I should have known. I should have known the second I recognized the town from every other southern town I'd ever read about. I should have known when the leads character identified with Bella from Twilight. I should have known. Instead I read on hoping for something more than a stereotypical rehash of an often told story. I cannot believe I remain this optimistic.

Found that 5 star feeling with this one!

I’ll admit, if I just read the synopsis of this, I might not have picked it up. The religious themes had me unsure, but I was a fan of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife and yes, I judge a book by its cover, and this one is fire!

Speaking of fire, I am glad this was the book that kicked off my fall reading! Ruth’s whole world is turned upside down when a skull is found in the swamp of her small Louisiana town. The God fearing residents are convinced the Low Man, a vampiric figure of legend, is responsible. Ruth has always felt like an outsider, but as the Preacher’s daughter, she’s torn between the life she knows and uncovering the mystery with Everett, a friend with his own secrets and darkness.

Winstead wove an incredible, page flipping story about tragic love, power and oppression, religion, mystery, Twilight references and paranormal themes. I’m sure I’m missing more, this book had a lot but I thought she wove it together well!

And that ending! No spoilers, but just like the rest of this book, something that normally wouldn’t be for me, worked. I think this book will be polarizing but could be a great bookclub discussion.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a huge fan of Ashley Winstead, I was thrilled to receive the ARC of this novel. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for sharing it with me.

This tale is darker than Winstead's previous novels. This is a murder mystery wrapped in a story of Devil worship and the Low Man. Ruth, the preacher's daughter, is our protagonist and an outcast in her small, bible-thumping town. So it makes perfect sense that she would befriend Everett, who is possibly the one person who fits into this town worse than she does. As teenagers, these two experience something very dark together, which comes back to haunt them years in the future.

Winstead does an incredible job creating very well-developed and likable characters. The town they live in feels like a place I can see when I close my eyes. The story is so creepy that I had a hard time reading at night. But I also couldn't put it down!

I recommend this book and give it a 5/5 star rating. Congratulations to Winstead on another masterpiece!

In Bottom Springs, Louisiana a local trapper finds a skull in the swamp, causing an uproar in the small town.

Ruth Cornier, local town librarian, has always felt pressure to be the perfect pastor’s daughter. She’s always felt like an outsider which as led to develop an anxiety disorder. After dealing with a trauma when she was younger, Ruth’s horror at learning about the skull takes her back to the past where she thought her secrets were buried.

As she confides in her only friend Everett and they become entangled in dark conspiracies and local myths of a vampiric figure that haunts the swamps, Ruth realizes that maybe what she believed her whole life isn’t quite the truth and that in order to be saved she might just have to save herself.

Ruth and Everett’s relationship is quite angsty, so if you love stories with high drama and characters who are a bit insufferable at times, this is a perfect story for you! They’re a tragic couple with a volatile relationship which felt a bit too much for me at times, but they were never boring!

My favorite relationship was between Ruth and her fellow librarian, Nissa. I’m a research nerd, so I loved the scenes where Ruth and Nissa worked together to learn more about the town’s history and the meaning behind the mysterious symbols appearing carved into the swamp’s trees.

The pacing between the present and past chapters worked great for me! Whenever the questions started to pile up, we’d jump back into the past for some answers. There is a mystery element to the book, but it doesn’t
come into play until the last third of the book. It’s more of a thriller than mystery.

Lots of interesting themes such as mortality vs. societal laws and how far to push against the boundaries of the law.

I wasn’t a big fan of the ending, even though I understood why the author made that decision. I think it’s going to divide a lot of readers. It’s great for a book club discussion, though!

I’d recommend this book if you enjoy small town thrillers, like an angsty relationship and find themes of religion and society interesting.

*Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the digital arc. All opinions are my own.

Thank you for an advanced copy of this book!

First off, I LOVED In My Dreams I Hold A Knife...but I have been lukewarm on every other Ashley Winstead book I've read. I was very excited for this one because I thought it might be more similar to IMDIHAK, but here I am, at the end of an Ashley Winstead book, disappointed again.

I read this on audio courtesy of Libby, and I think that contributed to my dislike of the book..I very much disliked the narrator in the audiobook version. I was surprised because I've listened all the Ashley Winstead books on audio, so I didn't expect this to be a negative aspect of the reading experience!

I also didn't enjoy the layering of Twilight and the Bible...maybe it's because I'm from the south, but I felt like this story just played into all the worst stereotypes of the south. There are other elements that come through (some horror, for example, a little Bonnie and Clyde, IMO), but I just found the whole book to be tone deaf.

I think, bottom line, is Ashley Winstead's writing is just not for me...and that's okay. She has a lot of fans out there, and she deserves them!

Rating: 2 Stars

Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC!

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I ended up really really enjoying it. I felt like it did a really good job of combining thriller/mystery with southern baptist religious lore kinda vibes. I would definitely recommend checking it out and that ending????

I finally understand the buzz of an Ashley Winstead book after reading Midnight is the Darkest Hour.

"Ruth Cornier is a librarian but grew up as the daughter of the pastor of Holy Fire Baptist Church - a man who calls out fire and brimstone on those who don't meet his version of saintly. When a fisherman finds a skull in the swamp the townspeople of Bottom Springs think one thing - that the Low Man, a mythic killer, has come out of the swamp to claim another victim. But Ruth is afraid it's something else. She has a secret. And she and her friend Ever must find a way to keep it quiet."

So many layers to the characters here. Ruth is a bit of an antihero. She wants to do good - but is willing to do a little bad to do good. Winstead leaves plenty of clues for who the real villains are. Is is really a surprise to see how far people are willing to go to build and maintain power. There will be plenty of characters that you will yell at and several times you will encourage Ruth hoping that this will be that time she can stand up.

This is a book you want to keep reading. The final scenes and reveals are wild and explosive. Lots of "What?!?" moments. After the end I was disappointed until reading the author notes and then understanding her reasons. It's a perfect ending.

Winstead thanks lots of readers in the acknowledgements. (I see you Dennis @scaredstraightreads) A great read from Winstead. Now excuse me while I go order the first two books.

This book was odd. The paranormal/possessed suspense trope isn't really for me. I think that someone who likes these types of storylines would really like the book though!

Hold on tight spider monkeys, it’s review time.🩸🐒
As someone who loves Ashley Winstead and ATE UP The Last Housewife, I was so excited to get an ARC of Midnight is the Darkest Hour.

While I didn’t *love* this as much as I did her other thrillers, I still ate it up. Something about these mysteries with unhinged women… I cannot put them down. 😭😭 The past few days, I’ve either been breast-feeding, doom scrolling, or reading this sh*t.

Did it sometimes read like a 2010 wattpad twilight fan-fiction? Yes. Was it completely incompatible with reality? Yes. Did I slurp it down like a frozen coke? Also yes.🫡

SO: I absolutely recommend this if you
1. Had a Wattpad Twilight fanfic era
2. Like dark thrillers with questionable female protagonists
3. Find religious zealotry and evangelicals to be annoying af and highly roastable
4. Don’t care if your fiction is realistic
5. Have questionable taste (like me)

I maybe wouldn’t recommend it if you
1. Are hella Christian or particularly religious
2. Hate Twilight memes
3. Have a Wattpad aversion
4. Need your fiction to be realistic
5. Are normal.

If you are a fan of Ashley Winstead (her thrillers in particular) then definitely add this to your TBR. It comes out October 3, and is the perfect vibe for October/Halloween time. (Especially if you are an unhinged-elder-emo-twilight-thriller-lover like me.) Even tho at certain parts I was like “BELLA WTF IS GOING ON LOCA?!?!” It was a really fast/fun thriller, which I definitely need more of in this postpartum era. I’d say ~3.7 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ from me!

4.5 stars! Ashley WInstead has once again written a powerful fictional work, where characters aren't perfect, and happy endings aren't guaranteed.
Ruth Cornier is the town librarian in her tiny hamlet of Bottom Springs, LA. Her father is the fire & brimstone preacher that keeps the town in his thrall. (And basically in the 1950s). Anyway, the town is thrown into upheaval when a skull is discovered out in the swamp. Among pagan-like characters carved on the trees. It becomes up to Ruth, and her best friend, Everett, to save the town from their "demons". And can I just say, THIS ENDING!?! Wow.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this e-arc.*

Omg Ashley Winstead, what a BOOK. I am so impressed by this author and how she can write in completely different genres and completely different tones and still be successful. I’m excited to say that this is my favorite book I’ve read by this author so far, and I’m so curious to see what she continues to put out in the future.

This one is dark. But has some humor and some romance that really really worked for me. I’d say this reads like a combination of Where the Crawdads Sing (set in the south, swamp-land style, MC is a girl who has to kinda fend for herself), The Burning Girls by CJ Tudor (lots and lots of religious trauma and god vs devil and intriguing mysteries), and It Ends With Us (I have a thing for a troubled love interest, okay? And a couple looking to break the cycles of abuse that they come from). HOW Ashley Winstead managed to mash those three very different books together, I have no idea, but I really enjoyed it.

Content warnings for religious fundamentalism, substance abuse, ableism, colonialism, familial violence, sexual violence, child abuse, and murder.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the eARC!

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Landmark for an advance copy of this!

This book was one of my most anticipated books of the year! I read Ashley Winstead for the first time last spring as In My Dreams I Hold A Knife was a book club pick with my friends and then I read The Last Housewives and my mind was blown. This woman knows how to write a thriller that keeps you on your toes!

"Move careful round dangerous creatures, Miss Ruth. They get cornered and desperate, their first instinct is always going to be to sting you."

This book was such a ride!! The relationship between Ever and Ruth was so special. You don't know whether to root for them or to want them to fail. And you are left feeling that way up until the very end.

This book had a lot of heavy religious tone to it and I just was so flabbergasted by how there are communities where religion is life. I am not so much in my bubble to know that it doesn't exist but it just amazes me of how much control one person could have over a community. I felt so bad for Ruth because you knew she wanted to break free from it all but just didn't know how to go against her parents and to what she knew.

One thing I was not expecting was how much Twilight played a role throughout the book?? I am sorry Ashley but the one part towards the last half of the book where Ruth & Ever were talking that I did have to laugh and for those who know, know. Unless it was just me who got a chuckle out of it.

"There's something to be said for being the biggest beast in the forest. That's power, and its something people get addicted to. Rots their inside."

It is hard to discuss all the things that happened in this book without giving too much of the storyline away. I will admit the first 50% dragged a little for me (I think there was an issue with my brain) but then the last half it took off. I could not stop reading and I needed to know what was going to happen to everyone and make all the connections.

Ashley has a way with her writing that makes you feel and think about things after the fact. It has been a few days since I have finished and yet I am still thinking about Ruth & Ever.

Ashley, I am ready to see what else you have up your sleeve!

Definitely recommend this book if you were an Edward Cullen girlie, love a Bonnie & Cylde-esque theme mixed with religion!

Bonus: A line that made me laugh "Every teenage girl I've met has been the scariest create on the planet."

4.25

Too convoluted and hard to follow with all the switchbacks in time. I felt like this had sooo much potential but it was just too all over the place. Ruth annoyed me and Ever felt hollow. Overall, this was just not for me. I wanted to love it but I didn’t.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars

Midnight is the Darkest Hour is the latest from auto-buy author Ashley Winstead. It follows librarian Ruth who lives in a small town in Louisiana. The townspeople believe in the myth of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners' bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. The town is thrown into chaos when a skull is found in the swamp. Ruth and her old friend Everett are the only ones who can figure out what the true evil is that lurks in their town.

Winstead refuses to stick to one genre and somehow masters them all. This will probably be a very divisive read, but in my eyes, Ashley Winstead can do no wrong. Part Twilight. Part Midnight Mass. Can’t wait to see what this author writes next!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bottom Springs, Lousiana is a God fearing Town, and its preacher is the most revered man. His daughter, Ruth, longs for more especially from books, her favorite is battered copy of Twilight she carries with her everywhere. What she would give for a love story like Bella and Edward.

The small town believes sinners are hunted and killed by the "Low Man" in the swamps on moonless nights. A mystery unfolds as two skulls are pulled from the swamp with head trauma showing they were killed and dumped. Both were men that went missing years ago from the town.

Ruth has befriended the local boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Everetts dark past haunts him, but he's found his soulmate in Ruth. He is incapable of keeping away from her just like Edward. Ruth and Everett begin to investigate the mysterious happenings in the swamp, putting their lives at risk from the evil townsfolk and the men from her fathers social hours.

Midnight is the Darkest Hour has a killer ending!

Thank you Sourcebooks for the complimentary copy.

MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR BOOK REVIEW🌘🌾💀

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

In the depths of the dark bayou waters lay many secrets… and when a skull is dredged up in the swamp along with mysterious symbols found on the trees, fear strikes the small Louisiana town of Bottom Springs as the townspeople believe the culprit may be “The Low Man” - a shapeshifting, mysterious evil being that sneaks around at night killing sinners.

Ruth, the preacher’s daughter, has always felt like an outcast. While her father has the town enamored with his fundamentalist Christian teachings, Ruth is determined to secretly follow her own path. Ruth and her friend Everett, also town outcast referred as “the Devil’s son” by the townspeople, take it upon themselves to find out who the killer is, and along the way they uncover much, much more…

After reading this one all I can say is WOW!!!! @ashleywinsteadbooks has cemented herself as one of my top 5 fav authors! The atmospheric southern gothic thriller vibes mixed with a bit of mysterious folklore, the way the story explored morality and religion, all mixed together with suspense and romance, and THE ENDING?!? 🤯 I will be thinking about this book for a longggg time! Def my fav book I’ve read all year without a doubt!

If you are looking for an amazing read that is also perfect for spooky szn pick this one up!! Pub day is 10/3, so RUN to get your copy now!!!

Ruth is the local preachers daughter and he and his wife run the little Louisiana backwater town. Ruth is a quiet girl and she loves Twilight a book she compares certain life events to. She had no friends due to her father being who he was and due to her being the quiet girl. After a few weekends of talking to an out of towner after services name Renard he asked her to secretly meet him she was excited that would be a first date but when everything goes wrong a loner name Everett intercedes on her behalf. before the incident is over they both have a hand in killing Renard and throwing him in the swamp and this is when Ruth and Everett become friends. The book starts however with the local police finding a body in the swamp of course Ruth believed it to be that of Renard she recently started dating one of the local police, a boys she went to school with who played on the football team and although she isn’t in love with him nor do they give a good reason why but this will be apropos to her solving the mysteries that surround her town including her best friend Everett who has left town on more than one occasion before it’s over her police boyfriend tries to convince her that he goes to these other towns to kill men and he is responsible for the current dead bodies the finding in their own small town. Before it’s over Ruth will find out but all the conspiracy theories they tried to blame on Everett or at least most of them could be put at the feet of someone else she knew and her wish to leave the small town may just come true thanks to a blaze of glory! They were many things I didn’t like about this book bud because of the many questions and conspiracy theories in the book I wanted to see how it played out as I said the book was very interesting the head mini twists but I found the author did something that is a pet peeve of mine and that is she made a stereo typical southern town and being a southerner from Louisiana I can tell you this is totally made up from hole cloth and maybe that’s why it got under my skin. No did I like the ambiguous ending because I didn’t know if it ended one way or a different way and if she meant it to be left on answered well to me that is just ridiculous. Because when I got to the end my heart started palpitating I felt like a fish out of water when I read the last word in the very next page was the book club questions and I was like wait what happened? I felt as if that should’ve been an epilogue or at least a definite ending. People read books for how entertaining they are and how they make them feel at the end. This one I just felt disgusted but because it was interesting I rated it three stars. I do want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for my free hardcopy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this eARC!

This is set in a swampy, heavily religious small town in the south and is very atmospheric - I could feel the heat, I could hear the sounds of the creatures in the swamp in the middle of the night. This is one of my favorite things about this book.

We also get alternating timelines where we see Ruth in her younger years, growing up in her church-controlled town (did I mention that she’s the preacher’s daughter?) and how that shaped her as well as giving us a more detailed look at some of the side characters in the story.

I did have a few issues with this one:

Ruth has a severe obsession with Twilight. This in general didn’t bother me, as she uses it as a way to escape from the sheltered life she has lived, but there is a point where it was taken too far for me. There is a scene later in the book between Ruth and Everett where we learn of a fantasy she seems to have been imagining since her and Everett became friends…if you’ve read the book, you should know what part I’m talking about. Ruth is presented to us this entire story as being intelligent and meant for more than her small-town life, and this scene just made her lose credibility in that regard (in my eyes).

There is also a romance subplot, which I am almost never a fan of in thrillers, this being no exception.

I did also enjoy the journey of Ruth and Everett uncovering the sinister happenings in the town involving the people in power - it reminded me a lot of The Last Housewife (my favorite Winstead thriller) in that regard. I was also a fan of the high-drama, open-ended finish to the story we were given. You should go into this knowing you’re not going to get a neat and tidy ending.

There are heavy themes of religion and feminism in this one and I appreciated Winstead’s commentary on the subjects.

Overall, I’d say I enjoyed it, but I did struggle with the direction the story took when it came to Ruth’s Twilight-obsession.

If you’re a fan of Twilight, slow burns, romance subplots, atmospheric and mysterious reads and don’t mind an open-ended conclusion, I think you could really enjoy this one!

I enjoyed 2 other books by this author, but unfortunately this one wasn't a fit for me. It felt really slow and predictable. I did like the whole Twilight references, as I really loved those books, but after a while, it just felt overplayed. I also feel like I've been reading too many books about the whole religious cult thing, that I'm growing bored of it. The ending, which is supposed to be the best part, was just so much….it was really rushed in my opinion. Lots of people are really loving this one, but I just did not connect to it. So definitely read other reviews before going off my opinion. I have enjoyed her other books, so I'll most likely pick up her future books!

Out October 3.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This was my first book by this author, but definitely not my last. What an intriguing and complex story, so much so that I don’t even know how to begin a summary or review of it. Set in an extremely rural town in the south, we see how a preacher, using the word of God, and the fear of the occult, can turn the town against anyone. His own daughter struggles with finding her place, and she finds it with another social outcast. Their friendship is unconventional, but also based in theories of untruths, that in order for them to move forward, they need to come to reality on. There were some twists, and turns in this book that I never saw comin, and while I had a little expectations, going into the book, and by far and away blew away any thoughts I had I would highly recommend this book to anyone.