Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Midnight Is the Darkest Hour

Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead

33 reviews

minimicropup's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Setting the Scene: 🇺🇸 Nestled in a small Louisiana parish wrapped in a bayou

POV: We’re following a young adult grappling with the effects of their sheltered religious upbringing as they try to branch out on their own in adult life.

Mood Reading Match-Up:

-Romantic suspense with coming-of-age friend crushes, will-they-or-wont-they, and unrequited loves

-Literary fiction meets dark cozy mystery + melancholic drama with depth

-Southern Bayou atmospheres, character driven narratives, and multiple timelines in an unhinged town with a sprinkling of supernatural

-Themes and exploration of hypocrisy, the many faces of good and evil, morally grey situations, protection, loyalty, platonic and romantic love, escape, healing, introspection and self-discovery, belief, nature vs nurture, tragedy, and longing.

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🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕

🗣️ Tale-Telling: The first-person narrative pulled us into our main character, Ruth’s, mind. We were privy to her innermost thoughts and feelings…it’s like she was whispering secretively to us then going off on tangents in her own little world and other times rehashing things. I think it was a purposeful part of her character development and personality rather than a writing flaw though.

👥 Characters: Ruth is a complex character, but can be annoying, which I think is to be expected for someone who has grown up so sheltered, abused, and repressed. She’s navigating her identity, clouded by her fixation on fictional worlds and romance (like ‘Twilight’) and the struggle to break free from and recognize trauma.
(I don't think there was a Twilight obsession here or that it was overdone. It seemed immature at Ruth’s age that she was still using it sometimes to learn about herself and navigate her life by drawing parallels between herself and Bella. But it makes total sense since she wasn't given room for healthy self-growth and identity as a teen. )

🗺️ Ambiance: The Bayou setting was rich and palpable, and it was threaded throughout the story, so the atmosphere didn’t die out over time. The town and its inhabitants were as much a character as Ruth, adding layers to the setting in a kind of over-the-top, but believable way.

🔥 Fuel: The core of this story was the romantic tension and exploration of girlhood and adolescence. The murder ‘mystery’ is more about if the cases will be solved rather than what happened, and it takes a backseat to the romance and literary exploration of the other themes.

🎬 Scenes: The pace to me was slow, often delving into Ruth’s introspection and struggles with trust and love. But for romance enthusiasts, that may translate to depth and be a great read. If you’re going in expecting a mystery or thriller, it could feel like a drag. The romantic scenes seemed well crafted and cinematic though. I’m not a romance reader (no yucking yums, it’s just not for me), so this felt long, melancholic, and a little overly dramatic.

🤓 Random Thoughts: This is a literary fiction romantic drama with thoughtful commentary on how we judge young girls and their interests as cringe, silly, vapid, childish, stupid, or sinful. It also happens to have some murders in it...
This is not the mystery thriller it has been marketed as. It’s a deep, even beautiful story, but I think that’s getting lost in the frustration of readers who aren’t used to this genre (me) or who weren’t interested in reading that when they picked this book up (also me). I don’t regret reading it, nor did I want to DNF, but I felt a certain frustration in the moment, like I was tricked a bit into investing in the story.

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Content Heads-Up: Physical child abuse (descriptive, on page). Sexual child abuse (recalled, discussion). Mental and emotional child abuse and neglect. Attempted rape. Adult/minor relationship (grooming). Murder. Corruption (institutional, religious). Drugs and organized crime. Alcoholism. Religious abuse, rituals, and trauma. Repression. Fire (injury, building). Sexual content (first experiences, fantasies, consenting).

Rep: White American. Pale and dark-skinned characters. Cis-gender. Heterosexual.

👀 Format: Library Digital

“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”

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ariana3's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I surprisingly liked this! There's nothing exciting about the story, but I couldn't put it down and read it quickly!

About the daughter of a reverend (religious fundamentalist that's abusive) and her friend (outcast, son of an alcoholic, known as Satan's son) and their relationship. Her friend, Everett, has killed people he wanted revenge on or to protect her, Ruth. She didn't know it was him so she feels like her adult childhood was a bit of a lie. Her father is a crazy religious preacher, was abusive, and ringleader of this town-wide drug circle which is why they have all their money. Ruth and Ever uncover it together and runaway together (now romantically involved...finally - it was teased the ENTIRE book), but do they survive?!?!?!?! The ending is ambiguous - I have hope that they did

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bookish_dog_mom's review

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I have really mixed feelings. I enjoyed The Last Housewife and was looking forward to Winstead's newest thriller... Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I couldn't get on board with all the Twilight references, the majority of the characters were completely one dimensional and stereotypical, and the MFC was so childish it gave serious YA vibes (which isn't a genre I prefer).

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rtruscot's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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bukworm345's review

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This book was TERRIBLE. The main character is insipid and obsessed with Twilight. The driving force of the book is secrets- not mystery, just secrets. Ruth and Everett could have figured a lot of shit out if they stopped keeping secrets and started working together. There’s drugs, religious fanaticism, satanic rituals, pedos, corruption, and on top of all that mess there’s Twilight obsessed Ruth starting to think Wverett is an actual vampire/monster. Skip it. It’s not even a so bad-so good scenario because the characters are so dumb.

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brandilovesbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Midnight is the Darkest Hour is a book about the fine line between good and evil.

Ruth is the daughter of an extreme minister in coastal Louisiana. She has one friend- Everett, a boy who saved her from rape. She dreams of leaving her small town and going to college.

Everett teaches her to climb trees and savor nature. He is a reader like she is. They read together and talk about books.

When Everett moves out of town, Ruth is forced to stay. He returns after staying away for a year.

A skull is found in the swamp. Ruth and Everett are worried the skull will point to them.

Midnight is the Darkest Hour is told in two timelines- the summers beginning when Ruth was 17 and now.

It is the story of two people making one shady choice after another while they try to avoid the truth coming out. This is the first book I've read where you know the MC committed murder in their past.

As the book goes on, they learn that evil in the most unexpected places. Power in their small town means some people are above the law.

I almost put the book down a couple pages in. Ruth has an obsession with the book Twilight and idolizes Bella. I was not a fan of that character- I found her annoying and weak. I decided to keep reading because I understood why a very sheltered minister's daughter might see something in Bella.

This book is a train wreck. You can't look away. Ruth and Everett continuously make bad decisions. Everett convinces Ruth that committing small crimes is okay because the person is bad. This continues as the crimes get progressively worse.

About half way through the book, the tempo really picked up. It was hard to put the book down.

Ruth and Everett are lovable in the same way you love a stray animal. You can't fault them for their issues because of the damage inflicted on them in the past.

I alternated between reading and listening to the audiobook. The audiobook narrator had a perfect southern accent. Listening to dialog was much better than the Midwestern voice in my head could do.

I recommend this book for anyone who likes reading about moral grey areas, sheltered girls and the bad boy, or southern small towns.

My content warnings- lots of fire and brimstone preaching, murder, attempted rape, child abuse, an unhealthy obsession with Twilight, sacrifice, old fashioned beliefs that women should be obedient, cursing (but appropriate and no F words).

The romance is closed door.

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noble_editorial's review

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This one sounded promising, but it turns out it really wasn't for me. The story feels contrived and relies too heavily on tropes—it just doesn't feel fresh. The MC is incredibly frustrating, the romance doesn't feel authentic, and the ending borders on ridiculous. It has a beautiful setting, though.

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