Member Reviews
This was the perfect contemporary summer romance with the perfect setting of being on a lake alongside a lifelong frenemy.
From the writing, to the characters and the setting, I loved everything about this novel from start to finish. I loved this story so much that I easily read the whole of this novel in one sitting while also not wanting the magic of it to end.
If you like Sarah Dessen, Morgan Matson, or Nicholas Sparks (albeit younger characters), I'd highly recommend checking this one out. This is a summer romance that will be hard to forget and I know now that I will be looking for more of this author's novels in the future.
***Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
This was such a cute romance. My rating for this a 3.75 star. I wanted to give this a solid 4, but I feel like something was still missing for me especially after having read her previous novel When Summer Ends. The writing was beautiful and the characters were interesting. I loved the dual perspectives as each character had a distinct voice.
The story follows star swimmers Sidney and Asher while they are enjoying their family vacation by lake. A normal, quiet vacation turns into a prank war between the two. They seek to win one up on the other which then turns their enemies relationship into a beautiful romance. The romance was pretty organic which I truly appreciated. Nothing was rushed. Filled with humor, cute banter, immature fun and sweet words. There were a few parts that I felt it dragged, but I was still invested in the characters as individuals and a couple.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more from Jessica!
I really enjoyed this book. I read this at the perfect time. It is a great summer read. I loved the enemies to lovers romance and the summer pranks. I loved both the main characters. The only thing that I probably changed is the conflict because I felt like Sydney went too far in what she thought happened between her and Asher this summer. Though I could understand what her thought process I was surprised that Sydney thought Asher would go that far. I thought that the chemistry was great between the two and I really liked how it was a more slowly developed romance instead of them instantly becoming a couple.
*Thank you Netgalley for the copy in exchange of an honest review*
This was such a cute read! I absolutely loved everything about it and couldn’t put it down. The characters were charming and relatable and the setting was perfect. I loved the back and forth banter and the flirting was so natural and not awkward like you find in a lot of YA romance novels. I would highly recommend this one for a quick and fun summer read, even if you don’t typically pick up YA. It was fun, nostalgic, and and easy read. Thank you Netgalley for sending a copy in exchange for an honest review!
Sidney and Asher have a lot in common and are set up to be friends: their parents are good friends, they are both on swim teams, and they spend summers together at neighboring lake houses. Sidney and Asher are instead something close to enemies after years creating and receiving outlandish pranks. Now they are spending their last summer before heading off to college and in this pivotal summer a prank gets them kicked out of their vacation houses. They are forced to share close quarters in one cottage and to declare a truce while they plot against the woman who had them evicted. Joining forces propels them into a closer relationship, and maybe romance?
Meet Me at Midnight is an enjoyable quintessential beach read. The first half of the book, in my opinion, is the strongest where we witness the often hilarious pranks Sidney and Asher create and execute. Both characters are well rounded and likable in their dual points of view. Their relationship from enemies to tentative friends and their fragile romance builds slowly. The second half of the book lost its steam by the constant on-again and off-again romance. Some readers may delight in the "will they or won't they" aspect of the book but I found it tedious and repetitive. Readers looking for complete escapism and low stakes will enjoy this book.
Absolutely loved this book! It’s a cute summer read. I loved the character development and the story.
The perfect summer love read! Meet Me at Midnight by Jessica Pennington contains lake houses, pranks, fun, and an “enemies to lovers” romance.
Asher and Sydney are both incredible swimmers and their parents are great friends. They spend their summers at the lake house coaching each other with swimming and pranking each other. This summer a prank goes a bit too far. When an eviction notice is given, the two families decide to share a cabin for the rest of the summer. At first, Sydney and Asher are at odds, but they learn to get along, and a summer love blooms from that. I enjoyed that we got points of view from both Asher and Sydney, allowing us to relate to their struggles and shenanigans.
I was really curious how this book was going to wrap up. I knew they would end up together, but just how Pennington was going to do it was a mystery to me. The ending did not disappoint.
This book is perfect for anyone looking for summer vibes or enemies to lovers trope. I loved the friendship that was hidden underneath all along. I cannot wait to read more by Jessica Pennington!
I received an electronic advanced reader copy from Tom Doherty Associates through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.
I enjoyed this one even more than I was hoping to! I loved the characters relationship, and how close their families were! I honestly wish it was a series, so I could read more about Sidney and Asher!
Love this book. It's such a cute summer read. Looking forward to reading more of the authors work. Love the duel POV.
Jessica Pennington did it again! I just don't think it's possible to hate her books. They are always fluffy and realistic and just right thing you need for summer. If you love enemies to lovers trope, multiple POV and all the fluffiniess you can get, then this is the book for you!
I tried multiple times to get into this book and it never worked out. So I ended up DNFing it about a third of the way into the story. I just couldn't connect with the characters, mostly the main character so I gave up. Sorry!
*I RECEIVED A PHYSICAL GALLEY IN RETURN FOR MY HONEST REVIEW. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINION*
And yet again, Jessica Pennington has released to us a contemporary we didn't realize we were missing.
As someone who is a big fan of Jess's books, I can confidently say that the first time I tried reading this, I was relieved that it wasn't the book and it was me. I hadn't been in the mood or ready to read MMAM, so I put it down.
However, picking it up a few days ago after prepping myself for a nice contemporary definitely helped get me into the mood for Jess's third book.
Meet Me at Midnight is a book we all wish we could've lived through at some point in our lives. This book follows after two characters--Sidney and Asher--who have been consistently pranking each other for four years and have built a serious rivalry.
Something I found immediately after starting the book was the tension between the two characters. When reading and finding something like this, it really sets up for some awesome character development, and Jess did not disappoint. Throughout the book, this animosity was addressed and came to a halting point where the true underlying scenes and emotions came unhidden and exposed.
One thing I always like seeing from Jess's books is how she continues the scenery of a place we all know and love. She makes small mentions to her previous main characters in her other books but keeps the story focused on these two.
However, there were a few things that stuck out to me that I'm a little iffy over.
This book is really long for being 340 pages. I felt like I was reading two books in one, and it made me feel bored during the "in-between" chapters. Another thing that bugged me was the random POV switches throughout the chapters. It kind of threw me for a loop and made it a little harder to follow along with the dialogue and story. It also became a bit choppy in places because of that.
Overall, though, I really did enjoy this book. Jess always manages to pull me out of whatever slump I'm in, and I love having that experience from her books. For that, I rate MMAM 4 stars.
Enemies to lovers is one of my all-time favourite tropes, so it's fair to say that I was pretty excited for this book. It took me a while to get into this book ( I have been in a pretty bad reading slump though so that didn't help), but once I got further into the book I just couldn't put it down!
This book follows Sidney and Asher, two swimmers who both spend their summers on the same lake. Every summer since they were 14 is spent pranking each other, but their last summer before going off to college isa little different when a prank goes too far and they are forced to stay in the same house. After they decide to team up to get back at the lady for forcing them to live together, they start to realise they may not be enemies after all.
This was definitely a fun and cute read, I really loved seeing Sidney and Asher's romance develop. It's definitely the perfect book to get you in the mood for summer.
I loved this book! Sidney and Asher's story is one that kept me guessing throughout the entire book. I thought it was so cute when it was told how Asher had such a crush on Sid for years but it wasn't until she showed him her Asher box and told him everything about how she always wanted to be with him and loved him that I knew they were going to definitely end up together. Jessica Pennington is a very talented author. I recommend this book!
First of all, thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for approving my request and sending me an eARC in exchange for a honest review.
You have to know English isn’t my first language, so feel free to correct me if I make some mistakes while writing this review.
This is the second novel I read by Jessica Pennington - last year I read "When Summer Ends" and "Meet Me at Midnight" it's set in the same place, Riverton, but the two books have no characters in common and can be read easily in a separate way as stand alone.
But if "When Summers Ends" started from a certain premise - the locals who see their places "invaded" by tourists are very familiar to me since I live in a tourist place myself - "Meet Me at Midnight" instead offers us the opposite, with a boy and a girl that should be tourists but who don't consider themselves as such because they have been returning to their "home away from home" on the lake for years.
Sidney and Asher have always been in each other's lives in a way - that's because their mothers were roommates in college and their parents are therefore lifelong friends. Sidney spent her first summer at the lake only with her family and occasionally with Kara, a local girl known there.
The following summer the two families thought of spending their holidays together - and not only together, but by renting two twin houses next to each other. Everyone thought Sidney found Asher a little obnoxious, but at thirteen Sidney had a crush on him and talking to him was a bit difficult that summer - not to mention the fact that Sidney is having a hard time even now with strangers. But after a little effort they became friends and spent a nice summer together ... until something happened and the pranks started.
Since then, it's all flip-flops glued to the floor, sour cream instead of yogurt, sabotaged shampoos, runs and trips to the only lounge chair on the dock equipped with a comfy cushion - the "unicorn" chair - and so on.
Their parents pretend not to know and the dinners spent every evening everyone at the same table are a bit of a cold war in which Asher is amazed by how Sidney really always seems innocent and kind to everyone except than with him.
One makes a joke and the other responds and after ten months spent apart plotting and trying to be smarter than the other, the rivalry when they see each other is always skyrocketing. But a joke performed on the emotion of the moment and not planned in detail like all the others leads as a consequence to the eviction of the Walters and the Marins from their houses on the lake and Sidney and Asher have to deal with a summer different from the previous ones: they need to join forces against the woman who threw them out.
But after years of pranks, humiliations and sarcasm it's a bit difficult to trust the other and believe that the truce between them can really last that long - not only until the end of summer, but also beyond.
Can I hug this book?
No, because it's really a masterpiece of sweetness - and yes, with a little bit of angst, too.
And yes, I'm gonna say it: I fell in love with Asher.
Hi, you lost me.
Asher is sweet, attentive and every year he hopes that summer will bring along a change in his relationship with Sidney, but by now he knows her and it's not difficult for him to predict her reactions or what goes on in her head. He is certainly the bravest of the two, the one who exposes himself most - both in terms of words, but especially gestures when feelings are involved.
I noticed the similarities I share with Sidney late, but when I noticed them it was impossible not to see them.
Thinking too much, obsessively analyzing something in every detail, imagining the worst-case scenarios in her mind, relationships that end after a handful of days and always because she's the one to end them for a reason or another, the fear of a relationship itself, putting all of herself in every field except the sentimental one. Sidney is someone who holds on to words, holds on to feelings, does not expose herself, offers much less of herself than he does and Asher must always come up with something to induce her to open up with him and let herself go - honestly, I'm not surprised I fell head over heels for this book and Asher.
Sidney and Asher have a crazy chemistry and they are just beautiful to read - from the sharp jokes and sarcastic comments of the beginning, to the incredibly sweet moments when things start to change between them, to the inevitable angst that every young adult requires when something comes to separate them - and as it was with the author's previous book, with the double point of view the parts of Asher have often been my favorites and the demonstration that even the boys get their hearts broken.
Obviously it's not a perfect book because the central part offers a little less action and situations that are a bit repeated so I would have preferred that a few pages had been added to the finale to see a little more of the "after", but I felt so emotionally involved for both story and characters that I can't help but give it all the five stars available - especially considering that when I read "When Summer Ends" I had given it four and a half stars and I liked this even more.
"Meet Me at Midnight" is really a perfect summer reading - you can't miss it.
Meet Me at Midnight by Jessica Pennington is a sweet enemies to friends young adult romance. Sidney and Asher parents are best friends, so they grew up together spending every summer at the lake, but they don't get along. Every summer they plot how to prank the other one. This year they take it too far, and their families are kicked out of their lake houses. Both kids feel so bad they join forces to get back at the women who kicked them out, and their attraction to each other grows. I love the quirky people and situations in this book, and watching the characters grow. I found this book to be a quick read, and recommend it to all readers who enjoy a sweet young adult romance.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This was book was a super fun read, perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen. It's the perfect summer read and I loved the characters and the story. By the end of the book I wished that I could holiday there and experience the fun and adventures on the lake.
You know me: an enemies to lovers trope? I'm there in an instant and this book didn't let me down.
This was a one-sitting read that - once I finally started - I couldn't put it down. With the good weather starting to show itself around here, this book got me ready for summer!!
If you want a fun summer book to read on the beach, read this cute book about a teen romance. It's that type of story where everyone in the book knows they're going to end up together, you know they're going to end up together, and yet you still have the best time with the book. Highly recommend!
I quickly read this in one sitting. It was fun and exciting! I enjoyed the first part of the book quite a bit more than the latter half. However, I thought the ending worked well and I was left feeling comforted by the ending. I didn't think it was overly gushy.
This is an easy summer read that most could read in a day or two.
I would recommend this book to my friends!
I could not get into this book and it was partly due to the main characters. I could not click with either of them and I wish I could have. The setting and premise were really interesting but it was not for me.