At the Stroke of Midnight

This is the first book in the Naughty Princess Club, but actually the last one of the three in the series that I read. While I think it would have been better reading the series in order, you really didn't have to. Cynthia Castle had the picture perfect life. She lived in the big house on Fairytale Lane, with her perfect husband and her perfect teenage daughter....or at least that is what she let everyone think. In reality her life was miserable so when her husband up and left, WITH THE BABYSITTER!!! and took all of their money, Cynthia had no idea what to do but still pretend everything was perfect. When Cynthia meets the divorced, redhead on the street, Ariel, she is thrown for a loop and immediately treats her like an outcast. Ariel calls her out on her perfect life and then drops a bombshell. When Cynthia faints, a tall, handsome stranger comes to her rescue and carries her back into her house. At the Halloween street party, Cynthia, Ariel and Belle all dress up as Disney princesses. When one of the guys suggest they show up at his party dressed like that and he will pay them, they decide to do it since they need the money. When they end up at the guys party, they realize that the guest of honor, PJ Charming, is the handsome man who rescued Cynthia and he is not too happy that the girls are there. They were the hired strippers only they didn't realizes that was the job they were hired for! LOL When PJ explains to Cindy, Belle and Ariel that they are not cut out to be a strippers, they set out to prove him wrong. This move riles PJ up....he likes this feisty side of Cindy. The more PJ and Cindy keep crossing paths, the more the attraction starts to escalate until these two finally get to their happy ending. I just loved the transformation Cindy went through to become the woman PJ fell in love with. It was fun watching her shred that perfect image. I also loved the friendship between Cindy, Belle and Ariel. These girls are fun and entertaining in their own ways.

At the Stroke of Midnight by Tara Sivec is the first book in her funny and sexy Naughty Princess Club Series. This modern day retelling of the cinderella story is hilarious and steamy and well-worth the read! Cindy is doing everything she can to maintain appearances. Her husband has left her for another woman and cleaned out their accounts. She is at the six month mark of trying to cover everything with their credit cards and is about to find out her husband just stooped even lower and cancelled the cards. What is left for her to do but start her own stripping service along with two newfound best friends and call it the Naughty Princess Club. When a handsome and rugged stranger saves her from hitting the ground during a fainting spell she is equally enamored by his good looks and enraged by his presumptive behavior. PJ doesn't have the time or inclination to deal with a quirky Stepford wife and all her drama but there is something about the fainting woman that stays with him. When a second chance encounter puts them back int he same room he'll do what he can to keep seeing her. Hot and steamy, funny and well-paced - this book will make you laugh out loud. If you don't, well, check your pulse! Enjoy!

Oh my gawd!!! I absolutely LOVED this book! Every. Single. Thing!! Cynthia is living in a fantasy land of denial after her husband left her for the babysitter taking all of their savings and closing their credit cards. With a thirteen year old daughter to care for she’s trying to make ends meet all while carrying on the façade that things are perfectly rosy in her world. When Ariel, the neighborhood’s main source of gossip, arrives on her doorstep to deliver some shocking news, she is suddenly pushed outside her pompous and prudish ways. Together with Ariel and Belle, the ladies come up with a plan for a way to make money. They will strip at private parties dressed as three princesses. Easy, right? Eh, maybe not. PJ owns a local strip club and Cynthia needs his cooperation to not only have access to one of his dancers for lessons, but for advice on how to start a business. There is an instant attraction to him that she fights but after one memorable evening at his club, there is less fighting and more yearning. I absolutely loved that PJ only had Cynthia’s best interest in mind as she stumbles from her rule shrouded life and into a life that allows cursing and cleavage as well as good friends that will always have her back. His background was perfect for her and their banter regarding his name was so dang cute. Ariel and Belle were spot on for the perfect counterpoints to Cynthia’s uptight personality. The relationship here was laugh out loud fun. I adored Ariel’s snarky dirty mouth and Belle’s geeky random trivia sharing. While the romance is definitely a part of this book, in my opinion, it is the relationship these women begin that is the true shining star of this book. Normally, that might bother me but in the end it all seemed to have evened out and I loved these women so much and all their quirky ways that I couldn’t resent the time they took up in the story. I’ve read a few books by this author. Some were heart wrenching and I loved them while others were hilarious and I loved them. However, one of them I was not a fan of despite the warnings of immature humor, so I was a bit apprehensive going into this, afraid I’d end up with the over the top immaturity that this author does so well when she chooses to do so. (Nothing wrong with that but it’s just not my cup of tea.) But I couldn’t ask for more or less in this case. The humor was almost a character in itself and I loved it all! This is an honest review of an advanced copy provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. Heroine POV No apparent triggers Safety – some ow/om drama