I was swooning and bored...at the same time. Boroning? Swored?

I usually like a bit more violence in my fantasy romance, which is where this fell flat for me. The main conflicts were not the mainland and the Witchery (which still played a big role but more in the background), but Tana choosing between duty and herself...
"I want to leave, but for the first time in my life, I want to extend the night."

Tana choosing between two love interests...
"Or am I a secret you will cary to your grave?"

Tana choosing between two forms of magic...
"But I suppose we're meant to think the most dangerous things are lovely."

And since we're stuck in her head, it's all flowery introspection. Her narration does feel a bit mature for her age, but also fits in with how ignorant she's supposed to be.

I loved the setting, especially Mainstreet on the Witchery. I would give anything to walk down rows of shops with small bits of magic everywhere. Better than a Christmas tree farm in a hallmark movie.

I enjoyed about 60% of this book, up until I realized there would be no grand fight at the end, and the last three chapters dragged, teasing at smut only to give fade to black or "Let me love you until you're sure it's magic."

If you love romance with "magic so subtle, we'll hardly feel it" , you'll love this.

I did and didn't. I apparently crave violence.

I really enjoyed this one! Mortana is a character I liked from the beginning. She was like a free soul trying to live in a world that was already planned out for her.

The magic system was absolutely beautiful. I was so excited when we discovered more and more of the past. The side characters made the story flow and the love interest(s) bring tension and chaos into the plot.

The relationship that blossoms between Wolfe and Mortana is something I saw blossom from its roots. Although their beginning was a bit rushed, I still found myself rooting for their end.

I overall enjoyed this book but found it to be rushed at times and a bit too much at others. The plot, the characters, and the magic system were all five stars for me but I didn't find myself wanting to binge read in one sitting.

This is definitely a book I will be recommending to my witchy friends! Add this to your TBRs! Thank you NetGalley for an eARC for my honest review.

I’m not going to lie, but in the beginning I had a bit of trouble getting into the story. It felt a bit repetitive. After 3-4 chapters it was more than clear why Tana has this obligation to her people. But then Wolfe showed up… I was done and sucked right into the story. I.Fell.Hard.
I read almost the the entire book in 1 day and I loved that it’s a standalone!

Rachel once again weaves a rich tapestry of magic and love. This spoke to me on so many levels and Tana is truly a special FMC and we all are going to be better for knowing her and her story. Growing up on the island of witches, The Witchery, Tana has always known her destiny was to marry Landon, son of the governor, to make an alliance between the Witchery and the mainlanders. But when a mysterious boy shows up on the beach and shows her his magic, everything changes.

Bring Me Your Midnight at it's heart, is a story about identity and being true to yourself. We follow the character Mortana - better known as Tana - as she begins to discover the truth about the world around her, and the lies she was led to believe. Deception is in the very fabric of her life, the myths woven helped form who she - and her coven - are. So, what happens when the truth begins to seep through, in unexpected ways?

Tana doesn't accept the truth easily, how could she! She was raised like this, and is meant to be the figurehead of the society she lives in - she's even agreed to an arrange marriage to save her people, trying to trick herself in to believing that this is what she wants, not what she has been told to want. With that comes all sorts of complicated emotions, of feeling like you're betraying everyone around you, and that you're not good enough. That somehow you're a fault. I think Griffin explored this feeling of being an imposter/outcast really well, it was very complex and layered and at every step I felt Tana's conflict.

My favourite part of this book was most definitely the setting. The beach, the sea . . . it was so vivid and atmospheric. I loved it. Some really strong writing.

As for the plot - unravelling the truth about the witches magic and how this truth began to present itself to Tana, etc - was a little slow moving for me, and then it sort of just . . . ended. I wouldn't say I was unsatisfied, but I wasn't entirely satisfied either. While I said - and do still agree - that Tana's emotions were well written and explored in a good way, I do think a lot of the book felt same-y throughout, which is a shame.

Overall though, I really did like this book (and I LOVE the cover) and would definitely recommend this to my friends, especially those who like stories with witches!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received an e-arc of Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin from Netgalley and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to love this one, but ultimately was bored with the writing. I put it down at 32% but I might try again once the audiobook is available.
I was interested in the magic system and the romance but found the writing in this story to be very repetitive and I wasn't connecting with it.

Okay I will be the first to admit that I don't think I am a huge fan of fantasy romance anymore so I didn't love this.

The plot is what I was most interested in here, even though I wasn't totally into it. The stakes were really high so Tana kept having to make really difficult decisions which after a while gets repetitive and doesn't feel as urgent. The plotting was a little all over the place and the pacing was really inconsistent.

I didn't really feel connected to Tana or Wolfe (possibly because his name was Wolfe) so I didn't care much about their relationship. The characters felt really simply like they had no depth.

I think there are plenty of readers who could still enjoy this book, it probably just wasn't for me.

Tana is a witch. She lives on a small island with a community of witches. They were driven off the mainland to this island several generations back by the intolerance of the non-magical population. Over the years the witches have tamped down their powers to be more palatable to the mainlanders. Tana is the daughter of the leader of the witches. At 19-years-old she is preparing for an arranged marriage to the son of the governor of the mainland. It’s an alliance that will solidify the truce and all but guarantee the safety of the witches. Tana is dedicated to the upcoming marriage as a matter of duty. Her fiancé is a kind, pragmatic man. He’ll be a good partner for her. Then somethings start to happen that throw Tana’s world into chaos. She has to choose between loyalty to her people and being true herself.

This is a good book. I couldn’t put it down. The magical world is captivating and the dilemma Tana faces between duty and truth is relatable to a wider audience than just the YA genre.

Rachel Griffin has done it again!

This book is an amazing analysis of what it means to make sacrifices for the greater good and how every choice comes at a cost and sometimes that cost may not be worth it. I loved this book so much and found it to be utterly heartbreaking in all the best ways.

Definitely add this to your collection!

"It feels as if I've been living in the shadows and he's invited me into the light.His dark expressions and dark magic and dark home lit me up inside, illuminating the things I've been taught to keep hidden"

Bring me your midnight is deeply atmospheric and beautifully romantic, Rachel Griffin’s lush prose is just as breathtaking as it was in her previous books. Perhaps only she can bring the nature closest to you even while you are reading in the comfort of your bed, I enjoyed the moody and witchy ambiance in the book so very much.

On a fictional island called Witchery, Tana is raised to believe her sole purpose is to strengthen the alliance between their island and mainlanders(non magic people) because it is precariously hanging by a thread due their fear of the witches and their coven.However when she meets the strange, broody boy Wolfe who doesn't hesitate to use forbidden magic she can't help but be drawn to him and his ways.As she unravels more secrets about her covens way of life, she has to make a choice between which path to take to live her life away from the burden of expectations on her.

The forbidden romance, Tana's relationship with her family and her best friend Iris, her internal turmoil is sure to pull at you heart strings. The only reason it wasn't a 5 star was because I felt like I needed more world building like what exists beyond witchery and mainland? and as well as the fact the ending felt premature, things keep changing so abruptly and it felt unsatisfactory. I just thought I needed a bit more since this is a standalone but overall I really enjoyed the lighthearted, low stakes fantasy

What to expect:
-Lush/atmospheric prose
-Forbidden romance
-Midnight rendezvous
-Witchy ambiance with island setting
-Low stakes/light hearted fantasy

Thank you Sourcebooks for my digital galley!

Bring Me Your Midnight is like a wonderful love letter to magic. I thoroughly enjoyed the romance and atmosphere.

I had somewhat mixed feelings about this novel. It has a slow start, and it made me want to put the book down multiple times. I love the prose from this author - the writing is very descriptive and indicative of great fantasy writing!
Overall, I was pleased with the plot. I felt like it was consistent in the delivery that Griffin’s other novels have.

I absolutely love a fantasy romance and this one hits it out of the park.

I mean we have an arranged marriage, hidden magic, deep secrets and rich rich story building.

The atmospheric creepy vibes in this are off the chart almost immediately. And the world building in this is amazing. Honestly I could go on and on about this book but it would just be me raving about how amazing it is!!!

Tana is such an incredibly strong individual. She's so devoted and dedicated to her craft as well as her coven. So much so that she is willing to marry Landon who lives on the mainland just to join the witches with the mainlanders and bring a sense of peace between the two.

Then she meets Wolff. Who tells her that there are some witches on the island that still practice dark magic. And her coven expects her to go through with the arranged marriage to cement the alliance between the mainland and their island.

But Wolff brings out something in her that no one else ever has. He sees the side of her that no one else does.

I mean this book has drama and magic and witches and essentially a witch hunt. It's so so good and I'm kicking myself for not reading this author sooner.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an arc of this amazing book!!

I'm living for Tana's relationship with the sea and the water, where she can be herself. The idea of this dark magic to the juxtaposition to the light town that she takes care of is such a nice concept to work with. There's always a battle of dark & light.

The boy she falls for is a sterotypical "bad boy" type, but that can be expected for a YA novel. I loved how relationships bloomed here.

Overall, this book (for me) was okay. This is my first Rachel Griffin book, so take that as a grain of salt as you read reviews. I'm not a huge YA reader so please don't let my opinion sway you.

Let me start by saying that I feel like Rachel Griffin takes special care with the elements she incorporates in her books. They always weigh heavily on witches, covens, magic, relationships, animals, and nature. While Wild Is The Witch felt more focused on animals and nature, this latest book gives off more of a romantic love story feel.

“All I can think about is closing the space between us. I want to know what he feels like; I want to know how he tastes. I want to know all these things that are forbidden to me.”

The destiny for Tana (according to her parents) is that she wed the governor’s son, Landon (not a witch) and do her duty to bring not only the town together, but to bring order to the coven of which she belongs. On the night she is to expel excess magic with other witches, she is distracted by another named Wolfe, who is from the old coven and wields dark magic. He is the embodiment of everything she has been taught to fear and not accept.

“He is my daylight, my sun, my hours spent practicing magic. I know that now, and I vow to be the same for him.”

As Wolfe begins to show Tana the ways of his coven who now essentially live in secret, she struggles with wondering if her destiny isn’t what her mother has intended for her. When a few twists in the story unfold, she begins to question everything she has ever been taught. She wonders if certain ideals are untruths or concealments.

“This magic I’ve had my whole life, that I’ve risen with the sun for each and every day, has let me down. It’s eating me from the inside, and soon it will kill me. The ultimate betrayal.”

When it comes to storyline and the romantic love story woven in this, it’s my favorite so far of Griffin’s books. However, I have to say that it’s shy of five stars solely due to what felt like a rushed ending. The pacing for the majority of the book felt pretty even, but once the story took a certain turn, it felt more rushed, and I feel like I needed more from that ending. All in all, I highly recommend picking this one up, especially if you have enjoyed her other books!

What’s On The Pages:
-witches/covens
-arranged marriage
-forbidden love
-love triangle
-secrets
-the power of friendship

✨Rating✨
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Steam Factor: I don’t know that it can be considered fade to black? It’s very mildly implied, but not described

A special thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this eARC! Bring Me Your Midnight is out August 1st!

As a Rachel Griffin book fanatic, I could not put this book down. This was sold to me as an atmospheric story full of forbidden love (which it had in abundance <3), but the most impactful part to me was the theme of Tana finding her own future.

Tana has had her destiny laid out for her since she was a young child. She was going to wed the governor's son and protect her island, the only safe haven for witches. In a world that fears witches and their magic, an alliance between the mainland and the Witchery would open up resources and protections that hadn't been afforded to the island since the witches had been persecuted and banned from the mainland. Tana feels bound by duty to her island and community to do this for them. But when she meets a boy on the beach at midnight, everything changes. Suddenly, Tana finds herself torn between dark magic and low magic, love and duty.

I loved so much about this book. Tana is an incredibly relatable character who is lost within herself, trying to understand who she is separate from all of the expectations that have been put on her. My favorite part about her self discovery was that she had so internalized others' expectations of her that she couldn't figure out where their wants stopped and her own began. All of the confusion and constant negative self-talk felt relatable in a way that was so unique. In her mind, she owed so much to so many that she felt she had to apologize for being herself. Her growth journey was incredible to follow and had me tearing up at multiple points. Rachel Griffin always manages to nail mental health in such relatable ways, and it makes me so happy to have these characters to relate to and grow with.

Another strong point was most of the relationships! I was crying over Tana and her best friend Ivy (Tana refers to Ivy as her soulmate <3), and I love the relationship between Tana and her dad. I love seeing present parents in YA books!

I know that it's an unpopular opinion, but I didn't love the romance in this... I felt that it was very insta-love and the intensity happened way too quickly, so it was hard for me to believe. Which is a shame because I was obsessed with the romance subplots in Griffin's first two books! Overall, it just felt a little unbelievable to me, and I wished that we could have seen a lot more building up of their relationship instead of being told about it or having it instantly get intense. My only other complaint is the world-building. I felt like the Witchery and the mainland were on their own little planet, and I was confused about if the world was contemporary or historical. I would have loved more depth into the rest of earth in this fantasy world. But those two things are my ONLY complaints!

Overall, I loved this book. Rachel Griffin creates compelling characters with complicated inner worlds and a healthy dose of witches. And I always love how significant saving the environment is in each other novels. A+ to Rachel Griffin for major themes of mental illness/unique mental health difficulties and saving out planet! I recommend this and her backlist <3
4.5 rounded up

For such a beautiful cover and compelling title, I had high expectations for this anticipated YA release. Griffin does a spectacular job describing Tana’s emotional connection to the ocean, her island, and her magic. The briny, dark, and expansive atmosphere of the water and Tana’s experience with dark magic highlights the wild, untamed nature of our protagonist. In contrast, the pastel-colored, flower-encrusted, cobble-stone village she cares for so much perfectly represents the softer, structured side of the people she loves so much.

Yet, Tana’s heart is easily swayed; her dramatic declarations become less believable when she so often flip-flops at the first sign of hardship. The love interest is a stereotypical “bad boy,” and with his entrance into the story comes a slew of melodrama, contrived verbal sparring, and predictable tropes galore. The romance is tepid, emotionally rapid, and lacking in depth, which is unfortunate, given that it is one of the major driving forces in the story.

Surprisingly, the true love that sparkles like sunshine on calm ocean waves is the friendship between Tana and Ivy. The girls wrestle through their different ideologies with realistic responses and frustration. Yet, they never lose sight of their friendship. Tana’s parents, too, are written with care and complexity. While it would have been easy to make them the harsh, out-of-touch, overprotective parents so common in teen dramas, Griffin brings them to life by the love they have for their daughter and the desperate choices they make to protect their community.

There is much to praise about Bring Me Your Midnight. Readers looking for a vibe-y story full of teen angst, swimming in the ocean at midnight, and environmental themes will be delighted. The parental relationships and Tana’s bond with Ivy hold enough of weight in the story that readers unimpressed with Wolfe might still be satisfied. Still, while Griffin’s writing immerses us in a lovely, secluded ocean-cottage town, for me, the main character’s romance caused most of the magic of this tale to fizzle out.

This book ✨ chef's kiss✨ perfection. The gothic romance, the coming of age, the awakening of the senses and the mind. Masterful while still being calming and joyous and sweet. Everything I love about Rachel Griffin is in this book.

I. Freaking. Loved. This. Book.

I’ve loved everything Griffin has written, but this is my favorite. She keeps getting better and better. I loved the more gothic feel of this book. I loved the romance. I loved the magic.

This was an absolutely wonderful book and a beautiful ode to the PNW and magic itself.

Bring Me Your Midnight takes you to a world where witches exist on a small island and sacrifice to keep their community alive. When the daughter of the coven's leader is slated to marry the governor's son, forming a protection alliance between the witches and mainlanders, we have to ask ourselves if everyone deserves free will. Rachel Griffin creates a story full of ups and downs, love and duty, and right vs. wrong. It's definitely worth the read.