A review by bellebookcorner
Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shahnaz

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

3.75

This book has a great combination of fantasy and sci-fi elements with magic and the time looping. It also gives off the fairytale vibes!
Even though, it can get a bit dark with some of the violence shown where the FMC – Anais has to die in different ways every day to restart the day. 
 
I really like the world building, it has the fairytale vibes with the fancy ballroom, the beautiful dresses, the dancing and courting. It’s well described and easy to envision, the magic system is also easy to understand. 
 
As for the characters, I admire Anais’s bravery and I like seeing her grow from being scared and helpless to this determined and brave woman. 
 
While I like most part of the story, there are some things that I wish for more in this book. For example, the romance between the two MCs – Anais and Leo. 
I kinda wish Leo is also inside the time loop with Anais to figure out how to break the looping and uncover secrets. That way, we could see the progress of their relationship instead of restarting to square one every day. 
Because at the end, it’s only Anais who fell in love while Leo didn’t remember anything. Seeing their interaction at the final chapter was pretty awkward. While there’s a hint of something might happen with them, it was left hanging with no closure which drives me slightly mad.
 
 
The second part, for a time looping story things would start to feel slightly repetitive if the story went on for too long. I felt the same way during the middle part of the story nevertheless, I still enjoy seeing how Anais finds each puzzle pieces until she can unite them all and see the big picture. I was pretty surprised with the big reveal.  
 
Overall, for a debut novel this is pretty good. Some things still needed development but it's still an enjoyable read - magical with a slight darker touch. 
I’m looking forward to read books from this author in the future! 
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