacing is perfect. Overall I'd say that this is a very good beginning to my first experience reading Eloisa James. I plan on continuing this series and reading more from this author in the future. ...more

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