Thank you Netgalley, Alechia Dow, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for an eARC of this!

Brief Overview:
In this Cinderella inspired romantasy novel, Darling, a bright young recently graduated Guardian is up for an internship with the Mortal Outcome Committee. After defying all odds by being not only the first fairy in the Guardianship program in over a century and being the top of her class, she is sent to an assignment that will determine her future. Upon her arrival, she meets Calamity, an equally as bright but arrogant, Misfortune who is up for the same internship. This unconventional pair must compete to determine the outcome of Lucy Addlesburg, a down on her luck bookseller with an uncertain future.

This book had very vivid imagery, our main character's had clear goals and ambitions, the side character's added a lot to the story, and how the story touched on how bigotry is a taught thing. My biggest hang up is that I felt like the author was trying to shove as many romance tropes into the book as possible. It was honestly a bit much. Especially considering that Calamity was honestly not my favorite. I found him to be pedantic and self obsessed.

The best part of this whole story was the level of care that Darling showed everyone. She is bold and kind and wants everyone to be happy. Where some parts of this story dragged, the warmth that Darling brought made up for it.

If you like trope heavy romantasy books, this is absolutely something that should go on your TBR!

I LOVED this! I really did. The world, the premise, Darling, the fun silly light-hearted tone of the book that balanced the serious of it perfectly...just...AHHHHH! SO GOOD!!! I did have a bit of a hard time rooting for Calam for the first half of the book. The way he hid HUGE stuff from Darling but also was falling in love with her and ALSO giving fuel to her disorder made it REAL hard for me to be on his side. Especially when it felt like there were times when he wasn't as...dynamic as her. Where he felt VERY selfish compared to how truly selfless Darling felt. But eventually I came around to him a little bit more. Just took me a while to really appreciate his character growth. Anyways, if I could give this 4.5 stars I would but ALAS those don't exist so I hope a 4 star review is good enough. Again VERY good, highly recommend. (And I love the little references, didn't really notice them until they happened twice and then was like "OOOOOH!" but I am extremely looking forward to reading this when it comes out in February!!!)

DNF @ 33%
I am so sad! I was really hoping this would be good and I wanted to enjoy it so bad! But sadly, there is content in here that makes it impossible.
The language that I read: 1 f word, 1 s word, and 1 d word.
LGBTQ: lots of it. The main girl kissed another girl, it talks about a story of a lgbtq couple and one of the mainish characters is in a lgbtq relationship. Lots about being inclusive and no gender is disqualified from going to the princesses ball to try and win her hand.
This would have been so good! But as a Christian I can’t support any of this content. Although, I did love the content warning, even though it didn’t mention the lgbtq and language, it did talk about some other things good to know going in. Sadly, I can’t recommend.

Until the Clock Strikes Midnight is such a sweet story! I appreciated the care and thought with which Darling’s disorder was approached. The author’s vivid descriptions allow readers to envision the yearning that Darling and Calam have for one another. The characters complemented each other in a yin and yang sort of way including stark contrasts of the whimsy of Darling versus the practicality of Calamity. One of the most intriguing things about this book was how reality embedded itself into the fantasy world. The author is tackling real-life roadblocks like unhappiness, depression, anxiety, complicated parent-child relationships, and even class differences in a realm in which magic exists. It wouldn‘t be quite right to use the word “lighthearted” but you also cannot call this book a “heavy hitter” because it truly occupies a space in between. The story provides hope while not taking away the validity and existence of hopelessness. The romance between Calamity and Darling has highs and lows, but still, like the notion of happiness, it perseveres. I would describe their relationship as very innocent throughout the story with kisses on the cheeks and handholding. I sense that this novel would appeal more to an audience younger than me, however, it was still enjoyable.

this book was a yes, yes, and another resounding yes for me! i had so much fun reading, much more than i had expected to honestly.

dow’s writing is soft, cozy, and warm to read. i wanted to inhale it at some point because her descriptions were speaking to meeee, especially when food got brought up; i would think, “that sounds yummy. i need to make that.” it’s not the kind of writing i usually encounter, but given how life has been lifeing, it brought me comfort i didn’t even know that i had needed.

even though the plot is pretty low stakes in my opinion, i couldn’t help but become heavily invested. it’s hard not to; the cast is so earnest, lovable, and passionate. both leads, darling and calam, are imperfectly perfect. on their own, they’re intriguing, relatable, but together?? the chemistry was insane. banter was A+++ (i wrote that in my notes, by the way), tension was thick, the push and pull was just right. like RAHHH!!! i could go on and on about them. and on that note: the YEARNINGGGGG. both of them were down bad, but calam??? the amount of highlights i have of him losing his mind over darling is atrocious. i devoured it every time.

i also liked the messaging/parallels in this book, i think its special to be able to read something as whimsical as this, but still relate and see yourself somewhere. there was a diverse amount of representation and i especially appreciated the exploration of darling’s character as a disabled black woman. (i just love darling in general lol)

this story was well balanced, full of life, and was always a fairytale but didn’t stray away from difficult topics that mirrors our reality. things were kept pretty wholesome, and the takeaways in the end are hopeful, positive. if you’re looking for a book that feels like snuggling in a blanket with a cup of hot cocoa this is IT.

you could tell that dow had a lot of fun with this book and she made the story she wanted to tell, not for anyone else. i love how i can feel that through the pages. i look forward to seeing what else she writes in the future.

most of all, i’ll miss darling and calam; you couldn’t ask for better leads. their growth, their banter, their love, their fights even… you’ll catch me rereading this book every time i wish to see them again. <3

~

thank you feiwel and friends and netgalley for the arc!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving
me a free copy in exchange for an honest review. 4.5/5 stars

until the clock strikes midnight is, at its core a cinderella retelling, only from the perspective of two wildly different “fairy godmother” like people. darling is a fairy who believes everyone deserves a happily ever after. calamity is a misfortune who excels at preventing unhappily ever afters. the two of them are assigned the same case, lucy addlesburg. will she get a happily ever after or an ordinary ever after?

this book was such a delightful spin on the classic cinderella tale. i loved seeing darling and calamity’s journeys both as individuals, with each other, and the whole town. seeing darling’s mental struggles portrayed in such a way was a breath of fresh air.
while this was a complete story, i hope we get to see darling and calam together again!

Oh I adored this! I was so excited to see a cozy fairytale retelling by Alechia Dow because I absolutely love her as an author and her amazing writing. This story did not disappoint! It’s an adorable and refreshing Cinderella retelling that will be perfect to read in the fall or winter. I can not wait to buy a physical copy 💕

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🖤Thank you NetGalley for this eARC!

I completely forgot this was a retelling while reading. To me this is its own complete fairy taleI enjoy Calam and Darlings energy towards each other, the magic system and world is easy to comprehend and remember. Darling is so so cute and such a lovable character while Calam just gives off "caring bodyguard who actually loves his job but will never admit it" vibes to me. I fell in love with the way Darling's...illness?( I forgot the description of it)was portrayed throughout the book)The effect it had on her mentality and such it affected her ability to do her job, I loved that. Instant connection with that. I love the world and Darling and Calamity's interactions with each other just get better and better.

This was a very sweet and unique take on a Cinderella story. I loved the queer normative world and the diverse representation and the social commentary. The romance was very sweet and the yearning was top-notch.

this read was the definition of grumpy meets sunshine! I loved how different they were and they gave off the angel and devil on your shoulders when you make a decision. I loved how it was good wanting to make things better and he wasn't evil really just didn't want people to have their hearts hurting and thought it was easier to have the pain first without misplaced hope.

I very much think that Alechia Dow's way of writing is unmatchable. She instills so much heart in her characters and that makes them shine of such a peculiar and lovable light.

This novel is another example of her masterful pen. The kind of romantic fantasy people will definitely fawn over. And as always, the queer representation in it was "chef's kiss".

"Until the Clock Strikes Midnight" is the cutest standalone YA fairytale retelling for anyone who loves Cinderella.

Darling, a Fairy hoping for an internship with the Mortal Outcome committee, is given one last assignment to prove she has what it takes- namely, a bookkeeper named Lucy who she needs to ensure has a happily ever after. It should be a cinch, but she was not expecting Calamity- a misfortune vying for the same internship whose task if to get Lucy to an ordinary after. Calamity and Darling insert themselves in Lucy's life by posing as a couple, and work towards making Lucy's life better while also helping the rest of the village, and maybe even falling in love.

This Cinderella retelling was a really unique take on the tale! I loved the competition aspect of both characters needing to win the internship for different reasons, and the way they came to understand each other's perspective as well as how they could go about creating ever afters in the future. This was a perfect story for teens, super cute and wholesome, fast paced and engaging. I loved that there were all different types of couples in here (LGBTQ+ inclusive). The main couple was m/f, while there were side couples that were f/f and m/m.

There were just a few things that weren't to my taste- first, a lot of characters were characterized only by their skin color. For instance, multiple times we meet a "white lady" or a "black man" etc with no other characteristics. I think these characters could be fleshed out a bit or at least described in a different way. The second was that I felt the love between the 2 main characters went from 0 to 100% real fast. The author is well aware of this and even has the characters mention it on page, but I still feel the relationship could have been fleshed out a bit more. My last complaint is that the book is dual perspective, but Calamity and Darling had too similar a voice and sometimes I couldn't tell whose perspective I was reading, or who was speaking when they were in a conversation together.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, sweet, fairytale retelling perfect for YA readers!

4/5 stars

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review of this delightful tale!