Tracy’s review of A Midnight Dance
Born into wealth, Sabine Laurent and her twin sister lived a life of luxury, their father’s prestigious theater frequented by royalty and aristocracy alike. And Sabine dreamed of her own prince charming—the devastatingly handsome Jules de Moutier.
That was before the loss of her sister and her family’s fall from grace—a disaster Sabine blames on the Moutier family. Now, with her father’s death, she’s inherited his sizable debt and the responsibility of caring for his spoiled long-time mistress and her two wastrel daughters. But with the help of Sabine’s eccentric friends—the balance of her father’s acting troupe—she plans to get very close to her old infatuation, seduce the rake—and make away with a fortune.
Resisting Jules’s skillful mouth and tantalizing touch is not as easy as Sabine supposed. And soon she must decide whether her desire for vengeance is greater than her desire for her one and only prince…
Sabine Laurent is desperate. After her family’s financial decline and her father’s death she’s the one keeping the family together. With the taxes so high there’s no way that they can survive for much longer. Sabine overhears talk of a cache of silver. She devises a plan where her and her two younger cousins will go to the camp of the men who are guarding the silver, have them drink tainted wine and then take the silver for themselves. The problem? Well, the men aren’t quite as gullible as Sabine and her cousins think they are. The head of the group, much to Sabine’s dismay, is none other than the nobleman she has pined over for years. When she finds herself stuck in a situation where she can’t seem to rectify she plays along and finds herself in the arms of the man she thought she once loved.
Sabine and her family eventually hit their mark and get the silver but Sabine has already relinquished her heart to Jules de Moutier. Jules is more than pissed that he’s been had and when he finds Sabine he tries to make her life hell. Jules has not only the silver theft to figure out but he also is trying to get his family’s honor back after his father was publicly hanged for treason, their lands and titles stripped and their money taken. Jules believes that his father was innocent and intends on proving that everything was a set up. Surprisingly he gets help from Sabine, her family and her sister’s journals. Jules finds himself having deep feelings about Sabine but their classes are so different there’s no way that he can marry her. How can they be together?
This is another of DiPasqua’s stories that is base around a fairy tale and it was a good one. This was not like any other tale of Cinderella that I had read before – it was so much better.
I think the main thing I liked about the story – besides the fact that it was well written – was the fact that the author didn’t try to stick to the norm of the Cinderella story. Yes, it was loosely based on that story but the whole book had a much darker feel to it – DiPasqua wasn’t afraid to add treason, death, and poverty into her romance – and it worked!
The characters were also wonderful. Sabine and her unending strength was wonderful. She did what she needed to do and she wasn’t afraid to stand up to those who thought she was beneath them. She had a fire in her and I loved that she just didn’t give in to what could have been a horrid life.
Jules, at first, was a terrible snob. He was the typical noble – not even looking at those he thought were beneath him. It really took him reading Sabine’s journal and a good look at himself to get him to realize that everything he wanted out of life before may not be what he wants now. I truly grew to like him more and more as the book went on.
The secondary characters were great as well and very three dimensional.
I very much look forward to reading the next fiery tale that DiPasqua decides to tell us, whatever that may be.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
The Series:
Giveaway Alert: We have 3 copies of A Midnight Dance to giveaway. Leave a comment on this post telling us what you love about fairy tales and you’ll be entered to win. US and Canada only. Contest ends 9/16/11 at 11:59pm. Please note: You must include a valid email address with your comment to be eligible.
You can read more from Tracy at Tracy’s Place
This book is available from Berkley Trade. You can buy it here
Well, who doesn’t love a fairy tale! Dashing hero, loving heroines, happy ending. Also, the general outline is so familiar, it is a quick and enjoyable read.
I love Fairy Tales because they always have a villian and a prince. The prince gets the girl and there is a happy ending.
your1chef at aol dot com
I love the escapism and the magic. I always feel transported.
asdaysturn at gmail dot com
I love Cinderella, at the ball, loses her shoes and the prince looks everywhere until he finds her. My kind of guy.
Sheila
smulholland62@msn.com
I love the happy ever afters to fairy tales… who wants to think Cinderella turned into a nagging mom waiting for her prince son to find true love?
As a child I loved fairytales for the satisfaction of seeing the bad guy losing and the happily ever after of the hero and heroine. I have not much changed.
oops should have included my email…
little lamb lst at yahoo dot com
I like the magic of fairy tales and the chance to escape the mundane world while reading them.
tatiana_lwg(at) yahoo.com
I love fairy tales because they are magical and they have happy endings.
allisonmoyer(at)yahoo(dot)com
I always loved fairy tales because of the princes and princesses finding each other and falling in love despite all kinds of odds.
They transported me to a world where I could escape from being just me.
kscathy@yahoo.com
What’s not to love about fairy tales?!? Beautiful princess in a faraway land, handsome hero, evil villain, high suspense and happy-ever-after. *sighs*
I can’t wait to read this book! Please enter my name in the drawing:
Laura T
heartoftexasbooks[at]yahoo[dot]com
I love fairy tales because they remind me of the dreams of my youth. My favorites tales always included a handsome hero saving a maiden but Lila’s stories are so much more interesting with “princes” and “maidens” who are complete characters that grab your heart and won’t let go!
jeannemiro@yahoo.com
Fairy tales are morality stories at heart. I enjoy them because they usually are about overcoming obstacles. It’s very strengthening. I usually love the princess and prince charming tales with a HEA becuase it’s alos a romance.
sotheara_keat at yahoo dot come
What I love about fairy tales..Love wins out in the end..There may be things getting in their way,especially the villain,but in the end they get their HEA.
elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net
Fairy tales have always been a favorite of mine. The villians are colorful and there is always a hppy ending.
lrwright09(at)gmail(dot)com
I love fairy tales because they have a happy ending.
kissinoak at frontier dot com
I love the HEA in fairy tales.
iqb99@yahoo.com
Growing up, fairytales always involved a prince, overcoming evil and a happily ever after. What little girl didn’t want to grow up and liver her own fairytale??? I know I did. I still love fairytales and even though I found my prince and happy ending, I love rediscovering the feelings of awe through my daughter’s eyes 🙂
june111(at)att(dot)net
I love the finding of one’s soul mate and HEA :). The ‘all will end well’ aspect is what keeps hope alive.
info@ilovebooks.com.mt
i love fairy tales because it means that anything can happen and u believe it as it is 🙂
I love the Happily Ever Afters 🙂
I love the fantasy and the HEA’s mostley. I love the cinderella rags to riches and the beauty and the beast stories the beast. Thanks for the great post today!
Sounds wonderful – love the fantasy of it all and of course the HEA. Maybe because we grow up with fairy tales!
catslady5(at)aol.com
I will always believe. Even we adults need to believe occasionally!
I love fairytales because they were the first thing that allowed me to escape into books. You can always see the story in your mind with a fairytale!
amber(underscore)dawn(underscore)84(at)msn(dot)com
I like fairy tales because there is a happy ending of course, and because many times they happen once upon a time. lisagk(at)yahoo(dot)com
I love the fantasy aspect of fairy tales and the heroine being swept off her feet.
Diana
ISRAEL2 at hotmail dot com
I love the romance and the happy ending
Robin D
robindpdx (at) yahoo (dot) com
I love the romance and the happily ever after of fairy tales; especially like Sleeping Beauty! aaaahhhhh!
No matter how sad the story, there is always a happy ending.
tsommervold@hotmail.com
what’s not to love about fairy tales — they’re the original HEA 🙂
ooops — so busy dreaming about fairy tales forgot my email addy 😉
gamistress66 (at) aol (dot) com
Remember – not all fairy tales are happy; some are downright Grimm. (Couldn’t resist!)
I agree with Sotheara that fairy tales tend to be morality tales. There are obstacles to overcome, which leads to the transformation of the hero/heroine.
My own preference is for stories that end well. Who doesn’t enjoy a HEA?
Mickie T
mdturett at juno dot com
This comment has been removed by the author.
What I love about faerytales is the girl always gets her guy and they live happily ever after. 🙂
Crystal816[at]hotmail[dot]com
I love the makeover. Okay, not every fairytale has one, but that scene where something magical changes, I love. My favorite is probably the end of Snow White and Red Rose, where the bear transforms to a prince. omlekud at gmail dot com.
I love the magic of fairytales. Love to read this book. Please enter me. Thanks!
ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net
What I love about fairy tales is the meeting and knowing that they’re perfect for each other… Well maybe not in the case of Beauty and the Beast (my personal favorite) that was slower, getting to know each other, kinda thing. But it also teaches us that looks aren’t everything!
emilytardy@yahoo.com
Fairy tales are what life is about…the romance and happy ending.
I love the HEA.
marlenebreakfield(at)yahoo(dot)com
I have always loved fairy tales because the beloved characters always get their HEA. From the blurbs I have read of Lila’s A Midnight Dance, I would really love to win this book and read her entire take on Cinderella.
cathy@kc.surewest.net
I love Fairy tales because no matter what happens, in the end the hero and heroine persevere and get that HEA. Thanks for the chance .
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
I guess I’m jumping on the bandwagon that no matter how bad things get, in Fairy Tales, you’re guaranteed a HEA.
Thanks for the great review and giveaway!
GFC ~ erin
efender1(at)gmail(dot)com
Looking forward to reading this book. I love fairy tales just like the rest of the crowd.