Adorable YA second chance romance !! The plot was so fun and full of mischief and I couldn’t help but giggle along the entire time ! I was annoyed with Lily at times, yet I couldn’t help but feel that I probably would’ve (or have) acted similarly when I was her age. I enjoyed the summer of broken rules but this one was even more fun for me!

where do i begin with this one? there are so many things about this book that i just love inexplicably, and while i’d love to be able to lag behind and name every single one, it’s just not feasible. i suppose i should start at the beginning.

when i was a kid i always dreamed that school would turn out to be like i saw in my favorite shows and movies. unfortunately, that was a scam, but this book would fit right in with my boarding school fantasies alongside zoey 101 and the like.

one thing that i know i have to comment on is the constant taylor swift references. each time i found one, my expression would just light up. usually they were in the form of song titles or snippets of lyrics, which would often lead to me humming or singing the song in question. it was so much fun and felt as much like a scavenger hunt as the actual scavenger hunt the characters were sending the class president on.

i also wanted to point out the amazing disability representation in this book. while i don’t have type one diabetes, i am disabled. it honestly struck a chord with me when tag mentioned how he wishes he could just be spontaneous like his friends could but how at the same time he knew life hadn’t afforded him that luxury. it’s a feeling that i’ve often had, wondering why i couldn’t just make a spur of the moment decision when everything i carried with me had to be carefully calculated. he also indirectly mentioned how some people you’re friendly with won’t take your health as seriously as you wish. they’ll push your boundaries and your buttons, all while telling you that you’re being dramatic and need to chill out. it’s something that disabled people, myself included, are intimately familiar with. even though we shouldn’t have to be.

as much as i liked this book, though, i couldn’t help but feel the main issue was incredibly childish. the whole reason why lily and tag break up is because she was insecure and they were unable to properly communicate. maybe through the lens of autism i can’t see why this would be an issue when they could just, ya know, talk about it, but i digress. j had to constantly remind myself that, though they were 18, they were still teenagers. they were going to be childish and a bit dense. it’s kind of a teenager’s MO.

in the end of the day, this book gave me all the nice and warm fuzzy feelings. the romance was really nice, and while i think there are some bits that could’ve been handled better, it’s still a really nice read. i will say, though, that i agree with many people’s opinions about how the synopsis reveals too much. it’s basically like reading the sparksnotes of the book.

Portions of this book were super cute, but I was left wanting more overall! I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan, but the constant references felt like a bit much to me. I also thought the frequent use of “shit balls” as an exclamation was a little distracting lol. I enjoyed the plot, pacing, and setting of the book, as well as the sweet cast of characters. The resolution of the book was also great (I love a good second chance romance). The biggest thing that kept me right around the three star mark was that Lily herself didn’t feel very well developed outside of her identity in Tag. Overall a cute read that I’d recommend to some!

I loved this! Lily is about to graduate from a posh boarding school on the Rhode Island coast when she gets wrapped up in senior pranks.

The person who conducts them is the anonymous Jester, and to her surprise, he’s… Tag, the boy she loves.

The boy she lost.

This could be their second chance, or it might ruin their chances to graduate.

Love, prom, graduation, and teenage antics are on the line, and I was sucked in from page 1.

Maybe it’s Lily’s deep way of loving, the boarding school setting, or the late-night mischief feeling that *permeates* this book, but I’m all in.

The back to school supplies are out at Target, and this is the book you read to get the feeling of taking high school risks while keeping to your couch.

Not to mention our second chance romance, sweet friendships, impressive self awareness from our characters, and diabetes rep.

The romance could hold its own among adult romances in its depth.

There’s also a cat named Puck, and that alone would’ve sold me.

I see myself rereading this incredible story! It’s a contemporary YA favorite.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of What Happens in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely adored The Summer of Broken Rules and was eager to read more by K.L. Walther. This one did not disappoint! While I didn't love it*as* much as TSOBR (likely because the characters felt younger), I did love the second chance romance and boarding school setting. Overall a quick fun YA read!
(3.5 rounded up).

What a fun read! I loved The Summer of Broken Rules, and I was so excited for this. What Happens after midnight involves Lily Hopper finishing her senior year of high school. She feels like she’s missed out on being a rebellious teen, and get invited to partake in a mysterious prank along with her ex-boyfriend Tag. This book is filled with Taylor Swift and Schitt’s Creek references. Sometimes I felt like the references bogged down the writing style, but I ultimately flew through this story so quickly and happily. I highly recommend this fun book!

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire for a free arc download!

Rating 4.5/5 stars

This book was so much fun! I adored TSOBR last year and was so excited when Walther announced WHAM. I caught so many Taylor Swift references in TSOBR and I just couldn't wait to see what I would find in WHAM! When I tell you this book is so Taylor Swift coded, I am not over exaggerating AT ALL. I've never encountered a book that has had SO many references to her songs. Every time I found a new reference, I squealed haha. The book itself is already so much fun with the prank and scavenger hunt and I felt like I was doing my own scavenger hunt as I was reading.

I took off a half star on my rating because there were so many characters and at times it was a little difficult to keep them all straight. But nonetheless, I loved the relationships between all the characters and how some of them even had their own side plot.

I truly believe Tag and Lily are tied together with an invisible string because their relationship is so cute and they fit together so well. They had their own inside jokes, could communicate with each other without saying a word, and their friends wholeheartedly supported them.

WHAM was quick, easy, and fun to read and it's the perfect option for a classic young adult read.

I really enjoyed this!! Such a fast paced easy read that was so much fun! I definitely wish more was left to figure out in the book rather than spelt out in the synopsis but I still really enjoyed the whole jester scavenger hunt! I also was pleasantly surprised by Tag being a type one diabetic. As a diabetic myself it was so nice to see this representation and I have to say it was very accurate and well done for the most part!

“My body ached when I felt him press a light kiss to my collarbone. It was all still so easy, so natural, so intoxicating between us.”

Lily and Tag. She’s the goody-two-shoes, he’s the popular guy and they used to date… but then she dumps him. School is almost over and there’s still the senior prank which Tag invites Lily to help execute. This ultimate prank involves hiding all the clues across campus and they have until sunrise to do it without getting caught.

🌙READ IF YOU LIKE🌙:
- good girl x popular, bad boy
- second chance
- bantering
- senior pranks + scavenger hunts
- boarding school setting
- cryptic clues around the campus
- anonymous senior class Jester
- cute nicknames: smoosh & hopscotch
- close knit friend group
- taylor swift & schitt’s creek references
- east coast summery vibes: rhode island
- t1d representation
- a mother-daughter relationship like lorelai & rory

cw: hypoglycemic attack

Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcebooksfire for the advanced copy! What Happens After Midnight is now available!

This was a cute YA romance! I liked the characters and the second-chance romance, and I thought that the plot was pretty cool. I liked how the author executed the main relationship, as well as explained the characters' backgrounds with each other, without being super info-dump-ish. I also loved all of the Taylor Swift song references throughout the book! Overall, I'd recommend this book!! :)

With Taylor Swift references galore, this is a second chance romance that will make you want to bring out the vinyl and listen to it as you read. As Lily helps Tag execute the senior prank, she recalls their relationship in flashbacks interspersed between planting clues for the class president. She continues to pine for him even though he has repeatedly been off and on with his girlfriend–currently off. While the memories pulled me in and made me empathize with Lily, it was also confusing at times. Lily often had to be shaken from her memories, making it difficult to determine whether I was in the past or the present with her.

While the romance made me ache, it also felt like something was missing. Maybe I needed Tag's point of view, one that encompassed his pining for Lily, to balance out Lily's longing because the moments of truth from him were not satisfying enough. Maybe it was also that I didn't understand why Lily remained faithful to their past while Tag could so easily move on.

What Happens After Midnight is perfect for the Swiftie fan who enjoys references to songs from the artist. It's for the reader who believes second chances are possible, especially when love was never the problem. (3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars)

Unfortunately, I don't think this book was for me but it could definitely be for someone else. If you are looking for something that's short and not too long then check this book out!!

Thank you to net galley for this Arc:)

the perfect 5 star summer read <3

this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint. the book had me hooked from the start all the way through to the end.
i loved lily and tag, seeing their love for each other, even after they’d broken up was so sweet-they were literally so adorable together and i loved the little flashbacks we got throughout the book from the past when they were together, it added some depth to their relationship in the present as we got see how they ended up where they are now.
miscommunication is a big trope in the book and seeing at the end how lily and tag managed to work out their issues by finally talking to one another about their insecurities in their relationship made me so happy.
the side characters really added to the story. i loved alex, he’s the best of best friends, and their whole friendship group was really just a vibe.
all the taylor swift references in this book made me so so happy and really made reading this book so much more fun- lily and tag are so taylor coded and this book was definitely a comfort read and is such a sweet and simple second chance romance <3

Lily decided to join the end of the prank because she wants a chance to put her goody-two-shoes reputation behind. She realizes too late that Taggart her ex-bf is the person behind the prank.... Taggart and her ends up spending the night dodging teachers, guards, and her prom date Daniel. Sparks fly but will they resolve their past?

I like Lily a lot. As an A type, I definitely relate to her. It's a touching and sweet story. Great fun. Tag is terrific. :) Love how smart they both are. Alex is terrific too. Love all their friendship with each other.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

“Aut viam inveniam aut facium. I shall either find a way or make one.”
🕛
Lily Hopper is a few weeks shy of graduating from the boarding school that she lives at with her mom, who is a teacher at the school. Lily has been crowned salutatorian and is somewhat dating the senior class president. So why isn’t she happy? When Lily gets an invitation from the Jester to participate in the senior class prank, she decides to chuck her good girl image and join, but when she finds out the Jester this year is her ex-boyfriend, Tag, she almost decides to pull out. She still has a lot of feelings for Tag, who recently broke up with the girl he started dating right after Lily and him broke up last year. But once the night starts, it’s hard to remember why she and Tag broke up in the first place.
🌑
This is KL’s second YA book and I didn’t like it as much as I liked the first one. The concept was amazing—the clues, the prank, all taking place in one night: loved it. However the execution just didn’t make it for me. The change in timeline were often unclear and the end dragged out way longer than it needed to. Also, way too many TSwift references. Like, it was excessive. 3 ⭐️

CW: bullying, alcohol, medical issues due to diabetes

I think K,L Walther writes for the girlies who love sweet and cute stories! This was so easy to read up until after midnight, and I loved all the head nods to my favorite shows and artists. Lily and Tag are adorable and watching them banter back and forth had me smiling from cheek to cheek. Sometimes you just need a fun book and that is what this one is. I also completely got the Gilmore girls moments between mother and daughter, and that instantly made me happier while reading. It did have me confused at times with the amount of characters, but I could sense which characters were most important to the story!

The extremely frustrating thing about What Happens After Midnight is that a solid 75% of it is told in the synopsis before I even read it. Almost exactly what happens, to the point that it felt like I was wasting my time reading the book, because I felt so much of it had already been spoiled for me. It’s a shame the reader doesn’t get to experience the plot unfolding organically, and I wonder if my rating would have been higher had the powers that be decided not to include basically the entire plot in the jacket blurb. I will say that the cover though, is absolutely gorgeous.

Another cute YA from KL Walther! She really satisfies those boarding school vibes for me. I loved this diverse cast of characters, and this story was so fun! This was such a fun mix of the things I love - the community and mother/daughter relationship had MAJOR Gilmore Girls vibes, and y’all, the Taylor Swift of it all! KL Walther managed to drop a reference to what felt like every Taylor Swift song, but it was done so casually that only Swifties would even pick up on it. It was such a fun little surprise every time it happened.

Super cute YA romance that will be a delight for any fan of Schitts Creek or certified Swiftie. I loved the rekindling/ second chance relationship for Tag and Lily. They were the whole reason I wanted to finish the book.

The antics were cute, but the whole story was basically laid out in the synopsis.

this was a fun-filled reading romp. I loved hearing about the pranks that happened that night!

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the review copy.