Ashley Winstead does such a great job of world building! This book was so good and was one of my highly anticipaticed read this year. It did not disappoint! Small town, Southern gothic with cult vibes!

Ruth grew up in a religious family and managed to get out of town. Her best friend, Everett, was the town out cast. It was a fast paced thriller with supernatural elements with a bit of romance and a twist at the end!

Thank you to Sourcebooks for the gifted copy.

More of a young adult novel than I realized it was going to be. I think my 17 year old would've enjoyed it more than I did. As someone from the South I think books written about the south sometimes doesn't please me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead.

When a skull is found in the swamp in Bottom Springs, LA, and is considered a homicide, librarian Ruth Cornier is terrified. She reaches out to her best friend, Everett Duncan to warn him. But, he isn't worried. Years earlier, Everett saved Ruth from an attack by bad boy Renard Michaels and dropped his body and severed head in the swamp. Ruth, the daughter of the ultra conservative preacher and his wife, secretly binged on Twilight and romanticized Edward and Bella. She and Everett hid their secrets from the town, but Everett had an even darker secret, that Ruth finally guessed. The town is also hiding secrets. The book is a bit of a reflection and commentary on the evangelical fever in the country. The ending is a bit of a mystery, which I liked.

"Midnight is the Darkest Hour" by Ashley Winstead delves into the dark and enigmatic world of Bottom Springs, Louisiana, where murder, love, and primal instincts come to life. Ruth Cornier, a librarian and outsider in her small hometown, grapples with the town's deep-seated fears and the chilling legend of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to haunt the area. As the discovery of a skull and mysterious symbols throws the town into chaos, Ruth and her old friend Everett embark on a perilous journey to uncover the town's secrets and confront true evil.

Winstead's narrative skillfully weaves together themes of isolation, ancient myths, and the complexities of human nature, creating a gripping and atmospheric tale that will haunt readers long after the final page. "Midnight is the Darkest Hour" captivates with its richly layered storytelling and haunting portrayal of darkness lurking beneath the surface of a seemingly ordinary town.

BOOK: Midnight is the Darkest Hour
GENRE: Thriller
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
THOUGHTS: A southern gothic catholic-cultish thriller with eerie twilight vibes! I was definitely under the assumption that it was going to be supernatural & it definitely wasn’t so I was a TINY but underwhelmed in that aspect. Otherwise really enjoyed! The ending was WILD. At times I felt that there was soooo much going on, almost too much, that the plot got too big for the book but the ending was truly unhinged in the best way. Ambiguous endings >>>

Where the Crawdads Sing meets Twilight in this dark southern story of twisted love, murder, and religious zealotry.

I really thought I was going to get a vastly different story than I got. At the beginning of the book the vibes were exactly what I was expecting, but as the story progressed it went in many different directions, not all of them to my taste.

The writing was good, though the characters, especially the main characters, read very young like that of a YA novel. The writing at times is poetic in its flow, and then at other times is overly dramatized, like reading from a teenager; full of naivety, angst, and rebellion. There is nothing inheritably wrong with that, but it didn't match the impression I was getting from the synopsis. It didn't help that the book directly references Twilight throughout the story so I couldn't help but associate that story with this one and I was not a fan of how that played out.

I would like to double down on that sentiment by saying this book is equally if not more of a romance than it is a mystery or thriller. Normally not to my taste, though I did find myself enjoying the romance more than I thought I would. A lot of the elements of the story are inspired, or directly lifted, from other books and movies. The ending was a bit silly in my opinion and I didn't enjoy the manner in which the story concluded.

The bottom line is, it was not a bad book and I would recommend it with the understanding that this is a romantic mystery and those picking it up should understand and expect that. I don't enjoy being disappointed and I wouldn't want someone else to fall prey to the same thing.

P.S. This cover is EVERYTHING and whoever the artist is deserves ALL of the love on this one.

Thanks for the ARC Netgalley! I am genuinely baffled by the high ratings for this new release 🤔. Thrillers are one of my favorite genres yet I somehow hadn’t yet read anything by Winstead. After this, I cannot say I will. I just….didn’t care. It was all telling, no showing. The ending was ridiculous. It tried so hard to be atmospheric like “Where the Crawdads Sing” kind of vibe, but it all felt phoned in and flat.

Ruth grew up in her small southern town under the religious rules of her father, a church leader. A despicable thing happens to Ruth when she’s a teenager, which cements her friendship with Everett. He’s the only one that knows the truth and helps her. Years later, a skull in found in the swamp and it brings up old secrets. The town wants to pin this on Everett, but Ruth knows there are more secrets in this town.

Ruth is obsessed with “Twilight,” which I’ve never read or seen. Constant references to that made me think maybe I’m missing some depth here because of my lack of knowledge of this series? Either way, it was just not my kind of thriller or storytelling. I wish I had more constructive thoughts here, it just felt like such a slog. 🤷🏻‍♀️

✨Trigger Warnings: Child Abuse, Rape, Religious Bigotry, Murder, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, Panic Attacks, Animal Cruelty/Death, Adult/Minor Relationship

I love Ashley Winstead books, but this one was a little bit of a miss for me. I loved the premise of the story, but I had issues with the Twilight references. It seemed a bit cheesy. And the ending?? Where did that come from?

Unfortunately, I didn't love this book from Ashley Winstead. However, I do think it was a me not the book issue. She writes her characters with perfect voice but I think I didn't love the main female character. The atmosphere and vibes were spot on. I know people will love this new installment from her and I will continue to pick up her thrillers.

I liked this quite a bit better than the other two books I read by Ashley Winstead. I really enjoyed the setting, the alternating timeline, and the characters and plot. The book as a whole had a True Blood vibe (but sans Eric Northman 😥) which I liked. I was afraid I’d hate the way the author dealt with Christian fundamentalism, but by the end I thought it was well done. Overall, this was a thrilling and fast paced novel about morality and justice. Unfortunately, the plot was predictable at times and I really didn’t like the ending.

One of the most highly anticipated thrillers releasing in 2023 for me was the newest book from author Ashley Winstead. After seeing the cover for Midnight is the Darkest Hour I was literally blown away and could not wait to dive in!

What I didn’t quite expect was so many similarities to other books/shows I’ve loved. As a twilight fan, the references got to be a little excessive. There is a love story within this mystery and he felt like a copy of Edward Cullen. I’m also a huge True Blood fan and I found the swampy country town and characters very similar to Bon Temps, Louisiana.

If those comparisons don’t spoil too much, I’ll let you know that there are a lot of religious zealots, corruption among authority figures, and a main character just like Bella Swan. It was a very dark book and that’s what I loved the most about it, but it’s not really a fast-paced thriller like you may expect.

While I did find the mystery interesting… it felt a little challenging to get there. I did not dislike the book at all, it was just a bit of a slog to get through which really surprised me.

I do, however, think many others would love it and I definitely look forward to her future books!

Thank you @sourcebooks and @netgalley for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

This whole book was a TRIP, in the best way. From beginning to end, it kept me intrigued and had so many twists. This is a thriller and romance wrapped into one is a one of a kind and I loved it!

This was a very atmospheric Southern gothic mystery/thriller! I loved the small town Louisiana setting and how you felt like you were right there with the characters. There were a lot of good twists and turns and surprise revelations along the way. One thing I especially liked is that Ruth works as a librarian and was able to use some of the resources to find answers.

As with most thrillers, I don't want to say too much and give anything away!

Thank you, @netgalley, and @bookmarked for the #gifted earc of this book!

3.5 stars rounded

Ashley Winstead does it again. She has written another story that will keep you up at night wanting to finish and keep you guessing till the end. It is very hard to classify this book, part mystery, part horror, part romance, part thriller and lots of gothic vibes. You will care and root for both main characters, Ruth and Everett, despite their imperfections. It is difficult to review this novel without spoiling the story, so go read it! You will not be sorry! Thank you to the publisher and net galley for allowing me to read and review this wonderful book.

Loved this book so much. The character development was phenomenal! Ashley Winstead is a wizard at suspenseful pacing!

Overall this book kept me interested, but felt a bit far fetched and long in places. The plot could have been sped up a bit, but I enjoyed this read.

Ashley Winstead is an incredible writer with an incredible range. Her way of portraying gray areas and red flags never ceases to amaze me. Midnight Is the Darkest Hour definitely had a crazy plot and the ease at which certain things happen felt a bit YA, which was also an issue in The Last Housewife. But despite that, I found the reading experience to be truly enjoyable. I will continue to read everything Winstead writes!

What appeals to me the most in Winstead's thrillers is definitely the writing. While her plots have twists and shock value, there is always something about her academia background that shines through for me. I especially love the Q&As with her at the end of the book, providing a great discussion section. I feel like she's observed the world and questioned things intimately and I like that she sets her novels to explore an idea and clash different ideologies against each other. I also love the flow of the words. I ended up enjoying the plot in this one better than The Last Housewife and thought the Twilight (and it's definitely not something I was every big on) side of things was an entertaining addition along that went well with the ideas she explored. I also did love how she ended it.

This was the first book of Ashley Winstead I have read and I have already bought two of her other books to read. This was such a wild ride in the best way possible. I didn't see some of the twists coming and I didn't see how the end was going to be. I was happy about that so I was actually surprised. The characters are well written. I would definitely recommend this book!

This was okay. I figured it out super quick and I didn’t love any characters specifically so yeah. I liked it but didn’t love it.