Midnight is the Darkest Hour

"I liked this book! I really liked the 2 main characters. I listened to it on audio and thought the narrator did very well!"

"Audiobook- do not recommend. The southern accent became cringe and made the narrator sound incredibly dumb. The references to twilight got stranger as the story progressed. Certainly not what I expected. Didn’t hate it but also didn’t love."

"Midnight is the Darkest Hour is a book about the fine line between good and evil. Ruth is the daughter of an extreme minister in coastal Louisiana. She has one friend- Everett, a boy who saved her from rape. She dreams of leaving her small town and going to college. Everett teaches her to climb trees and savor nature. He is a reader like she is. They read together and talk about books. When Everett moves out of town, Ruth is forced to stay. He returns after staying away for a year. A skull is found in the swamp. Ruth and Everett are worried the skull will point to them. Midnight is the Darkest Hour is told in two timelines- the summers beginning when Ruth was 17 and now. It is the story of two people making one shady choice after another while they try to avoid the truth coming out. This is the first book I've read where you know the MC committed murder in their past. As the book goes on, they learn that evil in the most unexpected places. Power in their small town means some people are above the law. I almost put the book down a couple pages in. Ruth has an obsession with the book Twilight and idolizes Bella. I was not a fan of that character- I found her annoying and weak. I decided to keep reading because I understood why a very sheltered minister's daughter might see something in Bella. This book is a train wreck. You can't look away. Ruth and Everett continuously make bad decisions. Everett convinces Ruth that committing small crimes is okay because the person is bad. This continues as the crimes get progressively worse. About half way through the book, the tempo really picked up. It was hard to put the book down. Ruth and Everett are lovable in the same way you love a stray animal. You can't fault them for their issues because of the damage inflicted on them in the past. "

"Absolutely loved the atmosphere of this book: deep south summertime mystery mixed with drama and a little bit of romance too. I could hear the buzz of the mosquitos, feel the thick summer air, and see the characters as they raced to uncover the secrets of the devout community with a venomous spirit. The MC was interestingly morally grey, making choices that allow the reader to question the line between right and wrong, and what it means to live an authentic/free life. The plot twist fell slightly flat but the story was entertaining from beginning to end. Reads like a movie!! Read this if you want a book about the dark side to superstition and religious faith, with a murder investigation center stage. "

"This book has left me speechless. I found it was spectacularly written. The characters were well developed, the plot easy to follow, and the suspense palpable. I have zero complaints and think of this as one of those books I wish I could read for the first time all over again."

"Midnight is the Darkest hour is absolutely Where the Crawdads Sing meets Twilight and I couldn’t have loved it more. As a huge Twilight nerd when I was growing up- I loved seeing it come up so much in a novel I was reading as an adult. This will not be everyone’s cup of tea but it was right up my alley. I can’t tell you what single genre this novel would fall into because it really read as a perfect mash-up of crime-solving mystery and romance novel in my opinion, but I think it’s marketed as a gothic thriller. The writing style of this story was so atmospheric, I easily pictured the scenes like a movie flickering through my imagination as I devoured this novel over two nights. I enjoyed the timeline jumps in this story and I felt like they came in at perfect moments when I really wanted more background information as the reader. I also liked how the ending was left up to our own interpretation, and in my version Ruth and Everett make it across the bridge to live a happy life. But how fun would it have been if Everett was really a vampire or the Low Man instead of just a man in the end! "

"Very slow. It does pick up after nearly 300 pages. Ending was completely unsatisfying. I wasn’t impressed. "

"This book was good. It felt obvious but at the same time had me guessing, questioning what would happen. In the end, it mostly was what I thought, but still had twists!"

"Sadly, I’m not really sure what to say about this novel. It was hard to get into, so I started and stopped it multiple times, but I’ve finally finished it. I listened to the audiobook, and I do plan on buying the physical copy. This book wasn’t my least favorite, but it also wasn’t my favorite. The story, overall, was decent, but the whole time I was listening to it, I felt….meh. I have more by this author, and I hope the next one I read by her is more enjoyable for me. "

"Wow! This book is both romantic and dark with twists and turns that makes you wonder 'whats next?'. The way the writer left the ending will have you thinking about this book for days or weeks to come. "