Sunday, August 22, 2010

New Book: A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James


A Kiss at Midnight

A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James was a big romance release this summer that uses Cinderella as inspiration. 

Book description from the publisher:

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 fiancee, 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.

And a review from Publishers Weekly:

Well-known for tales of dukes and duchesses, James (A Duke of Her Own) upgrades to the handsome prince in this delectable Regency reimagining of the Cinderella story. Miss Katherine Daltry, on the shelf at 23, manages the household of her ungrateful stepmother and silly stepsister, who inherited all of her father's estate. Kate is thrust from the cinders to the spotlight when her stepsister needs a stand-in for a betrothal ball at Pomeroy Castle. Gabriel, youngest princeling of the duchy of Warl-Marburg-Baalsfeld, needs a rich wife to support his archeology habit; Kate is, of course, manifestly unsuitable. Eccentric turns from Professor Biggitstiff, a pickle-eating dog, and an irrepressible godmother spin a candy floss comic romp around a core of heartache. James's deft touch allows the characters to shine through genuinely witty dialogue and an uncluttered plot.
So if you like romances and fairy tale adaptations, this may interest you.  I investigated and learned that yes, there is a glass slipper.  It's some kind of starched taffeta that makes the shoe almost translucent and thus dubbed "glass" in the novel.  Interesting take on the Cinderella footwear...

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