BEFORE MIDNIGHT by Jennifer Blackstream
Reviewed by Kristal
Book Blurb:
An alpha wolf fighting a powerful curse . . .

The werewolf prince Etienne is turning into a human. A fierce and loyal pack, Etienne and his family have protected their kingdom with tooth and claw—literally—for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, the spell of a well-meaning witch is slowly stealing the beast from inside him. Only the bite of a cursed werewolf—one who was not born with the beast inside—can save him from losing everything. He has no time for anything that will not lead him to a cure for the curse. Not even the beautiful maiden whose gentle nature soothes his soul even as she tempts him into primal pursuits of an entirely different nature…

A maiden enslaved by her stepfamily, who dares to reach for more . . .

Loupe lives in terror. Terror of the bloodthirsty stepfamily who treats her like a slave, and terror of the beast trapped inside her. Bitten by a werewolf while dealing with the illegal gains of her stepfamily’s poaching, Loupe’s dreams of a strong husband who would take her away from her servant-like existence are over. A woman who becomes a mindless beast on the night of the full moon has no place in a marriage bed. Not even if that bed belongs to a prince with the manners of royalty and the hungry eyes of a wolf.

Nothing will stand between an alpha wolf and his mate . . .

A grand ball. The stroke of twelve. A magic “slipper.” All kinds of things can happen when you don’t leave the ball…Before Midnight.

Here’s what I thought:

In BEFORE MIDNIGHT, a delightful reinvention of a classic fairy tale, the prince and princess-to-be characters are werewolves. It follows the general rhythm of the Grimm Brothers Cinderella story; however, the characters and setting allow this story to stand on its own merit. And, even though it is an obvious retelling, the story seems fresh.

Etienne is a werewolf prince that has been “uncursed” by a well-meaning witch who didn’t understand that he was born a werewolf and therefore his shifting ability isn’t really a curse. In order to remain a wolf shifter, a loupe garou must bite him before the next full moon sets.

Loupe is a human female who suffers from the curse of the loupe garou. When she and Etienne meet, Loupe is tending to wolf pups that have lost their mother.

Loupe and Etienne are attracted to each other, but each believes they can be nothing more than friends, because of the secrets they are unwilling to share. Their friendship builds trust and fosters love. With Etienne’s time running out and Loupe’s luck running short, an imperious pixie will need to help things along in order for the fated pair to find their HEA.

For me, this was a solid story. I love fairy tales and I love werewolves, so this was a good read to sink into. Some parts were funny, some sad, and a few were overly silly. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed BEFORE MIDNIGHT, the first in the Blood Prince series by Jennifer Blackstream. Though not quite in the same vein as Marie Hall’s the Kingdom series, in that it doesn’t quite have a Tim Burton flair, BEFORE MIDNIGHT may appeal to those readers.

Genre: Paranormal / Fantasy Romance
Length: 183 pages / 368 KB
Book Format: eBook.
Publisher & Imprint: Skeleton Key Publishing (November 30, 2013)
Blush Quotient: PINK
SG rating: 4
Grab your copy: (Currently free) on Amazon and B&N

Author Scoop: For more information on the author, visit :http://www.jenniferblackstream.com/

This book was provided by the author via NetGalley for an honest review. No other compensation was offered or received.