Cinderella meets a strip club? One of my GR friends thought this was hilarious and I had to try it, being a sucker for fairy tale retellings. It’s definitely got its cute, over-the-top references, including a nerdy librarian named Belle, a bouncer named Beast, a redheaded Ariel who wears a mermaid dress and splashes in the bathtub while talking to “Cyn” who you just know will hook up with club owner PJ Charming. This was a quirky crazy read and lots of fun.

Please excuse typos/name misspellings. Entered on screen reader. ( )

Oh man I waited so long for this book - I can't believe I finally got around to reading it - it was hilarious like most of Tara Sivec's books (nothing will ever compare to the chocolate lovers/chocoholics series in my eyes) but this was good in it's own right. Such a cinderella retelling gone naughty and hilarious - If I could have climbed through the book and whacked a few people I'd have been happy! I honestly can't wait for Belle & Beasts book I really gravitated toward her and her nerdtasticness SO GOOD ( )

This book had a bit more than I expected (insert sex scenes here), but the story was funny, empowering and had great characters, one with a bit of a potty mouth, I did enjoy it.

Once upon a time... three Beautiful women lived on or near Fairytale Lane.. Cynthia (Cindy Ella) is the main character in this book. She is a newly divorced woman, with a teenage daughter named Anastasia, who struggles to make ends meet. Her husband left with their previous babysitter, emptied the bank accounts and stole five million dollars from his parents. Cindy's life echos that of Cinderella in the fairytale. Her widowed father remarried a woman with two daughters. He died and she was left taking care of them as well as being treated like crap by her mother and step-sisters. Brian, her ex-husband, rescued her from a small apartment and working two jobs, only to abandon her and his daughter years later. Ariel is a single woman with the looks of a princess and the mouth of a trucker. She was also abandoned by her husband and lost her antique business as a result of having to pay him alimony. She is now selling off her antiques to survive. She had a one night stand with Cindy's husband and is trying to reform her. "Take the stick out of your butt" is one of her favourite sayings. Belle is a quiet librarian who still lives with her father. Cindy and Ariel want to bring her out of her cocoon and start to live.

The three ladies are all dressed up as princesses at the neighbourhood Hallowe'en party. They are offered a job to entertain at a party and they are excited to earn $3000.00 to entertain at a children's party. How wrong they are. It is a birthday party and the ladies have been hired as strippers. The laughs do not stop from that point on in the story. The girls were a bit over the top, everything exaggerated a bit, but that made it even more funny. The fairytale references were great. The strip club is called Charmings, Cindy's love interest is called PJ (if you know the story you will understand the significance) and the bouncer at the club is named Beast, I wonder who his love interest will be. My only complaint is there is some well described sex scenes in the story, but I just skimmed them and it did not diminish the storyline at all. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. ( )

At the Stroke of Midnight by Tara Sivec (Audiobook)
Narrated by: CJ Bloom
Series: The Naughty Princess Club #1

4 Stars - This book had me laughing right away and kept the humour up throughout the story. I liked the spin on the Cinderella fairytale, and I felt the author portrayed strippers well and seemed to shed positive feelings toward the profession.

The titles of the chapters were a great way to ensure a chuckle, the characters were fun and intriguing and the romance was sweet. This was my first time reading this author and I look forward to reading the next books in this series.

CJ Bloom did a good job with the narration. It was also my first time hearing her. She was clear and brought the characters to life.

~Paragraphs and Petticoats~ ( )

Will Tara ever run out of funny? I sure hope not!

I will never be able to look at Disney princesses in the same way again! Princes either, considering PJ is a prince himself.

The best thing about this book is the characters. As always, Tara gives us a band of characters that we fall in love with instantly. How can we not? Hot, swoony-worthy men, and spunky, strong women.

This is one is a little angsty, feisty, emotional, and a lot of funny. From the characters to the plot, I didn't want to put it down. This book will make you believe in real life fairy tales. ( )