Together at Midnight

by Jennifer Castle

Teens Kendall and Max witness a tragic accident during the holidays and, racked with guilt, accept a dare to perform seven random acts of kindness to strangers by New Year's Eve.

• ISBN10: 0062250515
• ISBN13: 9780062250513
• Publish Date: 2 January 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber]

Together At Midnight was freakin' adorable! I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did because I'm sometimes a bit iffy about contemporary books, especially ones set around the holidays. I'm not sure why. I think Dash & Lily's Book of Dares put me off because I hated that one. So I was putting off reading Together At Midnight, which was silly because it's a really good book.

I loved the random acts of kindness that the main characters took part in. It was really lovely. I enjoyed seeing how these acts affected the people involved. Castle wrote a short chapter from the points of view of each of the people who Kendall and Max helped, and this was fantastic.
I also really liked both of the main characters and the slow-burn romance AAAANNNNDDDD the history the two characters had together. It was constructed really well and I don't think I can fault it at all.

Kendall had ADHD and I really appreciated how Castle touched upon how differently it causes males and females to act, and how girls/women with ADHD and autism are often misdiagnosed or brushed aside.

New York City at Christmas was a great setting. It made me actually want to visit the city for more than a a day, as previously it wasn't somewhere I was particularly dying to visit.

Some readers might not like the ending because it was left fairly open, but I really liked it because it was like a new beginning for everyone and it left everything open for the future.

[readingwithwrin]

4.5 stars
Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Collins for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Together at Midnight is a New York story that reminded me of a few others that happen before Christmas. This one takes place after Christmas though and goes through the new year. We follow two main characters Kendall and Max who are challenged to do 7 good deeds for others with no money spent after they have seen something horrible happen to someone else that deeply affects them.
Along with this challenge, we learn a lot about them and what happened in the past and how exactly they know each other. Kendall has just returned from a study abroad and Max has taken a year off from college to save money. With both of them struggling with what to do next this challenge was a perfect distraction that also ended up helping them deal with what they saw happen.
We also get to see what the people they helped were thinking and how it really did change how they looked at things that day.

Overall I really loved this story! I loved being able to see what the person they helped thought and how it was able to show that even if we don't think we changed someone's day we most likely did. Max and Kendall's friendship was really nice as well, and even though things were a little awkward it was realistic for a change. I loved both of their families who were present and around for a change. There were so many different parts of this story and a lot of them were actually realistic in my opinion. Every character had some sort of flaw, but they knew them and they had accepted them and were trying to do better with them.
I think this is a perfect read for the beginning of the year!

[Sam@WLABB]

I thought this book was going to be about two people committing random acts of kindness around NYC, but it was about so much more. It was about relationships, finding your passion, and finding yourself.

•Pro: I found both Kendall and Max very likable and relatable. Both had great personal qualities, and I would love to have either of them as my friend. I found myself rooting for them both equally as they struggled with the big question of what to do next.

•Pro: Speaking of that big question, I enjoyed that both characters were sort of adrift. They were caught in this in-between, and they could not stay there forever. They had to make some major decisions, and I was glad I got to be part of that process.

•Pro: A family focus is always a plus for me, and there were some great family moments in this book. I loved the relationship between Kendall and her brother, but I absolutely adored watching Max and his grandfather connect. There was a lot more to Big E than met the eye. Maybe he didn't wear his heart on his sleeve, but I didn't doubt his love for Max by the end of this book.

•Con: I would have liked a jump ahead to see how Kendall and Max were doing. I didn't hate the ending, but Kendall and Max had made some big decisions at the end of the book, but I would love to know how it all worked out.

•Pro: The format really added a little extra something to this story. The majority of the book is told from Kendall and Max's points of view, but after each act of kindness, we had a little commentary from the strangers involved in the acts. These additional POVs provided interesting insight and were such a welcomed addition for me.

•Pro: I didn't care about the ex-girlfriend or the crush, I was all about Max and Kendall. I was shipping them from the very beginning and really wanted this romance to pan out, because they were so good together.

•Pro: I never tire of books set in my hometown, and it was fun running around NYC with Kendall and Max. We did so many fun things, but I especially loved the snowstorm.



Overall: This book was delightful and heartwarming as it delivered unexpected surprises. I loved the exploration of kindness and connection, and how was grateful to share this journey with Max and Kendall as found their passions and their paths.

*I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book

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[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

I really enjoyed this one! It was very heartwarming, and basically adorable. I don't do fluffy often, but when I do, this is how I want it to be. There was a lot of focus on family, which was great. I definitely shipped the particular two people who I wanted to end up together at the end. I loved that the main characters were on an adventure to do acts of kindness around New York. I mean, if that doesn't give you the warm fuzzies, I don't know what will. 

I really don't have a ton to say, because it's just cute and if you like contemporary with enjoyable, well-formed characters, and a romance you can root for, you're probably going to like this one. Bonus points if you read this around the time it is set (New Year's) like I did, because it makes it extra festive. 

Bottom Line: Adorable, and restored my faith in humanity a bit. Definitely a win.