Meet Me at Midnight

<i>how much do you hate me right now?</i><br /><br />Meet Me at Midnight is the perfect enemies to lovers summer romance balanced with just the right amount of humour, banter and pranks. <br /><br />We follow our main characters Asher and Sidney, star swimmers. Each year they and their families rent summer houses by the lake. But instead of spending their holidays relaxing- they take place in an intense prank war. From Kool-aid in the shower to mayonnaise covered floors, they are constantly on high alert, waiting for the other to making their move and planning their own retaliation. But it is now their last summer before going off to college, and they may have to team up against a common enemy. <br /><br /><b>Sparks will fly, but who knows if they will be the romantic kind or the explosive one?</b><br /><br />This book was just what I needed. It was well written and easy to keep flipping the pages. I felt myself instantly connected to the characters, and really invested in their lives. Jessica Pennington did an excellent job at developing their relationship. By using dual POVs and a few flashbacks to their first summer, we get a clear understanding of not just one of the characters, but both. Their relationship progressed at just the right speed and there wasn't unnecessary drama added in to add roadblocks. Everything felt realistic and true to character. <br /><br /><i>"I was so scared of losing you, that I lost you anyway." </i><br /><br />Admittedly, not much happens apart from a few pranks and parties but that didn't bother me personally. I was in it for the characters, which is just what I want from contemporary romances. The banter was A+ and the characters acted and spoke in a way that was true to their age (what a concept).<br /><br />I loved the little details that made this story refreshing and new. The war board games they played at parties was really fun to read about, and I really related to Sidney in her strategic mind and competitive nature (I wonder why no one wants to play monopoly with me?) The entire time I read this I craved the chocolate chip pancakes Sidney would make Asher and wanted to go swim in a lake. <br /><br />Something I really appreciated in this book was that Sidney was an athlete as well as Asher. A common trope of YA contemporary is that the boy is the athletic one, but in Meet Me at Midnight, they both were. As well as that, we see the actual training and work that goes into being a swimmer. From early morning swims to running, training and going to the gym. <br /><br />Overall, if you are looking for a new hate to love summer romance- look no further! <br /><br /><i>Thanks to Tor Teen for the ARC</i><br /><br /><b>Release Date: </b>7 April 2020

This is cute. Really cute. I like the characters, the banter and the prank. It is not immature like many YA romance novel. Sydney and Asher have that romance where they practically spending summer vacation together. Both of them are competitive. <br /><br />Their relationship from competitor turned into romance is cute and PG. Their conversation is cute. I wish I have a friend like Asher. <br /><br />Really good read. <br /><br />4 stars

I skimmed the majority of this book, so I am labeling it a DNF. <br />(Very slow going in the second half.) <br />Another Goodread's reviewer (Holly) pointed out Sidney's immaturity - very astute! A true light bulb moment. Until I read Holly's review, I couldn't figure out why I found Sidney's character so tiresome. <br />Check out Holly's review: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3015863007?book_show_action=false&amp;from_review_page=1">https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...</a><br /><br />Claude Bookzone's review is also spot on.

How much do I hate Jessica Pennington? Negative 1 million! This book is absolute perfection and I loved every second of it! Get this preordered my friends - you will love it!!

This book was a really cute and fun read! It’s like a young adult version of The Hating Game! Sidney and Asher’s families rented houses every summer next to each other at the lake. Sidney and Asher both lived to torment and tease each other. Some of their pranks were pretty hilarious. Their pranks and antics end up getting them kicked out of their houses and lands them in one house. They team up together to prank the woman who kicked them out of their houses and begin to realize their true feelings for each other. The relationship between Sidney and Asher felt real and was well developed. The flashbacks were placed well and helpful to understand how they came to the point they are at. I would like to read more from Jessica Pennington in the future!

Too cute! I am enjoying so much <b>Asher and Sid</b>'s daily pranks on each other until Sid got carried away and cost her and Asher's family to vacate their cabins in 48 hours that they all ended up sharing the same vacation house.<br /><br />He said, she said POV is always the best for light romance and in this one, the POVs are spot on. Asher's is very distinct from that of Sidney's even though they are both hilarious in their own ways.<br />Everything is a competition between them even the truce leading to "outnicing" each other which eventually led to dating each other which also of course turns into a competition. Lol. <br /><br />It's sweet, cute, funny, a tad bit predictable but enjoyable just kind of like Kasie West's books. <br /><br />

I so badly wanted to love this! Sidney and Asher have spent every summer together since they were 12/13 years old, their parents are best friends. After that first summer though, they have been in a battle of wits. Each one trying to outdo the other with pranks. Sounds cute and fun, right? Well, the first half was but the 2nd half lost its luster for me. By that time, it became strictly a love story, which would have been fine but I wanted more pranks and intense moments between them. The second half dragged &amp; I was kinda getting bored with Sidney’s immaturity. Asher? I loved him but he wasn’t enough to save the story. <br /><br />*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It started really well and I thought the dynamics between Sydney and Asher were going to make this quite a funny read. And it was. However, it could have done with a nip and tuck to cut away some of the unnecessary parts. It would have made the story more entertaining because there wouldn't have been the lulls that I ended up speed reading my way through. Witty banter and funny shenanigans.

<i>**A free copy was given to me via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **</i><br /><br /><b>This is one of those books that make you want to scream and shout “FINALLY!” after everything goes well in the end.</b> The kind that puts you through sweet and anxious moments in equal measure. You know that there’s inevitable doom but you don’t mind because it is fun and sweet so you just enjoy the moment while it lasts.<br /><br /><b>To be honest, I really wasn’t into this at first.</b> I tried picking this up last January but left it for another book. Eventually, I picked this up again because I had to read it. <b>So if you decide to read this, I beg that you hold on because things will definitely get more interesting.</b><br /><br />Sidney and Asher spend every summer together because their families are friends. But instead of being normal people and spending time together, they spend it planning elaborate pranks. The pranks were really funny until it went too far and they were forced to call a truce. And that was when things really picked up because even though they don’t see it, they are so much better together than they are apart.<br /><br /><b>What I really loved about this book is how this is not the usual summer contemporary romance read.</b> I really expected this to be light and fluffy but it was not. Did I find it entertaining? Yes. Was it also frustrating? Big, big YES. Sidney is the girl who overthinks everything and imagines the worst-case scenario even when it’s only just the beginning. Put every skepticism and remove trust in a person and you get Sidney. On the other hand, Asher is the guy who is cool with anything but a coward when it comes to confessing his feelings. But still, he is the bravest between them both. He is so sweet and deserves the world. Together, they put me through ups and downs and I alternated between having butterflies in my stomach and wanting to smack one of them in the head. Nevertheless, I ended up enjoying the frustration and anxiety I felt throughout their rollercoaster summer romance.<br /><blockquote> <br /> <i>"I was so scared of losing you, that I lost you anyway."</i> <br /> </blockquote><br />Through everything that happened, what I learned is that sometimes, the things you are afraid of losing are the things that you lose by being afraid. <b>If you want a summer read that’s equal parts funny, frustrating, and sweet, I recommend this book.</b><br /><br />Review can also be found on my <a href="https://kookbookery.wordpress.com/2020/04/04/review-meet-me-at-midnight" rel="nofollow noopener">blog</a>.<br /><br /><b>Find me: </b><a href="https://kookbookery.wordpress.com" rel="nofollow noopener">Blog</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/kookbookery" rel="nofollow noopener">Twitter</a> | <a href="https://kookbookery.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow noopener">Tumblr</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/kookbookery/" rel="nofollow noopener">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/esterrestrial?si=rI-gVbseRGmtYUUP44GX7w" rel="nofollow noopener">Spotify</a>

<i>"How much do you hate me right now?"</i><br /><br />A fun summer contemporary romance that is sure to have every reader smiling. <br /><br /><b> <u>SUMMARY</u> </b><br />For the past ten years, Asher and Sidney have spent their summers as neighbours at Lake House A and Lake House B, engaged in a brutal prank war. They spend their time constantly scheming and on high alert, prepared for the worst. When their pranks suddenly go too far, and their families are kicked out of their rentals, Asher and Sidney call a truce. They decide to team up and enact revenge on the person who threatened to ruin their summer. But now that Asher and Sidney are no longer enemies, feelings that have been silent start to make noise.<br /><br /><br /><b> <u>REVIEW</u> </b><br />It has been a while since I have read a YA contemporary romance, and this was so much fun. I found myself <b>smiling and chuckling softly</b> at the banter and sweet-but-sassy comments. From the beginning, it was obvious that Asher and Sidney would end up together. I mean, it's a YA contemporary. However, I was genuinely pleased with the way Pennington went about their relationship development and the bumps in the road they had to deal with. The ending was not what I would've typically expected of a YA novel, and I loved it so much more.<br /><br />Asher and Sidney are both <b>swimmers</b> who are attending the same college in the fall as D-2 swimmers. I loved this <b>shared connection</b>, especially as someone who grew up around swimming as a competitive sport. It was fun how swimming and training for their upcoming collegiate year helping them become friends and <b>build a foundation</b> for their romance.<br /><br />I wouldn't call this an enemies-to-lovers romance, because from the beginning you can see that there is some <b>underlying romantic tension</b> between the two characters. I loved watching the romance develop and the way in which they started to <b>reform their friendship</b> and have a second shot at their relationship after having been "nemeses" for years. This was a fun teen romance, with two teens that make mistakes and act their age. I never once thought that these characters acted too immature or too mature for the age they were supposed to be (18). This is hard to come across in YA literature, and <b>I commend Pennington for her accurate representation</b>. <br /><br />I can 100% see myself <b>re-reading this novel during a summer</b>. It has the sort of tone and story that would be fun to revisit while lounging in the sun. Overall, I would <b>recommend</b> this to anyone who is a fan of YA contemporaries. <br /><br />