Before the Ever After

What they had?

One dreamlike night.

One heart-stopping kiss.

What if it wasn't enough?

Evelyn Macaree lives in a loveless home under an abusive stepfamily with only her favorite adventure books for escape. Since adolescence, she has dreamed of her best friend's charming older brother sweeping her away, but he's Daniel Prindall, heir to his father's million-dollar estate and practically Boston royalty, and she's only a factory manager's daughter. However, when Daniel notices her at his family's party, in a borrowed dress and made up by her friend's skilled hand, her dreams seem to come true.

As Daniel sweeps her into a whirlwind courtship, Evelyn believes she's found escape from her stepfamily, but they involve themselves in every aspect of her new life. To make matters worse, Daniel's glittering world proves more difficult to navigate than she imagined.

The same week she attends the party with Daniel, she has a chance meeting with her favorite author, August Cates. His modern, twentieth-century ideas about life make her further question the direction God may take her future.

As Evelyn struggles to hold onto the pieces of her crumbling dreams, she wonders if God will ever bring her to a happily ever after.

A turn-of-the-century Cinderella retelling that begs the question what do you do when your happily ever after isn't so happy after all?