Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of "Midnight is the Darkest Hour" by Ashley Winstead. I went into this book with high expectations but it was a miss for me. I am not sure if it was the vampire or not thread or just didn't snag my attention. I enjoy Winstead's writing and I am sure this will be popular, maybe I will give it a re-read in the future. Maybe not.

Sooo dark and creepy, a perfect Halloween read. Ruth was a fascinating character and I liked the romance element of her story. The way Ashley Winstead is able to write multiple genres and absolutely slay is inspiring. Loved it and will definitely pick up her next book.

2.5 stars
The premise of this book sounded so interesting: southern gothic small town setting, a librarian who gets involved with local bad boy, a mystery to solve together, and said mystery may or may not be tied to the supernatural. Unfortunately the plot just fell a little flat for me.

The book is narrated by Ruth Cornier, preachers daughter, obsessed with Twilight and all around good girl. She and local bad boy Everett (Ever) Duncan have known each other since childhood but don't really connect until a shared traumatic encounter in the woods as teens. The two stay friends as Everett comes and goes from their small town. However, the two are really pulled together again when a string of bodies begin showing up. Ruth and Everett both have secrets they'd prefer to remain hidden and work together to solve the murders. However, the murders seem to be the work of the Low Man a mythical, devil like creature and the fear of the unknown begins to permeate the town. But the truth of the murders may be more sinister than myth.

I enjoyed Ruth's narration to a point, but the amount of exposition and her "realizations" got tedious fast. I feel like we really got to know Ruth but at the same time some of internal monologues could have been cut. I also thought some of the side characters could have been more developed if we spent less time inside Ruth's head.

Similarly the reveal(s) of her secrets (and Ever's as well) felt like they took awhile to come and because there was so much exposition I'd pretty much figured them out so there was no real surprise.

While Ruth's and Everett's secrets were not surprising but the revelations about the murders and elders of the town was surprising and well earned.

I did like the ending especially with the fake out ending. No spoilers of course but it was definitely a surprise.

Overall I would recommend this book to existing fans of this author or those who like a soap-y mystery.

I was provided a free copy of this book through NetGalley.

I'm an Ashley Winstead fan, but this books was really just doing too much! The culty vibes, the unhinged townspeople, the TWILIGHT references!!! Also this is her second book featuring a library worker in 2023..and she hasn't quite gotten it right yet.

Where to start? This book was SO GOOD. I love the way it toys with morality and the limits of love. It had a huge focus on small towns, religion, power dynamics, patriarchy, and finding yourself (or fighting against yourself) in all of that. This is one I’ll absolutely be recommending to everyone, especially fans of Crawdads, and will now be buying myself a physical copy to have on the shelf too.

Someone described this as Twilight FanFic. Yeah, I have no clue. While there were a lot of Twilight references (like our MC absolutely thought she was Bella and her love interest was Edward), I didn't get past the sample when trying to read Twilight. All this is to say that I have no clue whether this is FanFic or just...heavily referenced?

It is, however, a good Southern Gothic full of mystery, intrigue, and some very dark characters. Even those you like are a hair trigger away of doing something perfectly awful.

There were times when it slowed down just a bit for me, but I was intrigued by our mystery and worried for our main character.

It was a good read.

Unfortunately this book didn’t work for me and was a DNF but I am sure other readers will feel differently! Thank you for the ARC!

I've enjoyed every Ashley Winstead book I've read so far and have already ordered this one for the store I work at. Her writing is so fast-paced and gripping and it definitely has helped turn me into a thriller girly. I'm excited to dive into her romance books next to see if I enjoy them just as much.

I was hooked from the beginning! This book is the second book I have read by Ashley Winstead, the first being The Last Housewife, and this one is my favorite by far! I really liked the characters, Ruth and Everett, and how their relationship/friendship helped bring this book together. I also liked the setting that reminds me of the books, Where the Crawdads Sing and Twilight, with the vampire feeling, but had the dark cult twisty totally out there story plot that kept me wanting to figure out what was gonna happen next.

I was a little disappointed with the ending, even though it was a shocker that I never expected, because I didn't get the clarification that I wanted and left me with a - what happened? feeling. I assume the ending ended the way it did to let the reader make their own judgement, with how they felt and connected with the characters, to make it a succeed or not succeeded ending.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and would definitely recommend. Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for my advanced copy.

A culty Southern gothic thriller set in southern Lousiana? Sign me up. Everett and Ruth have been friends since childhood, but both of them have been outsiders. When mysterious cult-like Satanic symbols appear in the swamp, and skulls are found, suspicions and threats begin to swirl around the town.

I loved the cult vibe. The twilight relationship was a little far fetched for me, but overall I enjoyed the book!

I think this book probably deserves at least another star, but for me personally it was a 3 star read, because it's not the type of thriller/horror I prefer.

What this book has going for it - it's fast paced, has a layered mystery, two main characters who are intensely, emotionally attached to each other, and an extremely hilarious Twilight scene.

Why this wasn't for me - it was a bit tough for me to read about this misogynistic fundamentalist Southern town, how the main characters had been treated in it, and how trapped and hopeless the FMC often felt. I also prefer a bit more of a supernatural element in my thrillers.

Pretty good! Loved the stance Ashley was showing and the authors note. This was a bit slow in the middle and it took me a while to pick it back up. Thats the reason for the star being lower. Was overall good read and Ashely will always be a fave of mine.

It took me a while to get through this book. It didn’t hook me like I was hoping. There was so much potential but unfortunately it felt slow and once I finished I felt like nothing really happened. The thigh light references were repetitive and just became too much.

"Midnight Is the Darkest Hour" by Ashley Winstead is a gothic Southern thriller that takes place in a small Louisiana town haunted by a killer. The story revolves around Ruth Cornier, a librarian who has always felt like an outsider in her hometown of Bottom Springs. Ruth's father is a preacher at the Holy Fire Baptist church, and the town is rife with myths and legends, including the tale of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to kill sinners on moonless nights.

When a skull is discovered in the swamp with mysterious carved symbols, the town is thrown into turmoil, and Ruth realizes that only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the ability to uncover the truth. As they dig deeper into the town's secrets, they uncover dark and hidden aspects of the town's history.

The novel is a thrilling examination of love, religion, and the power of stories. It delves into the blurred lines between good and evil, and it's a haunting tale that explores the complexity of relationships, loyalty, and the quest for identity.

With its eerie atmosphere and beautifully crafted prose, "Midnight Is the Darkest Hour" promises a captivating and chilling reading experience, making it a must-read for fans of gothic Southern thrillers.

Ashley Winstead is truly one of the most talented people out there — not only does she write both thrillers and romcoms, but her thrillers are all SO different. Her ability to do so much within the thriller genre blows my mind. Her writing is phenomenal and makes anything she writes a home run.

💫 MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR is a brilliant southern gothic thriller about a killer hunting a small town in Louisiana. I always appreciate how Ashley includes content warnings at the beginning of her books because she is known for writing difficult topics. Ruth and Everett are such complex characters and their trauma made me as a reader empathize with them — even though I couldn’t necessarily relate to their experiences.

I don’t remember the last time a book ending left me as shocked as this one. My jaw dropped and I had to tell my husband all about it 😂

It is difficult being a reader who loves horror/thrillers and romance, but this managed to do both in such a compelling way. The atmosphere was gorgeous, and I couldn't get the story out of my mind. I read the entire book in one day. And that ending! I loved it. I want more!

I finished Midnight is the Darkest Hour last night, and I'm still not sure how to process my thoughts on this one.

Overall, this was a fast-paced, engaging mystery read. I liked Ruth and Everett and their friendship. I enjoyed the bayou setting, even though most of the other characters were EXTREMELY unlikeable (which is intended and necessary, but still).

there were a lot of twists and turns in this one, and I didn't see them all coming - always a plus. I was intrigued by the Twilight references throughout, but at one point, it became a bit too much like Twilight fan-fiction.

And I liked how the ending was essentially left open to interpretation - very curious to see other reviews and what others think.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the gifted copy!

A preacher’s daughter and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks make everyone in the God fearing town of Bottom Springs, Louisiana uncomfortable. But is it really those two everyone should be afraid of? This is a dark, gothic read with many twists and turns including an ending that leaves the reader.......

I enjoyed the journey the author took me on and would definitely recommend this book to fans of horror/thrillers.

I was so excited to get the new Winstead novel that I didn't even read the description. After reading some of her previous novels I knew I was in for a twisted, dark story.
I was wrong.
I read the Goodreads excerpt and knew the ending immediately. Every twist that came about was easily guessed and this one just fell flat for me. I was actually just going to leave what my first thought was when I opened this book, but I didn't want to spoil the whole novel for everyone else.
This wasn't for me, I'm also not a huge fan of religious fanatics for the same reasons as they describe in the books. This was a 2.5 for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

As a child, teen, and young adult, Ruth is isolated in her rural Louisiana community where her father leads a fundamentalist Christian church. Ruth’s lone friend, Everett, is also an outcast. So, do these protagonists serve as the crime novel’s the heroes or antiheroes? Winstead blurs the line of what constitutes justice with a dissonance between legality and morality in an atmospheric setting. Despite being compulsively readable, I just couldn’t quite round up to 4 stars.

Netgalley and the publisher provided this book for review consideration, but all opinions are my own.