Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead is a phenomenal ride into the heart heart of backwater Louisiana. The ending will get you!

Okay, ya;ll: this book was crazy good!

I know I bragged on Ashley in my post the other day…but I must do It again!

This entire novel was so incredibly thought provoking and the imagery? CHEF’S KISS PERFECTION!

This was one of the most unique books I have ever read!! The underlying theme of religion was so beyond compelling – the way Ashley incorporated Twilight into this story was so insanely clever and added an extra layer of depth to this already phenomenal masterpiece

While this novel was a slow burn, I personally loved the pacing because it allowed us to truly get to know Ruby & Everett on a deeper level

The parallels were meticulously placed and Ruth’s character was so well written – she was quite the underdog but you couldn’t help but root for her

This novel intertwined a love story – I love how it was *unconventional* and forbidden -but I also loved Ruby and Everett together - the morally gray aspect fascinating!

While ambiguous endings are very hit or miss for me- Ashley is the freakin’ QUEEN of writing conclusions that truly make you stop and think – which is oh so powerful - i will forever be thinking about that ending

this book is SO hard to give my complete thoughts without spoilers…but this was hands down one of my favorite books of the year!!

thank you to @sourcebooks @netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

If there's one thing I like about books written by Ashley Winstead, it's that I feel like I'm reading a new author over and over again as she reinvents her writing style each book. I'm always amazed how she can go from a cult thriller such as The Last Housewife (a personal favorite of mine) and then next publish a rom com featuring fake dating politicians, executing both rather fabulously!

🌙🧛🖤

The first note I left on my buddy read with @abbysbookadventure on StoryGraph was the quote from the book, "And then I found Twilight" and wrote every bookworm has some kind of awakening with this book. I'm slowly starting to think there's some kind of revival of that series going on this year because this is not the first new book I read that references Twilight!

Beyond the Twilight references and "are they or aren't they a vampire" subplot sprinkled into this story, this was once again a thriller that had me absolutely scared for the main character. Somebody do a wellness check on Ashley and make sure she's alright, because these thrillers are going bonkers. 😂 I was not prepared for this to be a religious cult story and as I said before, I was deeply concerned for Ruth and the awful upbringing she had. In all my notes I made while reading I kept saying "oh wow, this person is awful" or "the fact that there are people out there that live their lives this way is mind blowing!" I'm definitely left in a thriller book hangover after this one. 😤

I'm excited for more people to read this as October creeps on closer, because the ending reallllllly makes you wonder. Ashley reveals in her notes why she made such an ambiguous ending and I absolutely love that. This is going to be perfect for spooky book club this Halloween season and I bet there will be a ton of different opinions on how we think the story played out beyond the last words on the page.

This book was way different than I was expecting it to be and I think that was solely due to the fact that I went into it blind. I suggest you do the same! The Last Housewife remains the reigning champ of Ashley's thrillers, but Midnight is the Darkest Hour now holds the title of prettiest covers from her! 🌙🖤

I was really looking forward to reading this book since I liked the authors previous works but this just wasn't for me. I never connected to the characters. They felt emotionless. The story was very long and I needed more to happen to keep me interested.

Ashley Winstead has a way with her writing. Not only does she write mystery, she writes romance and whether or not you have read one of her books, there is always a twist and just a little bit of a love story, if you can call it a love story. This book definitely surprised me. When you hear about religion and witchcraft and murder and a small town in Louisianna combined into one, your mind spins in all different directions trying to picture what it could all add up to. It turns out that it all added up to something amazing and definitely worth the read.

Ruth Cornier is the preacher's daughter. She has big ambitions, while her parents want her to stay home and be the wife and homemaker that they raised her to be. Her place is behind her husband. Ruth has different plans. As a teenager, Ruth meets Everett and together they form a bond that is unexplainable to the others in town. Everett is considered an outcast. The devil's son.
When a serial killer is discovered in Bottom Springs, Louisiana, fingers are pointed and a witch hunt begins. Secrets will be spilled and the truth just may haunt you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy of Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead and being given the chance to read a must read book.

I am a huge Ashley Winstead fan, so I was super excited to get approved for Midnight is the Darkest Hour. I stayed up all night finishing this one, and it was so good! I don't want to say much and give anything away, but it was the perfect, atmospheric thriller. The setting and premise were creepy, and I absolutely loved the Twilight references. And WHAT AN ENDING! I literally kept tapping on my kindle trying to see if there were more pages. I loved it!

Midnight is the Darkest Hour comes out on October 3rd, and will be the perfect thriller for spooky season! Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the arc!

Midnight Is the Darkest Hour is an atmospheric southern gothic that left me unsettled and never let me get my feet under me. Set in the small town of Bottom Springs, Ruth is the daughter of the towns beloved pastor. But growing up, she felt like an outcast and dreamed of leaving town for a fresh start. Her only friend was Everett, who was the town scapegoat and fellow black sheep.

This story has a lot of layers and utilizes zealots, the occult, and a local legend to create a dark and tense atmosphere. With the discovery of a skull in the swamps and strange tree carvings, Ruth and Everett work to try and figure out the murder before their own deep secret is exposed. Of course they aren't the only ones with secrets. The story got under my skin and I had a sense of unease while reading. There was so much to uncover, and I was wary of everyone.

The author has created a great thriller and the ending was fantastic. If you are a thriller lover, I highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced reader copy.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book because I had never read any of this author's books before. The summary of Midnight Is the Darkest Hour did not do the book justice. I enjoyed every minute of it and it captured my attention and kept it from the first page to the last.

That’s it, it’s official. Ashley Winstead is one of my FAVORITE thriller authors 👏🏼 (I know Ashley has written more than just thrillers, I just haven’t read them yet! I absolutely will be soon though!)

After reading and absolutely devouring The Last Housewife last year, I was ecstatic to receive an early copy of Ashley’s newest novel. Midnight is the Darkest Hour is the PERFECT book to add to your fall TBR this year. It has mystery, it has all the great elements of a thriller, it has cult-y small town vibes, and it even has an almost paranormal feel to it- think Twilight!

When I first finished this one I gave it a 4.5 star rating… but as time went on, I’ve found myself continuing to think about it and I think it deserves 5 stars. And really, that’s what a 5 star read for me is all about- I can’t stop thinking about it. It was just so good.

And can we talk about that ENDING?! Actually, no. Let’s not talk about it because y’all just need to read it for yourself when this baby publishes in October. My jaw DROPPED. I sat in my chair for a good 5 minutes just thinking about it.

A genre bending read filled with religious zealots and people behaving badly that just didn't work for me despite my love for this author's previous work.

Ruth Cornier is the pastor's daughter in a small Southern town where it's either fall in line or be an outcast. It's made for a lonely living, but she's found friendship in Everett, a town outcast that lights up her heart with their conversations of poetry and life outside of this town. However, when a slew of murders become revealed with all signs pointing to Everett, what is Ruth to do?

I truly struggled with this read. For a premise that had so many interesting concepts: southern christian fundamentalist giving cult vibes, a supposedly morally grey male main characters, a female main character who loves to read and gives us allll the Twilight references, and a murder mystery or two...what's not to love!?

However, all together it struggles to come together until the very end in a way that feels unsatisfactory and obvious.

What I Struggled With:
- The Main Character: The character felts underdeveloped and static. They didn't feel like real people, but only caricatures of what people like this may be like. Ruth was aggresively naive. Everett was ridiculous cryptic. And I didn't buy into their friendship outside of their love for poetry. And their constant miscommunication was tiring.
- Pacing/Length: This book felt too long. Nothing really happens until almost 70% in. It is a ton of exposition dump and Ruth ruminating on things that feel totally obvious.
- The Plot Twists: There are quite a few "reveals" in this book; however, all of them feel obvious by the time they are revealed, which given the length/pacing feels like FOREVER. If they had been revealed earlier, it would've made for a more exciting and thought provoking read versus a matter of fact one.
- The Ending: The ending is a two part-er in a sense. First is the final confrontation. It was so rushed my head was spinning. All of these connections were made but it felt almost jumbled and far-fetched. Ruth was conveniently given all of these clues right before that add up to truly a crazy scenario. And the second is the kind of epilogue - and it is open ended in a way that feels ridiculous. I don't feel like we left any of the character we were supposed to care about in a better place than we found them. It made for a truly unsatisfying feeling after having invested so much.

Unfortunately Midnight Is The Darkest Hour fails to give me the magic In My Dreams I Hold A Knife did, but I think some will enjoy it just for the shock value and twilight reference and hey, who am I to judge?

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I've loved everything Ashley Winstead has done, and this totally felt like she was going back to her roots with a very atmospheric creepy thriller. More than just the plot, the setting and details of this book really stood out to me as unique and kept me interested.

Bottom Springs,Louisiana is a place full of contradictions. An unlikely friendship is born between the preacher’s daughter, Ruth, and the devil’s son, Everett. The bond between them is unbreakable, after a real devil tries to hurt Ruth. She and Everett managed to walk away, unscathed on the outside, but with numerous inner wounds that no one else can see. Years pass, but when a skull is found in Starry Swamp, Ruth fears what secrets will be revealed, and how she can justify what she has done with her belief in doing the right thing. By the time they have uncovered most of the town’s secrets, the final question remains, what will they do now.
This is a story that makes you question everything and when I thought I knew where it was going, it often went 180° in the other direction. I wish I could talk about the ending but spoilers lie in the swamp. At the end of the story, there’s a conversation with the author that was very interesting and informative. Don’t skip this part! It’s fascinating.

BOOK REVIEW // MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5/5)
Pub Date: 10/3
Genre: Thriller/Mystery/Suspense

I'm an Ashley Winstead fan through and through. If she writes it, I'll read it and she's back with another banger of a book. Her ability to write across genres is unmatched & deserves ALL the recognition. Every single one of her books delivers. Get ready to add MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR to your 2023 favorites stack at the end of the year!

What I love most about Ashley Winstead's writing style is that it's smart and demands your attention right away. Every single detail is carefully calculated and her characters are so deeply developed. In a religious small town in Louisiana, a preacher's daughter and the town's bad boy outcast form a very unlikely friendship. After a skull is discovered in a nearby swamp, these two take it upon themselves to dig below the surface and bring to light the town's more sinister side. The dark, broody, edgy, twisty vibes are relentless as they uncover truth after truth and expose lie after lie. This one has you questioning the line between good and evil and wanting to live in the morally grey areas of life.

What you'll find in this book
-Edward Cullen/Twilight references
-Slow burn, but completely bingeable
-Atmospheric, enchanting, haunting settings
-Obsessions and religious cults
-Shocking ending

Comparable books: A Flicker in the Dark (murder/serial killer vibes), Where The Crawdads Sing (swampy rural southern vibes), A History of Wild Places (religion and cult vibes)

Mark your calendars for October 3 so you can see for yourself!!

Is there anything that Ashley Winstead cannot do? Midnight is the Darkest Hour was so different from her previous books but she still smashed it out of the park. Just wow, an incredibly dark and unsettling story, and yet again I could not put it down.

This was a slower burning mystery/thriller, set in a bottom Springs, Louisiana. A human skull has washed up on shore and a homicide investigation begins. This small town is ruled by the local church, the preacher has full control of his parishioners and he knows everything that happens. His own daughter, Ruth, rebels against everything that her father preaches. She has become friends with the local outcast and loves to read Twilight books.

There are so many characters in this story that I really did not like. The preacher has one set of rules for some and others for the church when it suits him. There are many many disturbing themes in this book, and the author does mention that at the very start. If you have read her books before you will know how she writes them so well. The amount of research into these awful subject she must have done scares me.

The ending was just brilliant and I did clap my hands after ai had finished it,. So clever. An intense drama with a bit of romance, a lot of violence and gothic themes… something for everyone really.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. I have already pre ordered my hardcover copy to add to my collection come October. Published October 3rd. A must read.

Ashley Winstead has delivered another five star thriller, making all three of hers some of my favorite books!

One thing I’ve learned is that when you open up one of her books, you’re going to get a unique story, great characters, and absolutely incredible writing. This book was so so so well written, and it really blew me away.

This is probably the most atmospheric book I’ve ever read. I absolutely felt like I was in the middle of that small Louisiana town, standing in the towns center with all the members of the church, sneaking through the dark woods, or standing in front of the swamp at dusk.
You’re really going to feel like you’re in this one.

The plot…it could have gone to so many different ways and I had so many different thoughts & theories about what was really going on and how things were going to end. There were so many layers to this story & the characters- a big old web where everyone and everything was all tangled up.

The character development was fantastic- I knew so much about each character which really hooked me on their stories. They were dark and complicated, and loaded with secrets.

The book kept delivering surprises & twists and when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about reading it. I just wanted to get back to the pages and dive back in.

This wasn’t necessarily a fast paced book, but you’re pulled in so strongly that you won’t be able to stop, which made it suuuper bingeable for me.

This is one you won’t want to miss!!!

I have read all of Ashley's books and adore her super sweet rom coms and Ashley continues to flaunt her range and breadth with these wild gothic Southern thrillers!

Synopsis: In her small hometown of Bottom Springs, Louisiana, Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider. This is a God-fearing town and there are myths that haunt the area, including the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners' bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar—and Ruth realizes only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the power to comb the town's secret underbelly in search of true evil.

Review: This is a very dark story and once again, Ashley challenges us on how we view love, religion, stories that save us, what it means to be a woman in this world, and shifting back the power from those that abuse it. This story is gripping and powerful and truly makes you think. This story is triggering (Fundamentalism, child abuse, sexual assault, etc) but not as much as The Last Housewife. And that ending!!! What a wild ride to end their story on!

Recommend if you enjoy:
Twisty, dark, gothic and Southern thrillers
Twilight inspired stories
Fundamentalism / religious cult type stories
Morally gray characters
Dual timelines

Unfortunately this wasn't for me. I feel too old to enjoy this book but I'm sure it appeals to young people. I think the blurb didn't sell it properly, otherwise I wouldn't have requested it.

Though I usually read a lot of romance/fantasy books, I do pick up thrillers from time to time especially if they're written by Ashley Winstead! I've been a fan of hers since I read her debut - In My Dreams I Hold A Knife in '21 and I loved her writing. All of her books are amazing - both the romcoms & the thrillers!

So, I was quite excited to read the ARC of Midnight Is The Darkest Hour(out on 10/3) which is a southern gothic thriller set in a Louisiana small town dominated by Christian fundamentalism. We follow Ruth Cornier, a librarian who has lived in Bottom Springs her whole life but never fit in despite being the preacher's daughter. Though she's been the quintessential good girl, she seems to be the odd one out, while her father is revered by everyone. He rules the whole town along with the other church elders and the only thing that scares the townsfolk more than god would probably be the myth of the Low Man. And if Ruth's father is the town's beloved then the opposite is the drunkard Mr. Duncan and his son Everett. An unexpected event during her teens brings Ruth and Everett together that sparks an unlikely friendship between two outcasts. But years later when a skull is found in the swamp, Ruth and Everett might have to face their past again and digging through everything brings up more secrets to the surface that could throw the whole town into upheaval.

I loved everything from the characters to the eerie atmosphere and mystery in this one! We have such flawed characters with questionable morals that undergo so much character development, especially Ruth - as she breaks free from the rules that have been caging her. But at the same time we do notice that though Ruth follows the rules, she has always broken them when she needs to - especially when it came to Everett. Ever might be her opposite in some ways, but they're also cut from the same cloth with their shared love of literature and families that they love and hate at the same time. And what has always remained the same between them is the bond that they share and that was really beautiful! I loved how they had each other's backs through everything and the lengths that they were willing to go for each other.

One of Ruth's obsessions is the book Twilight and there are quite a few references to it which I enjoyed, as I had also discovered Twilight during my teens. But what's different is the way the book played a pivotal role in her life and if you look deeper you can see that this isn't just about her romanticizing the text but also represents her desire to break free from everything that's been holding her back. It's her escape portal and perhaps what she desires more than a love like Bella and Edward's, is the power that one could possess through the transformation.

Another aspect of this book that had me thinking about a lot of things was religion and how it influences each and every sphere of life. Ashley is a talented writer and she explores so many things in this book from religion to its influence on women and how morality varies from person to person.

Honestly, this book was unputdownable and had me turning the pages wanting to know what would happen next. I had guessed some of the twists correctly(that always makes me happy lol) but many other surprises were still waiting for me and that was really exciting! The only thing that might create mixed feelings is probably the ending which was totally unexpected. And this is very uncharacteristic of me to say this but I personally think that this ending suits the book and the characters(though others may feel differently). The author's note after that also gives a lot more insights and I loved every bit of it!

Anyway, I should probably stop gushing about this one now but you'll surely love this one too if you've read this author's books before. And if you haven't read them you can give them a try as her writing is amazing - either the thrillers or the romcoms - depending on what you're in the mood for!❣️✨

My twilight loving heart is so happy.

This was an interesting read. I loved the cult references. The pacing felt off sometimes though.

The last third of the book was so, so good! Very unique story!

I totally applaud Ashley Winstead’s diversity as an author and how she writes cleverly crafted stories with unique plots. Her newest thriller is a Twilight inspired religious cult read that makes for an awesome buddy read!

What I liked:
-How unique and original the story was
-The dual timelines
-The dark and gothic southern atmosphere
-The morally grey main characters
-The last 25%

What wasn’t for me:
-Parts of the story dragged and plot points were repetitive
-It was easy to predict the twists
-The cult vibe felt too similar to her last book
-I found there to be just a little too much Twilight

Thank you Sourcebooks for the ARC! Pub date 10/3/23