Blogmas Day 20 – Review: Almost Midnight by Rainbow Rowell

Helloooo everyone! Welcome back to another day of Blogmas 2018 and it’s time for yet another review of a Christmassy book! Some more good, old book blog content with a festive twist. 🎄📚

This book popped up as a popular suggestion for YA Christmas books and I took the recommendation and picked it up! I’ve read a little bit of Rainbow Rowell’s work before (you can check out my review of Eleanor and Park here!) and had high hopes for this book.

–

Blurb:
Midnights – The story of Noel and Mags, who meet at the same New Year’s Eve party every year and fall a little more in love each time…
Kindred Spirits – The story of Elena, who decides to queue to see the new Star Wars movie and meets Gabe, a fellow fan.

—

Title: Almost Midnight

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Illustrator: Simini Blocker

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books, an imprint of Pan Macmillan

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance

—

Review:

This book contains two festive short stories of blossoming romances, perfect for fans of the YA genre. In Midnights, we see Noel and Mags, two best friends, who attend the same New Year’s Eve party each year and slowly become closer and closer before ending with them taking the plunge into a tentative relationship. In Kindred Spirits, we watch as Elena joins the line for the new Star Wars movie (set in 2015) and gets chatting to the quiet and aloof Gabe who slowly begins to open up.

My favourite thing about this book is that it is PURE FLUFF. Both stories are so sweet and adorable that I found myself grinning at the young couples, taking their first steps into relationships. The stories are written in a way that was believable for couples that young (about 18-19 years old) and reminded me a lot of dating at that age. There was that hint of nervousness, the inability to say what you’re feeling, the confusion and the all-consuming feeling of liking someone. In regards to the festive aspect, all the talk of cold weather and New Year celebrations really made me feel Christmassy and (with the big day fast approaching) even more excited than before – I love the effect that Christmassy books can have! The illustrations in this book are gorgeous and such a joy to take in. The adorable quality of the couples is captured so well that they were perfect accompaniments to the writing. Truly a beautiful addition!

As for what I disliked about this book, I felt that it was particularly short, with the book being only 154 pages long in total, including several illustrations. I really wished for a bit more of these stories and want to know what happens next for Noel and Mags and Elena and Gabe. This is the main reason that the rating isn’t higher as I feel that a longer story would have allowed for more of a plot in the stories. Despite being adorable and a lovely read, the main focus of both was on the blossoming romance with very little else to add to the plot.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a bit of romantic fluff with their Christmas celebrations or are fans of YA and Rainbow Rowell’s other work. If you like a bit of adorable young love then this is a lovely book for you!

—

Rating: 3.5/5

Recommend?: Yes

–

Have you read this book? Or is this book on your TBR list? I’d love to know! 🎅🏻

Thank you for checking out my Blogmas 2018 posts and I can’t wait to share the rest with you! Check back tomorrow for more festive fun 

I’d also just like to point out that I don’t want to cause any offence to those who don’t celebrate Christmas, these posts are just a bit of fun to go along with my own personal celebrations.

You can always find me over on Instagram and Twitter if you fancy a book (or Christmas) chat! 😌🎄