While fall may officially be here, many places in the US haven't quite gotten the memo and cooled off yet. If you're itching for something to bridge the gap between summer and fall, or need a little cozy magic to get into the season, look no further than Rachel Griffin’s latest novel Bring Me Your Midnight.
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Category: Emotional Read
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Rating: 5/5 Stars
Plot: 5/5 stars
Characters: 5/5 stars
World: 5/5 stars
Tana Fairchild’s fate has never been in question. Her life has been planned out since the moment she was born: she is to marry the governor’s son, Landon, and secure an unprecedented alliance between the witches of her island home and the mainlanders who see her very existence as a threat.
Tana’s coven has appeased those who fear their power for years by releasing most of their magic into the ocean during the full moon. But when Tana misses the midnight ritual—a fatal mistake—there is no one she can turn to for help…until she meets Wolfe.
Wolfe claims he is from a coven that practices dark magic, making him one of the only people who can help her. But he refuses to let Tana’s power rush into the sea, and instead teaches her his forbidden magic. A magic that makes her feel powerful. Alive.
As the sea grows more violent, her coven loses control of the currents, a danger that could destroy the alliance as well as her island. Tana will have to choose between love and duty, between loyalty to her people and loyalty to her heart. Marrying Landon would secure peace for her coven but losing Wolfe and his wild magic could cost her everything else.
PLOT
Being brave and feeling brave are two very different things.
Bring Me Your Midnight isn't a fast-paced fantasy adventure. Much of the plot is driven by Tana's struggle between duty and desire while navigating her closest relationships and culture's history. That said, I was never bored while reading; Tana's story kept me engaged into the wee hours. With every chapter, I could feel Tana’s desperation to be free and connect to a much deeper magic than she’s ever known.
That’s the problem with dreams: they are so easy to get lost in and so very difficult to give up.
What really made this book unique is that there isn't really a clear-cut villain for Tana to work against. It's just people making tough decisions and doing what they think is best given their circumstances.
Tana's story is one of honesty, community, classism, and our duty to others verses the responsibility we have to ourselves and our own happiness. As such, it can bring up big emotions. But overall, it was a heartwarming story that felt akin to a Hallmark movie.
CHARACTERS
Tana was special to me; I could relate to her more than any of Griffin’s other FMCs. I felt as though I was riding the emotional roller coaster alongside her.
I have to learn to accept labels I’ve lived in fear of my entire life.
Selfish.
Impulsive.
Irresponsible.
One refreshing aspect of this YA book is that both of Tana’s parents are alive and involved in her life. I especially adore Tana’s relationship with her dad. He is caring, intuitive, and just an all-around sweetheart.
But my favorite relationships were those Tana had with her best friend and Wolfe. Ivy is the kind of friend anyone like Tana (read: selfless to a fault) needs. Wolfe is loyal and dedicated to those he loves, with just enough bad boy thrown in to be willing to break rules for Tana. If you need more convincing, I’ll let these quotes do the talking:
Ivy always asks me how I feel about things, how I’m doing, how I’m meeting my own needs when my entire existence is meant to meet the needs of others. And I never know how to answer.
She should have protected herself. But she opened herself up like one of my grimoires, and I read every page, every sentence, until she became my favorite book. ––Wolfe
“Let me love you until you’re sure it’s magic.” ––Wolfe
WORLD
If flowers and herbs, trees and fields, oceans and mountains aren’t magic, I don’t know what is.
“If you only learn one thing tonight, let it be this: Magic isn’t about you. It’s about the Earth.”
Tana's community lives on a small island that sounds idyllic in its cottagecore vibes: community gardens and rituals, cobblestone streets, small businesses, slow living, and a reverence for nature. I would love to be able to stroll along the beaches, meadows, and main street with a cup of magic-steeped tea.
While reading this book, I could practically hear the ocean waves, smell the herbs, and taste the baked goods. The top-tier coziness put this book on my list of comfort reads.
My only criticism is that there could have been more world-building and showing, especially in the growing threat of the currents. We don’t get to experience much of the danger, but when we did it was exciting. It also would have been nice to know more about the world outside of the island, but since it’s a standalone that mostly takes place there, I wasn’t too disappointed.
TL;DR
Bring Me Your Midnight is a typical Rachel Griffin book with its lyrical writing, powerful lines, atmospheric settings, nature-based magic, and an FMC with a complicated relationship to magic—not to mention, a gorgeous naked hardcover if you purchase the hardcover B&N edition. I would recommend it to fans of YA romance, cozy books, and cottagecore aesthetics.
Tana’s story is especially for those with a history of people-pleasing, those who always put others first, and those who were brave enough to stray from the path others wanted for them in search of their own fulfillment.
It takes strength to put duty and loyalty above all else, […] But it also takes strength to disappoint every person I’ve ever cared about because I’ve found something I believe in more.
If you enjoyed her other books, you’re sure to love this one. It is cozy and magical, and a perfect read for fall. Bring Me Your Midnight might be my favorite so far, but it’s hard to totally commit to that statement since they’re all so incredible.
Thanks for checking out another review! If you'd like, you can check out my reviews for Griffin’s previous books, The Nature of Witches and Wild is the Witch. If you've read any of them, drop a line in the comments or on social media to tell me what you thought. As always, you can find us on bookstagram and Twitter.