A great setting and four interesting women made this a good read. Las Vegas in the 50s (and now, for that matter) attracted a wide range of individuals, all of looking for something...else. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. If you like the sort of novel where you read the stories of four distinct characters, this one is for you.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book early and provide a review.

I waivered between a 3.5 and a 4 for this book. I enjoyed the story more than I thought that i would and i really liked how everything had come together throughout and in the end and at the end I found myself tearing up. I did feel like some parts were drug out a little too much and that's most of the reason for a lack of higher rating.

"What if we could just see each other now and then? A quick hug, one dinner a sunny day? What about that? It would be enough, wouldn't it."
An interesting novel of four women whose lives intertwine in Las Vegas. Each has their own story, heartbreaking and confusing at times and yet by the end of the story, they are linked together brilliantly by Laura McBride. Different cultures, different circumstances, yet all strong and loving in their own ways.
It's definitely a read that will capture your heart.

The first part of this one was interesting, unusual and tense. The only problem for me was the pace. Hard to get through

This book pulled me in from the very beginning. At first I was slightly confused by the story since the first quarter of the book seemed to only be about June, but the description has talked about four women. However, through the rest of the book, the other women were woven into the story in a fantastic way. I loved the passage of time, and the stories of each woman that were so different, yet all connected. I fell in love with the characters and the end was beyond perfect!

I received an advanced copy of this novel in exchange of an honest review.

To review this novel, I would need a graph since I found the book so uneven. It grabbed me at the start and then it fell off a literary cliff, muddled with subplots and multiple characters. Oh, so many characters, so many names, I felt myself configuring all the relationships. Amazingly, it is all pulled together at the end, but by then it was too late.

I must admit to loving the story about the birth and growth of Las Vegas, a phenomenon which fascinates me.

The author tackles lots of big issues, perhaps too many. The issues of segregation and prejudice, drug use, infidelity....on and on.

Clearly, McBride has a fine style, but she should rein it in and focus more on a broader story about her interesting main characters.

This book was....strange. While I understood what the author was aiming for, I am not sure I can say she achieved it. The first half of the book was really just life stories of the three main characters. It felt slow and a bit misguided. There were spurts of conflict and drama here and there that kept me reading. Finally, all of the women's lives converge. However...there is no timeline to follow. At one point, everyone is young and the kids are just children then on the next page, they're grown and about to graduate. It was confusing. Also, there was a random insert from a by-stander at some point...? Haha. In the end, everyone merged as you knew they would from the book's synopsis. I just felt there was a lot of random thoughts (? I guess you could call them) and there would be half a page of run on sentances that were totally unnecessary. I definitely had higher hopes for this book.

I read this book when it was earlier published under a slightly different name and loved it. When I started reading it this time - than you, NetGalley - I felt like I had bumped into an old friend. I read it again and enjoyed it as much as I did the first time. It's a story about women and the families we choose.

Two children in Laura McBride's new novel have a conversation about a science lesson on quantum physics explaining that "Everything affects everything else". I don't know anything about quantum physics so I'll go with my heart and my gut and say that what makes everything in this story affect everything else is the wonderful way in which McBride tells a story connecting the lives of the four women she writes about. Each of these women has their own story which could stand alone, but place and circumstances bring them together in a way reminiscent of McBride's [book:We Are Called to Rise|18271235].

June you might say is the linch pin, whose life with her husband Del sets the novel in motion. They open a casino in the '50's in a Las Vegas that was in its early stage of development, in a time where racism kept black people out of the casinos except on the stage as musicians and singers and except if you were friends with the owners as Eddie Knox, an amazing singer was. And so the complicated relationships begin. Honorata, comes to Vegas with a man, who bought her, yes bought . It is in the El Captain casino that her life changes. Engracia is a maid at the hotel and further on in the novel connects with Honorata and their lives are forever changed. Then there is Coral, half white, half black, a music teacher, struggling with her identity and not knowing her birth parents. Their paths cross in ways that reflect the chance meetings that perhaps have affected all of us in our lives, chance meetings which affect their lives moving forward. Flawed characters who I came to love, serious themes of people wanting a better life, racism, and undocumented individuals, secrets of their pasts - there is so much here.

I have to admit that her first novel touched me in a deeper way perhaps because it was based on a true heartbreaking incident but I definitely recommend this one, especially if you loved her first novel.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Touchstone/Simon & Schuster through NetGalley and Edelweiss.

“This jubilant, compassionate novel explores the unexpected ways that life connects us, changes us, and even perfects us. A powerful story of lust and of hope, of redemption and of compassion, In the Midnight Room is a smart, sagacious novel about womanhood, family bonds, and how we live in America now.”
I just finished reading In the Midnight Room by Laura McBride and let me first say that it is 4am here. I started reading this book but found myself enthralled. So much so that putting this book down, wasn’t possible. Every aspect of the protagonist to the other 3 women we meet along the way, comes together and you honestly could believe that this is actually happening. June Stein is living a life much like any other woman might. Hers has ups and downs and the downs are pretty low. She has a secret. One that will have the reader guessing the whole time. I honestly did not foresee the ending on this one.
The story is an easy read and could be read in one sitting. The author has a way of keeping your interest throughout and bringing forth lots of emotions from the reader. All in all, I definitely say that this is a must read.

5++ ⭐️ out of 5

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.