This is an amazing thriller/horror and found myself rooting for the main character, Roe. We find her failing a test, making the hard choice of having to give up her magic forever, or join the Celestial for a chance at a retest. (I'd say the choice is obvious for me.. I'd rather retest as well!) At night the ship shifts and kills someone, putting Roe into the hot seat of blame. She has to use her powers to find out the truth before it's too late.

I've had such a hard time lately properly switching off and getting fully immersed in a book, and that struggle only gets worse with fantasy. As a fantasy author myself, it's almost impossible not to read with a critical eye and to just enjoy a story. So the fact that Midnight on the Celestial (MOTC) managed to sweep me away the way it did feels kind of miraculous. For the first time in ages, I found myself not just reading but living inside a book.

I lost myself completely in this magical, stunningly original world. It's the little details that make it so special—the dazzling, otherworldly food and entertainment aboard the Celestial cruise ship, the little quirks and traits that make each character feel like a real person. Everything felt so alive. Honestly the best kind of book is one that makes you wish you'd written it, and I found myself marvelling at just how wildly creative MOTC is!

There's no way I could list everything I loved without turning this review into a multi-page essay. But if I had to choose one standout element, it would be the relationships. Not just the romance (although I'm thoroughly obsessed with Roe and Ivander), but the friendships, the rivalries, the found family, even the complicated dynamics between staff and guests aboard the Celestial. Every relationship felt layered and real. I can't say much without spoiling things, but just know that your feelings about certain characters will absolutely shift as you go—sometimes more than once!

Also, I have to gush over the love interest, Ivander! He's the perfect combo of two beloved characters—Kaz Brekker and Nikolai Lantsov from Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse. If that means anything to you: don't walk, RUN!

𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐛𝐲 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚
~ 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗥𝗼𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗺’𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲: 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹, 𝗮 𝗹𝘂𝘅𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗳𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗸. 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝗥𝗼𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽, 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗺 . . .

This is the author's debut novel and she did not disappoint at all with this marvellous and twisty debut! Midnight on the Celestial is a standalone novel which stands strong and firm as a single installment but has space for more adventures!

I have not stopped thinking about this book ever since I finished it. From the twists and turns, the subtle but brilliant foreshadowing, the world and the magic — everything was marvellous and revelling to read about.

Rosaline — Roe — Damarcus is a brilliant and strong female lead. She's strong mentally and physically, with emotions and thoughts that make her seem and feel human. Her compassion and willingness to do anything to save her friends and the people like her is very admirable.

There are a lot of themes explored in this novel. While romance was an amazing subplot, the themes of representation in the government and the unfairness and inequality in the positions of the morphics and non-morphics, civil disagreements and an almost civil war is explored. There are more themes that are spoilery to talk about but was well done.

The writing style was easy to follow. The descriptions were lyrical and poetic at the perfect times and the prose is written in a way that the descriptions do justice to the situations and landscapes.

If you enjoyed Caraval and Hotel Magnifique, you'll enjoy this Upper YA romantic fantasy debut!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐑𝐂.