Everything about slashers and spooky season I love. This read like the first Halloween movie and I was hooked from page 1

Emily Ruth Verona’s Midnight on Beacon Street is a novel with a concept that has such potential. I purposely chose to read this book during spooky season because I was expecting it to be so atmospheric and nostalgic. How could it not, being a thriller set in the 90s during October, chronicling a teenage babysitter battling to keep her young charges alive? Unfortunately, as I quickly learned, there’s a lot of ways this promising premise can go disastrously south. That’s not to say that I did not enjoy this book, but rather that I kept expecting more until I realized I was nearly at the end of the story and nothing significant had happened. Talk about disappointing.

Verona lightly touches on 90’s nostalgia and pop culture, especially by way of slasher movies, but I expected there to be so much more. It makes me question if Verona was actually a child of the 90s herself to get things so terribly wrong. You could take the characters in her story and plop them down into a book about any decade, and they would still fit - they are that generic. There were so many special and unique aspects of being a kid growing up in the 90s that kids of other generations did not and will not experience, and Verona failed to capitalize on any of them. Midnight on Beacon Street lacks any and all of those generational nuggets that would make any Millennial remember and long for their childhood.

Furthermore, the cover of this book gives off such ominous and spooky vibes, but this novel is just not that. There is an incredible lack of atmosphere between the pages of this book. We are talking about a time when parents were not quite as guarded as they are nowadays, and when people were generally unreachable because there were no cell phones! Prime material for a horror novel about babysitting! But Verona just never drove home how dire of a situation the characters of this novel were in.

Every aspect of this novel was downplayed. The revelation at the end came out of left field and was entirely underwhelming. I actually felt like I had missed something because it felt so disjointed and did not make sense.

In all, this was a novel that could have been great, but isn’t. I enjoyed reading it, but found myself sorely disappointed at the end because I wanted so badly to love this book, but didn’t.

I was excited to read this because it sounds like a good, creepy thriller. 41% in and nothing had happened except a girl babysitting two kids. And the timeline…chapters go back and forth right down to “3 hours and 59 minutes to midnight” which I just found obnoxious.

I received an advanced copy from netgalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

For the 90’s horror lovers! I was not able to put this book down! Classic horror story with a new twist!

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance at reading this book.

I think the book is going to be polarizing in the reviews. The issue being of how it is written. I do not think the narrative is all that great. It has this 'detached' narrator, and the way the plot goes on is very... dry? I don't even know if that's the right word. It just struggles to make the book interesting, creepy, or entertaining. It's almost like getting someone who has never dabbled in horror but mainly in fiction for older folk trying to write for younger folk.

I made it through 10% of the book and I knew it wasn't for me.

I wanted to like this more than I did. The premise was great, the cover was great, but the length and its thriller/slasher-teasing focus did not work for me. It was incredibly repetitive and I found myself skimming multiple chapters to get back to the action (and that's not normal for me...I usually read for the characters and vibes). I deeply appreciated the attempt the author made to discuss anxiety in multiple forms, but it didn't always work here.

3⭐️

Following a string of break-ins in the neighborhood, single mother Eleanor feels safe leaving her two children with their babysitter, Amy. Amy is a responsible girl who has a history of babysitting many children in the neighborhood. And despite her anxiety disorder, Amy always does what's needed for the kids. So Eleanor kisses her children Ben and Mira goodbye, leaves money for pizza and heads out the door.

And while the night starts out normal for Amy, things soon go south. Multiple people come to the door, all with varying levels of expectedness. And by midnight, someone unwanted is in the house and Amy realizes that she's the only thing standing between this person and the children. Is this another break-in like the others in the neighborhood? Or is it something more sinister.

This definitely had the '90s horror film nostalgia, which was nice and really drew me in. I feel like Ben and Mira actually came across age appropriate, which is sometimes a stretch in books. I also like how Amy pushed past her anxiety and stepped out of her shell multiple times throughout the evening, especially when it came to protecting the kids. The break-ins in the neighborhood as well as the 'trophies' that were taken during those break-in also was a nice backdrop to make this a bit more suspenseful. All in all, the storyline was enjoyable enough.

That being said, this didn't have the twists I expect from an old horror film. Whoever wrote the summary blurb for the book did a great job drawing me in, but the execution of those things just wasn't there. About 60-70% in, I thought there was a nice twist happening but it ended up being a red herring. The actual perpetrator was surprising only because it didn't make sense. The person and reasoning just felt like the most unexpected character was picked but no build-up was given, which is a copout I'm not a fan of. I also hate the tope of the girl in the horror story being a fan of horror stories and it didn't feel like it worked here because Amy did nothing with it.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Perennial for providing this ARC to me!

4.4 ⭐️

Midnight on Beacon Street
by Emily Ruth Verona 🩸🔪🏡🌑

If the months of September-November are your happy place, you must, MUST read this title. 🍂🍁🎃 I felt like I was slipping into the most comforting 90’s era horror flick every time I picked this up. I almost didn’t want to pick it up because I knew I’d inhale it and then it would be over. I also ended up being surprisingly shocked with where the story went, which is refreshing when you’ve consumed a lot of horror movies. 😂 If you enjoy Scream, Halloween, etc. on your cozy fall days, you’ll definitely enjoy this.

Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this ARC!! 🩷📚

Midnight on Beacon Street Review! 🌙

Thank you so much Harper Perennial and Netgalley for this gifted copy in exchange for an honest review! Midnight on Beacon Street is out January 30, 2024!

Midnight on Beacon Street was a 3.25/5 ⭐️ for me!! I will always read the babysitter trope and this one was set in October which made it extra spooky. I enjoyed the characters in this one and I loved all the horror movie references. I was just hoping for a little more from this one. There wasn’t a lot that went on for me personally.

Synopsis: Set in 1993, Amy is a quiet and horror movie loving teen, who watches all the kids on Beacon Street. When she is asked to watch sweet six year old Ben and sassy Twelve year old Mira, Amy agrees right away. The night starts off well with pizza and a dance party, but soon Amy starts getting phone calls and knocks on the door. Amy is absolutely terrified and her anxiety isn’t helping. But she will do whatever it takes to protect the kiddos. She is the babysitter after all.

A well-meaning effort fusing 90s nostalgia, vintage horror films, and childhood trauma, with its home invasion premise and the gorgeously ominous cover art, I was expecting a fast and lean thriller in the vein of movies such as Panic Room, or even Home Alone. Turned out this is yet another incident where the word ‘thriller’ in its promotional material felt intentionally misused, aimed to draw interest from a specific audience, but eventually led to disappointment when the material didn’t match up—Midnight on Beacon Street is objectively decent with a focused goal, but it’s much more subdued and serious, more character study than an adrenaline-filled game of cat and mouse.

In contrast to the minimalist setup (1 house in the span of an evening), Midnight on Beacon Street is told non-linearly, jumping back-and-forth in time at irregular intervals. Even though this added complexity feels ‘thrillery’, in reality it creates a very uneven pacing. Instead of using this technique as a reveal, the novel uses it to flesh out various character’s backstories. Even though the intent is a valid one (character building is definitely this novel’s strength), these lengthy inserts completely fracture the tension the book is marketed for.

The thesis of Midnight on Beacon Street is a strong one: how do children digest trauma, when they have not yet had a holistic grasp of the world, but the execution feels labored (especially when evaluated as a thriller). Perhaps it would’ve fared better going into this not expecting a thriller, but a drama with nods to horror film tropes

On a quiet night in 1993, Amy is babysitting Mira and Ben while the children's single mom has a night out. At seventeen, Amy is a good kid and a great sitter, even suffering with anxiety. She spends her time watching horror films, loving the pace and calming predictability... not realizing that she is about to be living one of those slasher horror film experiences.

Between ghost stories, strange phone calls and strangers on the door step, this has the makings of all those cult classic films of the time. There is so much happening in this book, and a jumping timeline that just felt so perfect. The synopsis is intentionally vague, which I loved, because there were a lot of wtf moments in the book that I wasn't expecting.

Amy and the two kids were fantastic characters. Mira is twelve and whip-smart. Ben is six and so sweet. Amy is dealing with her own inner issues, making her feel inadequate in the situation they all find themselves in, but she is a bad ass.

All in all, this was a fantastic debut.

"Midnight on Beacon Street" is a classic horror/thriller that follows a teenage babysitter, Amy. When a single mother, Eleanor, needs a babysitter for her children, Mira and Ben, Amy is perfect for the job. Several strange events happen, from unexpected visitors to odd phone calls and finding a dead body. This book offers the perfect creepy Halloween or fall read. I enjoyed the different perspectives and the overall vibes from this book. It definitely reminded me of a classic horror film which was a perfect read as Spooky season approaches. Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC and the chance to read and review honestly.

Seventeen year old Amy is baby sitting two children, a 12 year old and a 6 year old..There have been several recent break-ins around the neighborhood, so everyone is on edge. Midnight on Beacon Street details the events that occurred in the house one night, using the sitter’s fondness for horror films as a backdrop. Unfortunately, the story fails to sustain any suspense, the dialogue feels more like a YA novel (the characters are almost all teens or pre-teens) and the narrative from the 6 year old is simply not believable, given his age, and it severely undercuts the book. It feels like the author was trying to reach two separate audiences, and it just doesn’t work. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Few other genres thrive on nostalgia like horror. Perhaps because horror, by its nature, must explore discomfort and hold nothing sacred. Idyllic communities, thought of as safe, regularly succumb to fear, paranoia, dread, and mayhem. Horror books and films regularly explored these themes through the 1980s, and Emily Ruth Verona brings a homage to these stories of yesteryear in her novel “Midnight on Beacon Street.”

Single mom Eleanor Mazinski, heading out for a much-needed date, is leaving her children Ben and Mira in the care of a sitter named Amy. An anxious horror fan, Amy looks forward to an evening where the hardest thing in her life is managing an unruly twelve-year-old girl.

Unfortunately for her, the horror soon begins with a knock at the door and Amy is under threat from a mysterious figure outside. And so are the children under her care, meaning Amy must keep them, and herself, safe.

Verona brings up a feeling of nostalgia from the start. If the book feels familiar, it is because Verona knows exactly what she is writing and what she is homaging at the same time. At times, the book feels a touch overly self-referential, with mentions of multiple prior works in ways that feel too on the nose.

But the author never wants the reader to forget that horror is fun and cathartic. Amy’s anxiety feels all too relatable, as does her finding freedom and catharsis through horror. She is a capable and empathetic human being and Verona does an absolutely incredible job at constructing her.

It would also be remiss to not mention Verona’s admirable representation: drawing on her own Jewish background, she makes her characters proudly Jewish in a way that is a strength for them. Something unfortunately rare in the horror genre and something that makes the book shine all the brighter.

Overall, “Midnight on Beacon Street” is a delightful thriller and love letter to the most terrifying trips down the wrong street in a pleasant neighborhood.

I'm a huge 90's horror fan so this book has been the absolute PERFECT read for me! If you enjoy a babysitter slasher then make sure to grab a copy of this one!

I was really excited to read the book, the cover is what first caught my eye. The story was engaging and kept me guessing what was going to happen. Will there be a ghost, an intruder, or something else altogether? I enjoyed reading from the different perspectives of the characters, but the ending honestly left me confused and wanting more. Maybe this is because it is not what I expected. Even though it was not a favorite, I might still recommend.

Let me first say I loved the throwback to the “babysitter vs intruder” trope it reminds me of all the times I babysat and the horror movies I watched when I was younger. The characters were really developed well and I loved the dual POVs it’s fun to hear from everyone’s perspective what’s going on. I give this a 5 star and I love the cover it’s so creepy but also intriguing.

Thank you Harper Perennial for my Netgalley copy of MIDNIGHT ON BEACON STREET by Emily Ruth Verona, out 1/30/24!

I requested this book because it said it was a love letter to vintage horror movies and had major Halloween vibes (a babysitter protecting the two children she’s babysitting when strangers come knocking on her door).

It takes place in 1993 on one night, in one house with one dead body. Single mom Eleanor goes out for a date night, leaving her six-year old Ben and twelve-year old Mira in the hands of her sitter, Amy. Amy has an extreme anxiety disorder who uses horror movies to calm the panic that threatens to constantly overwhelm her.

You know Ben ends up in the kitchen standing in a pool of blood, but don’t know who it is until the very end. There’s definitely some twists and a lot of tension built up with different characters potentially being the one who is killed. It’s figuring out the why that takes its sweet time to deliver.

This book was fun and and a fast read, but it didn’t do anything that wowed me. It reads more like a YA novel than an adult read, which took me out of it a bit. I finished it in around a day and a half because the constant horror movie references were my jam. The way the POV’s were displayed, I figured Ben would be a more titular character but that wasn’t the case.

The ending was underwhelming. I wouldn’t call this lavish literature, but if you’re looking for a little dose of nostalgia and you love horror flicks, it could be a fun read during spooky season followed by a movie marathon of your 80’s slasher favorites.

This is more of a YA horror than adult. It was also pretty slow with only nods to the intensity at the end. Despite those things I really did enjoy it. The atmosphere of the whole story was nostalgic and anyone who enjoys the Halloween movies, Scream, etc. will enjoy it too.

I was really looking forward to this book after reading the synopsis, however, it was underwhelming. I loved the nods to movies and shows of the 90's. I wish there would have been more action instead of internal dialogue. Nothing really happened until the end of the story. I think this would be best geared towards young adult readers. I did read the author's note at the end and can appreciate that this book took 5 years to finish; for that I will round it up to 3 stars.

Thank you for Harper Perennial and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.