The Midnight Club by Margot Harrison is a captivating and thought-provoking tale that delves into the allure of forbidden fantasies for intelligent individuals. This intriguing novel explores the depths of human desire and the consequences of succumbing to temptation. Harrison's storytelling is both strange and brilliant, drawing me into a world where the line between reality and fantasy blurs.

If you could revisit your past, would you? I was blown away by this highly creative and unique story! The Midnight Club is an immersive experience that makes you question everything you thought you knew.

This story is a slow burn and relies on a dreamlike and mysterious plot. I immediately emphasized with both Sonia and Byron, and was eager to discover what their minds hid from them on the night of Jennet’s death. The writing was beautiful and there was just enough information revealed to keep my interest despite the story’s slow pace. If you love atmospheric mysteries that are part dark academia and part magical realism, then this book is for you!

Thank you to Netgalley, Graydon House Books, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a slow start for me. I think what was difficult for me was I didn't really care for any of the characters as time went on. The ending felt a bit rushed, and it wasn't very satisfying for me. I really enjoyed the middle of the book when they would seemingly go back in time to figure out what happened. I enjoyed unraveling the mystery of what happened.

The Midnight Club
The idea of this book is intriguing and extremely creative. And while the concept hooked me in, I found the pacing to be a distraction for me. I think this book will appeal to many as it was an enjoyable read.

It was a slow start to begin with. It was almost a DNF, but I was curious to see if the details of the death would be figured out. Once the story starts to unfold I wanted to see how it would end & if they would solve the mystery. I think this would make a great movie with all the switching of POVs & speeding up the pace of the story. It would have been a 4 star for me if the pace were quicker at the beginning.
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Such an interesting and unique book! I loved how different the idea of time travel was presented and the characters were really interesting as well. It felt like something I haven’t read before - it did take me a bit to really get into it but once I did I was hooked. Will be recommending and adding to our library.

The premise was interesting, a different spin on the group of friends, one dies and then many years later they reunite , all with secrets and what did they know about Jennet's death. The idea of time travel, in an unpredictable was had great potential but it ended up being confusing and unwieldly. The writing style didn't work for me, was hard to connect to it and the characters so unfortunately, it didn't work for me

The story was very easy to get into. Sonia was my personal favorite character. Getting to live vicariously through the different character focused chapters really helped with perspective on the present. The flashbacks were smooth and well written. Some stories blurry the transition making it hard to tell what's the past as opposed to the present. I felt like I was in on everything like I lived it too. This book hit all the marks for autumn/thrills/academia vibes. Loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the eARC.

4 Stars.

This was an unconventional twist on a mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I did it the disservice of setting it aside and coming back to it later and it took me a while to remember what was going on. This is definitely best read over a short stint. It's fast-paced so there's no reason not to. And once I got my bearings, I sped through it.

The writing was great, and sufficiently eerie and claustrophobic to keep the angst level high. The characters' back? future? - It's hard to say when there's time travel - stories were all compelling and they moved the narrative.

I saw some reviews compare this to Ninth House and I agree. It has the same vibe.

Would recommend.

Very cool premise, a bit of a slow execution leaving me wanting more excitement to turn the page! Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was drawn in the cover and title, and the plot sounded quite interesting. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the characters or writing style. This may be a case of this author perhaps isn't for me, as other early reviews are quite positive. The beginning was quite slow, but I liked Sonia (one of the friend group members) enough to keep on going. But as I continued on, I realized I didn't care much about what happened in the past timeline, nor was I invested in how it impacted the characters today. While there wasn't a massive amount of characters, I didn't feel the group members were unique or interesting enough to warrant them all and wondered if I would've found it more engaging had there been maybe 2 or 3. All in all, this wasn't for me and I didn't have that urge to turn the page and discover what happened next.

I had to DNF this. I loved the premise of this book but the conversation style was hard to follow and jarring, and there was nothing that "grabbed" me in the first part of this book. I think the premise is interesting, and the cover art is beautiful.

I’m so sad to be DNFing and always feel so bad doing it as I really wanted to write a lovely review for this book but I tried so hard and just couldn’t get into it.

So many things can determine a DNF from writing to mindset at the time and some books may just need to be returned to at a future time. I tried for a couple days to read this and that’s typically the time I finish an entire book. The writing wasn’t bad by any means, the skill is there but there wasn’t enough happening that grasped me. I don’t even mind a slow burn but I couldn’t find a reason to continue.

As always DNFs will be given a 3 star to not impact ratings negatively or positively.

3.8
Love, love, love the cover art, but wasn't consistently thrilled with the contents. I appreciate the way time travel (or perhaps memory travel?) was handled, but was unimpressed by the overall, well, impression.

Midnight Club follows 5 friends from their time in college during a horrific accident to present day, and then flips back and forth as they try to solve the puzzle of the accident. Thrillers are normally not what I choose and The Midnight Club did not help me in choosing more of this type. I found the constant changing of narrators (characters) in addition to time changes hard to follow at time. The story and the twist were good but, personally I would have liked probably 1-2 narrators while jumping back and forth in time.

I really wanted to like this. I think the author is talented and I would read something of hers again. This story felt contrived and I felt very aware of the author trying to make the elements of the story work, many characters behaviors did not seem believable. Dialogue and character movement often felt like they were there to just make the story and plot points work to get at the final story the way the author wanted. Good plot idea, but execution didn't quite work for me. But it may for some.

The Midnight Club is a novel that delves into the complexities of memory, friendship, and loss. It follows a group of college friends, reunited after 25 years by a mysterious invitation. The reunion stirs up long-dormant feelings as they confront a shared tragedy: the death of their brilliant friend Jennet.

The plot thickens when their host introduces a unique method – a substance that allows them to relive their college years. As they delve deeper into the past, secrets begin to unravel, and their understanding of the fateful night Jennet died is shattered.

Strengths:

Intriguing premise: The idea of reliving the past to uncover a hidden truth is a compelling hook that keeps the reader guessing.

Character exploration: Each friend has their own secrets and baggage, creating a complex and dynamic group dynamic.

Emotional depth: The novel explores themes of nostalgia, grief, and the impact of past choices on our present lives.

Twisty and suspenseful: As the friends uncover forgotten memories, the plot takes unexpected turns, keeping the reader engaged.

Drawbacks:

Reliance on unreliable narrators: The use of memory as a narrative tool can be frustrating as it's unclear what is real and what is distorted.

Focus on introspection over action: The novel prioritizes internal struggles over external action, which may not appeal to readers seeking a fast-paced read.

Overall:

The Midnight Club is a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy character-driven stories with a touch of mystery.

Recommendation:

This book is a good choice for fans of character-driven literary fiction with a touch of suspense. Be prepared for a journey into memory and the complexities of past friendships.

I love the premise of this book! I enjoyed the dark academia feel with a return to as a tight group of college friends sets out to solve the mystery of the death of one of their own. As these estranged friends gather back on campus for a weeklong reunion, their host gives them the opportunity to find out what happened to their friend with the help of a secret substance that not only helps them remember the past but also relive it.

The idea of "sogging" either into the future or the past was really intriguing and definitely a fun plot device. I liked the concept of a time travel you couldn't precisely control which makes the stakes higher for the characters. Unfortunately, there was so much constant switching between discussing the past, sogging to the past, being in the present, sogging to the future that I found it hard to keep track of. I also found that for a character-driven narrative, none of them seemed to be given the time or opportunity to develop for me to be fully invested in their story and its outcome.

I feel like this will be an interesting concept at release, especially as a different twist on the thriller genre. This just didn't totally hit the mark for me!

Do you ever dream about a book, that you are witnessing the story play out from a first person POV? This book had me dreaming I was another character in the story.

I loved the plot of this. It made me want to jump in and join the characters. Such a fun read!

Rating: 3.75 - Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin for providing this ARC to me!

This book has such a cool premise. College friends reunite and take a psychedelic drug that allows them to travel back in time—25 years ago—to solve the mystery of their friend’s murder.

My favorite part of this story was reading about the experience of taking Sog. I thought Margot Harrison did a phenomenal job at making readers feel like they were there, experiencing it themselves. Seriously, those pages were strong examples of creative, palpable, and immersive writing. I also really enjoyed the ending, which I did not see coming AT ALL. I could not stop thinking about the ending when I finished The Midnight Club.

However, I just do not think that this story was meant for me. I think I assumed that this book would be more of a low fantasy since it involved time travel, but it really is more of a classic mystery.

When I was reading this book, I was reminded a lot of Ninth House. I prefer The Midnight Club to Ninth House though, and I think this book would be best suited for someone who enjoyed Ninth House.

I look forward to encouraging friends that I think will enjoy this book to read it upon its release this year.