Author: Leah E. Good

Young Constanze de Brabant, more commonly called Cendrillon, was born of noble blood but raised a commoner. After her mother died in childbirth, Cendrillon’s heartbroken father disappeared, refusing to acknowledge his daughter and wishing to never again see her. When he departs, he leaves behind an infant boy. This boy, Raoul, and Cendrillon grow up together as brother and sister. Each year on their shared birthday, Cendrillon wishes for something to grow on her mother’s grave while Raoul wishes to discover who he is. The fulfillment of their wishes will surprise them all.

I’ll start by warning you that my review might be a little misleading depending on how you read it. Cendrillon and Raoul do not become sweethearts. I tell you this not as a spoiler but because hoping that they might was the one disappointment I had in the book, and I think you’ll enjoy the story more if you don’t get your hopes up in that direction. Before Midnight has jumped up to become my second favorite fairy tale retelling, surpassed only by Beauty. There was very little magical anything, which is a plus for me. Even the pumpkin carriage was very real world (a bit of an inside joke). I loved the twist on her stepmother and stepsisters. I won’t telling you what’s different, but they’re definitely not what you’re expecting. At its heart Before Midnight is a story of family and love at first sight. Very sweet. (And the farthest the romance goes is three brief kisses. ;))

Cinderella seems to be one of the most popular fairy tales to retell. What twists might you add if you were planning a retelling of the story?

Char’s anger at his tutor would be nothing compared with this. He would hate me until the end of the world.

Given the “gift” of obedience at birth by a foolish fairy, Ella has no choice but to obey every command given her. Even a command to harm herself would have to be followed. Ella lives a happy life despite the curse until her mother dies. Her father, who cares only for money, sends her off to finishing school. Ela is miserable as her natural clumsiness clashes with her need to obey. When a ill-humored classmate discovers her secret and uses it against her, Ella flees. But as long as the curse remains, she cannot outrun the danger. What will happen when the prince Ella has come to love and perhaps the entire kingdom hang in the balance?

I don’t read very many fairy tale retellings, but I seem to have a pattern for the ones I do read. For both this story and Beauty, I didn’t care much for the first half but really enjoyed the second half. In this book, I felt the author was trying too hard to establish a fantasy world. The fantasy creatures seemed tacked on. The second half, where the story became recognizable as Cinderella was where I was drawn in and began to really care what happened. My main caution is that the “curse” of obedience does shed a slightly negative light on obedience in general. It worked well for the story, but is definitely something that should not be taken lightly.

What do you consider the pros and cons of this story? How do you feel about a positive ideal like obedience being turned, in a logical way, into a curse?