Tara Sivec

Meet the Naughty Princess Club: a brand new series from USA Today bestselling author Tara Sivec that introduces readers to Fairytale Lane and the hilarity—and romance—that ensue when three women start a new business to make it rain. Once upon a time Cynthia was the perfect housewife. Between being the President of the PTA and keeping her home spotless without a hair (or her pearls) out of place, her life was a dream come true. Her husband was once her knight in shining armor, but now he’s run off with all their money...and the babysitter. Dressed as a princess at the annual Halloween block party on Fairytale Lane, she meets two other “princesses” also facing money troubles: antique store owner Ariel and librarian Isabelle. When the women are invited to wear their costumes to a party where they’re mistaken for strippers, Cindy, Ariel, and Belle realize that a career change could be the best way to make their money problems go bippity-boppity-boo. But can structured Cindy approach a stripper pole without sanitizing wipes? And could the blue-eyed anti-prince that has been crossing her path become Cindy’s happily ever after? At the Stroke of Midnight is a hilarious, empowering story where princesses can save themselves while slaying in stilettos.

At the Stroke of Midnight

Lover of Romance 

At The Stroke of Midnight is the first book in the "Naughty Princess Club" and also my FIRST Tara Sivec romance. Now I have had this author on my list for the longest time, for quite a few years but have never gotten around to her stories until now. I have been wanting to explore more romantic comedies that don't have the illustrated covers (quite frankly illustrated covers its not always a rom com, but with this type of cover you know it is one) and I was so happy to see that I was correct in that this one is a rom com and what super sexy one at that. But I quite had a blast with this one for sure, loved the fairy tale spin on it, adored the element of exotic dancing being implemented and the unique friendship these three women build with each other. It was a delightful novel that only has me eager to read the rest of the trilogy and man these covers (their hair.....I want their hair haha) 



 At The Stroke of Midnight is a delightful mix of humor, angst and sexual tension that features:  



 
   P.J. -Defender of single mothers, honorable, protective, sexy  
 



 
   Cynthia -single mother, divorcee, prim and proper, was a typical trophy wife 
 




  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.




At The Stroke of Midnight starts off with our heroine, Cynthia, who imagined that her life was close to perfect. She appreciated her husband and thought they had a decent marriage. But when she comes home and sees her divorce papers and all of their savings wiped clean and that her husband abandoned his family for their babysitter and left for Mexico, she has been determined to start a new but finding her new path isn't going to be as easy as she thought that it would be. Cynthia has been a bit stuck up but now that she has been humbled and she meets her two new best friends that show her the way to freedom and to shining into her new best self, she realizes how unsatisfied she was with life. But with her two new friends Belle and Ariel, they are all three determined to pave a new life for themselves and its going to start with learning how to be strippers and start a new business in this way. But she starts to clash heads with PJ who is highly protective of the women working under him and doesn't trust Cynthia with her motives. But as they slowly start to trust each other, they begin to embrace the powerful chemistry building between them. But Cynthia and PJ will be tested in their new affaire and will past issues interfere in their new found love or will Cynthia and PJ be able to embrace what they have found together....




  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.




At The Stroke of Midnight was such a charming read, and I had so much fun with this one here. I will admit that I wasn't a big fan of the friendship trio here, I loved Belle though, but Ariel really came off super strong in this book and it did affect my enjoyment of the book a bit. Now the heroine, Cynthia, can be off putting especially in the beginning and she does portray a personality of being stuck up at times so you definitely have to be patient for a few chapters and she mellows out quickly into the story. so I do wish that I could have related better with the heroine, however, eventually I did begin to really like her. It is quite a journey in seeing her grow into her self and find her passion and what she wants to do in her life. I did find her relationship with her daughter to be interesting haha I wasn't sure what to think of their dynamic. Now the actual romance that builds between the hero and heroine was actually so much FUN. I had a blast with their dynamic. Now normally I am not always a fan of this type of angst, but the writing style in which Tara Sivec implements really made the book shine. And their chemistry is OFF THE CHARTS. This is not light in the heat and I was kinda surprised by that. In most rom com's I have read, they don't always have such heavy heat, but I found it really complimented the story in such a sexy way. There is such a great female friendship that grows in this book, and their dynamics are so unique. Each of them are quite unique and they each bring a certain flavor to the group. 




  I never expected this. I never expected you.




Overall I found "At The Stroke of Midnight" to be a fun, flirty, laugh your socks off rom com that will endeavor to lighten your load with humor and lively antics and where laughter will abound throughout your reading of it.

Linda Quintanilla

Everyone need to read At The Stroke of Midnight by Tara Sivec because it is hilarious romance read that you will not put down once you started. 
At The Stroke of Midnight starts unexpectedly. Cynthia find herself in debt since her no-good husband left unexpectedly with all their money and the babysitter. That was the most dirty thing to do to anyone especially to your own wife and children, which he did. Cynthia is in full denial when her no-good husband left. She keeps putting a brave face but things don't go too well when everything starts to fall apart. She has no idea what to do but she gets to bond with two unique yet sassy women, Ariel and Isabelle. 
They both bond together about their struggles in life that they unexpectedly form a business together. It may be unconventional but it seems the best idea ever: stripper business. But they. have no idea how to be stripper or to be in business. It is absolutely hilarious to read where they are trying to figure out. They are too much but they are in it together. I love it about them.
They are going to struggle how to go about it but they get an unwilling help from stripper club owner, PJ Charming. PJ Charming has so much in him that he is perfect for Cynthia. He is willing help her no matter what. That's completely support since most men will not let their women strip. But it is a new age and PJ Charming is completely support of her dreams. Love it.
Cynthia will discover a lot about her self than before. It is a wonderful thing. She gets to know her true self. And PJ Charming along the way is a plus too. 
At The Stroke of Midnight will bring a tale that will make you laugh nonstop. Four Stars.

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.


Y'all, I have a new favorite rom com book and author. Can anyone tell me why in the world I waited this long to pick up a Tara Sivec book? Please? I could kick myself for waiting, but it's also kind of nice to know I have her very large backlist to discover now. There are worse things.

Sweet baby Jesus, At the Stroke of Midnight was hilarious. It's not all that often that I find myself literally laughing out loud while reading, let alone laughing to the point of tears. Cindy, Ariel, Isabelle and the gang did that to me multiple times. I howled with laughter through a good portion of the book. Especially at Ariel because she was such a trip. But Cindy, Isabelle and the other characters had their moments, too. What a premise for this one! I'm always a sucker for a good, unique retelling and this is the best (and most unique) one I've read in a long time. Buttoned-up, prim and proper (at least on the outside) housewife Cindy and her friends Ariel (fiery, mouthy, witty redhead antiques dealer) and Isabelle (shy, sheltered librarian who still lives at home with her father) decide to start a Princess-themed exotic dancer service after a super awkward situation one evening. Hilarity ensues, as you might imagine. How amazing does that sound? 

I breezed through this book in the matter of a few hours one evening. I literally couldn't put it down once I started reading it. The characters and their banter and the overall story drew me in from the very first pages. I adored Cindy and wanted to see what happened when she finally let loose and took control of her own life. I might've side-eyed Ariel in the beginning, but she quickly became one of my favorite characters with her sassy one-liners. Isabelle intrigued me and I'm looking forward to reading her story very soon. But Cindy and her transformation was really the star of the show. She came a long way during this book. And she did it in a way that made me laugh and gave me feels. 

I won't say any more because I don't want to ruin the story for you. If the premise of this one isn't enough to make you want to drop everything to read it, I'm not sure what else to tell you. It's funny and just a bit over the top at times, but I loved that. It also had a great swoony romance and a few feels. I just snagged this one on audio because I know I'll want to reread (because I already do and I just finished it a couple days ago) and I think it'll be hilarious on audio. At the Stroke of Midnight is one of my faves of the year so far and I suspect it'll be on the list when the end of the year rolls around, too. 

FAVORITE QUOTES

"For fuck's sake, you can say the word bang. God will not kill a kitten if you say the word bang. And you're totally going to bang that man like a screen door in a hurricane."

"Things don't always need to be so neat and tidy. Life is messy. You're never going to survive this if you don't get your hands dirty."

"I spent thirteen years letting a man tell me what I could and couldn't do. I'm not about to let it happen again."

"Hashtag, never forget. Hashtag, ride his pony. Hashtag, you're a dirty slut." 

"Oh, sweet Jesus. I think we broke Princess Barbie."

"I'm tired of fucking beige! I'm tired of fucking blending in with the goddamn background! I'm tired of no one fucking listening to me and thinking they know me! I'm tired of not having any fucking balls to stand up for myself! I JUST WANT SOMEONE TO FINALLY FUCKING SEE ME AND HEAR ME AND REALIZE–"

Bibi Disco

Emma

Suuuper cute and fluffy. Loved both Cindy and PJ. Did NOT care for Ariel's tragic backstory including vilifying a queer man- a lazy and tired stereotype.

At the Stroke of Midnight

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