The extremely frustrating thing about What Happens After Midnight is that a solid 75% of it is told in the synopsis before I even read it. Almost exactly what happens, to the point that it felt like I was wasting my time reading the book, because I felt so much of it had already been spoiled for me. It’s a shame the reader doesn’t get to experience the plot unfolding organically, and I wonder if my rating would have been higher had the powers that be decided not to include basically the entire plot in the jacket blurb. I will say that the cover though, is absolutely gorgeous.

Another cute YA from KL Walther! She really satisfies those boarding school vibes for me. I loved this diverse cast of characters, and this story was so fun! This was such a fun mix of the things I love - the community and mother/daughter relationship had MAJOR Gilmore Girls vibes, and y’all, the Taylor Swift of it all! KL Walther managed to drop a reference to what felt like every Taylor Swift song, but it was done so casually that only Swifties would even pick up on it. It was such a fun little surprise every time it happened.

Super cute YA romance that will be a delight for any fan of Schitts Creek or certified Swiftie. I loved the rekindling/ second chance relationship for Tag and Lily. They were the whole reason I wanted to finish the book.

The antics were cute, but the whole story was basically laid out in the synopsis.

this was a fun-filled reading romp. I loved hearing about the pranks that happened that night!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book!

I loved The Summer of Broken Rules and was so excited to read this! What Happens After Midnight is a fun romp--it takes place largely in one night, is full of pranks, second chance romance, and of course, Taylor Swift references. Lily, a rule-following good girl, is tapped by the Jester to participate in their boarding school's senior prank. It is soon revealed that her ex is the Jester, and perhaps this experience will bring them back together.

This is a fun, cute book and I will be adding a copy to my classroom library. It is perfect for teen readers who just need a light, quick, escapist read.

Dear Reader,

What Happened After Midnight pretty much takes place in a night where Lily is tapped by the mysterious Jester to partake in this year’s senior prank, a time honored tradition. The night that ensues is filled with hijinxs, secrets, banter, second chances, and nostalgia. This night was SPARKLING. SPARKS FLY. The story takes place at a boarding school which is one of my favorite settings for a YA novel. Lily and the rest of the Jester’s court set out to set up a scavenger hunt for the missing yearbooks. Lily wonders if she was only tapped for the prank because her mom is a teacher and has the keys to nearly every door at the school. Which by the way, Lily’s relationship with her mom gives off strong Gilmore Girls vibes!

I enjoyed it as a quick, fun read. The book is full of subtle Taylor Swift and Schitt’s Creek references which I loved and appreciated.

Best wishes and warmest regards,
Jillian

3.5 stars rounded up to four

This was such a great read especially if you love Gilmore Girls. This had high school Gilmore Girl vibes if Lorelai was a teacher. I loved the slow burn to the second chance between Tag and Lily.

Title: What Happens After Midnight
Author: K. L. Walther
Genre: YA
Rating: 4 out of 5

Lily Hopper has two more weeks until she's officially finished with boarding school. With graduation quickly approaching Lily is worried that she's somehow missed out on the fun of being in high school. So, when she receives a mysterious note inviting her to join the anonymous senior class Jester in executing the end-of-year prank, Lily sees her chance to put her goody-two-shoes reputation behind her.

When Lily realizes the Jester is none other than Taggart Swell, her ex- boyfriend, she's already in too deep to back out. Lily might've dumped Tag, but she still has major feelings. Plus, his brilliant plan to steal the school's yearbooks, targets none other than Lilly's prom date: the Senior Class President, Daniel.

As the group of pranksters hide cryptic clues across campus for Daniel to find, Lily and Tag find themselves in close quarters. As the exes dodge Campus Safety guards, night owl teachers, a troop of freshmen, and even Daniel himself, new sparks fly. But old hurts and painful secrets refuse to be ignored. And with graduation on the horizon, Lily can only hope that breaking the rules will help mend her heart.

This was a cute, entertaining read. I liked Lily a lot—and Tag and their group of friends—but it did seem a little too good to be true. I never felt like the stakes or consequences were too high, because all of the adults loved Lily and Tag and had these great relationships with them, so the threat of getting kicked out, especially when all their classwork had been finished and decided, didn’t feel real. Great friendships in this, and that made it a joy to read.

K. L. Walther is from Pennsylvania. What Happens After Midnight is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.)

Well I really enjoy The Summer of Broken Rules by this author so I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately this just wasn’t for me.

The set up seemed fun enough, but I just didn’t find myself caring about any of the characters and especially not the romance. Honestly, I found the characters to be annoying.

The whole prank and all of the obstacles along the way just felt really superficial.

Also, the Taylor Swift references started off as fun and cute but by the end I was rolling my eyes. There is a fine line between references being fun and too much and this one definitely tipped all the way into the too much category.

This might be for someone but it certainly wasn’t for me.

this book was a fast easy read and I did think it was cute. However, I definitely like The Summer of Broken Rules a lot more than this one. The pacing felt a little off to me and I didn’t really connect with the characters. It’s a coming of age, second chance romance that also has a fun aspect since they are doing a senior prank. I did love the Taylor swift references this author puts in her books too! Overall, it was still a cute read, I just didn’t love it as much as I thought I would!

Thank you to the author & publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

What Happens After Midnight is an entertaining, quick read and I ended up binging it in one day. As the characters hide the clues for the scavenger hunt, many things go wrong which makes the book quite fast-paced and also really fun. I loved the “summer-before-graduation” vibes and the setting at the boarding school. I also really liked that the love interest Tag having type 1 diabetes was introduced so casually but still ended up being a pretty big part of the story. While I can’t speak on the accuracy of the representation, I’m always here for more disability rep in YA! The friend group and even all of the teachers were really fun characters and I loved that there was such a big and diverse cast. I do wish that Lily and Tag had been developed a bit more though. They didn’t really stand out to me as characters. Second chance romance is one of my tropes ever but I’m not sure it was executed that well here (mostly due to the lack of character development). I did still end up enjoying What Happens After Midnight and definitely recommend it for a fun summer read.

Second chance romances aren't normally my favorite things trope-wise, but I gave this a shot because I had a lot of fun with the author's first book. Despite my reluctance with the romantic trope used, I actually had a lot of fun with this one - the mystery & suspense elements aren't something often found in the genre, and they really added a lot here for me! Will be recommending this one widely for sure.

What Happens After Midnight was a fun and suspenseful book with a charming second-chance romance. The characters have to learn from their mistakes while also taking big leaps of courage. I loved the other book by this author, The Summer of Broken Rules, and I’m so glad I loved this one to! I also will never say no to the continuous TS references. No body, no crime 😉

Lily Hopper is a good girl, a good student, and doesn't cause trouble. She's a faculty kid, so everyone at Ames knows her and expectations are high. The senior prank is looming, and Lily's been tagged to help. Enter the dilemma...help The Jester and have some fun, be someone unexpected for a change? Or pass on the offer and keep her goody-two-shoes reputation intact? Once she realizes The Jester is her ex, Taggart Swell, the guy she never got over, the decision gets that much more complicated.

What I love about K.L. Walther is that her books are unapologetically romantic. The books might be YA, but Walther is able to capture the big feelings, the ups and downs, the pros and cons, of every girl's first love. The other half of the equation is the adventurous side to every one of her books. This book is just fun to read for the pranks alone. The banter is top notch, and the pop culture references are spot on. Second chance romance might be her preferred trope, but there's no question she's a master.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a super cute YA Romance. It is a bit predictable, and most of the story is given away in the synopsis, but I still enjoyed the story.

I thought that Lily and Tag were cute together, and they had good chemistry. I absolutely loved Alex's character. He's probably my favorite.

Thoughts:

This book does a good job of riding the line between bubblegum pop romcom and teen thriller. It's actually a good combo of both.

It's not too long, which means it doesn't try for some sort of lengthy gravitas. And it's not too short, which means the reader gets rounded characters that feel worthy of a story.

I just wish the premise paragraph didn't give away the whole story. It's too bad the synopsis is all spoilers.

I think my students will really enjoy this. Lily is a great character (and I adore her mom). And if you're a Taylor Swift fan, the song references are 💯

Y’ALL.

KL done did it again. I loved everything about this story. The boarding school setting. The “before” lead up. The clues and figuring out the mechanisms of the actual prank. The “after.”

This was so fun, swoony, and the perfect follow-up to the heartfelt hijinx from THE SUMMER OF BROKEN RULES.

Highly recommend.

This book!
K.L. Walther has become a insta buy for me, and this book assured that. From the Taylor references to just the whole plot I was smitten. I absolutely loved this book!

Oh my!!! This was such a sweet book!! It had me so intrigued to know what was happening next, the romance and how they would find the almanacs! Besides the amazing characters and charming Lily, I LOVED the Taylor Swift referenced!! Made it even more fun to read the book!

I love the way the book was written, the plot, characters, all of it!! Now wanting to read more books by the author.

Lastly, I loved getting to know how the author’s dad was once a Jester! So amazing when authors take parts of their family to write a book. Made me connect to it more!

such a fun read with all of the teenage angst that i love. though most of the book is pretty much explained in the synopsis, i really enjoyed how it all played out through the setting up of the jester’s scavenger hunt for the school prank. the tension between tag and lily was palpable and tag’s true feelings for lily were apparent through her POV. the romance was super sweet but ugh, i really needed an epilogue! still this book is quick and adorable and i highly recommend it for a fun, fresh summer read.

*thank you to the publisher for an ARC. my thoughts are my own.