I DNFed this book. I tried to push through. I just couldn't do it, though. This felt like a YA book with all the Twilight references. Rating it 3 stars because, while it wasn't the book for me, it might be the perfect book for someone else.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the E-ARC

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

Midnight is the Darkest Hour
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Ashley Winstead

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Sourcebooks and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: For fans of Verity and A Flicker in the Dark, this is a twisted tale of murder, obsessive love, and the beastly urges that lie dormant within us all...even the God-fearing folk of Bottom Springs, Louisiana. In her small hometown, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist.

Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners' bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar—and Ruth realizes only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the power to comb the town's secret underbelly in search of true evil.

A dark and powerful novel like fans have come to expect from Ashley Winstead, Midnight is the Darkest Hour is an examination of the ways we've come to expect love, religion, and stories to save us, the lengths we have to go to in order to take back power, and the monstrous work of being a girl in this world.

My Thoughts: Winstead is one of my favorite thriller writers and I am always excited when she releases a new novel. Another novel that is perfect for the spooky season. Ruth lives in an area of Louisiana that is extremely old school religious, almost cult religious. When a skull is found in the swamp, the whole town is in fear of the mystical figure created long ago, the Low Man, a vampiric figure that is believed to creep into sinners’ bedrooms and kill them, placing the remains in the swamp as a sacrilege sacrifice. What lengths will the town and/or the people of the town, including Ruth and her sidekick Everett go to turn out the secret? This novel gives off Bonnie and Clyde vibes with a gothic religious twist.

The story is narrated by Ruth in a third person POV. Ruth has been brought up by a fire and brimstone preacher father, where children are to be seen and not heard. Where girls are to wait for sex until after they are married. When the wife ALWAYS obeys the husband. Where you must go to church, be tight with the community, never sin, and always obey the followings of the church. There is the law and God laws that the community of Bottom Springs must follow. Ruth is attracted to Everett, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, that her father has warned her against. Everett thinks he is too evil for Ruth but cannot stay away. The characters were well fleshed out with depth, mystery, creepiness, intriguing, and creatively woven throughout the story. The MCs are unreliable, flawed, yet likable. The author’s writing style was complex, suspenseful, twisty, atmospheric, and brilliant. The characters are built up through the chapters and through flashbacks of the past, the plot is delivered in twists throughout the story, and the ending is unpredictable. I believe that some will love the ending and some will hate the ending.

This was a creepy, atmospheric psychological thriller that delves into fire and brimstone religious, even cult-like behavior. The story is twisty, creepy, dark, disturbing, suspenseful, and did I say twisty? I adored the vampire references, definitely a Twilight feel. The last quarter of the book is page turning, heart racing, cannot put down and the ending, whoa, what an ending. I screamed at the ending but will not say much more to not ruin for other readers. GO PICK UP THIS BOOK! Highly recommend! For me, this is a must read.

Easily an auto purchase author and this just adds to my reasoning why. The references to Twilight made me swoon and had me feeling nostalgic. I connected to Ruth and related to her. This book was great and I found myself savoring the pages because I was enjoying it so much.

I absolutely loved this book. I have read In My Dreams I Hold a Knife as well as The Last Housewife and after this book Ashley Winstead is firmly cemented as an author I’ll follow for years to come. The beautiful setting, lush descriptions, and interwoven Twilight themes all combined to create a perfect, atmospheric spooky read. I can’t wait for Future Saints!

Midnight is the darkest hour is the 4th book I’ve read by Ashley winstead and I’m not sure why I keep thinking she’ll get better. This book was so slow and boring and way too many twilight references. The ending just had me so annoyed. Not good. Do not recommend

I have enjoyed Ashley Winstead's previous works, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and The Last Housewife. However, I was not as enthralled with Midnight Is the Darkest Hour. There were so many references to Twilight that I felt as though this might be more geared to YA readers (of which I am not). I will, however, continue to look forward to Ashley Winstead's writing in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars.

A creative and ominous read. At times it was a little too over-the-top for me. The last 25% was my favorite and definitely unputdownable.

<b>"What did it feel like to become a warning?"</b>

This is a truly haunting and surreal, visceral read. It's wonderfully taunt, expertly crafted, and deftly imbued with some elements that always make you feel just that little bit off kilter -- is there some supernatural realism at work? Is there something of the occult transpiring in Ruth's reality? Who are the real villains and what is the real justice?

<b>"Why should we have to love and obey a world that doesn't love us back?"</b>

Winstead's latest is certainly different than your usual crime fiction or thriller. It feels slower while at the same time sharper. It begs a lot of philosophical questions, challenging readers to examine their own internal narratives, their own ethics, and pushes the boundaries on our traditional senses of crime, justice, love and even freedom.

<b>"But what about what children sacrifice? What about the courage it takes to right our parents' wrongs, course correct the mess they've left us?"</b>

There are several heavy themes, most especially religious zealotry and cultism, that might give you the impression this is another dark underbelly telling like Winstead's previous works, but this actually takes on so much more. There's a constant push and pull as Ruth chafes against her town and family, but finds herself beholden to it. As events unfold, you can feel her cognitive dissonance transpire off the page and insidiously creep into your own perspective. As the hidden depths of the swamp and the town surface, you're experiencing all the same challenges to the things you've been taught like Ruth. You're pushed again and again to reconsider what a crime is, who a villain really is, and what costs you would pay to set yourself free, to define your freedom and grasp it.

It's hard to really dive into this further with specifics without spoiling any elements, and truly I think this is one best enjoyed going in blind or with your own specific notions to see how Winstead challenges and surprises them. While the overall 'twists' might not be surprising by the time they come, the journey and unravelling there is worthwhile and downright addicting. Readers be warned that the ending goes out with a bang with maybe not with everything neatly tied up, but to me, it was perfect because I know how it ends in my heart and I love that Winstead gives the reader the ultimate power in the end.

<b>"Midnight is a piece of crime fiction that I hope asks: Is justice also written by the winners? That is, what's considered just determined by who's in power?"</b>

While there are some outright zany elements and scenes, this is a striking story that feels timely while also eloquently documenting issues as old as time: misogyny and the subjugation of women, the abuse of power and the boy's club, the power of religion and its perversion, criminality and villains, and love that borders on obsession and madness.

Don't let mentions of Twilight -- yes that Twilight, in reviews deter you because the way Winstead uses that as the first of many rebellions for Ruth demonstrates a keen analysis of what is it that makes those stories so alluring and even…dangerous to power systems. It's brilliant and I think the authors notes at the end really help articulate this. Truly, Winstead shows herself to be a formidable writer with a mind that delivers equal parts hope and inspiration, along with nightmares and darkness. It's an intoxicating cocktail and I can't wait to see what narratives and stories Winstead brings next.

Not to be missed and also absolutely fabulous on audiobook, I highly recommend this.

📖 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫
✍🏻 @ashleywinsteadbooks
🎁 Thank you @bookmarked for the advanced copy!

💭 Ashley Winstead is back, baby. And this time with a new thriller that is perfect for spooky season. Ashley is an autobuy author for me. Her romances are just as good as her page turning thrillers. I am FASCINATED by religious cults so when I found out this story had one in it, I was an immediate YES I NEED TO READ. The setting is Louisiana which adds to the creepy vibes. There were mentions of Twilight and a bit of a romance that I adored. Ashley's thrillers always have you saying 'ONE MORE CHAPTER' because you need to know how the story ends. And let me tell you, this ending? SO UNIQUE. And so dang good.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5

Well, this one hurts. I’ve loved her other thrillers so I had high hopes this one would also blow me away. Unfortunately, it felt forced and predictable. The premise had possibilities but the execution just wasn’t there for me. If you try this one, I would suggest reading or at least listening to a sample of the audio first because the accent the narrator uses was distracting at times.

Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

Bottom Springs is a small southern town in Louisiana. Most people belong to the Holy Fire Born Again church. Ruth Cornier is the daughter of the great pastor of the church. This is one of the things that sets her apart from everyone else. The other is her best friend, Everett Duncan, called the Devil’s son. The people outside their friendship think they are a strange pair.

The book starts with a skull being found. Ruth has been dreading this day for years as she and Everett killed a guy who was raping her when she was a teen.

However, it is the skull of a different man, and this starts the uncovering of several murders and a whole bunch of secrets. People think evil has just come to Bottom Springs, but it has been around for years. If the first skull had never been discovered, the evil probably would have continued to go on for years.

This book goes back and forth from now to different times in the past when Ruth was younger, and each time, more of the back story related to the events of now are revealed.

I will say that parts of the end were predictable. It wasn’t a total shock. I still enjoyed the book very much and will recommend it to others.

🌙 Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead 🌙

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5/5

Genre: Mystery/Thriller
⚠️ TWs: SO MANY - please look up before reading because it touches on sensitive topics

💭 Thoughts:
I wanted to love this. I absolutely loved The Last Housewife by Winstead last year, and I thought this one would be a similar, cult-like thrill with a Southern backdrop. However, this was more reminiscent of It Ends with Us but in a church. The pacing was the biggest issue for me, and it took me weeks to read it because it felt slow. I know this is a hot take because SO MANY love this book! I think if you go in with these expectations, you will like the book more than I did!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a DNF for me. Too many twilight references for me, I really just couldn’t get into it. I’m sure there will be the right audience for it but it wasn’t me.

This book is supposed to be entertaining and scary, but it is just not for me. I have tried reading it many times now and just can't get into it. Hopefully it will find its right audience.

Another incredible thriller by Ashley Winstead with timely social commentary & a compelling love story. Where the crawdads sing meets the last housewife with twilight girlie & religious trauma vibes. A must read!

I really wanted to love this. Ashley Winstead is one of my favorite authors and I've loved the other four books of hers I read. but this one did not do it for me. I think there was just a little too much going on. I'd rather it just focus on the religious fundamentalism/Southern culture without the attempt at pretending this is a vampire book. I think the ending was the best stylistic choice but it made me MAD (in a good way). I'll probably recommend to people who are looking for something specific but I'm not looking to add this to my collection.

Wow! This was a wild ride! I loved it! Bottom Springs is a God-fearing town lead by Reverend Cornier. Ruth, the daughter of the reverend, has never fit in until she befriends Everett, the son of the town drunk. After a skull is found in the swamp, the townspeople start to suspect the Low Man, a demonic creature who feasts on bad people. This book was full of twists and turns. I couldn't put it down!

Genre: Thriller

Format: E-book

5🌟 - I loved it!

Thank you @bookmarked and @netgalley for the #gifted E-ARC!

@ashleywinsteadbooks does it again 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. She’s quickly become an auto-buy author for me and her newest thriller truly delivers!

This one is for the girlies with religious trauma who loved Twilight 🧛‍♀️.

The ending had me 🤯🤯🤯. I was so invested in the setting, cultish vibes, and the Bonnie and Clyde moments.

I was engrossed in both timelines and seeing it all unfold. I love how she always has a romance subplot happening in her thrillers and this one is just wild!

It’s giving Crawdad’s vibes but unhinged! Can’t wait to see what she does next 💃🏼

DNF at 19%. I also had the audio and could not get into. The pacing was off for me and there was too many Twilight references for me. At one point, I questioned if the male MC was a werewolf or a vampire. 😬

Following a fanatical love between two people, between a pastor and his followers, and men and money, this thriller was a wild ride.
The first 70% of the book felt like several stop and starts, but when the characters committed to their sins and leaned into their desires, I could not put it down.
I really enjoy Winstead's thrillers. She makes the twists feel twisty and not just tacked on for shock value, and her characters are always complex. This may fall at the bottom of my Winstead list, but it's still high on my thriller list.