Book Review – At The Stroke of Midnight by Tara Sivec

At The Stroke of Midnight (Naughty Princess Club #1) by Tara Sivec

Romantic Comedy. First in a series. Can stand alone.

**Includes audiobook re-read, Narrated by CJ Bloom**

There is a reason why Tara Sivec has been one of my favorite authors for 6 years. Her humor just hits me in exactly the right way, and the friendships she writes are second to none. Have you seen Bad Moms? (If not, go, go right now and watch it, then come back here). At The Stroke of Midnight by Tara Sivec is like Bad Moms mixed with Disney Princesses in book form, and believe me, I am NOT complaining. Each book in the series will be another take on a princess story. The first, obviously, is Cinderella.

Cindy has a stick up her ass. Her husband left her, but she is still busy keeping up appearances on her perfect upscale suburban cul-de-sac, Fairytale Lane. She is the PTA mom that makes gluten free/vegan cupcakes that taste like shit. She wears pearls and Chanel suits like her mother-in-law trained her, and never has a hair or a picture frame out of place. But she is broke. Her ex took all the money when he ran off with the babysitter, leaving her with a sullen teenaged girl.

At a block party, Cindy strikes up a very unlikely friendship with Ariel, the totally inappropriate slutty-ish one (she was THE BEST!), and Belle, the nerdy librarian that lives with her dad. They all need money, and they need it fast.

“We are not going to be strippers, have you lost your mind? I’m a housewife and the president of the PTA. You owned an antique store, and Isabelle is a librarian. We are not strippers.”

Once they realize their home-party princess stripping gimmick could make them loads of cash fast, they start to get serious, and they want to learn at the local strip club, owned by the gorgeous PJ Charming.

“I don’t want anything to hit PJ. I don’t even like him,” I lie, picturing his gorgeous face and how nicely he can wear a pair of jeans.
“You don’t have to like him to get yourself some good dicking. You need a good dicking, Cindy. Brian was mediocre at best. You need mind-blowing, toe-curling, forget-your-own-name dicking. And while you’re busy getting fucked into next week, you can also use him for his business knowledge, so it’s a win-win.”

PJ was a total jerk to Cin at first, you know, the equivalent to the 2nd grade boy pulling a girl’s braids if he likes her. But he soon turned into Prince Charming and I loved him! And I loved Cin’s inner dialogue as she started loosening up.

I don’t know how to act, and for the love of God, where does one put her hands when she’s sitting on a guy’s lap in a postorgasmic haze? Do I clasp them behind my head, do I hold them up for a high five and an “’Atta boy!”? Are jazz hands appropriate? What about spirit fingers?

At The Stroke of Midnight was a great blend of chick-lit and romance. The friendship between the three woman was just as good as the romance.

“If you can tuck your tits into the waistband and it looks like you’re wearing a diaper, they’re mom jeans. Never wear those again,” Ariel informs me. “Do you not want to get naked because you have a hairy troll pussy? It’s fine, we can fix that with a quick trip to the salon and some hot wax.”

Likes:

Tara’s signature humor.
I smiled and laughed the whole way through.
Tara writes friendship better than anyone else.
I love the creativity of the three princesses!
It’s not all funny, there was real emotion.
Dealing with Cin’s teenage daughter was hysterical.

“Would it be appropriate to just buy ten cases of chocolate, open up her bedroom door, throw them at her, and then run away screaming?”

A little cameo from other books.
Awesome side characters.
It was empowering to women.

Dislikes:

Some parts it felt like she may have tried too hard to inject the Tara-style humor into the story, making it feel a teeny bit contrived, but this may be because I know her.

**NARRATION (I did a re-read via audible)

WOW! This was one of my favorite narrations for a book! CJ Bloom did all three women so distinctively, it was a blast to listen to. I think, if possible, the audio made it even better.

The Down & Dirty:

After living in Parkland since the tragedy here, there is nothing like like reading a Tara Sivec book to make me smile, laugh, and temporarily forget the horrors outside. The three women reminded me a lot of the three moms in Bad Moms, and I loved that movie, so this was a totally fun book to read. I love the creativity of the modern take on three princess stories, it’s so cute and creative! At the Stroke of Midnight by Tara Sivec was the perfect blend of humor, friendship, romance, emotion and sexiness and I can’t freaking wait to read In Bed with The Beast and Kiss the Girl. Once again Tara reinforced her spot at the top of my favorite authors list.