An exceptional and heartwarming historical romance! While I’m a big fan of retellings, I don’t often click with Cinderella storylines, but I really adored this one and found it to perfectly balance the original Cinderella themes with fresh ideas and perspectives. Felicia Grossman is a skilled author and I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.

I was very intrigued by this role reversal Cinderella retelling, but it did not deliver for me.

The main female character was very complex, but so selfish and manipulative towards the hero, it made it almost impossible to like her at all.

The biggest issue I had with this book, was the use of more modern words than the year the book was set in. I appreciated that the author used Yiddish words, but those Yiddish words have no record of being used until 60 years after the setting of this book.

A gender switching Cinderella story set in the 1830s London Jewish community. So this isn’t set in English society although a Duke is a friend to the Jews in general and wants to improve the laws to recognize them. This takes place entirely in the Jewish community and it has it’s own hierarchy. Isabelle Lira is the Jewish princess (I love that she calls herself empress). Her father has died, leaving her wealthy. But she wants more. She wants to continue her father’s legacy by boosting his business interests. The only way to do that is to marry well and fast so that her fathers business partners continue to honor the equity he had in their surety business. Her grandmother proposes three festivals inviting every eligible male and for her to make her choice.

No one is being forced but there are some front runners in the Bereb family as they already share business interests. Aaron Ellenberg is an orphan, poor, kind and is the Great Synagogue’s custodian. He charms children with his storytelling and enchants Isabelle as well. Isabelle asks Aaron to gather information on potential suitors in exchange for money for his future. He accepts but it seems more of a way to allow the characters to spend time together.

Isabelle herself is one of the highlights of this book. She is strong and determined and gets to choose her course in a way that many ladies of the time could not. It is interesting to learn much about the jewish community in the time period. They can be wealthy and successful and have hierarchies of their own and yet are not recognized yet for men to have the vote and representation. There are many Jewish terms and phrases that add to the storyline. But, the downside is that learning and figuring this differing society from traditional British historic romances slows the story down. I liked the beginning set up, but then I felt things slow down and I had to push myself to get through almost half the book before things pick up again. I did like there is heat between Aaron and Isabelle even if they don’t think there can be a future for them. (3.5 Stars)

A Jewish reverse Cinderella...

I really enjoyed Marry Me by Midnight. Isabelle is a strong, wealthy, beautiful person, capable of running her father's business. However, due to some threats by her father's partners, after he died, Isabelle needs to wed and wed well and quickly, to secure her place in society and hold onto power. Her powerplay is to find a suitable match over the next three weeks. However, she meets Aaron Ellensburg, the custodian who tells stories and entertains children. He's young and powerless, as he's on the fringe of the social heirarchy. Aaron is kind and caring and charming and very much knows his place in society and its not daring for the lovely Isabelle. I do like that Isabelle rides to the rescue with a dagger in hand.
Recommend.

I was so excited for another Felicia Grossman book as I absolutely loved the previous series but unfortunately this one was bogged down so much that I had a hard time getting into it. I was also not thrilled with the reverse Cinderella plot. It is just not my favorite. I love that it is written from the perspective of the Jewish community. We don’t have enough of those stories in the historical romance genre. I really wanted to like this book. I will read more of Felicia’s stories and am not letting this one put me off.

The first 10% of this book failed to capture my interest. It felt tedious to me—all talk and no action. While I admire Isabelle's intelligence and determination, she's coldly calculating. The book just didn't have enough heart for me to continue. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Interesting premise and really loved the setting and representation of the Jewish community in the 1800s but ultimately was a little let down by the romance portion itself. She was the stronger character and he seemed a bit weak in comparison. It also started off pretty slow and draggy then a bunch of stuff happened all at once at the end which made it feel uneven.

After the death of her father, heiress Isabelle Lira finds herself being pushed out of the family business, the only way to maintain her position is to marry a man who she can control. But she can’t marry just anyone, she needs a respectable, well-placed Jewish man from a good family. She decides to host some events and invites several eligible Jewish men to attend, but she needs someone to check out these men to determine who will be the best man to fulfill her requirements or at least dig up some dirt on him making him easier to control. Enter Aaron Ellenberg, a custodian at the synagogue.

Aaron is a poor orphan who dreams of a better life, a life with a happy family. He is a genuinely nice person who just happens to be smoking hot too. He agrees to check out Isabelle’s suitors and report back to her. Falling in love was never part of the plan and clearly could never be, but the more time they spend together, the deeper they fall and the more hopeless it appears. But the heart wants what it wants, the question is, will they be brave enough to defy expectations and follow their hearts or will they stay true to social strictures and give up on any hope of a HEA together?

This was a well-written, nicely paced novel with a reverse Cinderella twist, featuring wonderful characters, steamyish love scenes, hard choices, and ending with HEA! I need to point out that this book is the reason I love reading historical romance, I love learning about the differences people dealt with in the past, and it gives me hope that we as a society will eventually learn to live without prejudice. I am not Jewish, and therefore cannot asset to the accuracy of the traditions, etc, but I thought the information given was interesting and I felt the author did an excellent job of explaining the issues that the Jewish communities faced in a predominately Christian society, including the prejudice, discrimination, and hatred they faced because of their faith, as well as the laws that affected their everyday lives and their business dealings. I had never read this author before, but this was the first book in new series, so I will certainly look forward to reading more from her in the future.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

This was my first book by Felicia Grossman. It's a Cinderella story, although a wealthy young woman is in the role of prince. It's an historical Jewish romance. I thought the premise was intriguing, but it took me a little while to get into the story. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read it.

I loved this book by Felicia Grossman! It's got all of the historical romance we love, along with great Jewish representation. Such an original hook and spin on the Cinderella tale.

"Marry Me by Midnight" is a fun historical romance twist on Cinderella, with gender-flipped roles and a Jewish lens--one of my favorite aspects of the story. I didn't really get Aaron's character, but Isabelle was really fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

This book has so much potential - a gender swapped Cinderella story in 19th century London with Jewish MCs - but the story just didn't capture my attention. I wasn't emotionally invested.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my review.

Felicia Grossman has been on my authors to read list for quite awhile. I follow her on social media and she seems like someone who would write books I would enjoy reading. I was correct. I found Marry Me by Midnight delightful. It is a gender swapped, Jewish Cinderella set in London during the late Georgian period (not long after the Regency).

Isabelle Lira needs a husband to help her keep her portion of her late father’s surety business. His surviving business partners, the Berab brothers, don’t want a 23 year old woman acting as a full partner. They want her to get married to a man they approve of, preferably one of them, and they’ve put a tight deadline on her choice. The upcoming Parliament vote on granting legal rights to Jewish people in Britain adds another layer of pressure. Isabelle has decided she needs a husband who will keep the Lira name on the business, but not be in the Berab brothers’ pocket, maintain their status within the Jewish community in London, and solidify support among the Gentiles. When Isabelle explains all this to Aaron, the Synagogue’s custodian, he points out that she will be at her husband’s mercy, so she should choose a man who loves her. She comes back with a proposal. Not a marriage proposal, a business proposal. She doesn’t trust love, so she needs to know her suitor’ secrets. The right secret could be leverage. She promises Aaron 200 pounds if he will uncover the secrets of the men courting her. He agrees, because 200 pounds would greatly improve his chance of making his own marriage.

Aaron is our Disney princess. He believes in love, feeds the animals, cares for the elderly and children, listens to Isabelle and is honest with her, and is ridiculously good looking. Isabelle is still grieving the loss of her father and taking on the weight of the world. She is strong and self confident, and a joy to read, even when she’s making dumb choices. Naturally they fall in love and start a forbidden, and quite spicy romance. The central conflict is whether Isabelle will follow her heart, or do what she thinks is best for the business, her community, and her people.

One of the reasons I don’t read historical romance as much as I used to is because so much of it is dominated by white Christians in a very small window of time with so much of the focus being acquisition of wealth through marriage. Of course there are some very good romances within those parameters. There are also authors, like Felicia Grossman, who are writing about characters and communities that lived outside the British aristocracy of the Regency. In Marry Me by Midnight, Grossman really conveys the fragile position of the Jewish community in London. She captures the dynamic of marginalized communities in relation to the dominant community in a way that would likely be relatable to many people today. And I don’t want to spoil anything, but it felt very timely when Isabelle’s grandmother points out that if the vote to grant Jews legal rights is dependent on the marriage of one young woman, they weren’t going to grant those rights anyway.

I enjoyed this so much, and I’m looking forward to more from the author.

CW: Death of parents in past, discussion of communities being forced out of countries in past, discussion of threat of antisemitism, internalized antisemitism, attempted murder, kidnapping, physical violence.

I received this as an advance reader copy from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley. My opinions are my own, freely and honestly given.

We were really intrigued by the setup for this one: a gender-swapped Cinderella retelling set in the Jewish community of 1830s London? Definitely a book we want to read. And this book delivers on the setting. We really felt like we understood the complexities of the Jewish community of the era, with its own hierarchies and prejudices, even as the community as a whole was kept separate and unequal from wider English society. Isabelle, the "prince" of the book, is juggling her roles as co-owner of a company and representative of Jewish society with her own wants and fears. Aaron, the "Cinderella" figure, is kindhearted and loving, but feels like he is existing only as the recipient of charity from the community as a whole.

So, the setting and setup of the book were clearly interesting. Unfortunately, we weren't enthralled by the romance. The first 60-70% of the book dragged, as we read a lot about Isabelle's plan to use Aaron to gather information on her suitors but not a lot of the actual investigations. The plot picked up after this, but we were never sure what brought these two together. And the final 20% of the book introduced new plot elements, villains, and surprise reveals that felt like they came out of nowhere. The steam seemed like it would be a selling point, but on two occasions the door is slammed firmly in the reader's face after an extended prelude. (Aaron talks a big game, and we're pretty sure he delivered, BUT WE'RE NOT SURE AND NEVER WILL BE.)

Check this one out if the premise is interesting, but go in knowing that it doesn't live up to the (possibly too) high expectations we had for it.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

When I first read the phrase "Cinderella retelling" I was immediately enticed into reading this book. This is a first Felicia Grossman read for me, and I will be coming back for more. She knows how to create a setting to aid her characters' progress throughout the story. This book had equal parts sweetness and angst all wrapped up in a sexy fairytale for us proud smut readers. The added Jewish element gave originality to the story and I had so much fun looking up Yiddish words incorporated in the text! It gave the story a nice personal touch by the author.

Isabelle is an independent, goal-setter with a no-nonsense exterior. She knows what she needs in order to succeed in keeping her father's business and legacy alive. Although all her desires and wants point to Aaron, she is aware that he is not in her plans which support her Machiavellian views. Isabelle is a very unconventional heroine. She is very advanced for a woman of her age in this time frame which makes her even more likeable.

Aaron is such a sweetheart with a fire burning beneath that only Isabelle can kindle. This Hero feeds mice, gives street cats milk, and tells stories to children apart from being so attentive to the members of the synagogue when no one seems to view him as anything but a custodian. I fell in love with this man and his pure heart. Pure heart, but not pure of mind. This man knew how to please Isabelle with his body. I had to step away from the book a few times. The undeniable attraction between these two was amazing.

I enjoyed this read. It is a bit longer than my usual historical romances, but with good reason. There were a few times I did feel like there was repetitive information being given throughout the book that felt a bit unnecessary. Will definitely looking out for more Felicia Grossman!

Marry Me Midnight is the first book in the Once Upon the East End historical romance series by Felicia Grossman.

Something I really like about the story is the representation. I haven’t read many historical romances in 1800s England with Jewish protagonists, and it’s clear a ton of research was put into creating a historically accurate piece. The story sheds light on a group that is quite unrepresented in historical romance. It was eye-opening to learn about the political and social discrimination and limitations Jewish people faced, which were even worse for women.

I also liked the reverse Cinderella elements of the story and the romance. Aaron is a delight. He’s so kind, and he has a gift with children and animals, but he doesn’t think he’s good enough. I just wanted to give him a big hug and a bunch of reassurance. Isabelle is great too, and their chemistry is fantastic. They have a bit of a forbidden romance since they come from very different social and economic circles, and there’s so much pining and angst and longing. And, whew, it gets a little steamy too!

Overall, I liked the story. It was a bit choppy at times, and it started off slow. But the second half of the story was faster-paced, the characters are well-developed, and the romance is swoon-worthy!

Special thanks to Forever Publishing for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Writing a review for a book that you've highly anticipated and then are pretty disappointed by can be really difficult. But stick with me here - I think this book had so much potential and really needed some intense editing and paring down.

First of all, I am so glad that this book exists and hope that we continue to see more diverse Historical Romances - particularly ones about communities that have not often been taught about, despite there being ample evidence to them existing and having huge impacts on history. While I can't speak to the quality of the representation in this book, as I am not Jewish, it was really interesting to hear about a part of 1830's England that I have never learned nor read about before. I really appreciated that the Hebrew/Yiddish words that are used are not translated and that context clues are enough. Her author's note at the end shows how much knowledge the author has and how much research she did.

On to the things I struggled with: number 1 is that there is just far too much plot happening - so much so that I really had a hard time following the book and kept getting confused about what was happening and thought I perhaps was missing major plot points. However, I was reading with other people who had the same experience so I do think those major plot points were just...missing. Much of the plot felt unnecessarily dramatic but then also resolved very quickly because of one conversation - I also felt like a lot of internal dialogue was missing. I don't feel that I ever really understood either character's motivations well or even really believed their chemistry with each other. So much happens in the last 20% of this book that I was left with the distinct impression of experiencing whiplash. And then the book just...ends. I turned the page in the epilogue expecting more, only to find the acknowledgements and just sat there for a second wondering if I missed something (again).

The dialogue felt really stilted at times as well - I do think this perhaps got slightly better the longer the book got on but honestly at that point I was having a hard time finding any positives about the book.

I hope to see more from this author and will probably try her again because I do think the representation is really important, but I do think some things need to be cleaned up and simplified.

This was a highly anticipated release for me. In concept it is fascinating: Jewish community in 1830s London, business and trade negotiations, and a reverse Cinderella. It has the makings for something excellent.

Unfortunately it fell drastically short for me on execution. The prose was choppy and the character development gave me whiplash. The last 20% had me gasping for air as I tried to keep pace with the number of things that happened. I had a hard time grasping character motivations, and a harder time believing in the conflict.

It gets an extra half star for concept, putting this at 3.5 stars, and I LOVE the historical research that went into the story. I'd be willing to give Grossman a second chance, but she may just not be the author for me.

Historical romance. Victorian-era England. Book 1 of the Once Upon the East End series. Isabelle needs to marry quickly to prevent her late father’s business partner from pushing her out from the business. She and her grandmother set up a series of festivals where she invites all eligible suitors to attend and plans to declare her betrothed before midnight of the third festival. A chance meeting with the synagogue custodian Aaron intrigues Isabelle, but since he’s not actually a suitable candidate, she hires him to help investigate actual contenders for her hand. Isabelle is stubborn and cold for the most part, seeking a business partner in her future husband, while Aaron is self-deprecating and kind. Even though they eventually give into their attractions, Isabelle is adamant that she must secure her father’s legacy rather than pursue her own happiness. She’s annoyingly stubborn and consistently breaks Aaron’s heart, but luckily Aaron has his own fairy godmother on his side. The first half of the book moved pretty slowly for me, but the second half had much more action and kept me reading to find out how it all gets resolved.

A novel that provides an insight into the Jewish community, a reverse Cinderella story, of duty and responsibilities vs love and happiness. It’s an easy tale to get engrossed in, with a strong female main character and a most caring and protective custodian, both who are easy to like ands admire,

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.