HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!!! I absolutely LOVED The Summer of Broken Rules, so I couldn't wait to get my hands on What Happens After Midnight. And it did not disappoint.

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.

This was one of those really sweet books where the characters are just drawn so well and you find yourself really rooting for them. Yes, it was a cute story, but the characters and their relationships were so well-formed. I LOVED Lily and her relationship with not only Tag and her mother, but also the other students and even the faculty.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I love this story! It was a cute whimsical story that involved pranks, Taylor Swift and second chance romance. It was a quick fun read. I found myself smiling while reading multiple times! Definitely sets the mood for summer vacation.

I went into this book blind and based on other reviews, that is definitely the best way! I absolutely adore this book - it had me feeling all the things and rooting for Tag and Lily to come back together. I was hooked from the fun, light hearted start to the book and dove into the world of Ames Academy. Lily attends Ames Academy because her mom teaches there (and is also the most beloved teacher). Lily and her mom have a fantastic relationship that focused on genuine love and support for one another - it's very Lorelai and Rory-esque if that's your thing!
The academy set up and the yearly Jester/school prank was done really well and it kept me on my toes. I appreciate the diabetes rep through the love interest, Tag, and just loved him too. I wanted him and Lily to make up the more I learned about him and their relationship!

The author included a ton of Taylor Swift references and it was SO MUCH FUN to pick them out as I went - I just wish I had written them all down. Some were subtle while others were obvious to any fan and I think it was well done and not too corny at all.

I definitely recommend this book - it's a swoony YA romance with some academia and teenage shenanigans thrown in. This is exactly what I want in a YA romance :)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy. All opinions are my own.

<b>Actual Rating: 2.5⭐</b>

The plot is simple and I enjoy the time when the characters are running around at night breaking the rules to prepare the prank they’re about to do to the seniors.
It was quite fun and kinda remind me of the time when I was in high school doing crazy things with my friends.

As for the romance, I like the bantering between the two main character – Lily and Taggart. Even after not speaking for a while the chemistry between the two of them is still there, they still have that connection and they seem to just get along together perfectly.

While I do like several things here, the synopsis gave away too much information so the plot feels predictable and loses the surprise element.
The switch from present to past timeline is also very abrupt and usually happens in the middle of the something happening which sometimes pulls me out of the story.

Overall, I still find it quite enjoyable and entertaining. If you’re looking for a simple YA romance with high school setting then you can give this one a try.

<i>I received an advanced review copy for free through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Huge thank you to the author and publisher!</i>

3.5 stars

✨YA - Closed door
✨Second chance
✨Diabetes disability rep
✨Coming of age

Her book the Summer of Broken Rules is one of my fav summer reads and one I rec a lot so I was very excited for this ARC.
Butttt I just didn't love this one. The entire book takes place over 1 night. The writing style is a bit confusing. There was nothing to differentiate a past thought from a current one. Mid conversation she would switch to a past convo. Maybe that's because of it being an arc.... But I needed a font change at least.
I loved the second chance relationship. The coming of age part. But the magic in the first one just fell flat in this one unfortunately.

My favorite part was the disability rep (diabetes) and the side relationships even though we only got bits and pieces of them.

I loved this book so much. I think K.L. Walther might be a new favorite author of mine. I loved the setting of the boarding school and the Rory/Lorelai relationship Lilly and her mom had. I loved the relationship Lilly had with the rest of the jesters court and how close they all were. I loved Alex and Tag's friendship, the way they look out for each other. I loved the Taylor Swift references and the T2 diabetes rep! This was an amazing story and I cant wait for more from this author!

This book is for the Swifties 🫶🏻 I genuinely counted 52 Taylor adjacent references and I’m sure there’s more if I looked harder.

Aside from the Swiftie references, this book takes place at a boarding school, has a second chance romance AND includes revenge prank against annoying boy. What more could you want?

This is my first K. L. Walther book and for me personally, she lives up to the hype. I loved the atmosphere of the boarding school and following the journey of the prank. I also loved getting to follow Lily and Tag's journey of reconcilliation.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes YA romance, a little bit of mystery and lots of Taylor Swift.

This book is for the Swifties🤍

What Happens After Midnight is a YA second chance romance filled with so many Taylor Swift & Schitt's Creek references. This book takes place at a boarding school during the last two weeks of class before summer when our main character Lily is invited to participate in the senior prank with her ex-boyfriend Tag, who she’s still in love with.

What Happens After Midnight was such a fun and light read that was perfect for summer! I had such a fun time reading this book and finished it in less than 24 hours. The only reason I didn't rate this 5 stars is because I really wish there was an epilogue to see where Lily and Tag end up.

If you’re a fan of Taylor Swift, Gilmore Girls, Schitt's Creek, or The Summer I Turned Pretty, I think you would really enjoy this book!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 stars

What Happens After Midnight is a fun YA romance full of Taylor Swift references and boarding school hijinks. Lily has two more weeks of boarding school and she wants to make the most of them. When she is invited to participate in the school prank, she decides to let loose for once. However, the one pulling off the prank is none other than Taggart, her ex. In order to pull off the prank, the two must work together..and sparks fly.

This was cute and perfect for when we all need a fun teen romance after watching The Summer I Turned Pretty. Lily and Tag had great chemistry and were hilarious together. I can’t wait to read K.L. Walther’s next romcom!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Walther’s first YA, so I was so excited to see this one! We have boarding school, second chance love, scavenger hunts, Schitt’s Creek references, and much more!

While I did love this book, it does have some issues. The dialogue. So. Many. Taylor. Swift. Lines. Like, too many. It definitely took away from the characters. The organization of past/present also bothered me—seamless, it was not!

Despite these issues, I found this to be such a fun summer read. It’s light and fluffy and gave me all the Zoey 101 vibes. Also cool seeing the diabetes rep with Tag!

I’m giving this 4⭐️ simply because it was such an enjoyable story to read outside in the sunshine.

Terribly choppy and chaotic writing style. Plots lines weren’t flushed out well. And the characters were uninteresting and difficult to connect with. Sadly, I was not impressed

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

if you’re looking for the perfect summer read you’ve come to the right place because this book is SO good. Taggart Swell and Lily Hops ( the main characters) have the cutest dynamic and seeing them pine for each other throughout the book is so cute, making it a true romcom. i read one of her other novels ( the summer of broken rules) and absolutely loved that novel and knew that this would be the same. i loved how the boarding school trope (which is my fave) was included along with a very fun senior prank. it’s so perfect if your graduating this year and as a rising senior this book just hit different. the book started out a little slow which is my only complain, because it felt as though the prank was being a litttle stretched out. But as we move further along Tag and Lily slowly start rekindling old fires which speeds things up. One thing that that irked me a little though was the HUGE miscommunication trope because i hate hate hate that. the characters acted a little immature but they are high schoolers after all. K.L Walter perfectly depicted a high school relationship because although it wasn’t perfect all the time that’s what made it real and raw. i genuinely did not want this book to end because as i continued to read, it just got better and better. i would definitely recommend this book because it has such a great summer vibes, especially if your graduating this year. this books writing and the plot are so well thought out making this book the perfect beachy read. this book was just released today and @K.LWalter deserves ALL the hype, this is a must read and you should order it as soon as possible!!

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

✨Thank you to @sourcebooksfire for sending me an eARC through @netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

With graduation coming up two exes find themselves working together to not only pull off the ultimate prank but work out why they really broke up in the first place and what their feelings for each other are. Lily Hopper has two more weeks until boarding school is done, she’s the daughter of a teacher and a great student. Lily has only few regrets as the school year is ending, that she didn’t have as much fun in her final year of school... and her ex boyfriend Taggart Swell, the one that broke her heart. When Lily receives a mysterious email to join in on the end of year prank thrown by a chosen Jester, she thinks its the perfect time to get out of her goody-two-shoes ex... except when she comes face to face with this year’s Jester it’s Tag. Tag, the one guy she still has feelings for and who somehow has made this year’s prank target the guy who asked Lily to prom. Now Tag and Lily, along with a few other friends will spend the night planning a scavenger prank all the while Tag and Lily will actually be talking to each other for once after their breakup... and all this time together, alone, in close proximity, bantering, and recalling old memories... the sparks begin to fly again... but can the old hurts and painful secrets, the insecurities of their relationship really be fixed or was it just for one night only? This book was filled with Taylor Swift references, and is perfect for fans of second chance romances, prank romances, Luke and Lorelai vibes, and has some Schitts Creek references. This one just fell flat for me, usually I adore a fun second chance romance with pranks, but Lily and Tag just didn’t really work as a couple getting back together for me. I understand they both had huge miscommunication issues but come on, I’m suppose to think they wouldn’t have fixed it despite how in love with each other they were and then how fast Tag just wanted to “get over” and “distract himself” with a new girlfriend. Tag just didn’t really appeal to me as a love interest for Lily. So while this one fell a bit flat for me and missed the mark, if you are a fan of any of the above mentioned tropes and themes, then definitely give it a go. I think its the perfect read for fans of Taylor Swift and second chance romances.

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire, Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

3.5 stars
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
What Happens After Midnight drew my attention due to its intriguing premise, revolving around an elaborate senior-class prank. While I had some issues with the story, I enjoyed it overall.
The biggest letdown was the pacing. The Big Prank, complete with multiple clues and all the running around Lily does with her ex, makes up the majority of the book. The premise basically gives most of the book away in that regard. The only thing that’s left unspoiled is the end, “after” the prank, which isn’t given much time to fully be fleshed out.
However, the romance within it is pretty solid, particularly within the “prank” portion. I enjoyed seeing straight-laced Lily and Tag hiding out together, and they do play off each other well. It also accomplishes the fairly simple goal of Lily living a little recklessly for once in her life before she graduates.
While it’s not the perfect book, it’s a lot of fun, and I’d recommend it to someone looking for a fun YA contemporary.

This is my second book by this author and I really enjoyed it. However I have to say that I liked the The Summer Of Broken Rules a little bit better. The execution of this story could have been a bit better because it had lots of potential.

Firstly, I don't tend to be the biggest fan of second chance romances. It just doesn't make sense to me. Usually the reason they broke up is either so trivial that it makes me lose faith in their ability to 'last' or its so major and problematic that I don't support them getting back together. But THIS was the fine balance. I understood why they weren't together while still thinking that their growth would bring them back together in the right ways for-forever. I liked the build of the romance and the way we were shown their previous relationship without it dumping everything on me and pulling me out of the present prank.

Our ensemble of characters were so fun and lovable. I loved that Lily felt like a 'good girl' while not being a stereotypical 'good girl'. I loved Tag and how his diabetes was handled and actually played a part in the story. I loved Alex and everyone else involved in the prank. And I loved that we had some parental presence!

This was such a fun YA contemporary that makes you nostalgic for high school pranks and thrilled as you read about curfews and dodging campus police. I didn't think I'd care so much for the prank itself, but I was 100 invested. It was so brilliant and impactful without being harmful.

I highly recommend this for readers who enjoyed Today Tonight Tomorrow and Better than the Movies. I'm definitely going to be buying myself a final copy on the release day and checking out everything else K. L. Walther writes.

*I got a free ARC through Netgalley, this in no way affected my review*


This was overall very enjoyable, but I feel like there wasn’t really more to the story than what the blurb tells you. It’s exactly that.

Lily and Tag were cute together, but this didn’t really feel like second chance romance. More like ‘if they had one decent conversation, this all wouldn’t have happened’.

But the overall story was nice and I absolutely loved the setting. I’m a sucker for boarding schools, I’ll tell you that.

I thought this book ended up being mostly average. The first 50% followed the book synopsis and it wasn't until we got past the prank night, that I felt that there were any surprises. Lily is a good character and I thought she fit the teenager vibe very well (although I was kind of thrown by the mention of Bed, Bath, and Beyond coupons since the stores have all closed now). I also liked Lily's relationship with her mother and while I did not watch Gilmore Girls, I can see the vibe the author was going for.

The romance between Tag and Lily permeates the entire book and it was cute watching them interact with each other. I would have preferred some more character development for the supporting characters. They felt like stock characters that were just there to give Lily and Tag impetus to further the story.

Overall it was cute, but pretty average and while I would recommend it, it wasn't my favorite teen contemporary.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Part romance, part mystery. I was totally connected to the characters and rooting for them along the way. A perfect addition to any high school library. K.L. Walther is one of my new favorite romance YA writers, she creates stories (and characters) with more depth than I’ve seen in some of the other YA romance novels I’ve read recently.