Reviews

Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead

stephanie522's review

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

elle_jeanne's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

mckennaasmith's review against another edition

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I literally just did not care at all. About anything. 

mhugie2's review

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5.0

Midnight is the Darkest Hour is some wild, religious cult murder mystery! If that sentence appeals to you at all, then you need to read this book! It was such a wild ride of a story where Ashley Winstead manages to do it again!

This book is dark, twisty, mystical and absolutely maddening. The writing is an absolute masterclass. The people of Bottom Springs, Louisiana are God-fearing folk, but also hillbilly swamp folks. The amount of fire and brimstone thrown around this town is enough to start a country-wide wildfire. So what happens when the town is thrown into an uproar over dead bodies showing up in the swamp?

The only reason you may not like this book is if you do not like any of the trigger warnings, Particularly child abuse and cult behaviors'. But I absolutely loved this book and think that every thriller and mystery lover should check this one out.

Ashley Winstead is an auto-buy for me after this novel. She brought the same raw talent and moody writing to this story as she has her others, but it was a whole different experience and different subgenre. Not many authors are capable of producing quality books of such different lanes within a genre, but Winstead did it with flourish! The narration was just magical, really bringing a depth to the characte3rs that I otherwise wouldn't have caught. I can't wait to see what this author does next and I will be promoting this book far and wide.

mhugie2's review against another edition

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4.0

Midnight is the Darkest Hour is some wild, religious cult murder mystery! If that sentence appeals to you at all, then you need to read this book! It was such a wild ride of a story where Ashley Winstead manages to do it again!

This book is dark, twisty, mystical and absolutely maddening. The writing is an absolute masterclass. The people of Bottom Springs, Louisiana are God-fearing folk, but also hillbilly swamp folks. The amount of fire and brimstone thrown around this town is enough to start a country-wide wildfire. So what happens when the town is thrown into an uproar over dead bodies showing up in the swamp?

The only reason you may not like this book is if you do not like any of the trigger warnings, Particularly child abuse and cult behaviors'. But I absolutely loved this book and think that every thriller and mystery lover should check this one out.

Ashley Winstead is an auto-buy for me after this novel. She brought the same raw talent and moody writing to this story as she has her others, but it was a whole different experience and different subgenre. Not many authors are capable of producing quality books of such different lanes within a genre, but Winstead did it with flourish! The narration was just magical, really bringing a depth to the characte3rs that I otherwise wouldn't have caught. I can't wait to see what this author does next and I will be promoting this book far and wide.

sarahlassx's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

auroraparkerwrites's review against another edition

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3.0

This was way overhyped 🫢 if chapters 3-6 were more towards the end of the book; there would have been more impact. I was bored by page 75 and questioning what’s the point? I already know what happens. While it’s beautifully written, I love Winsteads prose, but just felt pointless after a certain point. 

-multiple timeline jumps to the past 
-single POV
-murder… but not mystery

kendallreadsitall's review

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1.0

Offensively cringey. Slow. Boring. Predictable. And if I had to hear the narrator in the audiobook pronounce window as “winduh” one more time, I was going to lose my marbles. I was really anticipating this book since I thoroughly enjoyed In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, but wow, Midnight is the Darkest Hour was extraordinarily bad. Easily my least favorite book I’ve read this year.

kaitthorne's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad

3.5

caseadiiia's review against another edition

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I didn't like the way the narrator read the book. She held the same tone throughout the book regardless of the emotions that were being portrayed and it took away from the story.