As I’ve gotten older, I’ve drifted away from YA. It’s hard for me to fall deep into teen drama when you’re worrying about 401Ks and cholesterol.

Despite aging out of it, Walther’s story brought me back. It was fun, silly, and poignant. I enjoyed trying to find all the Taylor Swift references. I also got some Gilmore Girls vibes. Bits of banter, similar character dynamics in a few places, and a particular street name.

I like the honesty that teenagers have sex. Walther has them doing it safely so thanks for that. She let’s young love be the beautiful, all encompassing thing it is. It lets you bask in the glory of these big feelings before college and life come calling, at least for a little while. It ends at the exact right moment.

The chat messages and text were formatted the same way. This is likely because it’s an ARC. It’s a tiny bit distracting but will likely be changed in the finished product. Stevie and the pool table were a little harder to believe. Overall, a very enjoyable read. 4.25/5

Had a hard time getting into this book. While I don’t think this book was something I really enjoyed I can see others liking it

This book was cute! I give it 4/5 stars! It was a very quick and easy read! Lily was a goody-too-shoes and wanted a bit of adventure before graduation, so when she was recruited for the annual elaborate school prank she decided to say yes to joining the Jester’s group of fools. Whats she didn’t know at the time was the jester was her ex-boyfriend, Tag, who she never stopped loving, and that the prank all revolved around her prom date!

Walther has this way of describing these places and making you feel like you could navigate them! Like I can totally envision this campus! I loved the boarding school by the beach angle! Lily and Tag were cute! I kinda wish we could’ve gotten to know them better but their relationship was so sweet and I loved their banter and inside jokes! I also felt that their relationship was actually pretty realistic in that they were young and had some communication issues but still cared for each other. There were also tons if fun Taylor Swift and Schitts Creek references that were so much fun! Made my swiftie heart soar!

My only issues with this book was I wanted more build up with Daniel before and after the prank. I felt like we only got bits and pieces of him. Also I got a bit confused with some of the characters at times, Walther would introduce a few at a time then go back to small side characters and I had to try to remember who everyone was.

I would’ve loved an epilogue too! Overall it was a fun read, but I am not sure I’ll read it again. Walther’s other book The Summer Of Broken Rules is one my favorites and I have read it multiple times, I don’t think this book was as good as that one IMHO🤷‍♀️

Thank you for the ARC

AHHHHH!!! This was such a cute, fun read. I'll start with the obvious by saying that this book is an instant serotonin boost for any Swiftie. K.L. Walther, I had the time of my life catching all of the lyric references with your characters. What Happens After Midnight follows Lily Hopper, a certified teacher's pet and teacher's daughter, during her last few weeks of high school . At the elite Ames School, one senior tradition ranks high above all else: the senior prank. The organizer, known only as the Jester, must plan and execute a prank for the ages with the help of those they tap to be their fools. Lily could never be a Jester, she couldn't even be a fool. Or could she?When her ex-boyfriend she may or may not still be in love with reveals himself as the class of 2023 Jester and brings her into his merry fold, all hell may just break loose on campus. This book was such a sweet read. I love books with crazy heists and hijinks. If you are a fan of these, you will love this book too. Add in some truly heartwarming disability rep, this book is the perfect thing to make your heart sing (preferably Taylor Swift lyrics).

3.5

i’m not quite sure if i was in the mood for ya when i started this one. it took a decent amount of time to get into - i think i wanted more lily & tag - but once they got about halfway through pulling the jester prank i feel like things really picked up. i definitely wanted to see how things turned out! the characters are probably the strongest part here (they really care about each other), but i also liked the kind of little world the boarding school setting created.

#netgalley

A couple of weeks before graduation, boarding school good girl Lily receives an invitation from the schools' "Jester" to help with the senior class prank. When it turns out the Jester us actually her ex-boyfriend, Tag, old feelings resurface.

I'm giving this one a 3.5 ⭐️

This was a very cute and fun little read. It had the same spirit as Walther's previous book (The Summer of Broken Rules), but I think it was a step up technically. This is one of those YA books that I wish I had read at 15, because I have no doubt I would have been obsessed with it. I think the YA audience is going to love it.

That being said, I did have a few things that bothered me with this one. First, the author used an incredible amount of pop culture references. I know some people love a good reference in their books, but personally, it kept taking me out of the story.

Second, the school felt a little unrealistic. I loved the idea of a boarding school setting, but this place had everything! An observatory, a sculpture garden, a ropes course, and entire fleet of security Priuses (and more!). Maybe it's just me, but it felt a little fantastical.

Lastly, the book started out super slow, and most of the character development was shoved into the last few chapters of the book. It just felt a little rushed and I would have loved to have seen more of it happening during the "before" part of the book.

Nonetheless, I still enjoyed this read overall and would definitely recommend to any YA readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Such a great teen novel! I really enjoyed Lilly and Tag. I would recommend this for depending on the situation for teens and adults alike! Lilly was very relatable to me since I also focused on school all through high school.

I loved this book! After reading The Summer of Broken Rules, there was a similar vibe in this book. It was a really good book. In the beginning, it was very slow. As the story progress, I couldn't put the book down. So many things happen everywhere. In the end, it was a bit rush. It would be nice to explore more of their relationships. The mom was such a badass! Again, it was a good book!


K.L. Walther does it again!

Thank you to K.L Walther, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC! Loved it!

I thought the premise and the setting of this book was so cute! I loved the boarding school setting, going on the adventure with the characters as they plotted their senior prank and of course the Taylor swift references <3. I really felt like I was at the boarding school with the beautiful way it was described. However, I feel like I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted to because a lot of the story was flashbacks. I felt like I just had to assume a lot about the characters. The pacing of the book felt a bit weird at times and I do wish there was a bit more character development in the present time between the characters aside from them completing the prank because I felt like it all got squeezed into the ending. I definitely feel like I would have loved this if I was a bit younger. Overall though it was a quick, sweet YA coming of age story!

thank you so much to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an arc!!

3.5 ⭐️

I was so excited for this arc because I absolutely LOVED the summer of broken rules by this author, but I was a little disappointed by this book. My disappointment might’ve come from the small book slump I was in while reading this, but it didn’t help that the book was quite slow paced at times. That said, it wasn’t a bad book by any means. It had lovable characters and an interesting setting and plot. I loved that the main boy character had diabetes, I’ve never read a book with that representation before!

K.L. Walther does it again!

I absolutely loved The Summer of Broken Rules and am so thrilled that What Happens After Midnight didn’t let me down. Walther writes in such an engaging way, it was impossible to tear myself away from the story and I binged it in half a day.

I absolutely loved the premise of this one and thought it helped push the story along really well. I liked that the side characters kept coming in and out of the story, giving the author lots of room to explore the relationship between Lily and Tag. Despite having broken up a year earlier, you could feel the mutual pining threaded through the entire story.

I loved Lily’s relationship with her mom, and honestly? Just her mom in general. I hope when I am parenting teenagers, I can be as badass as she is. Her and Josh’s steady presence throughout the story was such a balm to the calamity of scavenger hunt hijinks!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for the advanced e-copy. I can’t wait to add this one to my shelves when it releases this summer!

This was such a FUN story! The scavenger hunt and pranks set at a boarding school hit all the right notes and I thoroughly enjoyed the tension and suspense of will they or won’t they get caught.

If the “Life and Death Brigade” had existed at Chilton, I could totally see this happening. And Lily and Leda gave off strong Lorelai and Rory vibes which I LOVED. I also really loved how honest Lily and Leda’s mother daughter relationship was. Throughout the story, they maintained an open dialogue where they could both express and discuss concerns and life, which you could tell was the result of Leda providing Lily with a safe space built on respect and love that was free of judgment.

While the Lily and Tag are the main characters, I thought the supporting cast of characters were brilliant and such well developed, clever, and delightful individuals who were central to the overall plot. The characters weren’t just likable, they were lovable, and I appreciated Tag and Lily’s growth and how they learned to work through their miscommunication and insecurities and came to a place where their relationship would be healthy and built on a foundation of trust and understanding.

Overall, I found this book such a delight to read and the characters so endearing!

This was a sweet, fun story.

I liked Lily and her mom’s super close relationship. They reminded me of the early days of The Gilmore Girls.

Lily goes to boarding school but lives in a house on campus with her teacher mom. Lily has always gotten good grades and been well behaved. After all, Lily has grown up on her school campus. She’s actually shocked when she gets invited to participate in the senior prank. Lily has no idea why someone would choose a good two shoes like herself to help carry out the prank. She assumes it’s because her mom has keys to everything. But she wants to have a little fun before she graduates and so she agrees.

Lily almost changed her mind when she realized the jester pulling the prank is her ex-boyfriend Tag. Lily might have broken up with him but she’s never gotten over him.

Working in close corners with Tag to pull of the prank brings all of her feelings to the surface.

Lily and Tag are pretty adorable together. I thought it was cute how he called her Hopscotch. I also really liked the character Alex. This story also has a main character with diabetes and you don’t see much of that in books. I think that would be very nice for someone with diabetes to have a character like Tag to relate to.

I really loved this author’s previous book The Summer of Broken Rules. That book gave so many summer vibes. I enjoyed this book too but I’d recommend that one quicker.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley. Thank you!

Rating: 4 stars ⭐️

I heard so many good things about the author and was so grateful to receive this arc! ☺️

This is a second chance young adult book about Lily and Tag. She broke up with him but still has feelings for Tag that she tries to ignore at first. She gets anonymous e-mails/notes about an end-of-the-year prank and chooses to participate.

I really wanted to find out who The Jester was and what the prank was about. I just couldn't stop reading because the pining and suspense were next level!

Thank you to K.L. Walther, Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for providing me with this arc. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc !
The Summer of Broken Rules is one of my favorite books that I read in 2022 so I was ready to read K.L. Walther’s new book. I can’t tell you how happy I was when I was able to get an arc <3
This book is so cute !!!! All you need to know is second chance + boarding school senior prank + friendship. I loved reading this story and I was as curious as Lily to know what prank they would pull, what clues The Jester created and how they would manage to do everything after midnight !
All the references made me fall more in love with the book, there are tons of mentions of Taylor Swift and Schitt’s Creek ! And I can’t forget to tell you how beautiful and amazing was to read the relationship between Lily and Leda (Lily’s mom) and also Josh!
I hope everyone loves Lily and Tag just like I did <3

I adore K.L. Walther and how these characters take me back to my high school days and remind me of all of the good moments that came with them. A senior prank and second chance romance make for the perfect story line.

Setting: Rhode Island
Rep: T1 diabetic love interest

Listen. I love Taylor Swift. She's literally the only artist I've listened to for the last 6 months. But all the Taylor references in here felt heavy handed, cringey, and way out of place. You can allude to a song or a reference without using all the titles as bits of dialogue that don't even fit! It really sucked because it totally pulled me out of the story. I didn't like the protagonist which didn't help. I didn't feel she had her own distinct personality; the voice wasn't there for me. A lot of the descriptive parts felt a bit too informative and clinical (like when she is talking about Tag's insulin pump and suddenly sounds more like a bluff then an eighteen year old. This just wasn't it for me.

Aw I love this YA story! It follows Lily and Tag - childhood friends-lovers-strangers. A young second-chance romance is sweet. Lots of pining, and it shows all the tribulations of young love. Really sweet. This book takes place at a boarding school and has a ton of Taylor Swift references ;)

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

When I received this arc I was soooo excited! I’d read The summer of broken rules last year and absolutely loved it, so I knew this would be one I’d enjoy.

While YA isn’t always my first pick in genre, Walther does it so so well and if she writes it I will read it!!

This story follows Lily & Tag, childhood friends to lovers to strangers. Second chance romance is one of my all times, and the pining in this one is off the charts. You can’t help but root for them both to make it through the trials and tribulations of young love.

Not only does this book tell a wonderful story of romance, but one hell of an adventure too. Set on the grounds of a boarding school, what happens after midnight is extremely entertaining.

Oh and of course, my favourite thing about Walther’s stories is picking up on Taylor Swift Easter eggs (I counted 43 but am sure I missed a few!)

Overall, I absolutely recommend this one and eagerly await her next 🫶🏻🫶🏻