The premise of this book is super interesting and draws the reader in, but I find the writing style and characters are somehow disconnected or put the reader at a distance, so maybe I am not the target audience?

This was such a good premise, and I was so excited to read it, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me. The characters were okay, likeable enough, but I felt like the mystery itself was very disjointed and didn't make much sense. It jumped from parkour to the personal relationships of the three kids (which were all over the place) to the mystery (such as it was) and I felt like I was always trying to catch up. The pacing was a problem, the plot just didn't flow. It wasn't so much the writing itself, but the execution that was choppy.

3/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Soho Press, and Jacquelyn Mitchard for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I have been attempting to read this one for years (literally), and I am just not connecting with it. I believe that this simply a case of a good book not being the right book for ME, and it would benefit your book more if I did not write a review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience and the amount of time that it has taken me to provide feedback on this title.

Jacquelyn Mitchard writes beautifully, but I feel that the story/characters here fell flat. The premise took some suspension of disbelief, which I did not find worked well with what I had come to expect from Mitchard.

I have lost interest in this and I am trying to clear out some old galleys in my account. I will not be reading and reviewing this book at this time but may do so in the future.

WHAT WE SAW AT NIGHT by Jacquelyn Mitchard was a miss for me. I liked the premise, and the mystery surrounding what the three friends saw at night, but the execution just wasn't there.

Two stars: A book with potential that educates readers on Parkour and XP, but the story is confusing and it ends abruptly with a cliffhanger and more questions.

Allie Kim finds adventure on the streets at night. Allie and her two best friends, Rob and Juliet suffer from XP, a genetic allergy to sunlight. Even the smallest exposure to sun could kill them. Thus, they live in a small town with a clinic that specializes in XP. They sleep during the day, and at night they live their lives. Having XP is difficult because a normal life is impossible, and life expectancy is shortened. You have to pack a lot of living into your years. To feel alive, the inseparable trio takes up Parkour, an extreme sport that involves running and jumping off urban obstacles. While practicing Parkour, Allie sees something she shouldn’t see. A man is hurting a young woman. Did she really see what she thought she saw or is she going crazy?
What I Liked:
*What We Saw At Night is a hard book to review. This book had so much potential, but it fell flat. Still I liked that it exposed me to some new things, and that I learned something from this book.
First, I liked that I learned all about XP, a deadly allergy to sun. I had no idea that so many people are living with this disease and how it can shorten a life. It is terrifying, scary and sad. It was an eye opening experience to see life from the perspective of someone with this illness.
*Then there was Parkour. I have heard of Parkour, but didn’t know much about it. I enjoyed following the trio as they learned the stunts of Parkour.
*The mystery and suspense was what kept me reading. I wasn’t sure what was going on. Who was the man that Allie saw? Was she going crazy or what? I had to know more so I kept reading.
*I loved the relationship that Allie had with her mother. Yes, Allie’s mother is a little overprotective, but not to the point where it interferes with Allie’s life. I liked that Jack Jack was supportive of her daughter and that they had an open and honest line of communication.
*I enjoyed the romance. It wasn’t perfect but it was one that evolved from a life long crush on a best friend that finally was realized. Those are always the best kind of romances.
And The Not So Much:
*I finished this book scratching my head. What the heck did I just read? Seriously, this book falls off the tracks hard core. It spirals into madness and it begins to not even make sense. There are some dark revelations, and I couldn’t tell whether Allie was plain crazy or what. It was confusing, frustrating and it ended in a mess.
*Speaking of endings... the book abruptly ends with absolutely no closure or explanations. I find these to be the most frustrating types of endings as I got no satisfaction from reading this book. There is no pay out at the end, just more questions and confusion. So irritating!
*I was so put off by Juliette. What was her deal? Especially at the end, why would she do that? Argh!
*I am so irritated by this book. It was so frustrating! I wish I hadn’t read it!

What We Saw At Night was a book that had been languishing in my TBR pile, and in all honesty, I wish it had stayed there. This book had potential, and I liked that it exposed me to XP and Parkour, but the story is chaotic and frustrating. The book ends with an abrupt cliffhanger with absolutely no pay out. I felt like I wasted my time reading this one. I have no patience for the story at this point and no desire to continue the series. Skip this one!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

Not bad as a sequel to What We Saw in the Dark and - even better(for me) - not set in a dystopia!

Juliet's death hasn't unhinged Allie, but it has driven a wedge between her and Rob because she's obsessed with trapping Garrett Tabor into either confessing or giving himself away. The emphasis on the XP and how Allie, Juliet and Rob couldn't go out during the day is lessened here (thankfully) as is their parkouring adventures. Instead we get deep diving, which of course leads to major clues and discoveries. There were moments when the action was a little over the top, dropping this from a solid four-star to a three.

Having said that, this series (guessing here, as the ending is final enough that it could be the end but there is enough of an opening that could also lead to another book) is one that I can see appealing to teens needing something more that romance and less than future worlds.

ARC provided by publisher. (less)

I didn't get a chance to read this before it expired on my nook. I'm sorry! I did buy it and hope to eventually read it once I'm caught up with the series!