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Almost Midnight: Three Classic Fairytales
‘Keep a careful eye to the hour,’ said the white bird. ‘Our magic will last only until midnight, and everything we’ve changed will be as it was.’
Meet Ella, a young woman who has lost everything; Hans, a boy doomed by his father’s greed to live as a monster; and Nameless, a lonely mermaid who yearns to be loved. Each seeks their happily ever after, but wishes and magic will only get them so far…
Almost Midnight takes three beloved fairy tales and retells them with new twists and turns, uniting them through the powers of love, courage, hope, and the magic of midnight.
Meet Ella, a young woman who has lost everything; Hans, a boy doomed by his father’s greed to live as a monster; and Nameless, a lonely mermaid who yearns to be loved. Each seeks their happily ever after, but wishes and magic will only get them so far…
Almost Midnight takes three beloved fairy tales and retells them with new twists and turns, uniting them through the powers of love, courage, hope, and the magic of midnight.
230 pages, Paperback
Published February 1, 2016
590 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 1, 2018
I’ll preface this by saying that I’ve always loved retellings of classic stories and fairytales, so something like this was bound to be appealing and easy to enjoy. That said, this book was enchanting. Each story treated all the characters with such empathy and humanity that is often missing from folktales and fairy tales. It was a pretty quick read but I’ll be coming back to this one again.
March 17, 2016
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and I am grateful that the author gave me a chance to read this book.
*WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!*
This book contained three modified version of classic fairytales and even though it was a short book, it was beautifully written and dragged the reader into new worlds, where magic roamed and simple and extraordinary people had their lives transformed. The illustrations in the book were cute, wonderful and very appropriate for the story.
The first story was a retelling of Cinderella and it was different from all the other types I had read before. The stepmother wasn't evil nor were the step sisters. Hell, the stepmother and step sisters didn't even know they were kin to Ella, or Cindersoot as she was nicknamed, until the very end. Ella was the forgotten daughter of the baron and became a servant through her own chance, always wishing for a better world even though she thought everything was alright. The time spent at the ball, Ella with the one named 'Boy' was cute and romantic; then that twist! So good! The ending in this book was brilliant and wonderful and I loved it so much!
The second retelling was of Beauty and the Beast, but it focused more on the beast, which was a hedgehog hybrid human named Hans, whose greedy 'father' brought down the side effect of the magic. All his life, he is loved by his 'father' and his father's sister, until he leaves for town. There, he is shunned and called a monster and sent back into the woods. When a King comes looking for his gold wood, he makes a deal with Hans to give him his daughter's hand in marriage. Dagmur is an unusual princess, in the fact that she isn't portrayed as most other fairytale princess. Plus, she can pack a punch when trying to defend the ones she loves. Punching her sister in the face - one of the best scenes XD. The ending to this story was wonderful and cheerful, especially with the illustration of them riding high in the mountains on a stallion- sized rooster.
The last retelling was of the Little Mermaid and I'll warn you, it doesn't have the happy ending you might think. There's this mermaid, who is the only one of her kind, born in the sea. She makes friends with the sea creatures but is still lonely. That is, until she sees humans, especially a handsome one that catches her heart. She makes a deal and sets out to make him love her. But, by the end, events don't go her way and the Prince doesn't see her that way. When the time comes, she can't bear to leave the land or even the sea for that matter and is given another attempt to stay human. But she couldn't do 'the deed' (I won't spoil anymore, I promise); couldn't force that heartache onto her love, so she accepts her judgement. In the end, she is still there, but not (I'm trying not to give away the ending of this one), so it's a different happy ending to the last couple.
All in all, I loved these stories and thought they were absolutely beautiful. I tore through this book so quickly and it tugged at my heartstrings.
*WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!*
This book contained three modified version of classic fairytales and even though it was a short book, it was beautifully written and dragged the reader into new worlds, where magic roamed and simple and extraordinary people had their lives transformed. The illustrations in the book were cute, wonderful and very appropriate for the story.
The first story was a retelling of Cinderella and it was different from all the other types I had read before. The stepmother wasn't evil nor were the step sisters. Hell, the stepmother and step sisters didn't even know they were kin to Ella, or Cindersoot as she was nicknamed, until the very end. Ella was the forgotten daughter of the baron and became a servant through her own chance, always wishing for a better world even though she thought everything was alright. The time spent at the ball, Ella with the one named 'Boy' was cute and romantic; then that twist! So good! The ending in this book was brilliant and wonderful and I loved it so much!
The second retelling was of Beauty and the Beast, but it focused more on the beast, which was a hedgehog hybrid human named Hans, whose greedy 'father' brought down the side effect of the magic. All his life, he is loved by his 'father' and his father's sister, until he leaves for town. There, he is shunned and called a monster and sent back into the woods. When a King comes looking for his gold wood, he makes a deal with Hans to give him his daughter's hand in marriage. Dagmur is an unusual princess, in the fact that she isn't portrayed as most other fairytale princess. Plus, she can pack a punch when trying to defend the ones she loves. Punching her sister in the face - one of the best scenes XD. The ending to this story was wonderful and cheerful, especially with the illustration of them riding high in the mountains on a stallion- sized rooster.
The last retelling was of the Little Mermaid and I'll warn you, it doesn't have the happy ending you might think. There's this mermaid, who is the only one of her kind, born in the sea. She makes friends with the sea creatures but is still lonely. That is, until she sees humans, especially a handsome one that catches her heart. She makes a deal and sets out to make him love her. But, by the end, events don't go her way and the Prince doesn't see her that way. When the time comes, she can't bear to leave the land or even the sea for that matter and is given another attempt to stay human. But she couldn't do 'the deed' (I won't spoil anymore, I promise); couldn't force that heartache onto her love, so she accepts her judgement. In the end, she is still there, but not (I'm trying not to give away the ending of this one), so it's a different happy ending to the last couple.
All in all, I loved these stories and thought they were absolutely beautiful. I tore through this book so quickly and it tugged at my heartstrings.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews