A review by ryreadsreviews
Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona

dark hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

 

Title: Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona

• Publication Date- Jan. 30th 
• Publisher- Harper Perennial 
• Overall Rating- New Favorite 

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

I honestly don’t know where to begin. This was unexpected. I went into this expecting to get a nostalgic story that’s a love letter to 90’s horror films. I got that, and so much more. This is also a love letter to anxiety and fear. Reading this review, it’s not something you can truly understand what I’m talking about until you read the book. I have never felt so seen and understood in a book before to the point I reached out to the author to say thank you which I have never done before. Not everyone will connect with this the same way I did because your life experiences are different from mine. There were so many things that I couldn’t believe I was reading because I thought only I deeply felt or had that experience. Jokes on me. 

Writing a review for a book that hit me so deeply is challenging because I don’t know what to say other than wow. You can expect a lot of nods to 90’s horror movies, a slow burn character driven experience, commentary on single motherhood and poverty, anxiety and panic, being afraid but stepping up anyway, young love and toxic friendships/ relationships, all of these things were done so well I could go on and on and on. I did a reading vlog of this on my booktube channel at Ry Reads and even in that vlog I was unable to really review this without just saying holy s..t. 

This book takes place in the 90’s and you feel that at every turn. There is a landline phone, a radio that gets unplugged (you can’t just turn off your bluetooth music) they order pizza and dance, the kids that are being babysat can’t call their mom, she doesn't have a cell phone and can’t be reached/ found. A lot of these elements added to the horror/thriller aspects. 

Someone Emily Ruth Verona spilled my deepest fears out on a page and created a cathartic read. I still don’t know how this was accomplished. I hope you will give it a try.