I put this book on my list of 2023 Thrillers I Can’t Wait to Read and I just finished the audiobook. What did I think? How does this compare to other books by Ashley Winstead, like In My Dreams I Hold a Knife? Check out my Audiobook Review of Midnight is the Darkest Hour with MARKED SPOILERS at the end of the post!
Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead
Published on October 3, 2023 by Sourcebooks.
Audiobook by Tantor. Thanks to LibroFM, an independent bookstore for audiobooks, for the advance listening copy!
Listening time: 12 hours 7 minutes
Narrator: Sarah Welborn
What this review Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead will cover:
- My thoughts on the audiobook experience
- My review of the story (as I was able to understand it)
- How does Midnight is the Darkest Hour compare to other books by Ashley Winstead
- Will YOU like Midnight is the Darkest Hour?
Plot Summary for Midnight is the Darkest Hour
In the small town of Bottom Springs, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist.
Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like 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, the town is thrown into uproar. 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.
Audiobook Review of Midnight is the Darkest Hour
I think some books are better suited as audiobooks than others. This author writes stories that are perfect in the audiobook format: very plot-driven, linear, and with (usually) one first-person narrator.
At times I struggled with the Audiobook of Midnight is the Darkest Hour. It’s a very long book (400 pages, 12+ hours long) with past/present timelines that were, at times, hard to tell apart.
The main character is 17 in the past and 23 in the present, with a very similar narrative voice. She lives in the same town in both timelines, hangs around with (mostly) the same guy, and has all the same problems. Confusing (especially in audio when you’re multitasking…)
The narrator wasn’t bad, but was doing a Southern accent that I had very mixed feelings about. I listened at 1.25 speed, which helped move things along.
I was able to follow the narrative for about ⅓ to ½ of the way through but by the end I was hopelessly confused about some major plot points.
What I Did Like About Midnight is the Darkest Hour
The book’s Southern setting was very atmospheric. The author did a great job of describing the swamp, the claustrophobic small town, and the character of Ruth, the main character, who loves to read and feels trapped by her very religious family.
The book got off to a strong start. Ruth, a small town librarian, learns that there was a skull discovered in the Starry Swamp. Even though she’s now nearly engaged to another guy, she heads right back to her high school boyfriend and says: “they found him.” YES, I was in. At that point.
The book referenced YA Paranormal Romance, specifically Twilight, in a way that brought up a lot of nostalgic feelings. Remember when reading Twilight was like going to a Taylor Swift concert? In the early 2000s, it was all every young woman of a certain demographic was talking about. In the book, Ruth, the main character, finds a copy of the book in a pile of library donations and is completely transported.
What I Liked less (or was just confused about)
I blame the audio and have requested a paper copy from the library so I can get my questions answered. As I listened, I got more and more confused about what happened when. The plot got more and more convoluted, with multiple secret groups, multiple bodies, multiple secrets that Ruth and Everett were keeping, and multiple mysterious symbols. There was a sex scene that I think was in the present, but I wasn’t sure. I had no idea. Then, my biggest question:
My #1 Question about Midnight is the Darkest Hour: Was Everett a Vampire?
Right off, the book dropped many, many little clues. Everett (or “Ever” as she calls him) is so cold. His skin is so sparkly. He’s pale. And Ruth is SO obsessed with the love story of Bella and Edward. But the book digressed into ALL this other weird stuff that was super-confusing on audio and I just lost track of all the questions I had. At one point his vampire-ness is discussed but … idk. Tell me your thoughts in comments.
How Does Midnight is the Darkest Hour compare to Ashley Winstead’s other books
I can’t say I’ve loved any of her books, but I found them all interesting. For me, they are filled with too many ideas, which is worse than a book with too few ideas.
As I said in my review of her first book, I found In My Dreams I Held a Knife to have some of the most unlikeable characters ever. But I do love a good “friends with a secret” book so I felt okay about it.
Winstead’s second book, The Last Housewife, was just too much for me. Another friend group, this one full of feminists who somehow got sucked (whoops!) into a misogynistic, violent cult. I had to DNF it because it was gratuitously dark and I just wasn’t feeling it.
Midnight is the Darkest Hour gives us (finally) a very sympathetic character. Ruth loves to read and dreams of going to college, but gets trapped in her small town. At least she’s trapped in the town library! The feminist themes are there, but in a slightly less creepy way.
Will You Like Midnight is the Darkest Hour?
On Goodreads this is another “love it or hate it” book with a 3.5 rating.
46% of readers gave the book 1-3 stars
51% of readers gave the book 4-5 stars.
Overall it felt a bit like Bonnie and Clyde meets Twilight, with a Southern Gothic spin.
If you love (or loved) reading YA paranormal romance, this could be the book for you.
Between the fact that half of the book does take place when Ruth is a teenager, plus all the Twilight references, the book does have a YA feel to it.
Because the story has so many elements and the dual timeline is hard to follow on audio, I recommend the non-audio version!
And if you love books like this, be sure to check out my book list of YA Vampire Books from the 1990s to the present!
What Was the Ending of Midnight is the Darkest Hour: SPOILERS
Your questions answered (accurately, I hope because this book was a LOT!)
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Did you read this? Are you reading it? Tell me in comments!