Before Midnight By Cameron Dokey Release Date: Buy it Today! Simon Pulse Ratings Action Romance Characters Overall Purchase on Amazon. Purchase at Powell’s. Find independent bookstores.

Every year, Cendrillion (child of cinders) wishes what she’s planted on her mother’s grave will still be alive on her birthday. Yet every year, whatever she plants withers away over night, poisoned by her father’s unforgiving heart. He blames Cendrillion for the death of her mother and wishes that he “might never see her again, unless the sight of her can bring back the peace that she has stolen.”

Growing up, Cendrillion was raised by servants and her godmother, in the company of Raul, an abandoned boy forbidden from leaving the grounds. At the age of sixteen, a wish for a mother to love her and two sisters (so that she might at least get along with one) brings to the estate a new step-mother and two step-sisters, ordered into marriage by the king, so as to keep an eye on Cendrillion’s plotting father. Yet, when they arrive, it’s clear that Cendrillion was never mentioned by her father, and she decides not to correct the misunderstanding, but fade into a servant’s role, one that she feels far more comfortable with from her independent childhood. Eventually the secret must come out though, and just in time for the prince’s ball, where she and her step-sisters will meet the bride-seeking-prince and Raul will find his destiny and heritage. Mix in a subplot of political intrigue, and Cinderella’s classic tale comes to life with complexity and familiar elements woven into a tale for all ages.

This retelling of Cinderella from the Once Upon a Time series is like most of the books in the series, taking a short fairytale and expanding the characters and plot, but still managing to keep the heart of the original story intact. In order to tell the tale more believably, it’s split into the tale of Cendrillion and Raul, automatically complicating the plot, but helping to lead the tale to a satisfying conclusion. Yet even though the book takes away the element of a fairy godmother’s magic, other symbols like glass slippers and pumpkins still find their way in. Even without a blatant fairy godmother, it’s evident that a more subtle magic is taking placebehind the scenes, a power driven by wishes and one’s heart’s desires, often depicted through the reaction of nature (sudden storms, odd growing seasons, and the like).

In the author’s note at the back of the book, Dokey mentions that when she began researching Cinderella, she found that the father was not dead in the earliest versions, like he typically is in modern versions. Therefore she wanted to explore his role in the tale and his share of the blame for what happens to Cinderella. In fact, in this version, there’s very little that’s evil about the step-family; they’re merely reacting to a confusing situation that none of them asked to be a part of. Certainly, one sister is a bit of a spoiled brat and the other nice but aware of the difference in station between her and Cendrillion, but neither could be called “evil” by any means. Cendrillion shares her own blame in her fate, too ashamed of the fact that her father never mentioned her to correct the mistake and claim her life as a noble daughter.

I love this series for how quick the books are to read. I read this one night when I wanted a fast read, and in three hours I was done with the book, thoroughly entertained and smiling. It’s nice to read a good book that doesn’t take forever to get to a plot, yet still has plenty of intrigue and character development to spare.

Ratings Reasons:
Action 2 – Pretty low action-wise, but the book still moved at a good pace, and there were some fun supernatural weather events.

Romance 4 – All the romances were well-played, and the love-at-first-sight relationships were also realistically portrayed. There was a good balance of traditional historic marriage views mixed with “true love.”

Characters 4 – While the characters were mostly based on the traditional Cinderella cast, they still managed to be distinctly recreated.

Overall 4 – This was a solidly enjoyable book. I would recommend it to others, and I will probably enjoy reading it again, unlike some books in the series.

Extras:

The Once Upon a Time series consists of: Golden (my review), Sunlight and Shadows (my review), The Rose Bride (my review), Scarlet Moon (my review), The Night Dance, Beauty Sleep, Snow, The Storyteller’s Daughter, Spirited, Water Song, and Midnight Pearls.

Cinderella is an old tale that has been retold in countless countries, from China to Europe, though the tales of the Cinderella we know were first written down by Charles Perrault in 1697, and then in a later version of the tale by the Brothers Grimm. Those two stories are the ones Dokey drew on for inspiration in this book. A history of Cinderella can be found at SurLaLune.

While reading this book, I was reminded of three others. First, of Bella at Midnight, a retelling of Cinderella mixed with other fairytale elements that also tried to put more blame on the father and humanize the step-mother and sisters. I didn’t really enjoy Bella though, and I felt that Before Midnight did a much better job of successfully pulling off those elements.

Second, I was reminded of The Rose Bride, which is also in the Once Upon a Time series. I had to check and make sure these weren’t the same books, because they just felt so similar. The themes of love, gardens, and being lost make up both stories, and while they’re different fairytales, the two authors chose to retell them in similar ways.

The third book I was reminded of was theSafe-Keeper’s Secret, because of various plot elements, especially the two children (one abandoned on the doorstep) who are raised together, and one has major questions about their past. I also felt that the two books have a similar overall feel and might appeal to the same kind of reader.

Parents: 10+ Nothing particularly viscous or graphic in this book, just a lot of love and classic storytelling.

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