I was so excited when I saw this book available to request on NetGalley. Jessica Penington is on my auto-read list. I was able to receive the arc of When Summer Ends and loved this book so much last year. Being approved for this book made my day!!! I knew I would love it and I sure as heck wasn’t disappointed. Jessica has a way of writing these amazing relationships. This book wasn’t all fun and games, there were some serious parts that had me on edge, which just made everything even better.

We have 2 POVs in this story, Sidney and Asher. Their parents were friends back in the day and every summer they go to their lake houses and vacay together. When they first started vacationing together Sidney and Asher were 13. They were pretty much inseparable that first summer until something happened towards the end and then they started pranking each other. The pranks didn’t end that summer either. Every Summer after that their whole summer vacation was full of crazy pranks non-stop.

This summer ends up being very different and now they have to be on the same team to prank a common enemy. What they don’t expect is the relationship that grows from it. And man do I love it. Who doesn’t love a good love story that involves 2 characters that supposedly despise each other? It’s such a fun story full of awesome, lovable characters, insane pranks, and some of the cutest moments ever! It’s the perfect summer contemporary that you have to read. I really can’t gush about this book enough. As usual, I am so excited for my booklover friends to read this book! Go read it ASAP and come back and let’s chat about it.

Oh my goodness, the shenanigans that these two get up to! This entire novel really goes to show that communication is EVERYTHING, and that if people were just up front with one another, the majority of their issues wouldn't exist. I. was so frustrated by how stubborn and oblivious Sidney was, as it was clear to LITERALLY EVERYONE that Asher was in love with her. The cringe-y tension was so great, and really added a lot to the eventual love between the two, despite all the challenges they faced.

It was a cute book! It’s great for teens/adults that like contemporary YA. Also good for people that like the love/hate trope!

The cover and the description of this book is so dang cute, so I was really excited to read it. However, once I started reading it I couldn't wait for it to be over with. The pace of the book was also a struggle for me and it felt like it was never going to end. I loved all the feel good summer vibes that this book had and thought the pranks were really fun. The only saving grace to this book was Asher. I absolutely loved his character and thought he was a total sweetheart. SIdney on the other hand drove me crazy. She was constantly self sabotaging the possibility of falling in love or having any happiness in her life.

Meet Me at Midnight focuses on Sidney and Asher, competitive swimmers who have spent summers together with their families since they were 13. They should be friends, but instead they are enemies who spend their summers pranking each other. When a prank gone wrong gets both families evicted from their rental homes, their parents rent a house together for the remainder of the summer. The close proximity forces Sid and Ash to communicate, and they decide to join forces to get revenge against their former landlord. As their cooperation leads to undeniable attraction, they struggle to put their feud behind them and give in to love. Many of the pranks are recounted in hilarious detail and alternating voices give the reader insight into their evolving feelings for each other.

I loved this book! Meet me at Midnight is a Young Adult contemporary romance and it is the perfect summer lake/beach read. It has the best of everything, hate/love, pranks, the whimsical summertime setting and feel, and it is hilarious.

Asher's and Sydney's families have been vacationing together for years, and this year might be one of their last because of them. Since Sydney can remember, her and Asher prank each other all summer long, they have guidelines but this summer she takes it a little too far and they get kicked out of their vacation rentals. Now they have to join forces in order to keep their summer and maybe get a little revenge in the process.

The story is told from alternating point of view between Asher and Sydney, which at times if you aren't paying attention can get a little confusing, but overall it was a great way to tell this story and see both sides. Additionally, the author also throws in a few flashbacks to help with overall context and they really help the story along and their placement is wonderful. Pennington does a wonderful job molding this hate/prank relationship into friendship and love. Even the pranks feel like that kindergarten flirting thing that we all experience (the weird thing were both boys and girls hate or even hit each other because they don't understand emotions and that is the best they've got).

I have to say that this book really reminded me of family summers and that is what really pulled me in in the beginning. My family used to go to a lake for the summer and they, adults included, would prank each other. It was normally guys vs. girls and it was all fun and games until someone stole my books and I may have flipped out a bit too much. (priorities)

Anywho, this was a wonderful read. I can't wait to read more by this author, her characters were real and awkward and it really made this book all the better. If you are a fan of contemporary romance and YA reads, this is a great one to grab.

Meet Me at Midnight is a young adult standalone contemporary romance by Jessica Pennington. This book was exactly what I was in the mood for. It was lighthearted fun, while still being funny and super cute. If you are a fan of enemies to lovers and of summer prank wars, then you will love the summer romance crafted up by Jessica Pennington.

Meet Me at Midnight is told in dual narrative between our two main characters, Sidney and Asher. Their families are close friends that live on different sides of the state. But every summer they rent neighboring lake houses for 8 weeks and catch up. Sidney and Asher have been summer prank war enemies from the very first summer- always trying to one up each other. This is the last summer they have before they both go away to college, so in their minds it felt like the grand finale of prank wars. I loved how similar but different Sidney and Asher are. Sidney is much more type A. A planner through and through. Asher is laid back, but they are both wonderful swimmers. I liked that they had the commonality of both excelling in the same sport. It was a cool thread for them to have in addition to their family history with one another. Watching them act as frenemies was more than entertaining for me. They are hilarious.

I don’t want to spoil the events of the book, but let’s just say one of their pranks gets out of hand and forces the families to change their plans. Which of course leads our two main characters into an interesting situation. Watching their reluctant romance unfold was adorable. I wanted to smack Sidney upside the head a few times, because that girl can drag her feet like no other. I loved Asher most because he seemed so much more comfortable with who he was and what he wants. (in all areas of life except for his major) I really liked the romance in this book.

Bottom line: if you are a fan of ya summer romances and you like prank wars, Meet Me at Midnight is going to be a smash hit for you. This novel is the perfect summer fun- feel good read. I loved it, and it was exactly what I was looking for in a quarantine read!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this ARC 😬

What a butterfly inducing book!! Usually when I’m approved for a book, it takes me a while to get to it cause I procrastinate too much but the synopsis for this book just reeled me in and got me out of my reading rut.

This book was the perfect pick me up: lighthearted , funny, romantic, but also a big exasperating 🤷🏼‍♀️
Had butterflies throughout the book as well.

This book reminded me a lot of Sarah Dessen/Kody Keplinger/Kasie West books...
I have read her other 2 books and they just keep getting better 😬 can’t wait for more from this Author!

This book would have been a fun read but the beginning of the story it was to slow. And the one point I got put off my the main character.
But once the middle part it is good book.

This book took me way too long to get through.

For a 336 page YA summer romance, Meet Me at Midnight felt lo-o-o-ong. I’m not sure if that was a result of the numerous meandering conversations between Sidney and – well, everyone – or the unnecessary (read: boring) dates they went on or the repetitively detailed swim practices.

But that wasn’t my biggest problem with this novel. No, that was that it’s marketed wholly as embodying one of my favourite tropes – enemies-to-lovers – and Sidney and Asher are enemies for approximately 30% of it.

Where’s the slow burn? Where’s the anger and conflict resolution and learning to resent each other less while still resenting certain flaws, and where’s the working through said flaws to become better people? Asher was pretty cut and dry from the start. He always loved Sidney and never put a foot wrong and blah blah blah, it was all her fault, ad nauseam. And yeah, she was immature. Incredibly so, for a college freshman. But literally everything could have been resolved with just a tad more communication, and that… bothered me, for some reason. I wanted there to be more to the characters. I wanted there to be a solid reason for the pranks and the dislike and the simmering romantic tension, rather than Sidney getting jealous over Asher kissing someone else.

To be honest, I got more out of the post-break-up sections than I did the rest of the book, because at least you could pretty much call the pair enemies for the duration.

Also, the premise of this book was marketed as Asher and Sidney teaming up to pull pranks on their neighbour and previous landlady, Nadine. They pull, what, three pranks? And these are barely thought out, just quickly over and done with, to make way for some more cuddling and Sidney thinking everything is going to end terribly, etc. etc.

Honestly, the only thing that felt real while reading this was Sidney’s tangible anxiety. That was developed nicely, and managed to capture the spiralling thoughts and worst case scenarios that mar many an anxious mind. But the rest… just fell short for me.

Yeah, there were a couple of cutesy moments. Some of the dialogue had me giggling, and Asher was an okay character. It was the ultimate lack of chemistry between characters that was the final nail in the coffin for me, and what let this book down the most.

Also – am I the only one who thought it was creepy weird that Asher and Sidney are sharing a house and a bathroom, with both sets of their parents living under the same roof? It gave me weird brother-sister vibes that none of the adults seemed to think this scenario through, especially knowing how uncomfortable Sidney was around Asher to begin with. Eesh.

An ARC of this book was provided by Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

WHAT TO READ NEXT:

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Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

I feel like I'm the target audience for these kind of books. I am basically a sucker for romance and contemporary books and I almost exclusively read them. So I was excited when I was accepted on Netgalley to read this book prior to its publication. So thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this novel!

I went in without knowing much about it, and I was pleasantly surprised this entire story happened within one summer. The story revolves around two star swimmers, Ash and Sidney, who can't stand each other. They don't hate each other, but they keep pranking each other. And for the past years, their parents have rented a little cabin near the lake. There are a lot of prank wars going on, including stuff with a dead fish and a koolaid shower.

It was well written, and it kept me flipping the pages, or well, pressing my ipad to flip the pages. It was cute, and it was short, and it kept me engaged for the day or so I was reading this. It was basiclaly just what I needed when I was feeling a bit slumpy. I felt like the love story was refreshing, and it was perfectly YA, which is always what keeps me going. I love me some smut, but this is very nice too! I'd definitely recommed this book to YA romance lovers!

4.5/5
Sometimes exactly what you need, particularly in the middle of a pandemic, is a lighthearted teenage love story - the hate to love trope makes it even better as that’s my guilty pleasure. Asher is a total sweetheart and Sidney is a skeptic. I absolutely love romance books that have conflict and aren’t just fluffy and cheesy. This was perfect.
⠀
My only complaint is that “everyone” knowing how he felt didn’t fit with how the parents were described. His parents did not seem to know...?

I want to thank Tor Teen & NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

My feelings for this book are a little messy, and it's hard to explain but I'll try my best. On the one hand, I enjoyed many aspects, especially the familiar one, and I liked the setting A LOT, I also think that most of the book is entertaining and keeps you wanting to continue reading. But on the other hand, the characters are quite immature, the whole "enemies" situation felt forced, as well as some dialogues and I feel that in the end only one of the characters has a marked growth & I think that although it didn't seem heavy to read it, could have been a little shorter than it was and transmit the same message going straight to the point.


This book is an enemies-to-lovers romance that follows Asher and Sidney whose families are friends and since they're little, they've always spent summers in the same place, they have a relationship that consists of challenging and joking each other all the time. Until one day a joke goes wrong and both families must spend the summer in the same house. Due to what has happened, Asher and Sydney decide to join forces against a common enemy, and from here unexpected feelings begin to arise between them.

I started super excited reading this book because I wanted to read something heavy on romance, which is rare for me, so it was a special moment, and sadly didn't fully meet my expectations. The whole first part, maybe even a little more than half, is quite good, it's a simple romance plot, with silly but entertaining dialogues, where there are small discussions and a lot of drama, but it's quite entertaining and it progresses very fast, which I appreciate. We know a lot about the characters, their pasts and their present lives in that first part, and I always enjoy meeting new characters, is fun for me, so all that first part, maybe despite some over-the-top moments, was pretty good, create depth and plant a lot of intrigues to know what will happen, not to mention that it's fun. But the second half is messy, I began to feel tired of the romantic relationship of the characters, when something was just happening between them was fun, but then it gets boring for me, it's all because I think Asher gives a lot of himself and Sidney is a mess of emotions and doubts and teenager stuff and I felt super uncomfortable at times. I also felt that the "sarcastic" jokes and discussions were starting to get too much, and honestly and it's super ugly to say it, but I got really bored as it started being repetitive.


There are romantic scenes that are very beautiful and especially when everything begins to take shape and the characters begin to relate, it's beautiful to read because despite having known each other for years, they've never established a deeper relationship. But then it's very frustrating, especially due to the difference in personalities that exists between them. Asher is a lovely person, I love this boy, he's sweet, considerate and very attentive, to the point that I think he gives too much of himself, which makes me want to hug him. On the other hand, Sidney is a very dramatic girl and I understand that she's just a teenager, so I'm not going to judge her too hard, but it was very stressful to follow her voice because she's too much, I even feel a little sorry for her because she has a lot of trauma and issues with herself, but I would have liked this to be explored from another side, you know? and not from romance. It's a shame because there are beautiful scenes, but the romance deteriorates a lot towards the ending, especially since I couldn't stand the characters anymore and their relationship became "meh" for me. I'm aware, though, that it's very difficult for me to like a romance and that I feel the chemistry between characters, so this is super personal, I think that if you read it maybe you'll be able to connect more with them and with their stories.

I love the setting, I adore when everything is established in a beach house, it's really beautiful, especially at night.


I enjoyed the writing style, it's the first time that I read something from the author, so I have no comparison with another of her works, but I really liked it, her style flows very well, especially I think it's perfect for softer and quick to read contemporary stories. I would read something more by her because I'm curious to know another type of facet, perhaps with another type of plot that's not exclusively romantic and with other types of characters, without a doubt, I think I could enjoy it more.

So I don't have much more to say, it's a polarizing book regarding my own feelings and thoughts, one half I loved and the other is forgettable. I couldn't enjoy as I would have liked the ending, I don't think it's bad, though, but I was already a little tired by that point and didn't connect. Still, I think I would recommend it if romance is something you like, if you like enemy-to-love relationships and a bit of drama, in a beautiful summer setting. I adored Asher, so if you want a good main male character, which is SUPER important, he's perfect and deserves better.

This was a brilliant story about a boy and a girl who have known each other for a few years, and have thrown pranks against each other as a way of communication.
I really liked this story line.
I enjoy hate to love romances in general, but in this book we get to see arch enemies, slowly becoming friends, and then falling in love.
It's a story about their relationship, and also the issues that come with it.
How do they go about the feelings?
What if something happens?
A lot of the issues that were covered are in every day relationships.
For me, it hit home, so I could relate to it, which is why I liked it even more.
It's a book that made me think.
I liked the writing style and the character development.
I think this book would be great for a spring/summer contemporary read.
It didn't disappoint, and I flew through the book with ease.

***Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc**

I liked the concept of enemies to lovers story especially when there is pranks involved. While i do love the concept, i did feel that at times the story did drag a bit. Some places were at the right pace and then slowed. While i wish there were a few more pranks that could have been inserted, i did like the two characters dynamics with one another even though they both have complete different personalities. If you’re into the enemies to lovers trope then this is right for you. I also do hope that i want to check out more of the author’s works in the foreseeable future.

_The e-arc of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review on my request._

They have a love-hate relationship with summer.

Sidney and Asher should have clicked. Two star swimmers forced to spend their summers on a lake together sounds like the perfect match. But it’s the same every year—in between cookouts and boat rides and family-imposed bonfires, Sidney and Asher spend the dog days of summer finding the ultimate ways to prank each other. And now, after their senior year, they’re determined to make it the most epic summer yet.

But their plans are thrown in sudden jeopardy when their feud causes their families to be kicked out of their beloved lake houses. Once in their new accommodations, Sidney expects the prank war to continue as usual. But then she gets a note—Meet me at midnight. And Asher has a proposition for her: join forces for one last summer of epic pranks, against a shared enemy—the woman who kicked them out.

Their truce should make things simpler, but six years of tormenting one another isn’t so easy to ignore. Kind of like the undeniable attraction growing between them.

Prank wars? Enemies to lovers? It sounded right up my alley. I had high expectations from the book. But I was disappointed.

First half was definitely better than the second half. The characters, especially Sidney was annoying. There was nothing remarkable about the characters, and it felt pretty forgettable.

If you like:
• Frenemy to Lovers
• Summer Days at the Lake
• Competitive Swimming
• Swoon Worthy Moments
• Epic Prank Wars

Then this is the book for you!

Meet Me at Midnight is Jessica’s third book and honest to goodness, her books get better and better. She has some of the best love stories I’ve read recently.

I love both Sidney and Asher. I see so much of myself in Sidney from her over planning and ways she has a habit of ending things before they get really serious. Sidney doesn’t like big crowds and tries to avoid those awkward social moments at all costs and replays events in her head looking at how things could have gone differently. And although it’s not always the best way to think, she prepares herself for the worse; which is something that I’m guilty of doing all the time.

Asher... dear lord. Y’all he could easily be friends with Logan from Match Me Ir You Can by Tiana Smith. Asher has that easy going personality that draws people in and he’s funny, smart, hard working, and honestly a romantic at heart. So, naturally he’s my type of guy, and it doesn’t help that he reminds me of someone I went to high school with and had a crush on back in the day. All I can say is he doesn’t do anything half assed. From scheming his pranks to trying to win over Sidney, he puts his all in it.

Sidney and Asher have one of the most interesting relationships I’ve ever seen. They’re both great competitive swimmers who are set to go to the same college and be apart of the swim team. Sid and Asher’s parents have been friends since they were in college all those years ago, they live in the same town (or at least a town or so apart), yet 10 out of the 12 months, their paths never cross. It’s during those two months of summer vacation on the lake where they spend each waking moment trying to one up each other in the ongoing prank war that has been going on for years.

It seems that they’ve always had this unique relationship of prancing the other, but when the aftermath of a prank gone wrong, Sidney and Asher’s family are forced to find a new rental house in the height of the summer in a small town or cut it short and go back home. Luckily, the parent are able to find a place... the only downside is that they families will be sharing the house. Will Sidney and Asher be able to but their war on the side to keep from going home?

I love seeing Sidney and Asher’s relationship unfold because although they’ve been spending the past 6 summers together, there’s still so much to learn that isn’t going to be turned against them in the form of a prank. Despite knowing certain things about the other, they still went through some of those awkward moments as if they just met.

I understand Sidney’s distrust in Asher’s sudden change of heart when his first called his ceasefire because all she associates with him is pranks and making his life miserable for 2 months. Then, the swimmer who could have any girl kisses her and does a complete 180 is enough to make most wary, much less a girl who overthinks everything and likes to be ten steps ahead.

This is one of those fun summer books that’s filled with twists and turns that you spend all afternoon reading not even realizing that you payed in the sun for 6 hours getting burned because you get caught up in Sidney and Asher’s crazy relationship.

(4.5 stars) - Opposites attract... trouble (with a parental caveat) 

This is kind of like a YA version of "The Hating Game"! 

Sidney is paranoid, anxious & self-sabotaging - my kind of girl!  Asher is lighthearted, carefree & a people pleaser. 

The story is told hopscotching across the days of Asher & Sidney's summer vacation with their families.  It's almost like a collage of anecdotes between the two over a span of time. 

It's frequently amusing, though occasionally frustrating. 
The book felt like it dragged in the 2nd half, & I'm not entirely sure why - the pacing of days instead of chapters made it seem longer in a way; but at the same time, I enjoyed the anecdotes from each & could see where they did help build the story in a way that was pretty believable, so maybe it was just me. 

The one point that frustrated me was that we didn't get to hear Asher's response to Sidney telling him about what started it all - that was very pertinent to their past & future. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the story BUT some discretion is advised:
*******Clean romance level/Parental Caveat*******  
This book is "sweet" rather than "clean".  There are passionate makeout sessions with petting that isn't graphically detailed but still intimates enough to generate some... heat. 

The parents of the 2 have regularly left the 2 of them with virtually no oversight all the years they've vacationed together, even after they're sharing a home & have rooms adjoining a shared bathroom. 

At one point, the two begin cuddling on Asher's bed & eventually regularly sleeping together (definitely literally; whether or not there's anything more is unstated).  Even mature adults placed in such intimate proximity would have difficulty resisting temptation. Sidney could easily have ended up pregnant

*Language:  1 use of d-mn, 1 use of d--k, a dozen each of h-ll & sh-t

*Religion:  around a dozen uses of the Lord's Name in vain, sadly & totally unnecessarily, though at least none as curses (using a lower case g doesn't change that - unless you add an s to the end)

This book had that perfect mixture of romance, humor, and all around charm. Sidney was a little bit crazy in an endearing way and Asher was basically my new favorite person. Their relationship was fun to watch progress, and I enjoyed all the surrounding characters as well. The reason I’m only giving it four stars is that I felt the pacing of the book changed drastically at the end, resulting in both a drawn out and yet somehow rushed conclusion. Overall, I was a fan, and I would definitely read more from Jessica Pennington!

This book really had the potential to be 5 stars. It started off great and I loved the pranks and banter between Sidney and Asher. But things got so repetitive and I couldn’t stand Sidney toward the end. Also I was so bored once they left the lake and we saw them at college.