I might be done with this genre of book. I wanted some brain candy and decided to pick one up after several months off the whole corset and rake thing. LOVE this author but this one did NOT do it for me, seemed a lot more predictable than her other Duchess stuff. Also, another reason why I'm over this genre is...AGE 24 IS NOT OVER THE HILL AND OLD! OMG IF THAT'S OLD AND SHE'S "LOST THE SPARK OF YOUTH" THEN I"M AN OLD HAG! I DO NOT WANT TO FEEL LIKE AN OLD HAG WHEN I READ TRASHY ESCAPIST LITERATURE. /rantI know the reality is that chicks in this Regency period got married at 16 or whatever, but it is modern times now, and I'm tired of authors making the period "real" by making anyone over 18 "Old." So I guess that realism in the genre is gonna rule me out of purchases for a long time.That said, there were some ok parts in this book, I just didn't feel the wit of the "regular" Eloisa James in this as much. Will pick up her next when I forget my rant in a few months.

I ended up finishing it but it dragged a lot in the middle!Not sure why I couldn't really engage with the main characters.

Kate: "I'm old and ugly and poor and too skinny. Oh woe is me."Repeats ad nauseum until practically the last page.Gabriel: "I'm a prince but I'm also a man. I'm a man but I'm also a prince. I have responsibilities. Oh woe is me." Repeats ad nauseum until practically the last page.Both: "This is like a fairy tale, but life is not a fairy tale. You're like a prince/princess in a fairy tale, but life is not a fairy tale. If only this were a fairy tale ..."Author's note: "This is very much a fairy tale."Throw in characters I didn't care about, a ridiculously conjured ruse of Kate pretending to be her step-sister for the entire book, "Oh, put a wig on Kate and wax breasts in her dress and none will be the wiser!" and insufferably long dialogue with nothing. ever. happening. and you have a really boring, trope-filled, unimaginative retelling of Cinderella.

After hearing raves about this series (specifically When Beauty Tamed the Beast), I decided that I should finally read Ms. James' book. I knew going in, it was a take on Cinderella, and I was quite prepared for it. What I was not prepared for was Ms. James' writing. More on that, later.Kate, our Cinderella, has a dead (philandering when he was alive) father, a vain and slightly evil stepmother, and a newly acknowledged beautiful, but kind half-sister. Through some convoluted situation where said half-sister gets bitten by her dog before meeting a prince who has to approve her engagement with her beau, Kate is 'encouraged' to dress up and play her half-sister to save the girl's impending marriage (half-sister is preggers). And so, Kate accompanies the simple minded, Algie (the beau) to the foreign prince's castle. Gabriel appears to be every bit of an arrogant, self-centered prince, who is engaged to marry Princess Tatiana. He develops a fascination toward Kate, first seducing her, then befriending her, and finally loving her. And we discover that the Prince is a much more honorable man than we assumed. To protect his dependents, he chooses to marry money instead of following his heart. Still, he cannot resist the passion between him and Kate, even as he knows that following it would hurt them both.We get a great ensemble of secondary characters, the half-sister, Victoria; her beau, Algie (he became quite adorable); the Prince's all-seeing half-brother, Wick; the elegantly dressed, Toloose; Kate's Godmother, Henry; her husband, Leo (I thought they were a great pair); the dramatic Lady Effie; the three ridiculous yet lovable Maltese, Caesar, Freddie and Coco; the perfect princess bride, Princess Tatiana; and of course, the Prince's elderly relatives (don't remember their names now, but they were fun). All of them were wonderfully entertaining and EJ unwittingly endears us, readers, to them.But, like someone before me said, the first 200 (or more like 150) pages were unfocused and kinda boring (though not unentertaining, does that make any sense?). No real romance or even interaction leading to love takes place. Ms. James' writes in a very entertaining way, that at first seemed almost mean and condescending (maybe that's just me, since this is my first EJ book). But after a while, I could appreciate the wit without being offended. She builds a fantasy world, rather than following the HR vein, and creates a fairy tale, embellishing with quirky, but lovable characters, sensational love scenes, and true emotion. And that's what won me over and forced me to rate this 5 stars. I adored the last third of the book. The romance between Kate and Gabriel came alive and the drama picks up. I loved how no one was a bad guy and that everyone had flaws, even our hero and heroine. Kate succumbs to her passion, despite the consequences (though she enforces the usage of a french letter) and Gabriel chooses duty while hurting his one true love. This was such a gorgeous story and I would recommend it to everyone who loves a fairy tale. Fair warning, this is not a historical romance, even if there was no magic. I just hope that everyone else would enjoy this book as much as I did.

27 November 2015: $2.99 on Kindle23 September 2015: $1.99 on Kindle2 September 2015: $3.99 on Kindle9 June 2015: $1.99 on Kindle4 March 2015: $2.99 on Kindle27 January 2015: $2.99 on Kindle6/13/2012: $0.993.5 Stars I think. A slow start kept me from getting into right away, and it took me a little bit to start to feel anything more than 'meh' for Kate. But after it started to pick up, I loved it. Gabriel is awesome. Secondary characters are fantastic. And the romance is sigh worthy. Ending? Fantastic.