A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

A Kiss at Midnight (Fairy Tales, #1)

by Eloisa James

Miss Kate Daltry doesn't believe in fairy tales . . . or happily ever after. Forced by her stepmother to attend a ball, Kate meets a prince and decides he's anything but charming. A clash of wits and wills ensues, but they both know their irresistible attraction will lead nowhere. For Gabriel is promised to another woman--a princess whose hand in marriage will fulfill his ruthless ambitions. Gabriel likes his fiancée, which is a welcome turn of events, but he doesn't love her. Obviously, he should be wooing his bride-to-be, not the witty, impoverished beauty who refuses to fawn over him. Godmothers and glass slippers notwithstanding, this is one fairy tale in which destiny conspires to destroy any chance that Kate and Gabriel might have a happily ever after --unless a prince throws away everything that makes him noble --unless a dowry of an unruly heart trumps a fortune --unless one kiss at the stroke of midnight changes everything.

Reviewed by Angie on

2 of 5 stars

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The set up for A Kiss at Midnight makes zero sense, and the weirdest part is that the characters all know it doesn't make sense, but they go along with it anyway. Kate needs to impersonate her sister in order to get the prince's permission to marry his nephew, since Victoria is suffering from an infected dog bite. However, Kate and Victoria don't look alike and obviously other guests will know that she's not her. But none of that matters, because it must be done. And apparently none of Victoria's acquaintances realize that Kate isn't her. Cool.

My second issue with A Kiss at Midnight is that none of the characters are likeable except for Victoria. I did like how the author didn't follow Cinderella exactly. Kate isn't a sickeningly sweet pushover. In fact, she back talks her stepmother and is super judgemental about the fact that her stepmother and sister both got pregnant out of wedlock. Her stepmother isn't totally awful, but is obviously bad at financial management and is shallow as heck. The prince is just unsavory and rude and arrogant. Victoria is nice, but ditzy.

On top of that, I hated the way everyone body shames Kate and Victoria. One of the issues with their plan is that Kate is much thinner than her sister, but that's nothing some strategic padding can't take care of. However, there are times when Kate is pointed out to be too thin and sickly looking, and women should be soft and round. Then later they'll praise her for being thin because the real Victoria is too plump. Which is it?!

I just didn't care for A Kiss at Midnight at all. These characters are unlikeable, the set up is messy, and the plot is boring. I didn't care if Kate and Gabriel got together or not, because I didn't like either of them, and he was actually quite gross upon their first meeting. It's just not a good time.

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Reading updates

  • 6 February, 2022: Started reading
  • 7 February, 2022: Finished reading
  • 5 September, 2022: Reviewed