When you read a RomCom by Tara Sivec, you are guaranteed to be in for a wild ride. She's the queen of raunchy, and so so good at character development. I had so much fun reading The Stroke of Midnight and am looking forward to the rest of the series. Tara Sivec never disappoints!

When you are offered an ARC by Tara Sivec, you take it, no questions asked strictly because, it’s Tara Freaking Sivec. Now, on to my thoughts about “At the Stroke of Midnight.” Go get this book…as soon as it becomes available you are to one click the little gem and start reading, pronto.

I could not put this book down. It had me laughing, swooning, and cheering. Talk about a fairy tale, Tara Sivec gave us a modern day adult version of one and I. LOVED. IT!

Each chapter is creatively named and I couldn't help but laugh with the hilarious shenanigans behind the Naughty Princess Club. Cynthia, Ariel and Belle were three woman who couldn't be anymore different and yet their current situation brought them to become the best of friends. I for one am excited to read Ariel's and Belle's stories next.

Ever since I read Seduction and Snacks in 2012, I’ve been a huge fan of Tara Sivec’s raunchy humor and her ability to create an eclectic group of women who have each other’s back but also aren’t afraid to be real and honest when it comes to life, love, and most definitely sex.

Sivec’s latest release, At the Stroke of Midnight, is the first book in her Naughty Princess Club series, and it is a fantastic romantic comedy - one that shatters the facade of perfection and gets real when it comes to reforming a woman who gave everything she had to a man who didn’t appreciate her and now she’s left trying to figure out who she is, how she defeats her fears, how to step outside her comfort zone, and how to feel freer than she’s ever felt simply because she knows she’s a strong and independent woman who doesn’t need a prince or a fairy tale life…just a man who gives her the attention she deserves and stands by her regardless what life throws at them.

I love modern retellings of fairy tales, especially when Tara Sivec puts her own brand of highly sexual and deviant escapades! Sivec’s first princess is none other than Cynthia Ella - a woman who has spent most of her adult life creating the perfect home and perfect marriage, but if anyone bothered to look closely, they would see a woman who’s been deprived of a real marriage and a real life since her husband took away her self respect and her self worth, forcing her to keep up appearances when the only thing she wanted and needed was a partner to stand by her side and support her desire to figure out who she truly is and who she wants to be.

Who knew that all it would take for Cindy to free herself from a loveless relationship is a foul-mouthed woman who isn’t afraid to say what she thinks and an overly shy librarian who teach one another just how essential it is for women to stick together and not give any fucks to those men who only want to tear them down and keep them under their thumb for the rest of their lives.

Cindy, Ariel, and Belle may be as different as they come, but as a team, they lean on each other and offer one another an outlet for their anger, their pain, and their uncertainty. They force one another to step outside their comfort zones and go after what they want regardless of how scary that action may be.

Who would have thought that Cindy’s Prince Charming would be an owner of a strip club…not her, but PJ’s the guy who steps up for Cindy, even though they didn't quite see eye to eye when they first met. Watching them circle around each other and then start gravitating toward one another when Cindy works up the courage to prove just how non-prudish she is was both comical and heartwarming, and the fact that PJ truly sees who Cindy is and what she deserves makes him her perfectly imperfect prince.

While Cindy putting herself out there in order to have a second chance at love is a pivotal component of At the Stroke of Midnight, to me, her story is more about finding the woman inside who has laid dormant for far too long and also finding female friends who make her confront her issues and take risks that she might be too afraid to do without a few pushes from her two bffs.

At the Stroke of Midnight is a hilarious, sexy, and empowering story that illustrates the possibility of the princesses saving themselves while still finding their very own prince charming and a group of friends who are essential to them for encouragement and strength. I truly enjoyed Cindy and PJ’s story, but I do have to admit…Ariel stole the show for me and I’m incredibly intrigued by a certain librarian who has a statistic or fact about EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of life and regardless if she uses it as a coping mechanism, I can’t wait to see who becomes Belle’s beast;)

4.5 Poison Apples (The Fairest of All Book Reviews)

At the Stroke of Midnight is book one in the Naughty Princess Club series by Tara Sivec. I knew going in to this book that it was going to be hilarious. What I didn’t plan on was falling in love. About half way through, it really hit me, that I loved these characters.

Cynthia had a rough childhood, being raised by an awful stepmother. After getting out on her own, she met who she thought was her knight in shining armor, Brian, whom she married. But thirteen years later, she knows he’s not her knight at all. He has taken off with their baby sitter, left the country, with every penny they had saved as well as stealing money from his parents business. Cynthia has spent her entire marriage trying to be the perfect wife and mother to their thirteen year old daughter. Not a spec of dust, not a hair out of place, perfect clothes, and always pearls. Now she is selling the furniture and her jewelry just to keep food on the table.

Cynthia meets two other women who aren’t in much better shape, Ariel and Belle. The three of them are desperate for a way to make a living and come up with a hilarious way to both earn money and to regain their confidence as well, they are going to start a strippers for hire business.

Here is where PJ Charming comes into the picture. He is the real knight in shining armor here. PJ owns a strip club which only employs single mothers. PJ is everything her now ex husband was not, supportive, encouraging, sexy, sweet to both she and her daughter, and he makes her laugh. This man is hot enough to melt all the snow at the North Pole. And most important of all, he is honorable. I even fell in love with his mother. She was adorable.

“Everyone in my life before him stood idly by and let me fall, but with PJ, something just tells me he’ll always be there to catch me if I need him.”

As the three women try to get their business started, Cindy and PJ start a slow building relationship. Again, PJ just made me swoon the way he took things slow to make sure Cindy felt important and cherished. But when they finally unleashed all that pent up sexual frustration, holy moly, it was hot!

Reading back over this, it doesn’t sound like a funny book at all but it is hilarious. These women and their crazy shenanigans were so funny. They are also three women who have all been hurt, who are all trying to regain control of their lives, who are all trying to prove to themselves and to the world that they are strong, independent women and that they are confident and successful. They all three stole my heart. But this book centers on Cindy and PJ and they were amazing.

This book is funny and sweet and sexy and just fantastic. I couldn’t put it down. The next book is going to be, In Bed with the Beast. I suspect that it will be about Belle. I can’t wait.

This was a fun and raunchy take on the fairy tale princess of old. Meet Cindy aka Cynthia, Arielle and Belle three modern princesses whose happy ever after was not the ones the books were all mentioning about. Now they've found themselves, broke and need of funds to make their own happy endings. When Cynthia was left by her husband for their much younger babysitter, she found herself taking care of a teenage daughter, broke and a house that feels more like a prison than her fairy tale castle. New neighbor Ariele decides to burst her apathetic bubble and with a very young Belle in tow decides to make prudish Cindy into hot sexy stripper Cin. Not to mention, a potential breaker of celibacy in the form of hot as sin PJ, owner of the strip club Charming! At the Stroke of Midnight is full of raunchy fun, empowering moments and Naughty Princesses willing to bare all to make her own happy ending a reality.

WOW. Tara Sivec can have you bawling your eyes out with her emotional stories and then laughing until your stomach hurts and tears leak from your eyes with her romantic comedies. This book is definitely the latter but aside from being a hilarious and light read, it is also unbelievably empowering and relevant. Tara never ceases to amaze me with her writing superpowers. She is so versatile, I love her!

At the Stroke of Midnight is not just another retelling of Cinderella. It is modern, original, full of vulgar language and over-the-top characters. There’s a damsel in distress but it is not the prince who saves the damsel. In this book the damsel, Cynthia, saves herself with the help of her two new and equally fierce and independent friends, Ariel and Isabelle. After Cindy’s husband runs away with their former babysitter and millions stolen from his own family’s business, she loses it. She has a teenage daughter to take care of, bills to pay, a stick up her arse, former in-laws who somehow expect her to have the millions her cheating ex-husband stole and as a cherry on top, she’s having an existential crisis. Luckily her noisy, crude, spitfire-of-a-neighbor Ariel and the quiet and super smart Isabelle are there to help her through it all, to help her remove that stick from her behind and even get her a sex life in the process.

I’ve never read a retelling like this one. It is something I never even imagined could exist but at the same my mind is like “why has this never been done before?!”. It is a real life fairytale. It has no filters and it is a little crazy and over the top at times but that’s life. It is more a story about women empowerment than it is romance I would say but there’s still plenty of romance within the pages. And the hero is definitely dreamy and swoon-worthy!!

If you love reading light and funny books about a character’s journey to self-discovery then pick up this book. It will make you feel like you can conquer the world no matter what the universe throws your way. I guarantee you’ll laugh like you’ve never laughed before and blush from the top of your head to your toe nails.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars of naughty princess magic!

This heralds the beginning of a great new series from Ms Sivec. This is an inspired take on a well-known fairy tale, with plenty of twists which ensure that it is not easy to predict the plot.

The three women who form the Naughty Princess Club are a wonderful mix and provide the classic humour for which Ms Sivec is so renowned. Alcohol may have been involved in the loosening up of the uptight Cynthia, aided and abetted by Ariel's prompting and Isabelle's wonderful factoids. So many fun moments that even on a bad day you will feel your face stretch into a smile.

PJ is the perfect leading man, and whilst the owner of a strip club is hardly the usual Prince Charming, you'd be hard pressed to find a better guy. He even behaves perfectly with Anastasia, Cynthia's daughter.

Really, I don't want to say more as you need to get the full blast of passion, comedy, and the perfect ending! I am looking forward to future installments very much indeed.


Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
I really enjoyed this story about three very different women who become friends under the most unusual of circumstances. The classical perfect wife, the brainiac, and the sarcastic "other" woman meet and re-learn that appearances can be deceiving.

Cynthia is trying to maintain outward appearances since her ex-husband ran off with their babysitter. Once you leave the trailer park behind, Cynthia knows that going back there will be the ultimate rock bottom and wants to protect her daughter in any way she can. When Ariel shows up on her doorstep, she knows she's one step closer to rock bottom. What she doesn't expect is the offer of friendship that Ariel extends, along with introducing her to Isabelle, the local librarian.

Each of the women have their own issues, but together they put together a plan to work their way out of the holes that men have dug for them, to find their own happily ever afters.


Shelby – ☆☆☆☆☆
Tara Sivec's writing is ALWAYS entertaining! At the Stroke of Midnight was touching, funny, sweet, spicy, and overall, a great read.

Cynthia finds her world imploding with the help of neighborhood harlot, Ariel, and innocent librarian, Belle. Together the ladies find themselves coming up with a plan to improve their circumstances, and the Naughty Princess Club is created.

I am not going to go into details, I will say this was a story about a woman finding herself – defining herself. This is a story of women coming together and besting life. It's the story of women learning themselves, finding their strengths, and taking life by the horns (or frickle, if you will)!

Zany circumstance, funny one-liners, and fantastic characters – I loved everything about this story. I zoomed through the entire book without any breaks because I was that engrossed. There weren't any slow or boring moments, and by the end I wanted more!

This isn't a story of a woman depending on a man, but just the opposite – the woman defines herself and finds a man that complements HER.

I loved this and I cannot wait to read Belle's story!!


Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
At the Stroke of Midnight is the first book in Tara Sivec’s new series the Naughty Princess Club. This is Cynthia’s story. In her early 30s, her husband has run off with the barely legal babysitter and left her with no money or a way to care for their 13-year-old daughter.

When we first meet Cynthia (Cindy), she is pretty much a Stepford wife and it took me a bit of time to warm up to her. I wanted to shake her and tell her to wake up and get with it. Lucky for Cindy, Ariel comes along, takes Cindy under her wing, and tells her repeatedly to take the stick out of her you know where.

Ariel is outgoing, opinionated, and crass. She brings with her young, naive librarian Belle. You add in Cindy, who is prim and proper, and these 3 different ladies join to form the Naughty Princess Club in an effort to make money to support themselves.

I had great fun watching Cindy learn who she is, and how to stand up for herself while she learned how to be a stripper. Strip club owner PJ is her love interest and early on I wasn’t sure about him, so I wanted to see the story from his point of view too. But as the story progressed I realised the story wasn’t about PJ, he really is just the romantic interest – Cindy is the star.

At the Stroke of Midnight is full of fun, plenty of laughs, friendship, a steamy romance, and a kick-butt woman finding her way to a happy life. I loved it.

Imagine living in the perfect neighborhood, being the head of the PTA, being perfect everyday in your completely white home..all the while hiding the fact that your husband left you for the babysitter.


That has been Cynthia's life. Until her new trashy neighbor Ariel informs her that her husband gave her herpes.
This begins a beautiful friendship. Add in Isabelle a nerdy librarian and you have a female friendship book of my dreams. At the neighborhood Halloween party the three women dress as Disney Princesses and get an offer that they don't completely understand.


Which leads them to come up with a business plan featuring themselves as stripping Princesses. (The Naughty Princess Club)
So the Prude, the Librarian and the Mouth have to figure out just how to turn themselves into stripping goddesses. So the new hot guy so happens to own a classy strip club...

I flipping loved every single second of this book. Cindy is a fun heroine once she gets a few glasses of the alcohol and the stick is removed from her ass.
"That's not beige, it's golden wheat. I wore that suit to a charity even for the Animal Protection League last year. It was anything but boring. I had two glasses of champagne and almost adopted a litter of four-week-old puppies."

Cindy you need some help.


I CAN NOT wait for Ariel's book. She is that best friend that gives the best advise to Cindy when she wants her to get the stick out of her ass.
Let the skank out, Cindy. Let her out and let her fuck shit up.

"Who wants a man that can go for hours? I've got shit to watch on my DVR, and I need my beauty sleep. Get in and get out.



Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review

Super funny story - the humor was a bit over the top at times but still absolutely hilarious. This is a really unique take on a Cinderella story and I loved it. Unlike other fairtytales, in this one the princess didn't wait for a prince to rescue her, she rescued herself. I loved that Cindy took control of her own life and did what she had to do for herself and her daughter. She was a kick-ass heroine and this book had a fantastic women's empowerment vibe. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for more in the Naughty Princess Club series!!!

Omg this book was soooooo great!!! I loved the story!! Its the first book in the series its about three oddly different woman but they pull together for a hilarious journey!! I will definitely be reading this series!! The story was amazing!! Definitely don't miss out on thus one!! Thank you netgalley for sharing this book with me for an honest review! I'm always 100% honest!! It was freaking awesome!! Thank you Tara Sivic for another amazing read!! Can't wait for the others in this series!! Oooh I have one small complaint! I really wanted to hear his side of the story!! It drove me crazy! But I did still love it but it would have been my top read this year if it was duel POV!!

I am completely and totally in love with everything about this book! Who says fairy tales are just for kids?!?

You are going to fall in love with Cynthia! Okay, maybe not at first, but hang in there. Give her a few chapters with her new friends and she will have you eating out of the palm of her hand. She’s polite and demure - except when she’s not - and you’ll be laughing out loud at the shenanigans her and her friends get themselves into.

PJ….Oh my! Can I just say how absolutely yummy our hero of the story was?!? Broody and kind of a jerk, sweet with sex appeal off the charts, and a whole lot of dirty thrown in for good measure, PJ is one of a kind. He's a good guy with a bad boy image and is everything Cynthia needs in her life.

This story was laugh-out-loud funny. Once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down. It will draw you in and keep you enthralled and before you know it you've binge-read the entire thing in one day and are begging for the next books in this series.

This book is being five stars! It's definitely a one-click worthy book!

At the Stroke of Midnight is the first book in the series Naughty princesses Club. And it's a book where I could see the lighter side and fun of the author Tara Sivec and I loved it and hope to see more this side of it in other books of the series.

Here we have a light and entertaining story. This book is a book about female empowerment and I liked this dynamic here, of course we have a cute romance to let us sigh, but I would say that this is not the main focus here.The focus here is seeing our heroine giving back and starting over with the help of her friends.

If I recommend the book? After all, it's a book cute, fun and very well written. And I can't wait for her friends win their own stories, I'm sure the fun is guaranteed.

Loved this book. It had such a fun and hilariuos spin on Fairy Tales. It's adult prince and princesses for those who don't believe anymore.

WARNING CHOKING HAZARD: Do Not Eat or Drink While Reading This Book!

Sivec is at it again with the embarrassing snort laugh funny writing. Yes, in public. I had a burning need to get to get started on the book, but mom duty called and I popped in my earbuds while zipping around the grocery store with my list. I got more than a few odd looks as I laughed like a hyena at most of Ariels no-filter banter with Cin. Want an example?

"You do not need your Clorox wipes. That pole is clean. Ish. You know what? Don't think about all the vaginas that have spun on it before you tonight."

There is more to that quote but the Zon would have kittens if I posted it. Okay, to be honest the Zon wouldn't print my review if I put any of the best quotes in here, you just have to take my word for it and read this book. You'll be so happy you did.

You read the blurb and probably all the reviews before mine, so you'll get no synopsis from me. I will tell you that Cin is buried in a pile taller than she is by a scumbag husband and she not so magically transforms herself from a Stepford wife to an awesome take no shiitake woman who has a great relationship with her kid, her bff's and her prince.

The bff's are beyond amazing! Isabelle and Ariel are in similar financial straits when the trio band together by a huge misunderstanding that turns out to be less than perfect but fiscally beneficial. Lol. Enter PJ the one guy to help them on their journey to building their expertise and business. PJ is an true Prince, but on the down low. The guy can keep a secret like nobodies business. Ha! He and Cin have an instant magical connection that she is completely not interested in pursuing, or...

The secondary characters are every bit as hysterical as the mains. I have a bit of a lady boner for PJ's mom. She's too much! Cin's daughter Anastasia is a smart kid with a smart mouth. I loved her. Omg! Just read it, it's freaking hysterical!

I'm impatiently waiting for Belle's book, In Bed with the Beast. So let's get that released real quick, you hear me Sivec?

@SMPRomance

Hilarious take on our favorite princesses. Fun,light-hearted read. Definitely check out if you are in need of a few laughs.

My 4 star review is posted on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2272092548?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

It will be posted on blog and social media on release on review tour and links will be updated at that time. UPDATED 2/17/18!

4 stars
This is a funny, naughty, new twist on Disney Princesses and Princes. Cynthia has worked hard to rise from her trailer park roots to become a perfectly put together wife, mother, and PTA President. She had the perfect life, family, marriage, and financial situation...until it all fell apart. And now she is scrambling to keep up the facade and pay the bills.

Her unfiltered, outrageous, sexpot neighbor Ariel is not someone she would normally associate with. But they soon find themselves thrown together. And rounding out this new trio is the sweet, quiet, fact spouting, intelligent librarian, Isabelle. When they all show up at the neighborhood Halloween party as Princesses, they get an unexpected job opportunity. And even though it was not quite what they expected, it does spark an unlikely idea as a way for these three to earn money they all so desperately need.

Of course there are Princes or maybe Anti-Princes: PJ Charming is handsome, but intense, broody, and initially not so charming. Eric Sailor is the friendly, flirty, wealthy businessman. And there is a big, angry, burly-man named Beast as well.

This story puts together a perfect prude, mouthy vixen, and an introverted librarian, throws in some men with strong, opposing personalities, and places them in a strip club environment. Bring in some desperation, antagonism, agitation, attraction and sexual tension and watch it all simmer and threaten to combust. There is a thin line between hate, lust, and love and Cynthia and PJ are riding it.

At the core of this story is female empowerment, finding self worth and confidence, and reclaiming their lives....and having some fun, excitement, and satisfaction is a bonus. I loved how these unlikely friends came together and how they had chances to grow. And it is also a sexy and swoony, opposites-attract love story with fun dynamics and great chemistry. PJ managed to win me over once his true personality started to show.

This is a true Tara Sivec rom com with a bit of outrageousness and a lot of snark. It is a humorous, hot, dirty twisted modern fairy tale. I am looking forward to more with Ariel, Eric, Beast, and Belle.

I have read several of Tara Sivec’s emotional stories and have loved them all. She is an amazing writer, however, her RomCom, At the Stroke of Midnight blew me away. I laughed so hard and so much, my family kept asking me if I was okay! This book was just so much fun to read!

Tara Sivec takes a touch of fairytales, three down on their luck new friends, princesses and poles and takes them to a whole new level! In this book, we meet Cynthia, who has been living the dream of a perfect wife and mother. That is until it all comes crashing down when her husband takes off with all their money and the babysitter.

Now she is just trying to keep the bills paid and her teenager in check, neither an easy feat. But after attending a Halloween party and meeting neighbors with the same problem, could they have found the solution to their problems when they are mistaken for strippers? As the three woman, Cynthia, Ariel and Isabelle become friends and partners, we laugh so much. The three friends could not be anymore different, but when they realize they could help each other, their friendship and pocketbooks blossom. They are the best friends any woman can ask for.

Enter PJ, prince charming maybe? They need his help and advice to get their business going. Cynthia does not want to be attracted to him, but some things you can’t fight. I love the banter between not only PJ and Cynthia, but also between the friends. The romance is a slow burn one, but the story is captivating from the first page to last.

I laughed so much reading this story. It was truly enjoyable to read. This had a sweet and charming romance, but it also had a story about strong friendships. I great read with amazing characters and a story that will have you laughing out loud!

Only Tara Sivec can take Disney princesses and turn them into strippers and somehow still feel like it is a fun and progressive book.

At The Stroke of Midnight was equally romantic and hilarious, not to mention sexy.  Cindy is out of a bad relationship and her daughter is pulling away. Having been left to fend for herself with no money left to pay the mortgage or buy food with she, along with Ariel and Belle, decide to start a stripping business. I wasn't sure if this one would be for me but she won me over. It was at times silly and over the top but it was a fun escape from reality and I cannot wait for Belle and Ariel's books!

~miranda

I’m a total sucker for fairy tale retellings; now throw in the added Tara Sivec spin, and I’m a goner.

The characters were funny, lovable, and completely relatable! My favorite part about this book was the friendship between Cynthia, Ariel, and Isabelle. Although it was very unconventional in the beginning, it’s also the friendship we all want with our girlfriends! The witty banter between them was perfect and I couldn’t get enough. I want just a little bit of the girl power they show by overcoming obstacles in their lives and showing how strong they really are.

I do wish we could have seen a little more of PJ and learned more about him. Besides that, he bothered me as a character in the beginning treating Cynthia in a way I don’t feel she deserved. However, he did change and I felt differently about him in the end.

Overall, this was a hilarious rom-com, that was lighthearted and would make the perfect TV show. Seriously, can we please have a TV show made from this series? Who doesn’t want Desperate Housewives meets Weeds on their screens?

I can’t wait to read Ariel and Isabelle’s stories! I already love them so much! I’ll be waiting very impatiently for them!

Note: Be careful when reading, on the timing of when you take a drink. There are moments where you may spit your beverage all over your book or e-reader.

This is a romantic comedy that is a play on the Cinderella story. A rich housewife (who formerly had a stepmother and 2 stepsisters) is left by her husband when he takes off with their babysitter and all their money. So Cindy and her 2 new friends (Ariel & Belle ... guess who's stories they take after?) get mistaken as strippers. Realizing that this could be a way for them to make money, they start up a Princess stripping business for home parties.

This is a light-hearted, hilarious romance. The situations Cindy puts herself into are so cute because she was such a snob in her former life with her husband and then she pretty much becomes the opposite! And PJ really is prince with the way that he treats her. A great start to this series about the wayward princesses.

I received an ARC courtesy of St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.