💙🖤 Bring Me Your Midnight ARC Review 🖤💙

Thank you so much to Rachel Griffin and netGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!!

Bring Me Your Midnight is a standalone YA fantasy novel. Tana’s life has been planned out for as long as she can remember. She will marry the governor’s son to secure an alliance between the clans of witches and those who see her power as a threat. Everything is going as expected until one day when she meets a mysterious young man who shows her how to use her magic in ways she never imagined

This book was such a fantastic witchy read! Tana finds herself in impossible circumstances and I loved her character development throughout this story. Wolfe was a great character too and I loved the relationship they built together. The world building and magic system were beautiful and super unique. I personally would have loved to have seen more of Wolfe’s coven and more of his PoV, but that’s because I enjoyed it so much - I just wanted more of the witchy goodness!

Overall this was a solid 4 star read for me! I loved the story, the world building and the characters! This book had a lovely romance plot line, but it was definitely YA and light on the smut - so one flame for spice

If you’re a fan of witchy lore, forbidden romance, and the choice between desire and duty, then absolutely pick this book up!

Note: Review will be posted to Amazon upon publication

Despite the dramatic name, Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin, is a quiet yet powerful coming of age fantasy. It centers on Tana Fairchild, a young woman whose betrothal to Landon Yates, the governor’s son, an alliance that has been planned since the day she was born, makes her the hope of her entire coven. Generations ago witches were banished from the mainland to a remote island and, in order to survive/seem non-threatening to the mainlanders, they have only practiced a low form of magic (think calming teas and extra delicious food rather than controlling the elements), instead feeding most of their magic into the sea surrounding the island. When Tana misses the monthly ritual, she turns to an unlikely source for help—Wolfe Hawthorne, a mysterious young man who is part of the old coven, those that continue to practice high magic in secret. The more Tana learns about Wolfe and the high magic she was taught to fear her whole life, the more alive she feels. Soon she has to choose between a life of her choosing and a life that will protect her people.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. While forbidden love is not usually my favorite trope, I thought Tana and Wolfe’s relationship worked really well. If it had been a true romance (vs. fantasy with romantic elements), I would have wanted them to be on page together a bit more and to see Wolfe’s character further fleshed out, but given that this is really Tana’s story, I think it largely worked. I also appreciated that there was no love triangle, a YA staple that I generally do not enjoy. While Landon is presented as a genuinely decent person (honest, wants to build a partnership with Tana even if they both know it isn’t a love match), I appreciated that it was very clear that there were no romantic feelings involved for either of them.

The book packs an emotional punch. I think I was on the verge of tears for at least the last 1/3 of the book as Tana struggles with the choices before her. She loves her island and people so much and wants to do right by them but at the same time the life stretching out in front of her—one of a pleasant but loveless political marriage on the mainland where she can’t be her true self—makes her feel so empty and alone. And it was absolutely gut-wrenching to read about the people who supposedly loved her most pushing her toward this life knowing how unhappy she would be even as she tried to put on a brave face. At a certain point in the plot, it feels as though she is treated as a means to an end by absolutely everyone in her life—her best friend, her parents, Landon, and even Wolfe. I was relieved that it ended on a hopeful note even if it felt bittersweet. This was my first Rachel Griffin book but it won’t be my last.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the complimentary ARC—all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Let’s take a walk before midnight shall we? 🕰️

First we can stop at the Mouse Trap to pick up some delectable cheese for our picnic tomorrow. Next, we can find a scent that holds our favorite memories from Tana’s family perfumery. After that we definitely need to grab a cup of warm tea with Ivy at Eldon’s tea shop. Finally, if we are brave enough, maybe we can find a moonflower floating in the sea. Oh, and don’t forget a trip up to the sky to capture all of the stars because that is what this book deserves! 🥹 This island was like coming home, and I was fully immersed into this story never wanting it to end.

LOVES:
🌊 If you love House of Salt and Sorrows this is the next best thing!
🐺 Wolfe…
🧙🏼‍♀️ The witchy magic was cozy and fantastical
🍂 The autumn setting felt perfect
🪄 The magic system was unique and I love the intensity of it.
🤫 The secrets… oh how they unfolded like my favorite cardigan.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

4.5 stars.

Loved this and read it in one sitting. The atmosphere and the world building were a delight. I enjoyed the characters, their relationships, and how Tana progressed throughout the book.

Bring Me Your Midnight cements Rachel Griffin as one of my favorite authors. It’s a beautiful story about a young woman choosing whether to play things safe by doing what’s expected of her or follow her heart by fully embracing her power.

This included everything I’ve come to love about Rachel Griffin’s writing: gorgeous prose, nature-infused magic, difficult choices, a visceral journey, and complicated love. Though it starts off slow, Wolfe’s arrived had me hooked, and from that point on I couldn’t put the book down. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten so thoroughly lost in a fantasy book.

The low and high magical systems were fascinating, as were the conflicting ideologies of living openly but subdued vs. living fully but in secret.

A worthy follow up to The Nature of Witches and Wild is the Witch, I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the author’s other books or are looking for a wonderfully witchy read to sweep them away.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

I loved the magic of the currents and symbolism of flowers in this book. Forbidden love and cottage core vibes made it fun. There's a bit of queer rep! Tana's parents made me really mad. If you're looking for a YA romantasy book I'd recommend

Thank you so much NetGalley and Source Books Fire for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

When I talk about fantasy romance, this is what I mean!

This book is amazing! Even though it wasn't about mermaids at all it gave me some Little Mermaid vibes. This book is all about choosing your own path and not the path others want you to walk.

This book was such a fun and fast read for me. It is cozy fantasy with some romance. The romance was so beautiful. Everything about is was just perfect.

This book is also perfect for this summer. The setting is on a small island surrounded by water and beaches. The little village in town also sounded so cute! I needed to go there. I also don't think I ever read a book about witches but this book made me excited to read more books about witches!

I received this ARC free in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! Rachel does a great job of building suspense and making you really become immersed in the story. I am also happy that it ended the way I wanted too!

This book is magical, both literally and figuratively. The setting reminded me a bit of Spells for Forgetting. It was like walking down a touristy beach town and while the details weren't too deep, I could imagine everything about the Witchery in my mind. it was atmospheric, beautifully written with rich characters.

I loved Tana and the tension she felt between honoring her family, their history, and honoring herself. Ivy was such a great best friend who really sees Tana for who she is, and not just the responsibilities put on her since birth. Wolfe was a great angsty character and I even appreciated Landon with his sometimes brutal honesty. There are multiple times where you feel the push and pull of all their emotions, with multiple plot twists, secrets and of course magic. The emotional roller coaster of first love, and the connection I had as a perpetual people pleaser (which Tana grapples with) really just hit home for me. This was a standalone novel which I think forced some of the conflict to wrap up really quickly. In a duology or even a slightly longer book, we could have dove into those details a bit more. Overall though, I had all the feelings as I stayed up way too late to finish this in just 2 sittings....and I may or may not have gotten online immediately to pre-order a copy from the first run which is GORGEOUS along with a copy of Griffin's debut, The Nature Of Witches.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the ARC.

I loved this book. If you’re looking for a young adult cozy fantasy with forbidden magic and a forbidden romance subplot to make your heart happy, read this.

The main character Tana has her life mapped out for her as the daughter of the witch island’s coven leader. She’ll marry the mainland’s governor’s son Landon, and she’s okay with it. The alliance will give the island and therefore her coven the protection and support it needs in a world that fears and hates witches. Everything goes as planned.

That is until she meets a boy on the island who shows her a side to her world she thought gone and dangerous, and things get far more complicated. Secrets are revealed, and suddenly, Tana doesn’t know who to trust. But she can’t deny her feelings or the alluring pull to a world she’s been taught will kill her.

This book definitely had a bit of a slow start, but once it took off, it soared. The magic, the worldbuilding, the romance. Everything.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel Griffin once again reaches into the natural world, a world of politics and alliances, of romance and secrets, of the brilliant blue of the ocean that ties the Witchery and the mainland together. In what appears to be a world where the humans are fully aware of the witches from across the magically turbulent currents, the relationship between human and witch is far different than the books that came before, with an ever widening scope of a world.

Weaving magic into everyday items such as perfumes and tea blends, Rachel paints a picture of an incredibly realistic world that is the Witchery, its vibrant yet common elements creating a very familiar world, with the extra layer of magic.

With tea blends for courage and bravery or perfumes for any and all occasions, infused with feelings that don't have names and can only be described, infused with memories as a gift, infused with a simple calmness to wash over the wearer, each remarkably human product able to be infused with different forms of magic.

Lending to the feeling of a low stakes story and near cottagecore-esque descriptions, the close knit community and their magical products are so unique, yet so familiar alongside Rachel's writing, that it is surprisingly easy to suspend disbelief while reading.

Even then, it is reminiscent of real world magic as practiced in some faiths and cultures, where crystals and flowers have metaphysical properties, only in this case the memories are literal, not just items symbolic of those memories. With this, Rachel seem to pull on all that she's learned from writing her previous two books, lending to even stronger writing, voice, and storytelling.

While hopefully most readers are nowhere near a situation of arranged marriage - forbidden romances, hidden dalliances, and secret trysts are still things many can and will still be able to relate to.

With Landon as the loveless yet "correct" choice, and Wolfe as the passion filled "wrong" or "sin," readers faced with the struggle of existing as queer or even simply being in love with someone their family doesn't approve of (class, race, etc.) may recognize the internal war Mortana wages on herself.

With a character arc written so beautifully, Mortana (Tana) Fairchild's story of making the ultimate choice to go after what she wants will find a home in the hearts and souls of readers struggling to follow their own dreams, for any reader who feels the need for permission to fight for their love depite the odds.

As a third beautiful romantic magical realism book that leaps over expectations, Bring Me Your Midnight will dazzle readers, break hearts, and ultimately put them back together, only to do it all over again.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire, for my free e-book in exchange for a review.

The responsibility of determining the fate of a community can be a heavy burden to bear. Tana/Mortana, the protagonist in Bring Me Your Midnight, faces this dilemma. Tana and her fellow witches live in fear of being eradicated by ordinary people, which leads to poignant struggles depicted in the book. As a reader, I can relate to having to choose between two important things.

Bring Me Your Midnight is a love story between two people with different perspectives on life and a tale of two individuals who share a similar passion for their beliefs. The slow-burning journey of the characters from adversaries to lovers is captivating.

Friendship is another key theme in the book. The strong bond between Tana and Ivy is evident, and Tana goes against the rules to make a difficult decision for Ivy's sake. Ivy forgives her in the process.

Finally, what I appreciate about this piece is its focus on nature. The book highlights the importance of preserving the ocean and the urgency to act before it's too late. This relevant topic prompts readers to reflect and contemplate.

Overall, Bring Me Your Midnight explores the themes of choices and sacrifices as one comes of age and stands by their beliefs.

Sadly, this book (and i think author) just isn’t for me. I couldn’t get into the writing style, which made it hard to get immersed into the story.

Bring Me Your Midnight is definitely a slow moving read. I almost DNFed it at several points until the plot picked up around the 40% mark. Nothing was happening for so long. I did enjoy the world that the author built. No quite fantasy, but almost an alternate reality where witches exist in the open was interesting. Tana was a little boring as a MC as her life seemed fairly ideal. She was a little too much in her head for me, so some things got repetitive. Wolfe is a typical loner bad boy type, but was still likeable. Tana and Wolfe had definite insta-love, but eventually I started to enjoy their romance.

In true Rachel Griffin fashion, Bring Me Your Midnight is an upper YA fantasy novel steeped in atmosphere and romance. Set on an island known as the Witchery, I was swept up on the setting of this story from the first page. From the charming small town, to the alluring sea, Rachel Griffin’s worlds jump off the page and immerse the reader in the magic of nature. This, by far, was my favorite element of her newest novel.

This book follows the internal battle of our main character as she wrestles with questions about the community she loves and what she has always known to be true. As with her other books, Rachel Griffin truly shines in developing her main character. I really felt for Tana as we followed her journey to independence.

My favorite relationship in the story was that of Tana and her best friend, Ivy. Sadly, the romance didn’t live up to the tenderness of their lifelong friendship. No romance Rachel Griffin has written has come close to touching Clara and Sang of The Nature of Witches. While I enjoyed the concept of this forbidden romance, it didn’t play out in a very believable manner for me.

Similarly, the plot fell a bit short of my expectations as well. It felt a bit basic and predictable and employed one of my least favorite tropes toward the end that really made me feel frustrated with the story. Overall, I felt that there was a lot of potential with the setup and it needed to be explored further.

Despite my disappointments with the plot and romance, I still fall head over heels for Rachel’s writing every single time. This book is a wonderful read for fans of character driven and atmospheric YA fantasy.

This was a book that sucked me and didn't let go. The idea of the witches and how they handled the fear of non magical beings was a unique twist and I appreciated a FMC who wasn't afraid to see that it wasn't the best solution.

Tana is a low magic practicing witch who is engaged to the prince of the non magical humans. The marriage is important and will protect her people, but she doesn't really want it. She doesn't know him and he is one of the least romantic potential love interests I think I've ever seen in a book...and that's a good thing. Enter Wolfe who not only has a cool name to represent him being the not so bad bad boy love interest, but he is a high magic (dark magic) using man who technically shouldn't even exist in her world. Will she choose her heart or her community?

The only reason this book was a 4 star instead of a 5 for me was that it was fairly predictable in a good way. The writing is beautiful, the plot is strong, there's not a lot of plot holes... I just sort of could tell where it was going from very early on and enjoyed the ride.

I haven’t read anything by this author yet, but I’m very familiar with the cool, witchy titles and covers of her books. I always eye them in the bookstore with appreciation. But as I don’t always gravitate towards contemporary fantasy, I haven’t actually gotten around to reading either of them. However, reading the description for this one, it sounded a lot like Adrienne Young’s “Spells for Forgetting” which I absolutely loved. Unfortunately, however, this one didn’t reach those same highs.

Before getting into the parts of this book that ultimately left it as a bit of a disappointing read, I do want to focus on a few positive. For one thing, the cover art for this book is beautiful. Like the other books by this author, this one would definitely stand out on bookstore shelves. I also liked the overall concept of the book, with an island made up of witches who must expel their excess magic into the ocean to continue to exist peacefully with those around them. This idea is very interesting, and while the climate change points are not exactly subtle, that doesn’t take away from the overall impact of the set-up.

Unfortunately, as we saw so often in this book, things that should have been interesting would either not be fully explored or would peter out before the reader got to actually experience any conflict. We are told that the ocean currents around the island have become increasingly dangerous. However, other than a second-hand story from Tana’s childhood, we never actually see any dangers on the page. We’re simply told that it is so. Further, when this conflict is ultimately resolved, again, we don’t see anything of it. We are told it happens, and that is the end.

Again and again this sort of thing happened throughout the story. It was very much “telling” the reader how they should feel and what exactly was happening, but there was very little showing. Conflicts would show up throughout the story, but then, often in the same chapter, they were quickly wrapped up. Any attempts by the reader to build on stakes or feel any tension about what is coming next was almost immediately stamped down by a quick resolution.

I also struggled to picture exactly where and when this book took place. There were references to dresses and balls, but then the next moment would refer to a car driving by. It was very unclear what sort of society or world I was meant to be picturing. Is this a modern day story? Some point in the fairly recent past? For a story that is so centered around this unique community and rare, magical island, there was a distinct lack of descriptive prose. Yes, I would have enjoyed some more lyrical descriptions of this quaint town, but I also would have taken a basic description of what exactly I was supposed to be picturing at all.

Beyond this, Tana was a difficult character for me to connect to. She’s meant to be a twenty year old woman, but if I hadn’t been told this, I would very much have pegged her as a fifteen year old. Her voice is very juvenile, and her understanding of her place in the world and her choices was very passive to the point of fairly extreme naivety. At the same time, as her views were challenged, she quickly switched tack, seemingly with very little inner conflict at leaving behind lifetime-held beliefs. I also did not enjoy the romance in this story. It felt very insta-love like, and, again, I failed to connect to the characters or feel real stakes in their relationship.

This book didn’t work for me, which was too bad. I know the author is really popular, however, so if you enjoy more contemporary witchy stories, this may be for you. But if you’re looking for something with much depth, sadly I don’t think this is it.

Rating 6: Unlike the ocean with all of its mysterious depths, this one felt shallow and floundering.

(Link will go live Aug 12)

First of all, thank you NetGalley for providing me with this eARC!

I love books about witches and that's why I wanted to read this one. The descriptions were beautiful and enchanting. I could really envision the world they're in.

I also enjoy some of the tropes this book used, like forbidden love. I found this to be quite well executed during the story, however, the ending felt flat and anticlimactic to me.

It wasn't very long but that also made it easier to read. Overall, this was a cute witchy story.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Witches have had hold on my imagination since The Witch of Blackbird Pond. Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin has witches, forbidden love, tested friendship, & a young woman trying to figure out a path forward while learning the lies that her society has been built upon.

Tana has known forever that she will marry the governor’s son in order to cement an alliance between her community of witches & the non-magical humans who fear magic & try to control its wielding.

But meeting Wolfe Hawthorne & seeing a lie revealed opens up her eyes & makes her question the fate she once accepted.

Bring Me Your Midnight is an atmospheric story layered with secrets & yearning & tension. This is a world where magic is powerful & where using it makes Tana feel conflicted, where magic is loved by some & feared by many others.

With complicated family dynamics—there are secrets & also love—, with powerful external & internal forces that make Tana wonder what is right & wrong & how her own self factors into the equation, with a strong friendship that might crumble under the weight of those aforementioned factors, Bring Me Your Midnight is a stirring, intriguing tale of moonlight & waves.

4⭐️. Out 08/01.

Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
[ID: Jess's white hand holds the ebook over a group of ferns.]

Big thanks to NetGalley & publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

this was a 3 ⭐️ or 3.5 ⭐️ read for me - the premise of the book sounded so interesting to me and made me really want to pick it up! bring me your midnight centers around witches, and has both an arranged marriage and forbidden love trope (which definitely got my attention)

while there were definitely cool concepts and moments of beautiful atmospheric writing, i found the plot progression a bit flat and anti-climatic until the last 15%. i wish we could have gotten more action in the first half rather than simply focusing on the forbidden love aspect between tara and wolfe. i also thought the romance built up too quickly? and i wish we could’ve gotten more tension between the two love interests, since they are supposedly from opposing witch covens. i wasn’t sure how much time had passed throughout this book, but it seemed a bit unrealistic that tara was so confident that wolfe was “the love of her life” in what was probably less than a year (or maybe i’m just getting too old to read YA *shrugs*)

overall this book was super easy to fall into - i loved reading about witches and i think this would be perfect for a cozy fall read! 🔮