A review by kfriend
Skyscraper Cinderella by K Webster

5.0

K Webster! You naughty, naughty girl. I’m pretty sure Walt Disney is rolling over in his grave somewhere, because the fairy god mother of taboo has just sprinkled her kinky fairy dust all over the story of Cinderella , transforming that tired old pumpkin into a showstopping erotic age gap triumph- a true belle of the dark and twisted ball. AND I AM HERE FOR THIS!

This creative and inspired modern day Cinderella story whisked me away to another world, and quite frankly, I never want to leave it With the wave of her wand, K Webster takes the sugary sweet and endlessly optimistic original story and warps it into a salacious and erotic sensation-it’s a lot more naughty, way more angsty, but still, in the end, beautiful optimistic. This is my kind of fairy tale- and I genuinely don’t think another fairy tale retelling will ever live up to this fantastic series. Bibbity-bobbity- TABOO.

Our Cinderella doesn’t leave behind a fragile and delicate slipper- oh no- she leaves behind a sticky, bold red candy wrapper- and that comparison tells you everything you need to know about how K Webster has added her unique taboo flair to this classic fairy tale. Our anti-prince Winston is lured in by that rogue wrapper, bringing our heroine Ash quickly into his web. Winston is intrigued that this young girl doesn’t cower under his thrall, and he quickly discovers her kinks are a great match for his- she just doesn’t know it yet. Capitalizing on Ash’s urgency to recapture her crumbling dreams, he strikes an unusual deal- a very erotic one. The villain finds his naughty princess- and while they explore their unusual and delicious perversions they also develop a turbulent and perplexing chemistry. And this chemistry is heavy- it wrapped around me and consumed me. Winston must confront that his feelings for Ash are beyond anything he’s experienced, and Ash finds herself in the precarious position of craving her tormentor- of liking the debauched things they do.

This is very much a loose adaptive approach - more of a reconceptualization than a retelling, but we have just enough referential content to keep the story familiar. The droll and nameless Prince Charming is transformed into the unforgettable Winston Constantine- a powerful alpha-hole who thrives on control and has a taste for some very particular kinks. He’s not the white knight who saves the princess- he’s a dark and ruthless villain that wants to break her down just so he can control building her back up again. And this anti-prince charming has a dirty mouth that would make a sailor blush. I sure did. Our Cinderella is the young, hard on her luck but highly ambitious, 18 year old Ash. Like Cinderella she’s trapped in a reality she doesn’t desire, resilient in the face of her upended life but somewhat defeated and entirely alone. But, Ash is no princess- she’s sassy and resourceful. Daring, bold, yet vulnerable and naive. And the man old enough to be her father is both her salvation and demise- the original Cinderella would be mortified.

No Cinderella story is complete without the wicked stepmother, here a conniving and manipulative social climber. And in one of my favorite tweaks, K Webster transforms the wicked stepsisters into the Terror triplets, twisted deviants who love torturing their prey- their stepsister. Of course, we still have our young Cinderella going from riches to rags thanks to the poor romantic choices of her father, a girl too captivating to be cleaning, an ethereal dress fit for a princess, and a birthday party that doubles as a ball. K Webster even nods to Cinderella’s love for talking animals with the brilliantly named Shrimp- Ash’s chirpy bird.

This story is most certainly entertaining- and like all K Webster books, DEFIANTLY titillating. And that is what I love so much about K Webster’s point of view. She’s not provocative just because- she’s provocative because she wants to push our boundaries. And time and time again- taboo or not- she does. She gives us stories that are outside of the mainstream, characters with chemistry and interests that don’t fit our carefully constructed little boxes for what is “acceptable” romance- what fantasies are “normal.” K Webster doesn’t just open those boxes- she annihilates them, forcing us to step outside of those artificial restraints. She normalizes the different, the taboo- she siphons out the shame and judgement and makes it art- and that is quite liberating. Because here, in Stroke of Midnight, you can’t help but be sucked in to this story- into the mesmerizing kinky perversion. It shocks you- makes you blush, makes you a bit uneasy, but it also intrigues and arouses. And soon we, like sweet Ash, are confused- by our own desires, that we are delighting in what others would call perverted, what we perhaps considered perverted. And isn't that exactly what erotic fantasy should do? It’s not only delicious fun, but intellectually fascinating - and why I keep coming back to her stories over and over again.

I’m so sad this series is over- I have RELISHED it. But alas, the stroke of midnight has arrived, the ball is over, and our Cinderelliot gets to go home in the pumpkin to her prince at long last…..but we’ll always have this little bit of magic.