Meet Me At Midnight by Jessica Pennington

This was such a cute little book, I totally didn’t expect the twist in it. I honestly figured once’s they got together that would be it, I was so surprised by the twist! I loved how it was written out and how Their story went!

4 Stars

This was a pretty basic YA summer contemporary and the characters didn't really have a personality beyond being annoying. Also, the enemies to lovers trope was very weak. The romance started happening way too quickly.

i love summer based books! this was so cute!!! the synopsis was so interesting,, pranks? enemies to lovers? *chef's kiss*

i loved everything about this book. the characters were perfect. i adore asher so much. i liked how nothing felt rushed, the timing was perfect. their summers sounded so fun!

10/10 would recommend.

I received an e-arc from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sidney and Asher have been long-time rivals since they were fourteen. They would play pranks on each other every summer and then not speak to each other during the school year. One year, they come to a truce and start pranking their neighbor.

Meet Me at Midnight was slow to get into, but once I hit about 30%, I was hooked. I love how Jessica Pennington characterized both Sidney and Asher. It was very evident they both grew during the course of the book. The plotline was really interesting in the novel, one that I haven't really seen that much in YA Fiction. It almost read like a Hallmark movie, which should have been predictable, but there were twists and turns that I didn't see coming.

I'll definitely check out more of Jessica Pennington's novels and add them to my never-ending to be read pile.

Thank you to NetGalley for approving me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.


This book had everything I could ever want in a romance! Enemies to lovers + summer love at a lake house vacation = me in a puddle by the end of the book. Jessica Pennington wrote a romance that has you rooting for it from page 1, with perfect pacing, and secrets that make you melt.

I normally don’t go for Ya romance because the characters are too immature, but Asher and Sidney are so fun and fresh. Their banter and pranks make them the perfect team. Sidney is meticulous and independent. Asher is goofy and adorable. I can’t wait to have this book in person on my shelf to reread at my lake house!

I was provided an eARC of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Usually, I don’t go for YA romance. But this one pulled me in immediately by its blurb. I requested this because the premise sounded extremely intriguing and also I’m trash for enemies to lovers trope. So, I had to pick this one up immediately. Also, because it was summer in Sydney where I was vacationing and this book was a perfect read for the occasion.

We get POV of both Sidney and Asher, which was an amazing insight into their past relationship and we see how the same circumstances can be viewed differently by two different individuals. I really liked the dynamics of their relationship, and that it didn’t blossom too soon or too late but perfectly in sync with their feelings and time.

The pranks were hilarious to read and so creative, I wonder if the author has done them at some point in her life. One thing I appreciated about this book was that the cliches aren’t overdone. No love triangles or petty jealousies. Instead, we get two individuals who are learning to trust and love one another after years of rivalry which by the way was also created on the basis of their blossoming friendship when they first met. I liked how we didn’t know how the pranks started until the end. That was the point when the revelation would have been most valid to the plot and I’m glad the author weaved it in perfectly.

Also, the banter Sidney and Asher have is so witty and you can’t help but ship them from the very beginning. I just loved how their relationship progresses throughout the book, not too fast and not too slow. Seeing them combine forces to battle a common enemy and therefore develop a friendship and then *dreamy eyes* romance was so cute!



So yes, the characters were very well done and the whole character development Sidney goes through is also extremely gratifying.

If you like light summer based books with enemies to lovers trope, this is a perfect book to pick up! Look out for it when it releases on 7th April, 2020!

Jessica Pennington's contemporaries are some of the most perfect contemporary romances out there in the young adult genre.
I wasn't even done with the first chapter and was already addicted to the story. I immediately loved the banter between our two main characters. Sidney and Asher came up with some of the most interesting and hilarious pranks in the first half of the novel. I was so excited to see what else they came up with. But when they went against their old landlord, their creativity kind of disappeared. The pranks were very boring and nonexistent. After what was shown in the first half between them, I kind of expected some of the most epic pranks to be pulled. It felt like the book started focusing more on the romance and less on the pranks. Don't get me wrong I was rooting for them to fall in love and be super adorable but I didn't want it to take over the whole book.
There was also an issue with we didn't find out what started the pranks between them until later on. I felt like as we were watching them realize their feelings for each other, it would have been nice to have a little of the backstory instead of waiting for it 200 pages in.
I admired Sidney's hard work ethic and the way her brain processed everything. I related to her when it came to being nervous in crowds of people she didn't know or always expecting the worst outcome of a situation. I think being able to relate to that made you connect to the character however, at 70% there was a conflict that was totally unnecessary. I definitely loved to see her grow and learn to accept her feelings towards the end.
Asher is definitely a swoon worthy love interest. I think everyone reading this will know he had the best intentions and we always had to see him prove that. Just reading how he felt towards Sidney just showed pranks are totally worth it and fun.
Overall I really enjoyed this book, I do wish there was more pranking and a little less of the unnecessary conflict. I think if you need a fast, cute contemporary to get you out of a reading slump, this is it. If you just want a cute summer romance, this is the book.

How much do I hate Sidney and Asher? Not even a little bit.

This enemies to lovers was so laugh out loud funny that began on page one. I twas really hard to put down, and makes you want to keep turning pages because you need to know what disaster the two of them will come up with next.

I became so emotionally attached, even when I was hating Sidney, that I needed to know how their story ended. Asher is the sweetest and most perfect boy and friend, Sidney just isn't good enough for him in my opinion. I think my favorite part was how well Pennington wrote the characters. Because although I didn't always agree with either Asher or Sidney's reactions, it was true to their personalities. This is always so important to me.

I highly recommend Meet Me at Midnight to anyone that enjoys rom com, contemporary, or Kasie West books. You'll thank me later for making you pick this one up!

When pranks go too far, you can't trust the other anymore even during a truce or a relationship.

3.5.

Sidney and Asher used to get along, until they started a yearly game of pranks every summer they met at the lake where his parents rented a house. This is the last time before college changes everything and after going too far and getting everyone kicked out they pair up to take revenge. But how to believe their truce, their feelings aren't another prank?

I was commenting on another enemies-to-friends book review how it's usually silly when the writer tries to show the fights when we all know they secretly love each other, and we end up with clichés. Well, Jessica Pennington was pretty extreme to make the pranks real, because I was truly scared teenagers could go so far for very little reward—which would inevitably convert into some counterattack. So, yeah, this is an example of two people who really got in each other's nerves.

As I mentioned we eventually get to the bottom of the story of how they came to that. It was a bit of a childish explanation—but they were very young then so there's that—, but I like that there was a reason and not just that they could smell they couldn't get along at first sight, like a lot of books like doing.

I also appreciate the point of how their minds got so twisted from the pranks, they don't trust each other even after one declares their feelings to the other. This is an angle that doesn't usually get well used in this trope. At the same time, this also gave way to one of this book's biggest flaws: it dragged. This was an unnecessarily long read.

This is a great book that doesn't get lazy with the trope but it loses rhythm, so be ready for that. And yet, I was extremely excited for the chance of reading it. The cover is so pretty! And the characters also got me swooning.

OH MY GAWD! This was fantastic! This was so fun and silly and sweet and full of first love and summer romance and I just loved everything about it!

The Hating Game meets YA-into college aged characters = Meet Me at Midnight!! It doesn’t get much better than hate to love, with one character secretly pining after the other!

I loved everything about Asher and Sidney and their pranks and cease-fire and banter and teasing and just everything! Their rivalry was just so fun and the pranks were really quite devious and creative, but I also loved seeing their flashbacks to a time before the pranks and seeing what lead to their prancing dynamic.

Also, a small thing but worth noting, is that I really liked how this book was formatted. The chapters aren’t numbered normally, they’re titled by days, not chapter numbers. The majority of the story takes place over Asher and Sidney’s last summer vacation before college while on vacation with each other’s families. So the chapters are helping you keep track of what day they’re on in their vacation, which means that the chapters don’t always go in numerical order — day 1 may jump to day 3, then day 4, then day 6, etc., and then the last few chapters are x-amount of days after summer vacation, leading into their first few months at college. It was just super unique and really added to the experience and atmosphere of the story!

If you’ve read and loved The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, and enjoy YA contemporaries, then this book is a MUST HAVE for your TBR come release time!

DNF a 40%.

Sidney & Asher are arch-nemesis. They reunite every summer when their families vacation together at the same log cabin camping ground and spend the summer one-upping each other with pranks. One of the pranks goes too far and they're forced to vacate the campground. Sidney and Asher decide to play one last prank, though not on each other, but on the campground owner as revenge and are forced to push their differences aside.

I'm disappointed! I really enjoyed this in the beginning. Sidney and Asher's banter was cute and you could tell there was a spark of something more between them. However, as the pranks between Sidney and Asher came to a holt and they unite, things get boring, The fun banter dissipates as they force themselves to be nice(r) to one another, in fact, the whole storyline becomes rather forced and too drawn out. I started to get bored and stopped caring.

Thank you netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars
I want to start off with how much I enjoyed this book. The pranks between the two main characters was so funny. I could honestly picture me and my SO doing the same thing. If you are looking for a great summer read, then you should pick this up. It’s just so fun, light and refreshing. This was by far one of my favorite reads this year.

I just needed to read one chapter to get hooked and I didn't put the book down till I finished it, to the point I stayed awake all night to read it!! The writing and the story are that good!

It is a very good love/hate story between the two characters Sydney and Asher who have been going to the same location on holiday for years with their families and playing pranks on each other. This year though, they have to join forces and work together to play pranks on the owner of their rented cabins who decides in the middle of the holiday that they should vacate the premises.
From there they both re-think their relationship, trying to understand what might have happened if they had not been so much against each other over the past few years, Trust is starting to build but it is a slow process and Sidney's brain is overthinking everything and playing tricks on her.

It is a beautiful love story that is very easy to read and will keep you interested till the end.
Looking forward to reading more books from the author.

“How much do you hate me right now?”

This was absolutely adorable. It gave me total The Hating Game vibes and that’s one of my fave enemies-to-lovers novels.

Sydney Walters and Asher Marin have been pranking each other every summer for years. Their families are friends and always spend the summers in neighboring lake houses. This is the last summer before they head out to college and Sydney is determined to make sure this is the summer she pulls off the best prank ever and wins their eternal feud.

I absolutely loved the chemistry between Sydney and Asher. Even as “enemies” their banter is wonderful. The pranks they play on each other are hilarious and their interactions are great. I loved how the author gives us flashbacks to past summers which answer questions not only we as readers, but they, the characters, also have throughout the novel.

Asher and Sydney are adorable together and it takes them a few more pranks and an eventful summer to realize that they are better off as soemthing other than enemies.

“It’s a lot weirder to pretend I haven’t had a crush on you for a million years.”

If you love cute and funny enemies-to-lovers stories I highly recommend this one.


*A huge thanks to Tor Teen for providing me with an eARC for review. All thoughts are my own.*

This book was really slow in the beginning & I wasn’t sure exactly where I was headed while reading it but it did pick up. It was over all a good book. I would definitely read more by this author

I loved the premise of this book so I was excited to get into it. I even loved the first 60% or so. After that, though, it felt like it was dragging on with the same silly issues and it got frustrating.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and am leaving an honest review.

It’s such a cute fluffy read that had me smiling and giggling with happiness.

Sidney and Asher have been staying in cabins that are next door to each other every summer since they were 13 I believe and constantly were pranking each other. Eventually, things happen and what they have become used to changes.

When I think cute fluffy summer hate to love story this is the type of story I think of. I love both Sidney and Asher so much and the story as I have said multiple times is just so cute. I can’t really think of anything bad to say about this book.

There aren't enough words to express my adoration for Jessica Pennington's stories and this one is my favorite she's written so far! I absolutely loved every single thing about this book and I can't wait to see what is in store for her next book!

Thank you for the early copy!

I really liked this one. Such a fun and easy read, I will definitely recommend this book to some of my friends.

While Sidney did irritate me (quite often in the middle) Asher was the complete opposite. He is up there in the top book BF division. The way he dealt with Sidney's insecurities was very thoughtful and Sidney did not see it for what it was but was lost in her own head. Story was steady paced and fun with the pranks. At the end Sidney did make me like her more. Great read to pick up for this summer's reading lists.