Basic info: Bring Me Your Midnight
Author: Rachel Griffin
Genre: Fantasy / Young Adult
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, Witches
Publication date: August 1, 2023
Edition I read: eBook (provided by Sourcebooks Fire on NetGalley)
Pages: 320
My rating: 5/5
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65935181-bring-me-your-midnight
This book swept me off my feet with its beautiful magic, and didn't let me go until after the last page. I could barely put it down and now that I'm done, I can't wait for it to get published, so I can reread it with a physical copy.
Bring Me Your Midnight has a beautiful world of magic, where witches have to live on an island (opposed to the non-magical people on the mainland) and only practice a gentle version of magic, so that the mainlanders are not scared of them, which keeps them safe. I loved how even though magic was a little feared, in this book it wasn't a secret or hidden -how they used it to create products non-magical people could also use. (Even if by that it was degraded to these little tricks, which is indeed kind of sad.)
Our main character, Tana, is set to marry the governor's son on the mainland, thus solidifying a union between mainlanders and witches. That'd give protection for the witches, and more control to the mainland.
I loved seeing Tana's thoughts, attitude and feelings change regarding this situation, always reacting to what's happening along the way. It's a first-person POV book, and thanks to the amazing writing, I got to experience all emotions just as strongly. I felt thrilled, frustrated, angry, sad, as if these things were happening to me. It was an emotional rollercoaster, in the best possible way.
I oftentimes find YA books to be very predictable, but this book was anything but that. I thought I knew what was going to happen, but in the end I kept getting unsure as the story kept twisting and turning. It kept me on the edge of my seat for sure, it was so exciting to me!
This book is proof that you don't need battles, war, and evil enemies to have a thrilling and adventure-filled story.