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heathenpenguin's review against another edition
3.0
This is not my first time reading a mix of HR and PR (can we call this...subgenre HPR? PHR?); I've read [b:The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker|6571771|The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Strangely Beautiful, #1)|Leanna Renee Hieber|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1334257154s/6571771.jpg|6764853] before and it made me leery of books like this. I don't know what to make of this book; maybe it would have been better if the author dispensed with the supernatural element altogether and wrote it as a sort-of-but-not-really comedy of errors. The last, vampire-hunting part of the story is particularly cringe-worthy. I don't know why the two main characters keep of spouting off one-liners in the middle of sneaking about the castle.
tak_everlasting's review
2.0
listen, the premise is funny. this is what i signed up for. i wish all historical romance plots were brave enough to be this bonkers.
HOWEVER, i was not a fan of his 20 something brother creeping on her 16 year old sister, pedo is pedo no matter the time period. i don't care if she has a crush on you, as the adult in the situation it is your job to leave that child ALONE!
HOWEVER, i was not a fan of his 20 something brother creeping on her 16 year old sister, pedo is pedo no matter the time period. i don't care if she has a crush on you, as the adult in the situation it is your job to leave that child ALONE!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
justinkhchen's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
An entertaining mess—while After Midnight does have all the qualities that satisfy my historical romance craving, along with the added vampiric intrigue, it is objectively not the most polished piece of storytelling. As long as one doesn't over-analyze this binge-worthy title, there's enough charm to appreciate on a superficial level.
'Spitballing' is the first word that comes to mind regarding After Midnight; elements often feel like they were made up on the fly, and remained in draft form without ever gone through the next level of refinement. This is particularly evident throughout the hero's 'is he, or isn't he a vampire' conundrum, where some of its flimsy payoffs left me with giant a 'WTF' looming over my head. The novel also has the tendency to spoil its own surprises—where outcomes are readily clear to the reader, yet we are still stuck reading the in-story characters going through the motion. A prime example: the book was setting up a specific character to be the primary suspect, yet it also revealed in the chapter prior the said character was already locked away by the true perpetrator, rendering the red herring hollow and pointless.
There are too many other random oddities to list, such as the sporadic tonal shifts, a poorly rendered antagonist, and some unexpectedly awkward scenes (an extended sex scene happening in a room also occupied by an ailing, bed-bound individual), yet After Midnight somehow trudges through its (many) shortcomings and remains completely readable and compelling. Definitely a strong 'guilty pleasure' candidate.
***The Rake Appreciation Book Club | May 2021 Selection***
An entertaining mess—while After Midnight does have all the qualities that satisfy my historical romance craving, along with the added vampiric intrigue, it is objectively not the most polished piece of storytelling. As long as one doesn't over-analyze this binge-worthy title, there's enough charm to appreciate on a superficial level.
'Spitballing' is the first word that comes to mind regarding After Midnight; elements often feel like they were made up on the fly, and remained in draft form without ever gone through the next level of refinement. This is particularly evident throughout the hero's 'is he, or isn't he a vampire' conundrum, where some of its flimsy payoffs left me with giant a 'WTF' looming over my head. The novel also has the tendency to spoil its own surprises—where outcomes are readily clear to the reader, yet we are still stuck reading the in-story characters going through the motion. A prime example: the book was setting up a specific character to be the primary suspect, yet it also revealed in the chapter prior the said character was already locked away by the true perpetrator, rendering the red herring hollow and pointless.
There are too many other random oddities to list, such as the sporadic tonal shifts, a poorly rendered antagonist, and some unexpectedly awkward scenes (an extended sex scene happening in a room also occupied by an ailing, bed-bound individual), yet After Midnight somehow trudges through its (many) shortcomings and remains completely readable and compelling. Definitely a strong 'guilty pleasure' candidate.
***The Rake Appreciation Book Club | May 2021 Selection***
selenajean's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. A fun historical romance. Kind of reminded me of Souless but I like this one better.
bettybumpkins's review against another edition
mysterious
4.0
A bit of a Gothic romance with a fun twist.
tuttidolci's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars, really. And only because I am more interested in reading book 2 in this series (so book 1 was a necessity).
veronian's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
netherfield's review against another edition
3.0
2.5
sorpende lo aburrido q puede resultar este libro....
sorpende lo aburrido q puede resultar este libro....
booksplantsandtea's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars because even though I enjoyed some things about this book, I was frustrated and deconnected a lot of the time and I have to let that reflect in the rating.
(warning: rant incoming)
Some things I loved:
- The mix of pnr and histrom. This was a first for me and it worked. I need more of these mixed genre books, so if you're reading this and you've got rec's, shoot me a dm or comment!
- Portia & Julian. They must have a strong back to carry almost the entire book even though they're side characters
- The Vauxhall scene
(warning: rant incoming)
Some things I loved:
- The mix of pnr and histrom. This was a first for me and it worked. I need more of these mixed genre books, so if you're reading this and you've got rec's, shoot me a dm or comment!
- Portia & Julian. They must have a strong back to carry almost the entire book even though they're side characters
- The Vauxhall scene