From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches and Wild is the Witch comes a lush romantic fantasy about forbidden love, the choices we make, and the pull between duty and desire.
Tana Fairchild’s fate has never been in question. Her life has been planned out since the moment she was born: she is to marry the governor’s son, Landon, and secure an unprecedented alliance between the witches of her island home and the mainlanders who see her very existence as a threat.
Tana’s coven has appeased those who fear their power for years by releasing most of their magic into the ocean during the full moon. But when Tana misses the midnight ritual—a fatal mistake—there is no one she can turn to for help…until she meets Wolfe.
Wolfe claims he is from a coven that practices dark magic, making him one of the only people who can help her. But he refuses to let Tana’s power rush into the sea, and instead teaches her his forbidden magic. A magic that makes her feel powerful. Alive.
As the sea grows more violent, her coven loses control of the currents, a danger that could destroy the alliance as well as her island. Tana will have to choose between love and duty, between loyalty to her people and loyalty to her heart. Marrying Landon would secure peace for her coven but losing Wolfe and his wild magic could cost her everything else.
Rachel Griffin writes young adult novels inspired by the magic of the world around her. She is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Bring Me Your Midnight, The Nature of Witches, and Wild is the Witch.
Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Rachel has a deep love of nature, from the mountains to the ocean and all the towering evergreens in between. She adores moody skies and thunderstorms, and hopes more vampires settle down in her beloved state of Washington.
When she isn’t writing, you can find her wandering the PNW, reading by the fire, or drinking copious amounts of coffee and tea. She lives with her husband, small dog, and growing collection of houseplants.
Rachel is represented by Pete Knapp of Park & Fine Literary and Media. You can find her on Instagram @TimesNewRachel.
I am so pleasantly surprised that I LOVED this book so much! I went into it with zero expectations since I've never read anything by Rachel Griffin before and I will 100% be reading more Rachel Griffin now.
This book had it all! It had an incredible forbidden/enemies-to-lovers romance. It had a fully fleshed-out world and magic system (the main characters are witches). AND the world was SO atmospheric. It was so so so fun picturing this world while I read. The earth, moon, sea, and flowers are all connected to the witches and their powers, which was emphasized by how vividly Rachel Griffin described the setting.
This book also had politics and lots of emotional turmoil! Our main character Tana, struggles with allegiance and loyalty to her coven and mother (who is the head of the coven) versus making her own choices and beliefs. I truly felt all of Tana's emotions and struggles.
Seriously cannot recommend this book enough! A very unique, suspenseful, and atmospheric fantasy romance.
UPDATE 4/5/23: The absolutely stunning first printing limited edition case has been revealed! I'm completely obsessed with it, and I hope you love it as much as I do!
This design is printed directly on the hardcover and is exclusive to the first edition. Because it's very limited, the best way to ensure you get it is to preorder through your favorite retailer (Barnes & Noble, Amazon, your fave indie, etc). All preorders are guaranteed to get this case, but once it's gone, it's gone. And if you do preorder, keep those receipts! We have some really fun things in the works that I can't wait to share.
Original post:
As BRING ME YOUR MIDNIGHT gets closer to release (and ARCs!), I wanted to share a bit about this book with you. It's the most fun I've ever had writing, and what started out as a self-indulgent project full of things I love (forbidden romance, forbidden magic, island setting, angst, gothic vibes, and the list goes on!) quickly turned into the most personal thing I've ever written. It wrestles with ideas of shame and the painful process of questioning things you have wholeheartedly believed in for the first time. It is also the most romantic thing I've ever written, and I sobbed my way through several scenes as I was writing. This was a magical writing experience for me the whole way through, from the first draft all the way to final edits, and I'm not sure I'll ever have another one quite like it.
I never really understood the phrase "book of my heart" until I wrote this one, and I truly hope that come August, BRING ME YOUR MIDNIGHT finds a place in your heart as well. Thank you for going on another journey with me; I can't wait to welcome you to the shores of the Witchery. <3
“I would set the world on fire just to see your face.”
I loved this book so much!! This was such a beautiful and enchanting romantic fantasy about love, magic, loyalty, family, and deciding your own path. Bring Me Your Midnight follows Tana, a witch who has been fated to marry the governor's son, Landon her whole life which will create an alliance with the witches and the mainlanders. When Tana misses a midnight ritual that expels her extra magic into the ocean, she realizes that Wolfe, a witch who practices high magic is the only one who can help. Instead of helping her release her magic into the ocean he teaches her dark magic and she feels powerful when she uses it. Soon Tana must decide whether giving up her whole life for Wolfe and the high magic is worth it.
"Mortana, you will be the end of me."
I was completely immersed in this beautiful world the author created from the very first page. The plot was so interesting and engaging. I loved the witchy and lush island vibes. This book had everything I love in romantic fantasy including forbidden love, slow-burn romance, amazing chemistry between the main characters and magic. I loved Tana, she is strong, brave, loyal, fierce, independent and kind. Tana's character development was excellent, I enjoyed watching her grow and realize that finding love is worth it. I loved how realistic Tana is, she goes through several challenging situations where she has to make the right decision for herself. I really loved Tana's relationship with her dad, it was so sweet and beautiful. It reminded me of my relationship with my dad, we are so close and I love spending time with him. I'm in love with Wolfe, he is so sweet, charming, compassionate, kind and loyal. I loved that we saw Wolfe's vulnerable side, it honestly broke my heart. Wolfe is such a cinnamon roll, he was so sweet and honest to Tana. I also loved how Wolfe treated Tana, he let her be herself and grow on her own. I really liked the side characters especially Tana's Dad and her best friend Ivy.
"He is magic, a spell I will practice over and over for the rest of my life. I am bewitched, every part of me."
I loved the romance between Tana and Wolfe, they understood each and could be themselves together. The chemistry between them was amazing! I also loved the slow-burn and the sexual tension between the main characters. There were several scenes that made me blush and smile so much. The writing is beautiful and descriptive. I honestly felt like I was living in the world with the characters. I felt so many emotions while reading this book, I cried, I laughed and I smiled. This book will stay in my heart for a long time.
"That's the problem with dreams: they are so easy to get lost in and so very difficult to give up."
First and foremost, THAT COVER. It just makes me want to cry, it's so pretty. I'm going to be honest with you all, that was the main reason I even wanted to read this book. I mean sure, there are witches and magic and stuff, but this book could have been titled "The Life of a Rock" and I still would have read it. Stunning cover art aside, the actual contents of the book blew me away.
Bring Me Your Midnight is a fantasy that takes place on an island called the Witchery, a witch coven. The setting was so beautiful, immersive, and whimsical. I loved it. Although Goodreads groups this in with urban fantasy, it felt more 1940s with electricity and old-timey automobiles but no cell-phones or anything like that. I liked how we got to see different places too like the mainland and Wolfe's side of the island. The overall worldbuilding I thought was pretty strong, complex, and original enough but not too confusing or overdone. The whole magic system was super interesting and I enjoyed the different elements, layers, and history behind it.
I loved the mc, Tana, and the side characters were well done as well. It was interesting to see how Tana's relationships with all the other characters developed throughout the story. Not only does she have a growing and changing relationship with her love interest, Wolfe (we'll talk about him later), but she also has an ever-changing friendship with her best friend Ivy as well as her parents and even Landon (potential future husband).
The writing was beautiful and I thought that Rachel Griffin did a great job with the pacing and the flow as well. I will definetely be reading more of her books.
The plot was pretty decent overall albeit a little slow at the start. I wasn't really engaged for the first 15-20% but it did pick up after that. My only real issue with the book was that I lost focus a few times throughout and thought it dragged every once and a while. This was partially due to the fact that I thought the problems were too easily wrapped up and there wasn't enough time spent working through them or really any angst. It just wasn't much of a nail-biter but I know that that's what some people like.
The romance was a big part of the plot but it could have possibly been a bit less. I thought that it was well-developed for the most part and both Tana and Wolfe were fleshed out characters which added depth to their relationship. It was nice to see how Tana's relationship with Wolfe led to a lot of self-discovery and personal growth which of course I loved. It was a beautiful and healing relationship for the both of them and I loved seeing how this progressed.
SPOILERS
I feel like I should mention, though, that I wasn't a huge fan of their relationship timeline right after they kissed for the first time. Too soon after that, they were already confessing their love for each other which felt very rushed especially compared to how their relationship began.
I did really like the events after Tana took the memory potion to forget about Wolfe, though. I liked how she made the conscious decision to leave her engagement to Landon and her coven to be with Wolfe and the old coven because she knew that she had loved him and felt like it was the right thing to do. Before she got her memories back, she was trying to learn more about everything that had happened between them and genuinely tried to spark their relationship again.
SPOILERS END
I also really enjoyed the ending and thought that it tied up everything nicely while still showing where the characters could continue to change and grow. It was one of those endings that said, "the story isn't over" which is always good.
Overall, I thought that this was a delightful read and I would definetely recommend. 4 stars.
**Many thanks to NetGalley for granting me this ARC in exchange for my honest review
Deeply romantic. Incredibly atmospheric. Beautifully written. So basically a Rachel Griffin novel. If you loved her other books like I did, you’re not ready for this one. More romance, more fantasy, more angst and beauty. I am OBSESSED with this book. Call me if you want to carpool to group therapy together. 💁♀️ BECAUSE WE ARE NOT OKAY.
I’m sorry but this was so mediocre ☹️ I really wanted to love it, but the story made me feel absolutely nothing & i’m so glad it’s over now 😭😭
“I would set the world on fire just to see your face. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Tropes: 🪄 Ya fantasy 🪄 Forbidden romance 🪄 Witches 🪄 Bad boy love interest
I hadn’t heard much about this, but i have read another book by this author and enjoyed it, so i thought this would be fun. And it really didn’t hit!! I’m actually super sad abt it 😔😔
⁀➷ What I enjoyed:
I must say, i do think the world and magic system was done pretty well. It was interesting & unique, but was still super easy to understand. I would definitely recommend this if you’re new to fantasy and want to get into it, bc i don’t think you’d have any trouble grasping this world 🌷✨️
Rachel Griffin’s writing is also pretty good! 🫶🫶 It’s super simple and easy to read, but i liked the descriptions of the island where they live and the witches’ magic. As far as i know, she has written 3 books, all about witches, and i think it’s a fun idea to put a slightly different spin on witches each time 🥰
⁀➷ What I didn’t enjoy:
I think my main issue with this book was that I couldn’t really connect to any part of the story. The plot for me felt super repetitive and we were just going around and around in circles the whole time, without actually achieving anything. This seriously did not need to be 400 pages long 🫠🫠
These characters also weren’t particularly interesting to me in any way.
➵ Tana: she felt like such an immature fmc. I think she’s supposed to be around 20, but her character read like she was 16 and she could not make up her mind about ANYTHING for the whole book 🫣🫣 ➵ Wolfe: he was just… there. It felt like the author was trying to make him such a bad boy and brooding all the time, but instead he was such a flat character. I didn’t hate him, but i also didn’t feel anything else towards him 😐
And the romance… it actually gave me a headache 😃🔪 The so called tension between tana and wolfe felt about as interesting as a cardboard salad and the “forbidden love” aspect felt so forced. I really could not care less🙈🙈
“Hope paves the way for wanting things that were never part of the plan.”
⁀➷ In conclusion:
Yeahhh… this was a bit of a disappointment ☹️I’m a bit sad about it, but i guess i would recommend if you want:
✔️ Easy to read ✔️ Simple magic system ✔️ Romance subplot
“Wild is the Witch” by this author is way more underrated and definitely a lot better than this one! 🌷✨️
《 2024 Challenge: Book 45 of 115 》
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Yeah this was not it 😭😭 it wasn't an awful book necessarily, but it did absolutely nothing for me ☹️
"I like the way I look when touched by nature and slightly disheveled, a person instead of a painting I’m afraid of messing up."
Rachel Griffin hits me again with her special brand of cozy nature witches. This time with a beautiful story of familial and societal duty vs personal happiness, questioning long held beliefs, and forbidden love and magic. I sat down with this book on a Saturday afternoon and devoured it in one sitting.
It's much of what I've come to expect and enjoy about Griffin's writing: sweet, lovely, lush, atmospheric, romantic, at times dreamy, and full of yearning and inner conflict. What can I say? She knows what she's doing and she does it well.
Plot and romance are interwoven well and while I did find it dragged a bit in the second half it clearly wasn't enough to keep me from reading through it all in one sitting. Bring Me Your Midnight doesn't sit quite as high for me as Wild is the Witch and The Nature of Witches, but it still holds its own among her other works and reaffirms exactly why she's an auto-buy author for me. I can't wait for the next adventure.
I have my own story, one that’s been written since the day I was born. And something tells me that if I were to read his, it would become my favorite.
Bring Me Your Midnight mesmerized me from the very first page with its potent magical ambience, fantastic witchy magic system, and the tender and angst-heavy forbidden romance between a betrothed witch and a mysterious young man with his own dark secrets.
In this book the heroine grapples with her own duty towards her coven and the life she had been groomed since birth to accept Vs. the freedom she secretly craves and yearns to have—despite whatever choice she makes the burden will always be too great.
In the beginning we learn that there is a conflict between the mainland where normal humans live and the Witchery, an island where the witches chose to live to escape the mainland's discriminatory laws against them.
19-year-old Tana Fairchild's life has been planned out since birth as the daughter of the New Coven leader witch, and that includes her betrothal to the son of the mainland's ruling family. The mainlanders have always be fearful of the Witches' magic and the Witches live in worry for their own safety—this betrothal and alliance is supposed to satisfy both sides and mark a new beginning.
Tana was content to carry out her duties until she bumped into a short-tempered young man who is cloaked in his own mysteries and secrets.
And Tana's life was never the same.
He permeates everything, every belief and doubt and question I’ve ever had about myself. When I look at him, I see the person I want to be, the potential of a life lived on my own terms. And it hurts. It hurts.
This book took place in such a unique tropical/semi-early 20th century setting with its stunning descriptive visuals to the point it felt tangible—as if I can sense and immerse myself into Tana's world—and I was absolutely entranced.
The witchy magic system was done splendidly and the author gave it such a unique twist. I love the emphasis on nature's connection to the magic (especially to the tides) and while it's not a complex system but it's intricate and well thought-out.
I won't spill details on the romance as I encourage the readers to experience it firsthand for themselves.
Themes of romance, familial love, friendships, loyalty, duty, and freedom of choice was handled and woven into the story beautifully without either weighing the plot and character arcs down too much.
But Tana's arc as an independent character and her development was done exceptionally well. I adored her, I felt so much for her, I was able to connect with her which not every author is able to succeed in doing that. The author effortlessly managed to deliver a powerful arc for the heroine and succeeded in adding multiple layers not only to Tana but also the other characters.
If you're a fan of cozy and whimsical fantasy romance, I would urge you to pick up this book.
What to expect?
— Whimsical Fantasy Romance Standalone — Forbidden Love — Splendid self-discovery journey — Tropical Witches / Covens — Unique magic system connected to nature — Hidden Secrets and History — Multi-layered Characters
Content warnings: I have not seen an element that was a big red flag to me but there is near drowning, mention of a parent's death, and some angst.
Picture this -- you're back in the year 2010 with a book in your hands. What is the book about? Why, it's about a sexy fallen angel who falls in love with a too-nice-for-this-world human. Duh.
You're on the edge of your seat as the FL once again gets herself into a life-threatening situation, and the ML swoops in to save her at the very last minute. She probably discovers that she could have saved herself this whole time, but that's okay because you wanted the handsome ML to sweep her off her feet. Quite literally, probably, because he has super speed and super strength. When they finally kiss, you let out a little squeal. The story ends with all conflicts magically resolved, and you're satisfied.
That's basically this book in a nutshell. Bring Me Your Midnight was as early-2010s-YA-Paranormal-Romance as it can possibly get. Let's bring out a checklist, yeah?
The special snowflake heroine with absolutely no depth? ✅ Tana had it all figured out before she made one mistake, and before she met the ML. She discovered things that were kept hidden from her and her people, and she suddenly got to decide how the future will look for everyone. It kind of pissed me off that Tana was marketed to be on the older side of the YA spectrum (I believe she's supposed to be 19 here), but didn't act like it. A lot of her actions didn't fit her character.
The plot centered around the (instant) forbidden love between the brooding male lead and the sheltered female lead? ✅✅✅ Obviously, it's the male lead Wolfe (oh the name is giving me so much cringe) that introduces Tana to a different way of living. From the night they met, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Truly, the plot only seemed to move forward whenever Wolfe was around. And yes, the instalove was pretty insane.
The shallow plot with a clean ending? ✅ It felt like the story was leading to a very clear, obvious point, even from the beginning. Any and all conflicts were just resolved too quickly and precisely, giving none of the characters any room to grow. There was a lack of tension and intensity, which is a shame considering how beautiful the story could have been, given the political and environmental nature of the main conflict.
All that being said, I didn't give this one a 1-star rating for two reasons: 1) I was genuinely interested in the magic culture and in the politics of the world, and 2) the setting was really atmospheric. This book did have potential, but it fell short and blended in with the rest of the YA PNR books we've all read in the past.
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Other kind-of witch-y books that I enjoyed: Uprooted by Naomi Novik: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Salt & Storm by Kendall Kulper: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stray by Elissa Sussman: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for the advance reader's copy!
“That’s why I’m here,” I say, my words quiet and unsteady. “To fight for something I once believed in more than anything else.”
3.5 ⭐
A bit of a mixed bag, but all in all I enjoyed this book. The background and the atmosphere were perfect. And I especially loved that the stakes were high and the difficulty of a choice Tana had to make.
There were actually many instances of this book I truly appreciated. But every time I’d start to relax and truly enjoy my read, something that didn't make much sense would occur and spoil it a little for me.
I'm also not sure I truly bought the romance between Tana and Wolfe. They were adorable and I did like them, but I can't say I actually felt the spark.
Still, it was not a bad story. I'm glad I read it and I’m sure many of you will like it even more.
If you want to see my much more in depth review, you can check it out on my book blog NovelOnMyMind.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Edelweiss+ for providing me with an ARC of Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin in exchange for an honest review.
"I don't want to lose you" he says. "I was never yours to lose," I say.
This book was absolutely beautiful. So lush and unique. It has been so long since I read a book this vivid and vibrant, the author aced the writing style because I was so easily captivated by it!
Though this book didn't have a strong plot it definitely had characters that steal the show easily that would not even make you think about the plot. The plot is there but the story focuses alot on the character and their character developments which I really liked.
Wolfe was an amazing MMC I loved how he coped with things and how he dealt with Mortana Mortana our FMC was likeable as well, I sometimes yelled at her for making stupid decisions but I really started understanding her near the end a lot.
The romance. THE ROMANCE. It was so so so good, the slow burn was ❤️🔥 I absolutely devoured it, I wanted more but what we got was very good.
The magic system of this book was unique as well, I really liked the concept of witches and their covens and how both covens had different opinions on magic and how each other coped with humans.
It's really hard for me to read a book with witches and like it ( not because of witches 😭) because not many authors can write good witchy books but this author nailed it!!
*Arc provided by the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
“What should scare you most about tonight isn’t that you’re about to use high magic, Mortana.
What should scare you most is that you’re going to want to use it again.”
Lush in imagery, alluring and enchanting, Bring Me Your Midnight is my first foray into Rachel Griffin's magical fantasy works. It took me awhile to realize that this was not a plot-driven story, rather a very bewitching character-driven story. Our heroine, Mortana, realizes her own prowess and capabilities as a witch through the secrets that she slowly uncovers around her. There is a forbidden romance - there is an eluding mystery - there is a handsome mysterious young man that is irresistible to deny, and there is a heart for friends and family that casts a spell on the readers, as we join Tana in embracing her destiny and becoming who she was always meant to be. 👌🏻👌🏻
“Maybe I’m a fool, but I’m a fool who believed in something strongly enough to fight for it with everything I had.”
Tana cares deeply for her family and her coven - she aims to make decisions that will benefit her community and bring prosperity to the island that has been cut away from the mainland for ever so long. I admired her kindness and how devoted she was to her parents - her deep-rooted friendship with her best friend, Ivy. She believed so much in her coven, was willing to sacrifice everything for their happiness and well-being, at the cost of her own - that I liked how she found the moments to rebel, to make choices that benefited herself. 🥺🥺 Her interactions with Landon were lovely, and I appreciated that he did not become an outright villain or someone with scheming machinations at his disposal - it was honestly, a very refreshing change. And an interesting contrast to how she stumbled into the arms of the very enigmatic Wolfe Hawthorne - a man destined to changed her life forever.
���We are the same, he and I. We believe in our ways of life, we are loyal to the ones we love, and we would do anything to give them the safety and peace they deserve.
And maybe there’s beauty in that, knowing we will each be fighting for these things in our own way, doing all that we can to hold on to what we care about most.
Apart, but together.”
I enjoyed her chemistry with Landon and Wolfe - they were two separate foils to one another, but there was something truly authentic about her relationship with Wolfe, which is quite an ironic way to describe it. 😊 The hint of danger and magic that came alive when the two of them were together highlighted how deeply entwined they were with each other. 🤍🤍 Can words be romantic - swoon-worthy - and luscious with want? Well, that's how the author brought to life their romance - how it stemmed from a seed and then planted it's roots into their hearts and blossomed into something truly beautiful and mesmerizing.
“Because sometimes, in the middle of the night when the Witchery is sleeping, I feel myself slipping away. Slipping away to darker magic and broken rules, to the western shore and a boy who’s sharp and beautiful, like raw crystal pulled from the earth.”
I especially enjoyed how the writing embraced the sea as a character, itself- how the descriptive words captured the sway of the current, the pull of the waves, the gentle caress of the tide, and the tug of the sea, that swept Tana away to make many of the life-altering decisions that resonated within her. 🌊 🌊 I loved her moments in the water - how it embraced her wholly - how it captured the intensity of her bond with it. It felt alive - the magic of her powers thrummed with each defining instance that she embraced herself with it and how it immerses itself into the actual story, itself. Hauntingly captured and vividly submerges itself into every fiber of Tana's promising abilities.
“Moonflower, deceptively beautiful and fatal to witches. It doesn’t look threatening, though, with its long, white petals tightly curled together.
It looks beautiful.
But I suppose we’re meant to think the most dangerous things are lovely.”
The writing was very fluid - a bit repetitive at times, as Tana contemplates what future lies ahead of her, but I appreciated how it didn't dwell too long on certain things. 💮💮 That a secret would be revealed and that it would immediately be acted upon it; the reveals also were very quiet, but, somehow, still made an impact to Tana's life. And, I particularly loved the twist, because as immersed as I was with the story, it truly crept up on you - like a tidal wave. And once it washed over you, you can't help but fall prey to it's pulls till someone reaches out and breaks you free. And with a very gentle hand, the author steadily navigated Tana and the readers back to shore. ✨✨
P.S. The cover is visually stunning! 🩵🩵 Major kudos to the artist for how it beautifully captures Tana - both in appearance and how the blue tones reflect the sea and how it embraces her and becomes a part of her being.
Once again, I was drawn in by a gorgeous cover and an intriguing synopsis, just to be utterly let down by the story execution. Overall, the plot sounded intriguing and felt like a fun entry into the young adult fantasy genre. However, the lack of narrative depth and poor plotting made the novel difficult to read.
Bring Me Your Midnight is a novel about Tana, a twenty-year-old witch who is betrothed to Landon, the mainland’s governor’s son. An alliance is being sealed through marriage in order to protect the witches that call the island, the Witchery, home. However, Tana’s world is shaken when she misses her monthly rush—a ceremony where the witches expel their extra magic into the ocean—and finds her life is at risk due to an excessive build up of magic. And then she meets Wolfe, a witch who practices dark magic, and he challenges her worldview as she begins to fall in love with him.
This novel is lacking in tension. That is a direct result of the novel, frankly, lacking emotional and descriptive depth, while plot conflicts never last longer than a chapter. As I read, I found myself craving concrete and descriptive details. I wanted to sink into the setting and imagery of the Witchery, and I wanted figurative language to invoke Tana’s emotions as the story played out. Instead, the story felt like a skeleton of itself. The writing presented itself with minimum details; if I had to describe the writing style in one phrase, it’s this: telling and not showing.
This lack of detail brings me to our main character, Tana. I struggled with her as a narrative. First, her voice did not sound like a twenty-year-old. Her voice felt juvenile and immature in the face of everything happening around her. Which brings me to the issue of conflict and development, especially when it comes to Tana. I would argue that this is a character-drive plot, as much of the conflict revolves around Wolfe challenging Tana’s worldview and everything she knows. However, even when her worldview was challenge, she accepted it quickly and moved on. Generally, no conflict lasted longer than a chapter, nor did it cause much emotional distress for Tana. I wanted to see her struggling to accept what Wolfe was telling her compared to what her mother taught her. Even when faced with asking her mother for the truth, she often chosen to not act, which made Tana a passive character. And a passive character often does not change and develop, which furthers the lack of tension in a story.
The most frustrating aspect, however, was the lack of overall plot. I’ve made mention that conflicts often didn’t last longer than a chapter, which was true. A conflict would set up and resolve itself within a few pages, which destroyed any chance of tension coming into play. However, there was one overarching plot shadowing the novel: the fact that the low-tide witches magic was negatively affecting the ocean and causing destruction of the island. While we didn’t see much evidence of this destruction—outside of the dangerous currents surrounding the island (and even then, no one died? Tana almost did, in her past, but that was it.)—but it was still an issue that needed to be resolved. And we did not get to see that plot be resolved. Tana provided a solution to the issue, strongarmed her mother into agreeing to it—and that was it. We never got to see Tana’s plan play out or see the ocean heal from her plan. Seeing that plot resolution was a driving factor behind my finishing reading this novel, and to see the sole plot conflict go unresolved was frustrating.
A smaller note: the “love-triangle” and “romance” were also underdeveloped. Tana and Wolfe’s relationship was a textbook example of insta-love. (Tana fell in love with Wolfe after meeting up with him six times. Six. Times.) And I wouldn’t label this novel as a love triangle, considering Landon was only on the page four times and gave zero indication of having romantic feelings for Tana. The romance is yet another example of something needing further development.
I haven’t read a Rachel Griffin novel before and, after experiencing this story, I probably won’t read another one of her novels again. This story was riddled with developmental issues and was lacking in a narrative depth that never allowed me to sink into the story. I was hoping to read an immersive, atmospheric novel and instead I walked away feeling frustrated and wanting more from the narrative.
Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Thank you NetGalley for gifting me this amazing book!
Bring Me Your Midnight is a truly captivating witchly story. I read it in two sittings and couldn't put it down. The writing was engaging from the first chapter and the story keeps building and building.
Tana lives in a small island with her coven, directed by her mother. She loves the island, but mostly she loves the sea. She feels in her element when she is in contact with the water and will do anything to protect her world. Unfortunately, even with Dark magic being banned and Low Magic being the only one available to the coven, the mainlanders are still scared of witches and being stronger in number are a direct treat to everything Tana cares for. With the surname Fairchild, and her mother at the head of the council, Tana has always had her path layered down for her. Merry the governor's son, Landon, and start an alliance with the mainlanders. But on the night the coven was supposed to pur her excess magic into the ocean like every month, Tana misses the ritual, fearing for her life and needing to turn to the only persone she shouldn't to. Wolfe.
🌊Tana is a strong character. She loves fiercely, is intelligent and driven, curious and respectful. I completely get her struggle throughout the book, with everyone around her laying and keeping secrets. I would have exploded.
💮Wolfe is stormy, mysterious and gentle. He is everything Tana should be afraid of, but he is also the one who will open her eyes.
☕ Ivy sometimes Ihated, but like every best friend pair, it happens not to always on the same page. he important thing is to want the other to be happy. And for this her character redeemed herself by the end. I really enjoyed the parents. Even though Tana's mother was very hard to understand in some ways. She is the leader of the coven, immovable in her wants, but she is also a mother that loves her family dearly. The father was so supportive and sweet, I immediately connected with him, maybe because for many reasons he is very similar to my father ❤️
Ps. Chapter 31 had me crying. My stomach was in knots and I felt every bit of pain and heartbreak Tana did. For me this book was amazing and I will start recommending it to everyone I know ❤️
This book had me feeling a lot of things and it doesn't happen ofter, for this I will forever treasure it 🥰
When I started this book, I was almost sure I wouldn’t like it (lol?). My suspicion was kind of like a defense mechanism, firstly because it's YA and I am an incredibly picky YA reader, and secondly because of the hype. What books live up to the hype? None, that’s how many. But this. This.
Within the first few chapters, we get a sense of Tana's world, her family and the magic system. Tana, along with her fellow witches, lives on an island called the Witchery. The community keeps their magic contained and suppressed, only casting spells during the day so as not to seem like a threat to the non-witches on the mainland. To further integrate themselves with the mainlanders, Tana's mother arranges a marriage between Tana and a man of political importance named Landon.
Something that immediately impressed me at the start of the story was how intricately Griffin wove the magic in with the culture, specifically as it relates to the mainland's relationship with the Witchery. The setting has incredible depth. It's not just good vs. evil. It's evil-fears-good-and-good-is-doing-their-best-to-change-things-and-also-might-be-evil. Which is to say, the characters (and their motives) are complicated.
"People come to the Witchery because they like magic. But our parents, and especially our grandparents, remember more frightening times when the majority of the mainland sought to get rid of magic altogether."
Yay, depth!
Okay, so the first few chapters zoom by as we're reading and getting a sense of the situation. Landon is introduced as the handsome prince charming type, though (from the blurb) we readers have our suspicions about him. Tana is working in her shop and trying to be the dutiful daughter and such. Then a thing happens (no spoilers), and Tana's life is thrown into disarray, and thennnnnnn
We meet Wolfe.
"He’s disagreeable, his face nothing but hard lines and sharp edges, his voice constantly laced with annoyance, and yet beneath it all is a boy who deeply loves his magic."
*literally someone fan me*
Wolfe. Gah. He's brooding? He's in charge? He can do magic? Am I in love? Wolfe gets thrown into Tana's life against both their wills, and things begin to unravel. I'm going to have to start truncating my thoughts here because if I don't there will be spoilers.
To summarize my experience, here are the notes I took in my phone while I was reading:
IGU WHY IT SO GOOD
LIKE IT GET SO GOOD??
THE MIDDLE. THE BETRAYAL. OMG THE BETRAYAL
WE GET A WOLFE CHAPTER??????!!!
THIS BOOKK
THIS BOOK?
I absolutely had my shit together.
I love that Wolfe calls Tana by her full name Mortana. It sounds so much darker, and he's the embodiment of dark magic, so there was some really lovely symmetry going on there. I liked the theme of breaking from the mold of who you're supposed to be and becoming who you really are. The setting is atmospheric, perfect for autumn. There are some twists and some heartbreak. It's a beautiful book.
**As a fellow author, I only post about books I heartily recommend. If I didn't love something, I won't review it.**
one star probably seems harsh but honestly, this book is really negative stars. it actually owes me stars.
the prose itself was nothing special; most of the dialogue felt very clunky, there was little effort to really establish the setting aside from “it’s an island,” and the magic system made little to no sense. there was some talk of rules; nature and balance and blah blah; but no one seemed to actually abide by these rules. we’re also told to believe that the “dark magic” is not really dark, even though quite a bit of it was actually sketch as hell. and don’t get me started on the moonflower stuff. all of that was just ridiculous.
i may have been able to get past the weak world and magic structure, but the characterization was even weaker. Tana came off like a whiny 13 year old more than someone who’s almost 20. her wet napkin father seemed to exist for no reason other than to validate her at every turn, and this was overall true of her mom as well despite the fact that she was depicted to be a low key villain. Ivy also seems to have little purpose except to forgive and validate Tana’s bad choices. and everyone else is just an NPC background person. we get no real sense of the mainlanders, or of either coven. Landon had about as much personality as toothpaste and only existed in the story to be an obstacle to Tana’s misguided love affair with Wolfe.
and as for Wolfe. when I tell you that I hated this man. it’s bad enough that this book depicted one of the most cringeworthy cases of instalove I’ve ever seen, but to top it off, Wolfe is an asshole. the way he regularly went from “I hate you and everything you stand for and your coven are worthless cowards” to “you’re incredible i want you so bad” practically in the same breath gave me whiplash and made me think Tana should consider a restraining order. he told her to her face that it was “so easy” to use her, because as everyone knows: the quickest way to a woman’s heart is to tell her she’s stupid and naive. oh and to also have sex with her before you bother telling her the truth about yourself, so you can in fact use her in every way you can think of. very heroic, much noble. even by the end he was still angry that he had feelings for Tana. seems normal and very healthy. on Tana’s end, diving headfirst into a relationship with Wolfe felt less like love and more like lust + a need to rebel against her mom’s plans. the entire romance was utterly unearned and felt so toxic I’m surprised I didn’t get radiation poisoning from reading it.
to sum up the romantic entanglements in this book:
Tana: we just met but do you think we’ll fall madly in love? Landon: well I can’t promise what our future feelings will be, but I want to get to know the real you and make a nice life together. Tana: oh that’s disappointing. :/
Wolfe: I hate you your entire existence is a joke and your coven sucks. Tana: omg so romantic I want that one he just gets me and sees me 😍😍😍
Landon, despite his general toothpaste-ness, ended up being one of the most decent characters in the book, and I feel like he deserves better than marrying into this bullshit anyway. and then after all this, we get no real resolution to anything. we don’t know how or if the new coven was able to continue making their alliance with the mainland. we don’t see what the fallout was from Tana’s covenant ball. we don’t see if the new coven went along with the dumb plan Tana suggested, or how they reacted to it at all. we don’t know if the plan was even working to fix the currents. all the big plot points that were present throughout the book get no clear wrap up at all, making the entire thing feel utterly pointless. and there was no growth on Tana’s part, because it isn’t “growth” when you go from “my duty is to my coven” to “eh, to hell with my coven, I’d rather make out with this boy I met five minutes ago who spends 80% of his time insulting me.” it was just a meandering kissing book at the end of the day. a more apt title might’ve been Bring Me Your Moaning. it’s a hard, rock solid no from me on this one.
I received a free arc in exchange for an honest review.
OMGGGGG WE HAVE A COVER !!!! AND SHE’S AMAZING IT’S SO SO PRETTY!!! i’m literally crying right now.. counting the days until it’s finally out!!!!
STOOOOOOOP WTFFFF WHY AM I ONLY HEARING ABOUT THIS NOW ????! Rachel Griffin is literally one of my favourite authors EVER i loved The Nature of Witches and Wild is the Witch so so so much !! I’ve been waiting for months for her to announce a new book and omggggg !!! I CAN’T WAIT TO READ IT !! it looks so god i already know im gonna love it <333
"Bring me your Midnight" by Rachel Griffin turned out to be a delightful and cozy page-turner that had me completely engrossed. Tana's constant tug of war between her sense of duty and her own happiness kept me utterly invested in the story.
Tana Fairchild, the main character, knew since she was a child, she would one day marry Landon Yates for political reasons. However, everything takes a turn when she crosses paths with Wolfe Hawthorne, a member of a secretive banished coven. With his guidance, Tana is led to explore her magical heritage, something that goes against everything she was brought up to believe. Embracing her magic brought her immense joy and a newfound sense of happiness. But of course, there's a catch; her decisions put her coven's political alliance in danger and jeopardize the safety of her people.
I loved the captivating exploration of conflicts, growth, and personal revelations. Five stars.
Back at it with a new Rachel Griffin book and, I gotta say, this has to be my favorite of hers BY FAR! I really don’t wanna spoil anything with this one because I think it absolutely deserves to be fully appreciated for all it’s beauty by going in as blind as possible, so I’m going to keep things short and vague.
This has gotta be Rachel’s most romantic book yet, and I loved seeing a book from her that had more of a focus on this aspect of the story. The two MC’s are absolutely perfect together and I can’t remember the last time I was so excited to read about two characters’ relationship not for the smut (there’s none of that in this book, don’t come looking for it here, it’s very much a YA book in that sense) but for their dialogue and for the way they challenge each other and help the other grow.
Bring Me Your Midnight not only has a stunning romance at the core of its story, but it tackles the complications of duty and personal desires in the most atmospheric setting possible. There are plenty of twists and turns that keep the story’s momentum going and fuel Tana’s journey as she tries to navigate the weight of her coven on her shoulders while also discovering who she is and what she wants.
I don’t know, I can’t say enough how beautiful this book is, and how elegant the prose and world-building are. Rachel doesn’t really miss, but this book, in particular, has set the bar so, so high for whatever she does next.
**Thank you to Sourcebooksfire for an early copy of the book!**
Wow this was beautiful and exactly what I needed to read. Randomly picked it up at the library and so glad I did! If you need to read a book about breaking free from all the expectations people have put on you and how scary but fulfilling that is, please crack this book open. It’ll help :)
3,75⭐️ J’ai été emballée sur plein de choses et beaucoup moins sur d’autres. En gros la relation va trop vite et le développement du personnage m’a semblé un peu tiré par les cheveux. Le rythme est assez lent et j’ai trouvé que certains éléments arrivaient comme des cheveux sur la soupe voire ne servaient finalement pas à grand chose mis à part à rajouter du drama qui ralentissait l’intrigue. MAIS, au delà de ça, l’univers est intéressant, l’histoire addictive et j’ai tout de même eu des petits papillons dans le ventre à certains moments concernant la romance donc boooon… c’est donc que, dans l’ensemble, c’est une chouette lecture, un stand-alone de fantasy ado qui se dévore et qui m’a bien plu !
I am so happy I saved the best for last in October. I am OBSESSED with Rachel Griffin and that has been no secret, but this is my new favorite novel of hers!
Bring Me Your Midnight follows Mortana "Tana" Fairchild, the daughter of the leader of the new coven. The new coven lives on Witchling, an island off the coast of the mainland where the humans allow the witches to live despite their fear of them. Tana is destined to marry Landon, the son of the mainland's governor in order to bring harmony to both places, but she's not sure she's up for that. One night, when she is meant to be a part of the Rush – where witches go into the ocean and expel their magic, which leads to chaos amongst the currents– she bumps into Wolfe Hawthorne, a member of the old coven who practices dark magic. Wolfe shouldn't exist, the old coven died off years ago along with their murderous magic, but then how is he here? When she misses the Rush she knows she is doomed as the last witch who missed it died within ten days and in order to save herself, she forces Wolfe to practice on her which leads to many truths being uncovered. This stunning YA contemporary fantasy will invoke so many emotions and have you kicking your little feet.
When I tell you I LOVE THEM. I LOVE THEM. Tana was raised to only know what her mother has taught her and when Wolfe comes around and shows her this whole new world it is so CUTE. The attraction does start off pretty immediately when they meet each other, but the way they form the romance makes this book SO GOOD. I loved how interesting Tana was and how the new coven's magic was perfumes and teas. It's just so cozy! Their dynamic is so amazing and is by far the best romance Griffin has written yet!
Their chemistry!!!!!! The LOVE THEY HAVE FOR EACH OTHERRRRR!!
I can't say much more about them considering a lot of their story happens in the second half and those are major spoilers, but the last 150 pages had me ready to sob. I adore them, truly. Griffin also has fantastic writing: whimsical, beautiful, and full of heart.
It’s been awhile since I finished a book in one sitting but I just couldn’t put this down. Griffin nailed this YA witchy romantasy with its highlights being an atmospheric setting and lyrical prose. Tana was a great main character with layers and I couldn’t help but root for her as she navigated the difficult decision between following her heart or fulfilling her obligation to duty. Familial obligation and loyalty to civic duty are two things I always enjoy in a book, particularly when it’s paired with confliction, so the entire plot just completely worked for me. Whirlwind romances aren’t typically my thing, but everything about Wolfe and Tana was so heartwarming and it really captured the intensity of first love. Plus, I love a closed-off, reluctant love interest so I knew early in I was gonna stan Wolfe. I did wish a few things were more flushed out but it packed enough of a punch for a short, standalone YA book for me to be satisfied. Overall, an enjoyable read that I know is going to be a hit with both the YA and adult readers. I’ll be recommending this to all of my fellow witchy fantasy lovers.
I can’t wait to read what Griffin writes next and I’m totally kicking myself for not reading her other books!
- Os voy a presentar y comentaros la que ha sido una de mis mejores lecturas de este año, esta lectura le ha sentado fenomenal a mi cabeza estos días. - Es la primera vez que leo a la autora, sin duda repetiré una y otra vez porque me ha maravillado. La narrativa de la autora es muy limpia, bonita y cuidada, es de esas lecturas que empiezas y no puedes parar de leer porque te sumerge de lleno. - Estamos ante un libro que bien yo lo consideraría cozy, un libro con una historia bonita, de decisiones y esperanzas en un futuro en el que la protagonista tendrá que elegir entre su vida y felicidad o el bienestar de todos los brujos y brujas de su isla, a la que ama con locura. - El libro me enganchó de tal manera que estuve dos días, no llegaron a ser completos, leyendo sin parar porque no lo podía soltar, pese a que no estamos ante un libro con páginas y páginas de acción frenética, pero me sumergí tanto en la historia que no podía soltarlo. - La autora nos da los pensamientos de la protagonista en una primera persona muy bonita y única, porque según avanzamos en la novela seremos testigos de sus contradicciones y decisiones, a la vez que vamos descubriendo con ella cada secreto que guarda la isla y los brujos. - El libro es mayormente romance, es muy importante en la trama y uno de los grandes ejes que la mueve, es bonito y de los que gustan por su sencillez y constancia, y es un amor que en ocasiones duele y me ha sacado más de una lágrima. - Es una historia autoconclusiva, por lo que no hay que esperar a siguientes partes, y el final es muy dulce y bonito, por lo que deja muy buen sabor de boca, solo me han quedado ganas de leer algo más de la autora.