Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shahnaz

Midnight Strikes

by Zeba Shahnaz

In this explosive fantasy debut, a provincial girl must work with an infuriatingly handsome prince to escape a nightmarish curse that forces them to relive the same night over and over.

"The time-loop fantasy you never knew you needed, where the fairytale ball is bloody and Cinderella is the Final Girl."—Gina Chen, New York Times bestselling author of Violet Made of Thorns


Seventeen-year-old Anaïs just wants tonight to end. As an outsider at the kingdom’s glittering anniversary ball, she has no desire to rub shoulders with the nation’s most eligible (and pompous) bachelors—especially not the notoriously roguish Prince Leo. But at the stroke of midnight, an explosion rips through the palace, killing everyone in its path. Including her.

The last thing Anaïs sees is fire, smoke, chaos . . . and then she wakes up in her bedroom, hours before the ball. No one else remembers the deadly attack or believes her warnings of disaster.

Not even when it happens again. And again. And again.

If she’s going to escape this nightmarish time loop, Anaïs must take control of her own fate and stop the attack before it happens. But the court's gilded surface belies a rotten core, full of restless nobles grabbing at power, discontented commoners itching for revolution, and even royals who secretly dream of taking the throne. It's up to Anaïs to untangle these knots of deadly deceptions . . . if she can survive past midnight.

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

3 of 5 stars

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Book Summary:

Anaïs desperately doesn't want to go to the anniversary ball. She's an outsider looking in, and she knows it. Worse – everyone else knows it too and is willing to treat her accordingly. In truth, that's not the worst part.

The worst part is that this will not be her first time attending the ball. Every day she wakes up, attends the ball, and dies. Rinse and repeat. She has to find a way out of this loop, ideally while saving as many people as possible.

My Review:

Okay, I can be a bit fussy regarding my time-travel novels, and I'll be the first to admit it. However, the time look promise had me pretty excited for Midnight Strikes. Overall, I would have to say that this book has strong Cinderella meets Edge of Tomorrow (that Tom Cruise time travel movie) vibes.

There were parts of Midnight Strikes that were good! I loved that most of the chapters started with the title "chapter one." A small note, but it made me smile, you know? My biggest problem is that the looping got to be a bit much at times. We could probably have done without half of the attempts or at least had them heavily summarized. It made the book longer than necessary, which in turn, made it drag on a bit.

Overall I loved the concept, the vibe, and the writing style. The beginning and endings were my favorite parts. That said, I'm curious to see what Zeba Shahnaz writes next; I think I will be keeping an eye on this author.

Highlights:
Time Loop Shenanigans
Cinderella meets Edge of Tomorrow
Debut Novel

Trigger Warnings:
Lots of death
Violence/gore

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 25 May, 2023: Finished reading
  • 25 May, 2023: Reviewed