A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James

Summary: 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.

I don't really have too much to say about this book really, except that I enjoyed it and it served its purpose.
When I'm in a reading slump, aside from just whining and being miserable and waiting, there are two kinds of books that can sometimes snap me out of it--really amazing books (those ones that are insta-favourites and just leave you with that wow feeling)...and books like this one (predictable, mindless entertainment that don't have much substance beyond being ridiculously addictive).

I loved the book. It was exactly what I needed it to be. It hooked from the first page to the last, it had me smiling a lot, I became attached to the characters (even the dogs), I liked that it wasn't one of those stories that portray the step-sister as ugly and awful or makes the "competition" catty and mean, and I just really enjoyed reading it. I read it in one sitting (when I'm in a reading slump, that is normally a struggle).

The book wasn't perfect but the flaws didn't bother me much because I wasn't reading it expecting a literary masterpiece, I didn't care if the writing was wonderful or if the story was original, I just wanted to read a book that would keep me entertained with a romance that would be predictable and fun to read about, and this was exactly that. I really want to read the rest of the books in this fairy tale series, hopefully the others will be just as good.

I'm not going to rate the book, because I judge books like this on a different scale--if I measured it against the standards I hold my favourite books to then the rating wouldn't be great, but for what it was and what I wanted it to be, the rating would be higher. So...yeah, if you want some fun, predictable, historical romance then I recommend this one. And if you like these sorts of books, are there any you'd recommend?

On a kind of related note: why, why, why must these books have such bloody awful covers? I think I've yet to see one with a cover I actually like and wouldn't cringe to be seen reading in public. Even the redesigned ones are just...eugh.

Later.

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The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James

Summary: How can she dare to imagine he loves her... when all London calls her The Ugly Duchess?
Theodora Saxby is the last woman anyone expects the gorgeous James Ryburn, heir to the Duchy of Ashbrook, to marry. But after a romantic proposal before the prince himself, even practical Theo finds herself convinced of her soon-to-be duke's passion.

Still, the tabloids give the marriage six months.

Theo would have given it a lifetime... until she discovers that James desired not her heart, and certainly not her countenance, but her dowry. Society was shocked by their wedding; it's scandalized by their separation.

Now James faces the battle of his lifetime, convincing Theo that he loved the duckling who blossomed into the swan.

And Theo will quickly find that for a man with the soul of a pirate, All's Fair in Love — or War.

I loved the first book in this series that I read (A Kiss at Midnight, the Cinderella retelling), and the summary for this one sounded good but it was kind of a let down. I didn't hate the book, it was just okay.
I guess my problem with the book was that I didn't like the romance that much (considering the book is a romance novel and I was reading it mostly for that aspect, well...). It had little moments of okayness but in general it would alternate being being bland and infuriating.

The main female character, Theo/Daisy, is a decent character. She's tough, she stood up for herself and she handles everything life threw at her pretty well--the only times I liked her character less were in the second half of the book, the way she was with James (when she'd be too forgiving of his behaviour and things like that).

James was...well, he had his moments when he wasn't so bad, but in general he was kind of an asshat and a total hypocrite ("Oh, I *only* slept with X women, which isn't nearly as many as people thought so you see I'm really quite a faithful husband. Anyway, I thought you said our marriage was over? So it wasn't really adultery... You didn't sleep with anyone while I was gone did you? I won't have that, because you're MY wife!" Eugh. Infuriating double standard).

He makes mistakes, then expects to be able to waltz back into his old life and have things go his own way. He tries to justify his actions instead of genuinely apologizing and making up for the crap he does. He plays games to try and win her back instead of just being honest. He never really fought for her (seduction does not count) not when it mattered. He was selfish.

Actually, that is probably the problem: James. I didn't think he deserved Theo at all and he did little to redeem himself. It felt like his only redeeming quality in their relationship was supposed to be that he always saw her as beautiful while she was considered ugly* by other people. His "love" for her seemed more like lust the majority of the time, the only moments it seemed genuine were when he was describing their friendship pre-marriage.

So, yeah...while I did want them to get the cheesy Happily Ever After that romance novels are known for, I was never particularly invested in them as a couple because of James. I'd rate the book 2.5 stars out of 5.

Later.

*although, the way she's described actually makes her sound more like a model--unusual features, tall, very slim, not very curvy...and I guess there was a time when that would've been considered unattractive.

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When beauty tamed the beast by Eloisa James

Summary: If only Miss Linnet Berry Thrynne hadn't caught kissing that Prince ... But now believes ton Linnet with Royal child-and therefore unmarriageable-so they could make her happy too desperate father by agreeing to wed a beast.
A brilliant surgeon with a reputation for losing his temper and a wound believed to have left him ... unable-Piers, Earl of Marchant, should welcome a bride wear a ready-made, blue-blooded heir. But Piers is not fooled by the fallacies of the Lady, and all Linnet Devils smart and beautiful, there will be no marriage of beauty to beast.

Linnet still finds, the beautiful brute intriguing. And it is clear to the naked eye that ' unable ' does not mean ' uninterested ' ...

So I think this is my favorite of Eloisa James ' fairytale stories so far (I have read 3? Maybe 4?), I loved it.
This is one of those rare romances where I really love the couple together. Sometimes with books like this, I want them the main characters to end up together purely because that is what is expected in a novel romance, but in these the characters actually made sense together.

They were funny and sweet and brought out the best in each other. It was not a case of insta-love or insta-lust, I was fully convinced that they were in love with each other and we don't only told were shown. Their characters just compliment each other perfectly. And I really, really loved that.

I also just found the characters individually. Both had their moments of his ridiculous, but they were funny and intelligent and flawed in a way that was never annoying--he was grumpy and stubborn and also brutally honest sometimes and they would be very vain, and it is so easy for this to make their characters unlikeable personality traits would be, but it was just performed really well and I found them both from start to finish. I really loved the characters that part as well.

As for the plot ... Well, beauty and the beast is one of my favorite fairy tales, and this is one of my favorite stories of it. And the way it happens in this story not Stockholm syndrome aspect to it that it could be argued some of the other versions have going on.

And that's all I should really say. If you like beauty and the beast Type stories, or Regency romance stories, then check these out.

Later.

PS I think I can get from my reading slump now that summer is that past--this is the 5th book, I have read and reviewed this week and I have already started with another (not that anyone is supposed to really care, but it makes me feel all YAY-ish, so ... yes).

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