Happy fall y'all! I love fun, cute fall books, and Three Kisses, One Midnight is the epitome of a fun, cute fall book! Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of it!
Three Kisses, One Midnight 5/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads:
New York Times bestselling authors Roshani Chokshi, Evelyn Skye, and Sandhya Menon craft a spellbinding novel about discovering the magic of true love on one fateful, magical night in Three Kisses, One Midnight.
The town of Moon Ridge was founded 400 years ago and everyone born and raised there knows the legend of the young woman who perished at the stroke of twelve that very same night, losing the life she was set to embark on with her dearest love. Every century since, one day a year, the Lady of Moon Ridge descends from the stars to walk among the townsfolk, conjuring an aura upon those willing to follow their hearts’ desires.
“To summon joy and love in another’s soul
For a connection that makes two people whole
For laughter and a smile that one can never miss
Sealed before midnight with a truehearted kiss.”
This year at Moon Ridge High, a group of friends known as The Coven will weave art, science, and magic during a masquerade ball unlike any other. Onny, True, and Ash believe everything is in alignment to bring them the affection, acceptance, and healing that can only come from romance—with a little help from Onny’s grandmother’s love potion.
But nothing is as simple as it first seems. And as midnight approaches, The Coven learn that it will take more than a spell to recognize those who offer their love and to embrace all the magic that follows.
Awww y'all, I loved this book so much! I read it while I was on vacation at the beach and it was the cutest thing! I honestly read it so fast and as soon as I started, I couldn't put it down. I loved how different Onny, True, and Ash's voices were- you could definitely tell that they were written by different authors (and because I love Roshani Chokshi, I of course knew that she wrote Onny), but I loved how well all three stories went together and gelled. I could see all of the threads that tied everything together. Plot wise, loved the love potion. Loved the Halloween party. Loved the town of Moon Ridge! Pacing wise, I thought it was great. Overall, Three Kisses, One Midnight was just a really fun fall read and I definitely recommend picking it up!

Three Kisses One Midnight is a magical connected anthology. It tells the story of three best friends who are finding love on Halloween night. With a love potion in hand to help them form that connection, they all set out to find the one person they want to share a magical kiss with.

There really was something magical and fun about this anthology. I loved how the stories were all connected and we got to see each friend search for their love and find it. The characters all had vastly different personalities and backgrounds allowing them to stand out from one another, yet at the same time, mesh together flawlessly.

Onny is such an optimist. She believed in the magic and that this was going to work for her and her friends. She was adorable! I love her story line. It really was just comforting.

Ash is the shy artist. He was so sweet and watching him finally get the chance to interact with his crush really tugged at my heart strings.

True is a skeptic of it all. She wants to see full proof that this is going to work. So, watching her go from that in her story to something else was wonderful.

Three Kisses One Midnight is one of those stories that has multiple stories going on at once, but they all connect together in a beautiful way. It has an energy to it that can be enjoyed beyond the target audience for this book! It’s a wonderful fall read to boot!

THREE KISSES, ONE MIDNIGHT captures the magic in small towns, halloweens, and young loves. I liked the whimsically magical feel of this collection of novellas (I think?). It was such a cute atmosphere when mixed with the small-town feel of Moon Ridge on Halloween night. There's a very thrilling promise to this night, an anticipation of first kisses and first loves that is very YA in a way I just savored. We also have some fun spooky elements in this book and overall this was a really light-hearted and sweet read. So why isn't this rated higher? I guess, for me, being familiar with Chokshi's and Skye's previous book, I just wanted more. For some reason, which is on me, I expected more of a fantasy type story as opposed to contemporary, but that doesn't factor into this review. It's not that I didn't like this book, it's just a case where I liked the book but didn't feel strongly enough about it to rate it higher than 3 stars, which is the gut feeling I had after finishing.

Witchy, romantic, and endearing, I really enjoyed this story! I love following the friendship of Onny, Ash, and True and also their individual stories. A great spooky, YA romance read for the fall!

“To summon joy and love in another’s soul/For a connection that makes two people whole/For laughter and a smile that one can never miss/Sealed before midnight with a true hearted kiss.”
💋
The Coven is made up on Onny, Ash and True: three friends who attend Moon Ridge High and attend a masquerade ball hoping for love at midnight. Three stories written by three authors, all with a little help from Onny’s grandmother’s love potion make for one magical night.
🕛
I’ve been anticipating this YA story collection for a while. Spooky season is the perfect time to curl up with this anthology and read about some teens finding love on a moonlit night full romance and magic!

CW: death of a grandparent (recounted)

These three stories are similar but very distinctly different. We are following three perspectives of friends who are all trying to find their way through the teenage years. It was a fun and interesting time counting down to midnight!

Overall, this book was a great Halloween romance! This town was a great and magical setting, and I found myself wishing that I had a Halloween party like this to go to! These stories were really cute and I loved watching the three couples fall in love, but I would rate each story differently.
Onny’s Story:
Literal perfection! I don’t think I’d change a single thing. The romance was so incredibly cute and by the time I was finished, I was wishing it was a full length book! They were so cute and had amazing chemistry! The banter was also really funny and this couple felt the most real.
Ash’s Story:
I really liked Ash, but I felt like something was missing in this story. I think it’s that he fell in love with Cassidy through a fence and it didn’t feel like they really got to know each other beyond that adorable scene in the Skeleton Shack. But this story was still really cute.
True’s Story:
I liked True and Orion, but I would have liked this story a lot more if it had taken place over a longer period of time than an hour. Literally, their whole relationship develops between 11pm and midnight. Also, she ran off in the middle of the majority of their conversations to chase a ghost. I liked both of the characters and I sensed chemistry, but I didn’t totally like the plot.

I thought this was super cute and just right for the season. I liked how it followed the different members of the friends group and each story explored different deeper themes. Would definitely recommend!

I love this book so much. The writing, the characters, the subject. It was all amazing. The set of authors really meshed well and it felt like one cohesive story even though it wasn't.

The authors of this book have written some of my favorite books. Roshani Chokshi's book, The gilded Wolves, is full of complicated relationships and adventure. Sandha Menon is the queen of YA romance with such novels as When Dimple Met Rishi. And Evelyn Skye writes fantasy novels such as The Crown's Game, which has amazing fantasy elements. These three wonderful authors teamed up to create a magical, romantic Halloween romp. Three Wishes, One Midnight follows the story of three friends and their journey to true love on a very special Halloween. I loved the festive Halloween atmosphere of the big party, the characters, and the stories of romance. This is a perfect book to read in October, or anytime a reader wants to get in the Halloween spirit.

What I Liked:

Atmosphere:

I love books about small towns, and the little town in this book has lots of charm and local legends. Every one hundred years, the spirits of two lovers reunite on Halloween. And Onny's parents have an annual party to celebrate. But this is no ordinary party. Onny's folks have serious money (I found it really wonderful that these parents were Filipino, and not your stereotypical white, entitled rich people). And every year, they put on a midnight ball where the whole town is invited to participate.

This create a magical party full of all sorts of different people, including the crushes of Onny and Ash, and True's semi-evil ex. But Onny is on a mission to find true love through a love potion invented by Onny's deceased grandmother. Will the trio use the love potions on their crushes? Or will the romantic atmosphere of a masquerade ball be all that's needed to let romance blossom?

Characters:

Onny, Ash, and True are friends who will do anything for each other. Onny is convinced that giving each of them a love potion is what is needed for each of them to find true love. The friends know that Onny is rather dramatic, but they grudgingly go along. I enjoyed that each of the three characters get their own POV story, and they all fit with each other. Of course, the path to true love is never a straight one. Each of them has a strange, and wonderful adventure on this magical night.

The supporting characters are also lots of fun. While Onny is obsessing with her crush, her nemesis, Byron, keeps popping up during the party. Why does he seem to be the one that Onny is attracted to? Ash, a sensitive artist, is certainly less outgoing than Onny. And the girl that he has a crush on was a really interesting person (and...the girl next door!). Although she seems like an overachiever, there is a compelling reason that motivates her to excel. And True's love interest is almost so perfect, she pushes him away. But they keep bumping into each other. Can True trust that this guy might actually be a perfect match?

Onny's parents are an adorable couple, who show Onny what a loving marriage looks like. And I really loved the town's mayor and his teacher husband. They were complete opposites who somehow make sense together. What a charming representation of healthy relationships! Loved it.

Story:

I loved that the book is split evenly into three parts, where each friend gets to have their own storyline. This was a fun format that let the reader see some of the same events from different angles. Make no mistake, this is a lighthearted story with plenty of meet-cutes, romantic moments, and a few mysteries, that keeps the reader intrigued. I would love to live in a little town where everyone goes to a celebration like this one. I also liked that each story has it's twists, having each of the main characters question their own biases about people they think they know.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for eARC!

As a fan of Sandhya Menon's previous work, I eagerly jumped in to this novel. What a cute, fun Halloween read. "Three Kisses, One Midnight" is broken in to three parts. Readers get to see the town of Moon Ridge's centennial party from three different perspectives: part one features Onny, part two features Ash, and part three features True. On this magical evening, each character learns their own lesson about love, with the help of some mystical forces.

The authors did a wonderful job of maintaining a similar tone throughout the story, which made it flow well as a whole despite being divided into three short stories. I enjoyed getting to know all three characters!

3 authors crafting a story together is something I don't see often but I enjoyed what resulted and it was a fascinating read.

Cute and magical. Historically, I've loved Roshani Chokshi's world building and Sandhya Menon's romance so it's no surprise I loved a book with both.

The perfect way to kick off the Halloween season is with Three Kisses, One Midnight. It has amazing happy Halloween vibes with Happily Ever After tones.

This novel is a stand alone anthology with stories from 3 amazing authors:

#1 Roshani Choksi
2. Evelyn Skye
3. Sandhya Menon

Each story follows a new main character but takes place on the same night.

Brief Synopsis:
The town of Moon Ridge has its 400th year anniversary this Halloween. Everyone knows the tale, the young woman who perished at the stroke of twelve that very same night, losing the life she was set to embark on with her dearest love. One day a year the Lady of Moon Ridge descends from the stars to walk among the people of Moon Ridge and show them their hearts desires.

Onny who believes in the stars, Ash who is skeptical but brave, and True who is skeptical and reluctant all have their chance… this year… on the 400th anniversary.

TO THE REVIEW

The plot as a whole for this novel is fun and adventurous. It has wonderful Halloweeen vibes and the atmosphere is full of whimsy and magic. The first story has a bigger burden of setting the foundation so it is a bit slower. However, I really enjoyed Onny’s story and self realization. I feel like she is like most of us in high school. Thinking we know everything and refusing to take advice - only to realize what we thought and what is real, are vastly different. I related to her more than the others and loved her story.

My favorite stories crafted were Ash and True. However, I acknowledge that they had the ability to not need the foundation and just exist as self contained, stand alone novellas. I was impressed with how different each storyline was and how jam packed they were with relatable high school angst. Overall, delivering an emotional but rewarding happily ever after.

I loved the diversity and how well incorporated the different cultures were. Honestly, it was done through food and terms of endearment. The most realistic way for life. Haha

Overall, I recommend this to anyone that’s looking to dive into the Halloween season and enjoys YA. The romance is there but it’s mild and the magic is fully there and wonderful.

Overall rating: 3.75
Plot: 4.0
Character Development: 3.0
Dialogue: 4.0
Writing: 4.0

Happy Reading,
Ash

*Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday books for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

STOP I know I should have read this sooner. IT WAS SO GOOD. I WILL NOT FIND ANOTHER LIKE IT. Please PLEASE read it ASAP

I received an advanced copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This was a fun and really sweet three intertwined stories on a very exciting festive night! I love that these three best friends have a magical plan to use a love potion to have their respective crushes fall for them. Or for one of those friends, to not want any love at all. This was just a really fun three story lines and I almost wish we got a little bit more so we could find out what happened after, however, this was clearly one of those novels of a one night and happily ever after kind of ending. Super cute and enjoyable!

This is a very cute set of stories - about love and first kisses. It's a special night in the town. There's an old urban legend in town, about a girl and a first kiss and how she comes out on this special night and grants wise words. There's also a love potion floating around this fun night. It's a story about 3 friends and how their night doesn't exactly go as they'd planned but maybe ends up better than they'd dreamed. It was cute and I loved the Mayor & Mr. Brightside.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I was very excited about this, but I honestly wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did. I was a tiny bit leery at first - despite reading and loving everything Roshani Chokshi has written - because whenever there are anthologies, I tend to love a few of the stories and not click with others as much. I was afraid that with this one, I'd fall in love with the characters from one POV and not click with the writing for the others. I was so wrong. The continuity between the three stories was amazing and seamless. I knew Roshani's writing just from her past works, but I honestly almost forgot that the other two POVs were written by different authors. The supporting characters in each POV maintained their own flare and personalities despite being written by different people.

I loved the Halloween theme over all, and how everything had slightly spooky undertones. The stories themselves were so imaginative and magical. The subtle, every day magic woven into the stories was delightful and made the stories that much more enjoyable. I loved being able to hear the different voices coming through each character, but having them still weave a continuous story.

I think I have finally hit the age where I’m too old for YA and that stinks.

I wanted to adore this book so much but I struggled to be engages despite reading the authors in the past and adoring their work.

I love this for the witchy vibes and the atmosphere. It makes it feel like fall. I think to me though it felt too juvenile for even a YA book. I also love an interlocking anthology of short stories- I always think they are a fun way to explore characters within a world.

I think so many people will adore this but it didn’t hit the right sport for me this time.

3 stars!

If you're looking for a charming, heartwarming fall read, look no further. This was the sweet, fluffy romantic ride I needed at this moment and I loved reading three different stories for three different characters. It was a nice update to the typical format and worked beautifully. Honestly, wish I could live in Moon Ridge!