A Kiss at Midnight

By: Eloisa James

Narrated by: Susan Duerden

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Miss Kate Daltry doesn't believe in fairy tales...or happily ever after.

Forced by her stepmother to attend a ball, Kate meets a prince...and decides he's anything but charming. A clash of wits and wills ensues, but they both know their irresistible attraction will lead nowhere. For Gabriel is promised to another woman—a princess whose hand in marriage will fulfill his ruthless ambitions.

Gabriel likes his fiancee, which is a welcome turn of events, but he doesn't love her. Obviously, he should be wooing his bride-to-be, not the witty, impoverished beauty who refuses to fawn over him.

Godmothers and glass slippers notwithstanding, this is one fairy tale in which destiny conspires to destroy any chance that Kate and Gabriel might have a happily ever after.

Unless a prince throws away everything that makes him noble....

Unless a dowry of an unruly heart trumps a fortune....

Unless one kiss at the stroke of midnight changes everything.

©2010 Eloisa James (P)2010 HarperCollins Publishers

Wonderful book, wonderful narrator

This is a fabulous fairy tale of a book, with delightful characters, suitably steamy encounters, humor, and wit, and Susan Duerden does a wonderful job of reading. I'm in love with her hero's voice!

Wonderful Fairytale!

What a great version of the Cinderella story. It's a new take on the story, more adult, more intense, equally romantic. I must admit that the first half of this book dragged a bit, too long with nothing significant happening. If you start getting bored, please keep listening because it will be worth it. The second half Of the book is amazing!! Oh what a heartbreaking love story! A bit of Cinderella, a bit of Romeo and Juliet, a bit of Kamasutra!!! I recommend it.

Narration: this is the first book I've listened to by Susan Duerden. She's definitely not on my favorite narrators list. Her male voices are not good. She would almost whisper to make some characters sound different and I didn't like that. Also her English accent is so strong that parts of the story where difficult to understand. Even though I didn't particularly like this narrator I would listen to other books that feature her to see if she gets better.

Loved it!

I enjoyed this book alot. Eloisa is such a good hstoric author. The narrator was ok. But I am a big fan of Rosalyn Landor. I believe the book would have been ever a better listen with her voice

Charming

The word to best describe this audiobook is charming. It is not a deep story of historic romance, but it is not a shallow retelling of fairtytale. It is a really entertaining story that has to be treated like a fairytale. The romance is extremely descriptive and captivating. If not taken too seriously, this story is an absolute delight and the voice work is superb, though Gabriel does always sound like he was about to die of throat cancer at any moment. I would recommend this book to anyone who needed a nice cheerful light novel.

Fluffy

Predicitable....well most are in this genre this one had no real surprises. Narration was good.

What great story!

I absolutely loved this story and the narration was perfection!!!! I'm a sucker for Cinderella stories and this one was no different, heck I even cried a few times because even though I knew they would end up together, I kept thinking, 'what if they don't?' and it just broke my heart!

An Enchanting Retelling of the Cinderella Story

This is my second experience with Eloisa James, and I'll officially say I'm a fan. Her writing style is enjoyable, her characters are easily likable but adequately complex, and her story is more than sufficient to keep you entertained and interested.

I've read/listened to several retellings of Cinderella before, and, most of the time, they're not good. This is a rare time when elements of the overall story and characters are maintained, but enough of the right changes are made to make it its own story in its own right. I also really appreciated how James paid homage to Cinderella but did her retelling without any magical elements or components.

What I liked best about this romance were the characters and the storytelling. The main characters' strengths made them likable, and their weaknesses made them relatable. The minor characters supplemented the story nicely and added to the characterization of the protagonists. The story itself moved at a pace that worked well because it left the right amount of tension and uncertainty to keep you interested, but you also got what you needed when you needed it.

Susan Duerden did a fine job. She can be a bit monotone for me at times, but overall, she was a good narrator.

Definitely worth a credit for fans of romance (especially Regency romances), people who like Eloisa James, and anyone looking for an enchanting retelling of Cinderella.

Enjoyable Cinderella story

I rarely read historical romances anymore, but I did this one. The characters were very likeable and, as a reader/listener, I felt for the plight of Kate who had to fight for all people of her estate, at the expense of her own happiness.

I liked that the evil stepsister was not evil at all and the stepmother deserves a big wart on the end of her nose. I liked that Kate was not one of those shy wallflowers who only comes alive when she meets the prince.

The narrator was even better than the story. Very enjoyable.

Simply fantastic

This may be my very favorite romance EVER. I love the cinderella take on the story and Kate, well....Kate is first rate and I adore her character. I would highly recommend this story to anyone who likes this genre. I also love English accents so the narration was perfect.

Love in any state of being..

My most memorable moment is when Kate takes her sister into the secret garden and explains that love isn't just for the legitimate. How sweet.