Review Detail

BRING ME YOUR MIDNIGHT is a lush and captivating YA fantasy romance. Mortana (Tana) Fairchild's life has been dictated by fear of the Mainlanders and her ability to temper this fear through marriage. Tana is nearly 20 when she will have a ceremony to declare her intention to join the coven as an adult and soon thereafter she will marry the son of the leader of the Mainlanders to cement their alliance, an event that has been in the works for decades. Witches live on a small island where they retreated after persecution by the nonmagical folk of the Mainland. They practice only small magic so as not to be seen as a threat, and once a month, they must discharge their extra magic into the sea so that it does not build up and destroy them.

One month, Tana misses the discharge, and unable to perform the ceremony on her own, she knows she only has about 10 days to figure it out before she will die from the build up. That very night, she met Wolfe, who claimed to be from the Old Coven, practicing what she has always been taught is dark magic - the magic that means they won't have extra magic building up. Seeking him out, she asks for his help in discharging her extra magic, through the dangerous use of dark magic.

However, Tana soon begins to realize that not everything she knew to be true is just as it was said, and the life that has been plotted out for her may not be the life she desperately wants.

What I loved: This was an absolutely captivating read, and I finished it in one sitting because I just could not stop reading. The writing style absolutely pulls the reader into Tana's life and feelings, as well as the mystery of the truth of history and what she has been taught. This world of magic and fear is complex and haunting, highly compelling and easy to get pulled into.

Tana is similarly compelling, and her story and complexities grow as she begins to question the things she knew to be true and her own desires. Her life has been defined by duty, but as she grows and learns, she begins to question herself and her own wants, something that can be challenging to do in the midst of potential disappointment - especially when a whole community of people are relying on her doing the duty of the arranged marriage. Her feelings and emotions around this are complex, as are the choices she will have to make while she forges ahead with her life and decisions.

Wolfe, the Old Coven member she meets, and Landon to whom she is betrothed, the potential love interests, are also really intriguing characters. Their lives are not so simple and they do not fit in any bins. Similarly, her relationships with each are complex and individual. Tana sees both possibilities laid out before her, and she must consider how she defines love and what she wants for herself in the future. Ultimately, the solution is messy but beautiful, and I loved the way it all came together.

This is a world without clear villains or delineations between good and evil, and I appreciated the dilemma of making choices amongst this uncertainty, much like real life and the decisions readers are also faced with as they approach the rest of their lives. Other themes around love, the lies of history, power, making decisions for the good of the many, the validity of being selfish, the ways the things we are taught when young define us, and morality of power are all really thought-provoking. The way that history has treated the witches and the disparate way this is viewed by the two covens and the Mainlanders is particularly intriguing, and a theme reflected throughout history as history carries its own prejudices in the telling.

This ended up being quite an emotional read, and I found it quite powerful, much like the sea Tana loves so much - it was awash in passion and challenges and absolutely beautiful. The ending seemed just right and was quite satisfying.

Final verdict: BRING ME YOUR MIDNIGHT is a lush and enthralling YA fantasy romance that I cannot recommend enough for its compelling writing style, thought-provoking themes, and unforgettable characters.