Until the Clock Strikes Midnight by Alechia DowMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Teamwork makes the Happily Ever After dream work!
Until the Clock Strikes Midnight by Alechia Dow is an enchanting young adult romantasy that reimagines the Cinderella fairytale and combines it with an enemies-to-lovers trope. Newly graduated as the head of her class from the Mortal Outcome Academy, young fairy Darling Sparkleton is given her first assignment to guide Mortal, Lucy Addlesberg, onto the path to her HAPPY EVER AFTER, with the added incentive that, if she is successful, she will win a much-coveted mentorship with the ruling board, the Mortal Outcome Committee. What Darling doesn’t realize is that Calamity, a celestial Misfortune and another recent graduate of the academy, has been given the same opportunity. However, his success means he must guide Lucy away from the risky path to an HEA and make a safer choice that would result in an ORDINARY EVER AFTER, without her one true love.
This book had such a fun plot, with an absolutely delightful main couple: Darling and Calamity (or Calam, for short). Darling is all glitter and light and sweetness, while Calam is her opposite. Competitors for the same life-changing prize, they have entirely different missions until they discover they really want the same outcome. Their gradual understanding of the nature of mortals, free will and self-determination, love, and each other, as well as their slow-burn, inevitable, sweet romance, make for a wonderfully layered tale.The story moves at a fast pace, and I found it hard to find a good stopping point in the narrative without being loath to put the book down and take a break. The banter between Darling and Calam sparkled from more than fairy dust, and I laughed out loud in several places. I loved Darling’s interventions to improve the lot of the entire village of Fulham, especially her solution for the toxic Mrs. Arconia, who used her local status and means to make people, including Lucy, miserable.
However, the story isn’t all froth and fun. Both Darling and Calam face tough personal struggles. While Calam’s success means he can finally escape a lifetime of criticism and disapproval from his cold, emotionally-aggressive father, Darling suffers from the highs and lows of Vacillating Disorder, where negativity and self-doubt can send her into a frightening downward spiral of self-hate; both issues have real-life parallels.This Cinderella story has a number of twists on the original, and I found it entertaining, hard to put down, and so very, very satisfying when I reached the last page. I recommend UNTIL THE CLOCK STRIKES MIDNIGHT to readers of young adult romantasies, young adult fantasy coming-of-age stories, and fairytale reimaginings.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through Toppling Stacks Tours.View all my reviews
