A Kiss At Midnight by Eloisa James

A magical Cinderella retelling
5 stars

After the death of her father, Kate Daltry is forced into near servitude for her stepmother and stepsister. But when her stepsister suffers a mishap that mars her perfect looks, her stepmother forces Kate to attend a ball in Victoria’s place. There, Kate meets a prince although this one’s definitely not as charming as she would have expected.

Prince Gabriel is one step away from being betrothed to a pretty and lovely Russian princess. So why is he so desperate to spend time with impoverished Kate – a woman he could never marry? And what will happen when he has to choose between his honour and a woman that he realises he can’t live without?


This is the first in James’ Fairy Tales series before When Beauty Tamed the Beast and This Duke is Mine. There is an e-book (Storming the Castle) that follows on from this story however all the rest of the series stand alone and have no connection to each other except the fairy tale theme.

From the first I liked Kate and felt for her situation. It was especially well done that although the stepmother wasn’t particularly nice, she wasn’t a caricature and was believable in her meanness! Gabriel was a very enjoyable hero and I always like a pair that bicker but are strong enough to stand up for themselves with each other. Together Kate and Gabriel worked really well and I really enjoyed their scenes together and thought the pair had good chemistry.

The story itself ticked over nicely and I loved the supporting characters who were vibrant but never overshadowed or upstaged the main romance. I never had a problem with wanting to pick up this book and keep reading. If I had to make one criticism it would be that there were a few too many Americanisms for my liking. Having said that, at the end of the book the author’s note explains that this is set in Fairy Tale land rather than being an actual historical so I’m not sure whether that was a deliberate move.

Regardless, this was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I felt the magic and adored watching Kate and Gabriel on the path to their happily ever after. 5 stars.