At the Stroke of Midnight

This was my favorite in the series and mostly light hearted fun take on the fairy tales but the little annoying parts about this book got to be even more annoying in the other ones.

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

2.5 stars

I want to give this book three stars, but honestly I almost stopped reading it a few times. It isn't a bad book, but I was so bored. There are a few high intensity moments, a few, and a few daring or romance-involved moments, but not enough to keep me going. Yet, I continued. I really am trying to DNF books less. And this book actually gave me a reason to want to finish it.

It isn't often I find a relationship in a romance novel that I find to be healthy and real. Usually alpha males are trying to command women around or people are falling for assholes and jerks because of their looks. In this one, Cynthia starts falling for PJ even though he doesn't seem like the best person, but he turns out to be completely respectful of her, her daughter, and her decisions. He asks, gets consent before progressing their relationship and honestly made ME fall in love with his sincerity.

So, while I don't understand how Cynthia's business is making enough money for her to live on and some other things seem not quite believable, the relationship made me really happen. There are also 2 other girls who have become friends and I liked the dynamic. Yes, much of the conversations they have are about men, but they are also there for each other and we watch as they support each other and grow.

It is a good story and has good relationships, so even though I found the characters to be a bit dull or uninspiring and at times the story seemed to drag, I still think this is one that I will recommend to people in the future. Will I read the next one? I'm really considering it. I want to read about Belle and the Beast. She was my favorite character– not just because she is a librarian, and I think their relationship would be fun to see blossom.