Review: Together At Midnight, Jennifer Castle

contemporary, , , 49 Comments

There are no spoilers in this review.

Together At Midnight is the perfect winter story, a heartwarming, brings-a-smile-on-your-face kind of read, perfect for this time of the year. With endearing main characters, a lovely setting filled with snow, heavy jackets and warm ski clothes, Together At Midnight, was, in one word, ADORABLE.

A VERY BEAUTIFUL AND POSITIVE CONTEMPORARY BOOK

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In this story, we follow Kendall and Max, two former friends meeting each other again on a winter in New York. She is staying with her brother in the city, a very spontaneous decision after spending a semester abroad, lost and confused about what to do, where to go and who to be next. He is staying with his grandfather to take care of him, while they find a new care-taker. We follow them as they meet again, as they are witnesses to a tragic accident, as they, sort of on a whim, decide to challenge each other to perform random acts of kindness, something no one does anymore. Something they want to do. Not to stand by while things happen, but to make a difference in someone’s lives.

Originally, this is this “random acts of kindness” part of the book that attracted me: in a society obsessed with individualism, where smiling to strangers or asking someone crying alone in a corner if everything is okay just does NOT happen, Together At Midnight was a breath of fresh air, giving us a beautiful message in this winter season: that kindness can actually DO something for other people. Just a few words, a simple hello, something that doesn’t take time or costs anything, can go a long way. In that way, it was a really positive book and I loved it.

FLAWED CHARACTERS YOU WANT TO ROOT FOR

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Told from two different point of views, we get to hear Kendall and Max’s story in Together At Midnight, as they re-discover each other, their lives, their stories, who they are and who they want to be. Both point of views felt distinct, different and unique and, most importantly, the story didn’t focus on them both and their friendship – it also focused on personal issues they had to overcome. Max was a great character, he was sweet, he was flawed, he was annoying at times with his obsession for his ex-girlfriend, but I rooted for him and wanted the best for him. Kendall was my favorite: she was a lot of fun, she was really relatable to me and I loved how her writer side jumped into the story. She invented stories for the people she met, wrote constantly in her notebook. She also had ADHD and I liked that this was included in the story and mentioned, even if I won’t speak about the representation, since I can’t attest if this was well, or not.

Another addition to the characters in this story were the people Kendall and Max met along the way, the people they tried to be kind with. We got, every once in a while, a point of view of one of these people they had tried to be kind with. This gave us a very interesting insight on their lives, what they were going through at the moment and how even a little bit of kindness could change them, their lives, the way they see things and so on.

A STORY OVER THE COURSE OF ONE WEEK

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If Together At Midnight takes place over a week, it still gives the story a lot of time to properly develop, to allow the relationships to grow and change and turn into that little spark of a something more. Max and Kendall got to know each other a bit more, for sure, but we also get some interesting development of family relationships in this story: between Max and his grandfather as they slowly understand each other and manage to grow close to each other ; but also between Kendall and her brother.

OVERALL

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Together at Midnight was a heartwarming, perfect story to read during winter-time. With interesting characters, set in a snow-covered New York City, spreading kindness like snowflakes all around the city… it was a quick and beautiful contemporary read for the lovers of romance, but also good character development.

Final rating:  4 drops!

A million thanks to the publisher for the e-ARC of this book. This did not, in any way, influence my thoughts and review.

Jennifer Castle, Together At Midnight,  Published by HarperTeen, January 2nd, 2018.

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What does it really mean to be kind . . . and why does it sometimes feel like the hardest thing in the world to do? High school senior Kendall, who just returned from a life-changing semester in Europe, and Max, who is drifting his way through a gap year before college, struggle with these questions when they witness a tragic accident in New York City during the holiday season. Racked with guilt, the two accept a dare to perform random acts of kindness to strangers. The challenge pulls these two teens, who have a history together from back home, closer and closer as they explore a vibrant city filled with other people’s stories and secrets.

Kendall and Max can’t deny their growing bond, even though they both have other romantic entanglements and uncertain futures. As the clock counts down on New Year’s Eve, will they find themselves together at midnight?

Do you want to read Together At Midnight? Why, or why not?

Do you like to read sweet romances in the winter? Do you have any recommendations of sweet reads for this time of the year… Or are you more into dark fantasy at this time? Let me know in comments!

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Book blogger, travel blogger, writer. 📚 |🌍 | 💞 Writing & Communications Graduate. French. Living on love, wanderlust and ya books.

49 thoughts on “Review: Together At Midnight, Jennifer Castle”

  3. this sounds like a good book! and of course, the cover is a bonus ✨ i like reading something related to winter even tho we don’t have snow here but the feeling can get overwhelm just by reading winter/snowy books ☃️❄️

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  4. The plot sounds unique so I will definitely add it to my TBR.I read mostly historical fiction and fantasy in winter.There’s just something about winter that makes me want to read fantasy or it may be that’s my favorite genre 😁 I like to read romances in the spring/summer 🙂 Great review, Marie ❤

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    1. Ohh, romances and contemporaries are my favorite books to read in summertime as well, but… they’re so good to read when you’re under a blanket with a warm tea, as well 🙂
      thank you so much! I hope you’ll read and enjoy that one 🙂

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  8. This book hasn’t come out yet for me, and I have to say thank god! I have so many books on my wish list and I’m only on the second book of that series you recommended to me! Lola and the boy next door. Excited though, because the first one was really good, and so well written. Happy new year Marie! I wish you all the best, and can’t wait to get to know you more next year 🙂 xxx

    Melina | http://www.ivefoundwaldo.com

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  9. Right now I’m into fantasy, I feel like immersing myself in a completely new universe that’s not at all like the one I know. Currently I’m reading Artemis that takes place in the city on the moon 🙂

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      1. Artemis is so-so, I think audiobook is making it much more enjoyable, if I was reading it I’d be bored with all the science stuff. With audiobook I just dose off and coma back to listening when there’s action.

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  11. Great review Marie, and oh this sounds like a brilliant book. 🙂 ❤ I am definitely going to be adding this one to my to-read list because it sounds like something I have to read and given the fact that it's winter now it's the perfect time to read it as well. 😀 I love the idea of the characters doing random acts of kindness for other people, and it's great that the character development was well done despite the book only being set over the course of a week and especially considering it's told through dual POVs as well.
    Again great review. 🙂 ❤

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    1. It was a really fun book to read and definitely fitting for this season, as well. I was surprised there was development in such a short time frame, but I was happy to find out there was! The characters were great 🙂
      thank you so much,Beth! I hope you will read that one 🙂

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  13. Ooh, a contemporary! I’ll have to add it to my TBR now, knowing how much of an expert you are when it comes to contemporary recs. 😉 And from your review, this sounds like such a sweet book! I really do believe that the smallest acts of kindness can make someone feel so much better, or change at least something in their life in a big way. And AAGHH YESS I love snippets of others’ different POVs!! I just find them so refreshing ahaha.

    Great review! ❤

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    1. Aww thank you so much, May, you are so, SO sweet ❤ ❤
      I agree, random acts of kindness can change someone's day aroun, it is SO important to remind ourselves to try and be kind. ❤
      I hope you will pick it up at some point! Thank you 🙂 ❤

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  14. Such a beautiful review, Marie! This one sounds very interesting, though I don’t tend to read many winter romances or winter books, in general. No idea why. I’m trying to change that this year by reading The Bear and the Nightingale, we’ll see how this goes.
    Kendall being a writer sounds very exciting, I would have loved that aspect of the book as well! I can see how this book is perfect for you 😊
    Lovely post, as always!

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    1. Oh I hope you will enjoy The Bear and The Nightingale, I keep hearing GREAT things about this book 🙂
      I understand, I think there aren’t many winter books to begin with, so… we don’t have much choice, haha 🙂
      Thank you so much!! ❤

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      1. It’s really good so far, can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next! ❤
        I think you're actually right :-/ there are so many summer-y reads that come in my mind, but not many set in the winter. I just thought it was me not researching enough, hahaha.

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  16. I just wrote my review for this yesterday, and Big E made it into mine as well. Loved him and how he cared deeply for his grandson. I was a fan of the family relationships in general. Kendall and her brother had a pretty special bond, and I liked her mom a lot too. I felt like the additional POVs elevated the story too. Great review!

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  20. I have this book on my kindle but haven’t actually read it yet. But it sounds like a really cutesy and sweet contemporary read, with realistic characters who you enjoy being on the journey with. I think I will be able to like this one, and it’s good to know more about it ^.^

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  21. I love the different POVs as you see their acts of kindness throughout the book. I’ve had this on my TBR for a while but it sounds like a perfect contemporary to snuggle up with! It reminds me of They Both Die At The End but with a happier ending. I would love to read this! Great review!

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  22. Pingback: 14 young adult book recommendations for this winter

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