Remember when I went to YALLWest and got a ridiculous number of ARCs to bring home? Well, one of those was kind of on accident, but I freaking glad that it happened! I’m talking about BRING ME YOUR MIDNIGHT by Rachel Griffin (and if you haven’t seen this stunning cover, you need to go look it up right now).
Tana has been raised with the knowledge that she is going to marry the governor’s son Landon in order to bring about peace between the Witches and the Mainlanders. But when Tana accidentally missing the midnight ritual her coven performs to release most of their magic into the ocean, she turns to the only person that can help - a witch she’s never met named Wolfe. Wolfe is from a coven that practices dark magic and he refuses to just let her magic rush into the sea, teaching her his forbidden magic instead. As the time draws nearer to her impending marriage, Tana must make a decision between loyalty to her people and following her heart.
What an introduction to the magical writing of Rachel Griffin this was. This story was beautifully written and felt like a lot of care was taken to craft it. The world building is easy to follow and the magic system is so much fun. The question of autonomy, of choosing your own life, of figuring out how to love the different people in your life - these things are all explored throughout this story in such an organic way. Over the course of a short time, Tana really goes on a journey and being able to witness it brought a kind of calm and serenity to my brain in a way I haven't felt in a long time.
The characters in this book all found a way into my heart, even the ones I never expected to like. Griffin was able to create incredibly nuanced characters that feel like they have such rich backstories that we don’t even need to witness in order to understand their actions and motivations. As the story progresses and we see more of the characters, we slowly find out more about them and it makes it so that they feel extremely familiar - and yet they still find ways to surprise us with their actions. By the end of the story, I don't think there was a single character that I didn't like, even if I wasn't 100% in agreement with their choices and actions.
One of my absolute favorite things in this story was the relationship between Tana and her best friend Ivy. The way that Tana speaks about her love for Ivy is the kind of true friendship and love that I hope everyone gets to experience. The pair go through their ups and downs during the story, but they know each other and they know their hearts and it was just absolutely beautiful to see such a strong female friendship portrayed on the page.
Another thing that made this book so beautiful was that Griffin’s love of nature absolutely shines. The magic system really centers around nature and the natural world and that brings that beauty front and center. And the way in which some characters talk about nature really made me want to go hang out in it (and I am absolutely NOT and outdoors person).
This was my first Rachel Griffin book, but if this was a representation of the work she puts out, she will quickly become a favorite.
BRING ME YOUR MIDNIGHT by Rachel Griffin is available now and you can pick up your copy here.
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher for free and have voluntarily written this review. If you purchase a copy using my Bookshop affiliate link above, not only will I receive a small commission (which will fuel my coffee and tea addiction and help to keep me up all night reading more books to recommend to you), but you will be supporting indie bookstores as well! If you prefer Amazon, visit my Amazon storefront and click on the list titled "2023 Book Recommendations."
