A Kiss at Midnight

By Eloisa James
       

        A Kiss at Midnight has the delightful twist of Cinderella to it. It is very similar but at the same time very different. Kate Daltry is the proverbial Cinderella living in the attic, cleaning, running the estate, and trying to keep her stepmother, Mariana, from throwing everyone out and leaving Kate to do it all.

When Kate's stepsister, Victoria, is injured, Mariana insists that Kate go to the ball disguised as Victoria. Even Victoria's betrothed, Lord Dimsdale, is in on this masquerade. The whole reason for going through with this is to convince Lord Dimsdale's uncle, Prince Gabriel, that Victoria is acceptable so that Lord Dimsdale can receive his inheritance. Kate has no idea how she is going to pull this off. Even wearing Victoria's clothes, wigs, and even taking Victoria's annoying little dogs known to the household as the rats, Kate knows the two of them are too different.

Gabriel is a dashingly handsome, well-toned man with an eye for the ladies. Once he meets Kate, his heart is lost. However, he is to meet his betrothed in a few days. When he does, he realizes that he does like her. He just doesn't love her. But his estate needs the rich dowry that comes with her to keep things in good order.

One kiss and Kate lost her heart. However, she knows that with no dowry she will never be able to have Gabriel. When she meets Lady Wrothe and finds out the woman is her Godmother, Kate begins to see a different future for herself, albeit one without Gabriel.

Eloisa James has done an outstanding job with this book. It is a wonderful story with humor and romance and heartbreak. The way she wrote it in the form of the Cinderella story is brilliant. It even has a glass slipper in it. I will definitely be reading more.