It was cute, I’ll give it that! Made me cry, made me swoon. The setting requires some suspended disbelief, but I think for a story that’s meant to be about love and self discovery and making your own choices, it does what it needs to do. I like the cute witchy town motif the fantasy genre is pushing at the moment, so it works for me, but anyone who maybe wants something gritty or action-packed, this cute Hallmark movie of a book might not be for you. But that’s what it is. A Hallmark book that you should read with a nice cup of tea in a window seat with a view of a beach or a meadow or something. If that’s the vibe you want, this is the book you want.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC. All opinions are entirely my own.

Lovely and magical story. Wish I could visit the island. Tana meets Wolfe who challenges her views of her coven and what her heart wants. Tana seems younger than her 19/20 years imo. I would have liked more tension and romance. Story seemed to wrap up enough in the end.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc.

She has always known that her future will bring peace and safety to her people…..but is the cost to her too high?

Tana Fairchild is a nineteen year old witch, the daughter of her coven’s leader, and lives on the island that her coven calls home. She is to marry Landon, the handsome son of the governor on the mainland from which her people were banished generations ago. A détente of sorts has been reached over the years between the mainland people, who fear the magical power of the witches, and the witches themselves. In addition to remaining on the island, the witches also agreed to stop practicing powerful “black magic”, and instead limit themselves to “low tide magic”, infusing teas, perfumes, and such things with light amounts of magic….the kind that the mainland people find enjoyable and non-threatening. Not all witches had agreed to limit themselves, and those opposed formed their own coven, but they have died off. Tana’s mother and the rest of the coven’s governing council have sought codified acceptance and protection from the mainland, as there are still those who fear and want to eliminate even those witches who have voluntarily limited their abilities. A deal has been struck….Tana and Landon will marry, and the governor will turn into written law the mainland’s obligation to protect the island and its residents. Tana loves her people, and is proud to be the one who will provide them with the security they so desperately want. Landon seems kind and, though she doesn’t love him, she expects that love will develop in time. She worries that she doesn't feel comfortable leading a public life; she isn’t adept in that milieu the way her mother is, but she will work hard at it. Then one night, she makes a terrible mistake. Each month, the members of the coven divest themselves of the excess magic that has built up in their bodies because they use comparatively little given the limitations imposed, releasing that excess into the waters around the island. This monthly ritual is called rushing, and Tana arrived at the beach with the rest of her coven but is distracted away from the group. She bumps into a strange, angry young man named Wolfe….they snipe back and forth with one another, and he tells her that he too is a witch, but from a different coven on the island….one that does not limit their magic. What Tana calls black magic is actually, Wolfe tells her, high magic. It is not dangerous, or evil. It is a confusing moment for Tana, and after they separate she realizes that she has missed the rushing ceremony. She has been taught that if excess magic is not released, it becomes a toxic build up that will kill her. Fearing that she will die and her people will lose the possibility of protection that her marriage to Landon would have brought, she seeks out Wolfe to see if he and his magic can save her. The more she learns of Wolfe, and the magic his coven practices, the more confused and torn she becomes about what she has always learned and what she is now discovering with him. That they share a powerful attraction further complicates matters, and difficult choices must be made.
This young adult novel is a story with a modern day Romeo and Juliet, two young people who fall in love even though their two covens possess two very different belief systems that do not coexist peacefully. Both believe in and care deeply for their communities, and are fiercely loyal to them. Which is more important, love or duty? How can they follow their hearts when to do so would bring almost certain ruin to those communities? Can they put the needs of their communities over their own? The questions are as old as time itself, and the answers are not easy….and with the stakes so high, a wrong decision could have devastating consequences for many. Ms Griffin weaves an absorbing tale, rich with description and a likable group of characters. I rooted for Tana, sympathized with her torn loyalties, and wasn’t sure how she would decide her future. It was a very enjoyable read, and I would recommend it for fans of Ms Griffin’s earlier books as well as those who enjoy a bit of magic with their romance. My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebook Fire for the opportunity to read an
advanced reader’s copy.

Firstly, I'd like to say thanks to NetGalley for the ARC 🥰

Bring Me Your Midnight is a witchy YA fantasy novel with a heavy romance and self discovery storyline.

Now I will say, I found this book hard to get into, with getting past the first 20% taking me a good few weeks... I'm not exactly sure why but I did find the writing intially very blunt and the story quite slow to begin.

After that slow start, the story did pick up when Tana met Wolfe for the first time. The romance between the two characters was incredibly sweet, with him helping her on the path of self discovery and her powers.

It's a very small world in this book but it does make the story easy to understand with minimal complexities. With a common theme in fantasy, this book doesn't include any violence or fantasy battles (which I always love) so if you want a softer witchy romance, this may be for you. 📚

Overall, I did enjoy the book, but I found the writing a little hard to connect with and I'd have enjoyed a bit more depth to the characters ✨️

5 STARS!

I devoured this book over the weekend, do I have any regrets? NOT A SINGLE ONE!

This book was full of magic, love, family and loyalty. II wanted to just keep reading when the story came to an end. Tana (short for Mortana Fairchild) is our FMC who lives on an island of witches who have made a peaceful, beautiful life for themselves by promising the mainlanders (humans) that they will practice low magic and denounce dark magic. On the island, the low magic witch community has created a pastel colored world full of fun shops that help sustain and support the families while providing a sort of daycation for the mainlanders. In attempts to shore up alliances, the Governor of the mainland, arranges a marriage with the daughter of one head witch families. Tana is the betrothed. She is confident she is following this path out of duty and love for her family and way of life, until one day… she learns that things aren’t what they seemed. She discovers family secrets, lies, truths about the islands history and the one to teach her these things also shows her what love that you chose for yourself instead of accept as your fate… can truly be like. What will she do as she learns she is caught between to impossible paths? Something or someone will dies either way…

First of all, this is my first Rachel Griffin book and I will be seeking out more! I love the way she writes, her pacing is perfection, her pages are purposeful and the people are magic themselves. I loved the imagery in this book, I could see the island and the shops come to life in my mind. I loved the angst and the relationships. Although people are odds with one another it’s not for any other reason than standing up for what they believe in. No real villains in this story! The love story is bliss but I will say, this is marketed as young adult, I would not feel comfortable if I had young kids reading this book until they were at least high school jr or sr! It was pretty steamy in some spots. That being said, I don’t usually read spice, so my tolerance level is probably low! Lol…

If you love magical, whimsical and angsty stories, this will be your jam!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! LOVED THIS BOOK!

So much to love about this one! My favorite elements of a Rachel Griffin novel are here in full force - witchy earth magic and gorgeous immersive depictions of the natural world. Can I move to the Witchery immediately? The POV is super close which takes some getting used to for me but I do love how much the reader feels Tana’s struggle and even her anxiety over her decisions. The complex relationship with her mom was very interesting and I adored her relationship with her dad. The love triangle was a bit perfunctory - obviously team Wolfe, the outcome never really felt in question, even though Wolfe also didn’t feel quite as developed as I would have hoped. But it was still an enjoyable ride. Overall, a great story about trusting yourself and choosing what is right for you even when it appears wrong for everyone else.

This was such a great read and an easy 5/5 for me. I flew through this book and could not put it down!

The story centres around a young witch Mortana who is finding her place within her world, which is set on an island where she is surrounded by her fellow witches who perform only low magic to keep the peace with the humans who live on the mainland, one of whom Mortana is supposed to marry. As the story goes on Mortana must decide where she fits in the world and who she can truly trust.

I felt the world building was done so beautifully by the author and just felt seamless within the story and not too heavy at the beginning. The characters were sweet and I genuinely felt like they felt their actual age rather than seeming more mature than their age as I feel is often the case in YA novels.

This is a great YA fantasy romance and I can’t wait for the book to release so I can pick up a physical copy as the cover art is also stunning.

I received this book as an ARC and my review and opinion are my own.

First of all thank you so much for approving me for this ARC, Rachel Griffin is my favorite author and i actually cried when i saw that i was going to be able to read this early. Rachel’s other books were so dreamy and Bring me your midnight is no different. The moody atmosphere of the island and sea pulled me into the story immediately. I love books about women with great power (especially witches) who need to learn to embrace their powder and trust themselves, Rachel does those kind of stories so so well. The love story was painfully beautiful between the two main characters i was crying ruining my makeup for work towards the end. I love how the author always ties it some way to bring awareness to climate change and how we need to protect and respect the nature world around us. I loved this book so much and will be recommending it to anyone who will listen to me.

Once again Rachel Griffin has captured my heart with her magical stories. I loved this book so much. It’s full of forbidden love, witchy vibes and nature.

Bring Me Your Midnight is deeply atmospheric and has gorgeous descriptive writing. Griffin truly put her entire heart into this book. Through her words it’s obvious how much she cares for the world around us. Especially when it came to the way Tana explains the love she has for her magic and the sea. It was beautiful!

Tana was such a special character to follow. After living through an experience that should have killed her, she starts questioning everything she believes in. She is torn between doing what is expected of her or following her own path. I think her story is one that a lot of people can relate to…I know I did!

Wolfe & Tana were perfect together. I really enjoyed seeing their relationship bloom. He saw her for who she really is and it was the sweetest thing ever!

Cannot wait to have this on my shelves!

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC! I love Rachel Griffin's books so much. The mix of witchy magic and nature is just perfect. The environments created in her stories are so good that I never want to leave. Bring Me Your Midnight is no exception. Griffin's descriptions of the beautiful Witchery island and all the lovely shops makes me want to move there. I love reading about these young women coming into their power, and Mortana's story is so full of push and pull that you are hopeful that she'll end up with the love of her life but never quite sure if it will happen. It's lush and romantic and wonderful.

Synopsis: Mortana has grown up knowing she was expected to marry the mainland governor's son to create an alliance. The Witchery - the island filled with witches where she lives - will be protected by the non-witch mainland and the mainland will have control over the amount of magic the witches can do. It seems set in stone until Mortana meets Wolfe and uncovers a world of magic she was told disappeared long ago. She falls in love - with the magic, with her own choices and possibly with the young man who isn't her betrothed.

I loved Wild is the Witch, and Rachel Griffin has some of the most beautiful books in the world, so when I saw this was announced I was so excited to add it to my collection. (Also it was right after Midnights was released, so it fit my Taylor Swift Midnights era perfectly.)

Tana Fairchild’s life has been planned out since the moment she was born: she is to marry the governor’s son, Landon, securing an alliance between the witches of her island and the mainlanders who see her existence as a threat. To appease the mainlanders, her coven has released most of their magic into the ocean for years. However when Tana misses the midnight ritual—a fatal mistake—there is no one she can turn to for help…until she meets Wolfe.

Wolfe claims he is from a coven that practices long forbidden magic, making him one of the only people who can help her. But he refuses to let Tana’s power rush into the sea, and instead teaches her his magic, making her feel powerful. As the sea grows more violent, her coven loses control of the currents, a danger that could destroy the alliance and her island. Tana will have to choose between love and duty, between loyalty to her people and loyalty to her heart. Marrying Landon would secure peace for her coven but losing Wolfe and his wild magic could cost her everything else.

This novel was a bit of a mixed bag for me, and I truthfully didn’t instantly fall in love with it the way I did Wild is the Witch. However, I enjoyed it. The background and the atmosphere were perfect, and I loved that the stakes were high and Tana’s choice was impossible.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

“He comes alive in darkness, so darkness I become.”

I have NEVER read a book that is more Taylor Swift coded than Bring Me Your Midnight. This book is Written by a Swiftie, and I’m so here for it. Rachel Griffin is one of my all-time favorite fantasy authors, and this book is definitely her best work yet. Bring Me Your Midnight is one of those books that sucks you in and never lets you go.

This book follows Tana, the daughter of the coven leader. She is betrothed to a human boy named Landon, who she has never met, but is perfectly fine with this because it is what’s best for her family and her coven. At least, that’s what she tells herself. Then one night, she meets Wolfe. He’s a member of the old coven, which Tana has been taught to hate. But when he saves her life with no personal motivation to do so, she begins to question whether his dark magic is really something to fear, or if it might be the very thing that could save their beloved island.

Let’s start with the setting. I absolutely love the ocean, and this book made me feel like I was back on North Beach in Haida Gwaii. Everything about this book felt whimsical thanks to the exquisitely crafted magic system and dark, enchanting setting.

The characters in this book are absolutely phenomenal. Tana is chaotic and messy and sometimes misguided, but never unlikeable. Even when everything she knows about witches is turned, she maintains her bravery and morals. Her relationship with Wolfe was easily my favorite part of the novel. If there’s one thing Rachel Griffin is going to put in her books (aside from witches, of course), its banter so good you giggle and squeal like a kid in a candy store. Their romance was so easy to root for, even when they fought.

This is easily one of my top 5 reads of the year so far. It’s a cozy, lush, romantic fantasy. Like all of Rachel’s books, it feels like a love letter to nature.

Bring Me Your Midnight comes out August 1st!

Thank you for the opportunity of reading an arc, I liked reading Bring Me Your Midnight! There was so much tension from the start about the 'right and wrong' kind of magic and for me this was the central theme of the book. I loved how the story revolved around Tana's knowledge of magic, how she experiences practicing magic and how she feels about the effect of the rush on the sea and her island. This book made me want to be able to practice magic myself.

The love interest was okay, a little predictable. The shift in Wolfe's feelings for Tana was a bit sudden for me and I would have liked to know more about him and his coven. I really didn't like Ivy - at first she seems like a nice person and a good friend who always has the perfect cup of tea for every occassion. But she also came across as very nosy and controlling.

I was very interested in the history of the witches and why non-magic people were afraid of the witches. The parts about the 'outside' world didn't really get into that but I would have loved more background information as well as some more appearances of other witches in Tana's coven - apart from Ivy and their parents.

I cannot even put into words how excited I was to read this, everything Rachel Griffin writes seems to just be magical and enchanting. Her witchy words had me hooked and I could not stop reading... sleep became a distant memory and I didn't even care! She's done it again, read this NOW!

Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin
This is my first book by author Rachel Griffin. I was immediately drawn to this cover while browsing Netgalley. I found myself coming back multiple times while scrolling through available titles. Once I read the synopsis I was excited to give this book a try. 
I am SO happy I found this book. It has been a long time since I have read a YA fantasy book this good. If you enjoy witchcraft, romance and a beautifully written story, this is a MUST read. 
Things I loved about this book:-The atmospheric writing style and celebration of nature-A love story to the sea and all it has to offer-The small island setting that reminds me of the pacific northwest-The description of the Witchery...dreamy streets full of witchy tea shops and apothecaries. -Tana, a young witch with a duty to her coven that discovers being loyal to herself is most important. -Wolfe, deeply romantic and patient.-A fun dynamic between Tana and Wolfe-Feeling a connection with the side characters in the story. 
I cannot wait to check out more books from this author.

4.5 This book is so dreamy and romantic, I love Wolfe so much. The only reason it’s 4.5 instead of 5 is because yet again, she’s a little lazy on the world building. There were automobiles but no other mention of any other tech so I was having difficulty setting a comparable decade to this fantasy setting.

Such a beautiful book though!

This book takes place in a fantasy realm. It is light on the world-building and is character driven. It is also a coming of age novel and a love story--with the suitable moral and personal dilemmas that add depth and some complexity to the story. It is not a heavy read, but not vapid either, so it is good for the summer. I think if I were to give it a hashtag it would be cottagewitchcore. Others have characterized it as swoon worthy and atmospheric and I agree.

Tana's coven has appeased those on the mainland who fear their power the island witch power for years by releasing most of their magic into the ocean during the full moon. But when Tana misses the midnight, which she has believes to be a fatal mistake―there is no one she can turn to for help. She decides to attempt to release her power independently and this is when she meets Wolfe. He practices old magic and lives secretly on the island with other families who are more powerful because they will not diminish their magic by releasing it into the ocean.

Tana learns that her mother has been lying to her--that the old magic is not dead and the dangers of their magic are myths created for political alliances. She also learns from Wolfe that the growing instability of the sea is due to these myths and their release of magic. Unearthing these forces Tana to choose between love (Wolfe) and duty (Landon her parent's political alliance), between loyalty to her people and loyalty to her heart.

Tana has always known her fate: marry Landon, the governor’s son, to keep the peace between the mainland and her coven’s island. The mainlanders have accepted the witches for a while now, but only if they agree to feed a portion of their power to the ocean each month and practice “low magic”. But when Tana accidentally misses that midnight ritual, she learns that their magic is causing dangerous currents in the sea—currents that could ruin any relationship the island has with the mainlanders. Then she meets Wolfe, a mysterious islander who practices a long forbidden magic and says he can help her. She’s discovering a whole new world that feels…right. But with her fate headed in one direction and her heart heading in another, which side will she choose, and how will it affect her beloved coven?

Bring Me Your Midnight is one of the most intriguing YA fantasies I’ve read in a long time! The magic system was so different and I loved the way it was interwoven with the sea. Tana is a quietly strong heroine and her relationship with Wolfe was so sweet. I loved seeing the familiar young adult/parent tension that had its own happy ending, as well as a wonderful portrayal of friendship with our side characters. As a stand-alone, the ending did feel a little rushed and “too perfect”, but it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the story. I really hope to see a sequel!

Witchcraft, Grimoire's, spells, young love; what could wrong with a book like this?! Quite a lot, apparently.

Witch Mortana (Tana, for short) has been betrothed since infancy to a non-witch Mainlander, in an attempt to... well, not sure what. The Low Magic witches and Mainlanders aren't at war, they seem to get along great. Mainlanders love coming to the island the witches live on, buying their spelled teas and perfumes. So, right off the bat I was not believing the forced marriage hype.

Tana meets her intended and he is the epitome of milquetoast. He holds her hand, gives her a colorful piece of glass (which I thought would be sinister later. It isn't, it's just a piece of glass) and vows to try and like her. He is not evil His parents seem like perfectly lovely people. No drama there, at all.

But Tana wanders off one evening and meets Wolfe, who practices High Magic (or dark magic, as Tana calls it). He shows her that his magic is not the evil sorcery she has always been told it is. She discovers shes good at it and loves it. But she goes back to her parents' house and best friend and continues on with the arranged marriage preparations. Her mother is head of the Coven Council and is the one who has been feeding Tana lies all her life.

I got about 40% into the book and was SO bored I almost put it down in defeat. Tana is nice but naive. Her arranged fiance is nice but bland. His parents are pleasant. Tana's Dad is nice but doesn't stand up to his wife. Tana's Mom calls all the shots in the house and insists on the arranged marriage while keeping secrets from everyone. But in the end, she is... nice.

A little bit of excitement finally perks up the second half, but by the final couple of chapters we are back to boring. There is no evil to overcome, there is no bad guy to defeat. All the ribbons are tied up neatly, the end.

Witchy, beautiful and romantic. I loved every second of this story.

Our story follows Tana a 19 year old witch that lives on an island that uses magic for the benefit of non magical tourists from the mainland. Her life has been entirely mapped out for her and she is set to marry a mainlander in order to bring the two worlds together. However when a handsome stranger with strong magic appears in her life, she realizes not everything is as it seems.

I liked Tana and her love for her people and her magic, I also enjoyed her eventual ability to be open to change and knowing that when it comes to magic , it’s not good or bad but it is about intention. I also like that she realizes what truly makes her happy and what path she wants to take.

The world they live in is interesting but we don’t get too many major glimpses into the mainland but what we do get helps us understand why the union set up for our FMC could potentially be important. However , duty to one’s people should not include not being accepted for who you are.

I wish the Witchery was real because I would love to live on a beautiful island and swim everyday and use magic to make things like perfumes and teas. I connect with our FMC because she loves the ocean and swimming. Nothing beats the silence and stillness of being under the water.

Overall this book is magical and important to remind us all that we need to sometimes be selfish and that’s ok. We cannot make everyone happy but what matters is that we are happy.