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emilysunflowers's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
piggottc's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my word! Such a funny and delightful book. I may never stop laughing about the possible damage to Jack Divine’s anus.
brooke_review's review against another edition
4.0
Nothing lasts forever. This is the theme of Jeff Zentner’s new novel, Rayne & Deliah’s Midnite Matinee, a coming of age story about two best friends who host an old-school horror film show on public access television.
It’s hard to believe that a pair of high school seniors could pull it off, but Josie and Delia host a weekend creature feature TV show that is broadcast in several states. While the viewership leaves something to be desired and the girls doubt that anyone would recognize them in public, “Midnite Matinee” gives them an outlet to work toward their future goals and come to terms with their past and future.
Delia, AKA Delilah Darkwood, is the one who is really passionate about low-rent horror flicks. She and her dad used to watch VHS tapes of the films before he abandoned their family when Delia was just a young child. Josie, AKA Rayne Ravenscroft, doesn’t care about scary movies the way that Delia does. She is hoping to make a name for herself in television someday, and Midnite Matinee is helping her get closer to her dream.
However, as senior year comes to a close and the girls start contemplating their futures, they find they are being pulled in different directions. Delia can’t stop thinking about her father and how she never got closure after he walked out on their family all those years ago. With every broadcast of Midnite Matinee, she hopes that her dad is out there, somewhere, watching and that he is proud. Josie’s parents are pushing her to accept an internship at Food Network, which would put her in college far away from Delia and the guy who has recently caught her eye, Lawson. Torn between the world she loves and the world she dreams, Josie feels that with whatever decision she makes, she will be letting someone down. In this last fateful summer before their adult lives begin, Delia and Josie hang on desperately to their pasts while making way for their futures.
Rayne & Deliah’s Midnite Matinee is heartfelt, introspective, and thought-provoking. Jeff Zentner captures perfectly how it feels to be on the cusp of something great, but afraid to leave everything you have ever loved behind. This story is even amusing, with the production of Midnite Matinee bringing on lots of laughs. Zentner takes two issues that many young people face - coming to terms with family struggles and making major life decisions - and presents them in a way that is relatable and engaging.
While the majority of this novel is very good and readable, the story takes an odd turn when Delia and Josie attend ShiverCon, a horror convention. Here the story becomes outlandish, the tone not gelling well with the rest of the book. Had it not been so over the top, my overall impression of the book would have been much higher.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Books for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
It’s hard to believe that a pair of high school seniors could pull it off, but Josie and Delia host a weekend creature feature TV show that is broadcast in several states. While the viewership leaves something to be desired and the girls doubt that anyone would recognize them in public, “Midnite Matinee” gives them an outlet to work toward their future goals and come to terms with their past and future.
Delia, AKA Delilah Darkwood, is the one who is really passionate about low-rent horror flicks. She and her dad used to watch VHS tapes of the films before he abandoned their family when Delia was just a young child. Josie, AKA Rayne Ravenscroft, doesn’t care about scary movies the way that Delia does. She is hoping to make a name for herself in television someday, and Midnite Matinee is helping her get closer to her dream.
However, as senior year comes to a close and the girls start contemplating their futures, they find they are being pulled in different directions. Delia can’t stop thinking about her father and how she never got closure after he walked out on their family all those years ago. With every broadcast of Midnite Matinee, she hopes that her dad is out there, somewhere, watching and that he is proud. Josie’s parents are pushing her to accept an internship at Food Network, which would put her in college far away from Delia and the guy who has recently caught her eye, Lawson. Torn between the world she loves and the world she dreams, Josie feels that with whatever decision she makes, she will be letting someone down. In this last fateful summer before their adult lives begin, Delia and Josie hang on desperately to their pasts while making way for their futures.
Rayne & Deliah’s Midnite Matinee is heartfelt, introspective, and thought-provoking. Jeff Zentner captures perfectly how it feels to be on the cusp of something great, but afraid to leave everything you have ever loved behind. This story is even amusing, with the production of Midnite Matinee bringing on lots of laughs. Zentner takes two issues that many young people face - coming to terms with family struggles and making major life decisions - and presents them in a way that is relatable and engaging.
While the majority of this novel is very good and readable, the story takes an odd turn when Delia and Josie attend ShiverCon, a horror convention. Here the story becomes outlandish, the tone not gelling well with the rest of the book. Had it not been so over the top, my overall impression of the book would have been much higher.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Books for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
crisp_pages_'s review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
3.5 with a heavy heart- did not land as well as his other works. Jeff Zentner is, and will always be one of my favorite authors, I just feel like this book didn’t hit me like his other works.
This felt more loudly YA.. and almost John green styled ? Like teens.. but also comedic in a way that makes it unrealistic? It may be that as someone no longer a teen it makes this style of storytelling harder to enjoy.
I LOVED the characters, as always the fleshed out dynamics and personality HIT. By far the weakest I’ve read but still good. I found myself enjoying the love interest? Despite not wanting to? This was cute. I don’t foresee myself re-reading it but I would recommend it.
I’m going to re-read serpent king for the hundredth time now…
This felt more loudly YA.. and almost John green styled ? Like teens.. but also comedic in a way that makes it unrealistic? It may be that as someone no longer a teen it makes this style of storytelling harder to enjoy.
I LOVED the characters, as always the fleshed out dynamics and personality HIT. By far the weakest I’ve read but still good. I found myself enjoying the love interest? Despite not wanting to? This was cute. I don’t foresee myself re-reading it but I would recommend it.
I’m going to re-read serpent king for the hundredth time now…
the_bookish_gal21's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
mandyist's review against another edition
3.0
Welcome to the Midnite Matinee, a wonderfully campy creature feature show starring none other than Rayne Ravenscroft and Delilah Darkwood. If you're after corny sound effects and props that would make Ed Wood proud, you've come to the right place. This is the world of Jeff Zentner's colourful young adult novel Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee.
By day, Delia and her best friend Josie are high school seniors leading relatively mundane lives before they need to make tough decisions about what they should do after school. Every Friday night, they become Rayne Ravenscroft and Delilah Darkwood, hosts of Midnite Matinee, a deliciously campy and unexpectedly successful local cable show.
OH, THE HORROR!
There is so much to love about this book. I’ve always loved horror and grew up on the original 1960s black and white version of The Addams Family. The premise of the book is such fun; how awesome is it that two school girls have a TV show of their own, no matter how amateur? It’s the stuff of dreams. And oh, the cheese! I loved the special effects and sheer craziness of the skits.
It sounds like a five star read, right? But after looking forward to this book for so long, I found myself very disappointed in it.
UNRELENTING DARKNESS
For such a fun concept, Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee dragged. I found myself wishing it would hurry up, a lot, and I also started cheating on it with other novels.
Pacing aside, Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee was well written but not exactly fun. To be honest, it was an unrelentingly realistic beacon of darkness in the fun and escapist world of campy horror. I've read (and loved) some dark books, including The Female of the Species and Sadie but I have to admit, I like nice or uplifting things to happen in certain books, especially quirky ones with unusual storylines and interesting settings like this one. I guess I just wasn't expecting it all to go so desperately wrong for our young creatives.
Ultimately, Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee is a cautionary tale about meeting your heroes and how one should be careful what you wish for lest it all come true.
For making me sad and for dragging, I give Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee an okay three out of five stars. Despite my reservations, I would very much like to see a film or, even better, TV series made out of this book. If they could achieve Riverdale levels of darkness yet undeniable entertainment then I'd be very happy.
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By day, Delia and her best friend Josie are high school seniors leading relatively mundane lives before they need to make tough decisions about what they should do after school. Every Friday night, they become Rayne Ravenscroft and Delilah Darkwood, hosts of Midnite Matinee, a deliciously campy and unexpectedly successful local cable show.
OH, THE HORROR!
There is so much to love about this book. I’ve always loved horror and grew up on the original 1960s black and white version of The Addams Family. The premise of the book is such fun; how awesome is it that two school girls have a TV show of their own, no matter how amateur? It’s the stuff of dreams. And oh, the cheese! I loved the special effects and sheer craziness of the skits.
It sounds like a five star read, right? But after looking forward to this book for so long, I found myself very disappointed in it.
UNRELENTING DARKNESS
For such a fun concept, Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee dragged. I found myself wishing it would hurry up, a lot, and I also started cheating on it with other novels.
Pacing aside, Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee was well written but not exactly fun. To be honest, it was an unrelentingly realistic beacon of darkness in the fun and escapist world of campy horror. I've read (and loved) some dark books, including The Female of the Species and Sadie but I have to admit, I like nice or uplifting things to happen in certain books, especially quirky ones with unusual storylines and interesting settings like this one. I guess I just wasn't expecting it all to go so desperately wrong for our young creatives.
Ultimately, Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee is a cautionary tale about meeting your heroes and how one should be careful what you wish for lest it all come true.
For making me sad and for dragging, I give Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee an okay three out of five stars. Despite my reservations, I would very much like to see a film or, even better, TV series made out of this book. If they could achieve Riverdale levels of darkness yet undeniable entertainment then I'd be very happy.
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readabookorfive's review against another edition
4.0
Trigger Warnings for depression, suicidal thoughts and abandonment
I also love mediocre people because we're always getting left behind. When someone leaves you, maybe you get a reason and maybe you don't.
Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee is a beautiful story about friendship, family and love. Whereas I did have a couple of issues with the book, overall, I really enjoyed it. I related to parts of it and then thought other parts were very, very far-fetched, you know, the Russian Mafia??
Maybe it's people who feel like the world is leaving them behind. Maybe it's people who want to remember a time when they were happier and their lives were easier, that's why I would watch."
Delia was definitely my favourite character in this story. She was such a precious angel that I honestly wish I could just hug and make everything better for her. Even through everything she was going through, she tried so hard to be strong and be their to support her best friend. My heart just ached so much for this girl because every time something good happened to her, it got shot down. Florida, her dad, her best friend, I felt like I was having a breakdown with her. Also, Delia's mum was bloody awesome, I loved her. Even though they aren't a privileged family, her mum truly cares for Delia and does everything she can to keep a roof over her head and what she does for her at the end is truly so heart-warming and beautiful.
Falling in love is like that, like the most welcome sort of fever
A character I had constant struggles with throughout the book was Josie. I related to her anxieties about moving away to university and leaving her best friend behind because I've been there and done it so that really struck a chord with me because it is a really hard decision, leaving the person you love most behind you. But, I also thought she was pretty selfish at times. Josie comes from this very privileged family and I felt like at some points she didn't really consider the fact that Delia is suffering so much from the fact her dad abandoned her and obviously, that isn't Josie's fault but sometimes, I just found her so selfish and wanted to shake her. Although, I do respect her decision to leave because she wanted to follow her dreams and she did and she does truly love her best friend, you can really tell that.
Lawson, oh my goodness, Lawson. I loved Lawson so much, he was just the absolute softest character. He truly loved and cared for Josie even if she was quite rude to him at the beginning. I really thought he bought out the best in her and I loved seeing them together. My only issue with the relationship as a whole was that I felt like we didn't get much development. It felt like it was like Josie didn't like him and then suddenly she's in love with him and they were all over each other straight away and I just felt like it could have been developed more across the story.
I just want to be good enough-enough enough- that no one who's held me in their arms under an October sky wants to abandon me ever again.
Like I mentioned, Delia is trying to still deal with the fact her dad abandoned her ten years ago with no explanation or anything, he just left. And a lot of the book is about her trying to track him down and it just broke my heart honestly. Delia's father not being the person she wanted and needed him to be at the time was just so heartbreaking but I felt like that really was her catalyst at the end, the whole ordeal really felt like it bought her closer to her mum and it was just a good thing to come out of a bad situation.
Overall, I really enjoyed Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee I thought it was a very beautiful story and was about this beautiful friendship in the middle of it but was also about family and first love and making hard decisions when you're still so young. I will definitely be picking up a finished copy when it comes out and want to read more of Zentner's work in the future! Also, there were just so many beautiful quotes throughout this story, I wish I could write them all here honestly.
I received this arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. As this was an unedited proof, quotes may change in the finished copy.
I also love mediocre people because we're always getting left behind. When someone leaves you, maybe you get a reason and maybe you don't.
Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee is a beautiful story about friendship, family and love. Whereas I did have a couple of issues with the book, overall, I really enjoyed it. I related to parts of it and then thought other parts were very, very far-fetched, you know, the Russian Mafia??
Maybe it's people who feel like the world is leaving them behind. Maybe it's people who want to remember a time when they were happier and their lives were easier, that's why I would watch."
Delia was definitely my favourite character in this story. She was such a precious angel that I honestly wish I could just hug and make everything better for her. Even through everything she was going through, she tried so hard to be strong and be their to support her best friend. My heart just ached so much for this girl because every time something good happened to her, it got shot down. Florida, her dad, her best friend, I felt like I was having a breakdown with her. Also, Delia's mum was bloody awesome, I loved her. Even though they aren't a privileged family, her mum truly cares for Delia and does everything she can to keep a roof over her head and what she does for her at the end is truly so heart-warming and beautiful.
Falling in love is like that, like the most welcome sort of fever
A character I had constant struggles with throughout the book was Josie. I related to her anxieties about moving away to university and leaving her best friend behind because I've been there and done it so that really struck a chord with me because it is a really hard decision, leaving the person you love most behind you. But, I also thought she was pretty selfish at times. Josie comes from this very privileged family and I felt like at some points she didn't really consider the fact that Delia is suffering so much from the fact her dad abandoned her and obviously, that isn't Josie's fault but sometimes, I just found her so selfish and wanted to shake her. Although, I do respect her decision to leave because she wanted to follow her dreams and she did and she does truly love her best friend, you can really tell that.
Lawson, oh my goodness, Lawson. I loved Lawson so much, he was just the absolute softest character. He truly loved and cared for Josie even if she was quite rude to him at the beginning. I really thought he bought out the best in her and I loved seeing them together. My only issue with the relationship as a whole was that I felt like we didn't get much development. It felt like it was like Josie didn't like him and then suddenly she's in love with him and they were all over each other straight away and I just felt like it could have been developed more across the story.
I just want to be good enough-enough enough- that no one who's held me in their arms under an October sky wants to abandon me ever again.
Like I mentioned, Delia is trying to still deal with the fact her dad abandoned her ten years ago with no explanation or anything, he just left. And a lot of the book is about her trying to track him down and it just broke my heart honestly. Delia's father not being the person she wanted and needed him to be at the time was just so heartbreaking but I felt like that really was her catalyst at the end, the whole ordeal really felt like it bought her closer to her mum and it was just a good thing to come out of a bad situation.
Overall, I really enjoyed Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee I thought it was a very beautiful story and was about this beautiful friendship in the middle of it but was also about family and first love and making hard decisions when you're still so young. I will definitely be picking up a finished copy when it comes out and want to read more of Zentner's work in the future! Also, there were just so many beautiful quotes throughout this story, I wish I could write them all here honestly.
I received this arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. As this was an unedited proof, quotes may change in the finished copy.
kaaelyn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ray_whin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What a sweet story. I sobbed through the last 25% 🥲