While the story was great it was really slow at times and hard to get through. It had a lot of potential but there was so much going on and some of the dreams and scenes were a bit confusing.

If you like cozy books you'll probably like this one. The stories of Maeve and Peri are relatable. I liked the representation in this novel. The dreams were cool however I wished the story moved a little faster. It took me longer to read because the pace was slower than I would've liked. It was a sweet book. Again, if you like cozy books with fantasy elements this one is for you.

I was super let down by this one. It had so many good reviews and someone personally recommended it so I jumped over to netgalley so fast to get a copy! I really liked the concept but the pacing was so slow and boring that I really struggled to get through it. I considered DNFing many times but thought that perhaps it was one of those with a mind blowing ending. Wasn’t a terrible ending but nothing mind shattering and with how slow the book was I think it needed more from the ending.

Though I haven’t read the specific book by Leigh Bardugo this one was compared too, having read other things by that author I expected the writing to be similar. I didn’t find that to be the case and left me a little disappointed.

I liked the concept a lot and I think it had potential but I really struggled to get into the characters and the writing seems a little under developed. Also some scenes I just found weird especially some of the dreams. Which you expect because dreams can be weird but it was just not my favorite. Best comparison that comes to mind is the movie Inception but it is not as complex and lacking the development. I think this reads more like YA than adult as well. I kept thinking these characters were younger than they actually were and it threw me off sometimes.

In short, the concept was interesting and had a lot of potential but the writing just needed more for me to enjoy it.

Thanks to BooksGoSocial and Parliament House Press for providing a review copy via netgalley. These opinions are my own.

I was enraptured with this book! When I’ve previously talked about Parliament House Press, I noted that their website promises urban fantasy but that two of the three books I’d read from them were not urban fantasy. That said, I found A Shot of Gin to be the most well-written. Well, my belief that they really need to continue expanding their urban fantasy offerings is affirmed with A Midnight So Deadly (although, yes, this one is also science fiction).

The book is a dual POV that follows Maeve and Peri. They are both dreamers, which is a new career that emerged after the development of technology that allows you to record and share your dreams. Peri is well-established in this world, while Maeve is on the brink of really breaking into the industry. Unfortunately, they both start to experience some odd and dangerous things, sending them into an entirely new world.

The set-up and build-up are both well-executed. Maeve and Peri are fully realized characters with clear personalities (although I did think Peri was older than Maeve). I understand their motivations and internal conflicts and sympathize with them easily. They are people who are easy to love and care for. As we are drawn deeper into the plot, every element of the book we’ve been presented with becomes relevant in different ways to the choices the characters make, each of which has consequences, good and bad. I loved the idea of being able to record dreams and the exploration of how that would impact society. The fact dreams were immediately monetized just makes so much sense to me and was kind of funny. Simultaneously critiquing this choice through the unintended ramifications was also a smart decision and gave the story bigger stakes than just the characters trying to figure out what’s going on with them individually.

My biggest critique of the book is that the ending did not land. While I do think that it was a fitting ending, it was rushed, and the explanation of everything that was going on was thrown at the reader so quickly that you don’t really have a chance to process every part of it before the book is over. Maeve and Peri are able to figure out solutions to all the problems set up in the book far too quickly. I like their solutions, and think that the consequences of those solutions make a lot of sense. I wish coming to those conclusions and enacting them took longer, particularly since Maeve and Peri had not been in the same physical (or dream) space for the entire book up to this point, so giving them some inter-personal conflict as they figure out how to work together would’ve helped start to establish their relationship (because I’m pretty sure this is going to be a series).

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is looking to get into the urban fantasy genre from a different angle than the more common paranormal fantasy as long as you don’t mind a bit of a rushed ending. If you’re a character-driven reader, then you’ll particularly enjoy this one too.

Great book! Very interesting spin on dreams and how to remember them. I found the story very good and very well written. Loved the little thriller put into the book!

This one wasn't for me. I felt like the author might have just been trying to check off too many boxes and the story got lost and muddled. The premise of dreams being streamed and connected was so interesting but there was just too much going on.

This book is the first in Wren's brand new series.

The artwork is what enticed me to this book as it is incredibly dramatic and is really eye-catching.

The concept for this book is incredibly interesting - two dreamers who become inexplicably connected in their dreams when a best friend's ex is murdered.

I really enjoyed the character development in this, and I absolutely adored Maeve. Peri was a little more complex to unpack, but eventually, I began to understand Peri.

This is an incredibly unique storyline, and it kept me guessing. There were lots of twists and turns, and it was also quite dark at times.

Wren also ended up making me think... like, what if this were true and we could meet people in our dreams? Are we currently in a dream, and when we sleep, we wake up? So I definitely thought-provoking!

A great start to this series!

I love a cozy thriller so I was very excited for this book, I loved the world of the book and enjoyed exploring the dreams of the wonderful characters.

The mysterious world of dreaming comes alive in A Midnight So Deadly. We all have dreams we wish we could watch again, right? Well ... maybe it isn't such a great idea after all. Dreaming becomes dangerous in this story, focused on characters who use advanced technology to make a career out of other people watching their dreams. These dreamers are flawed but relatable, trying their best to succeed in an unprecedented field. While I was looking for more twists in the plot, I enjoyed watching events unfold through the eyes of the dual narrators. I recommend this book for those interested in the power of dreams, who can also suspend disbelief and accept a world in which we can record, replay, and store dreams for public consumption.

Let's start by saying that I am a reader who dabbles in Sci-fi books, so the premises of the synopsis really intrigued me with this one. The idea of being able to go into a dream reality and record your dreams into visual recordings and be able to play them back was something that really interested me and prompted me to read overall. Whilst I did enjoy this book for the most part, I did find myself putting this book down and picking it back up at different points days later. I do think this largely had to do with the pacing with the POVs, and the narrative approach overall - for example the crossover off the POV's took a little longer than I'd like to get to, especially when it's after the 50% mark.

One thing that I thought was executed well was this 'blurred lines' feeling throughout, the uncertainty of what was a dream or whether real life was taking place. I think that was particularly crafted to make us feel uneasy at points. However, I do wish this book had gone into more depth about the dreamscape as I felt like we were often only touching the surface about it at several points. I did genuinely really appreciate how thoughtfully done the LGBTQIA+ representation was done in this book and how we explored several parts of each characters identity too.

Whilst the book focuses particularly on our dreamers Maeve and Peri, I think this book would've benefited from another POV. Particularly since we don't go deep into the dream people's motivations in the book, and I think that would've been a great opportunity to give us another perspective other than a dreamers perspective.

I'll be interested in seeing whether this book gets a sequel.

This sits between a 4 and 3 for me. So on this occasion I'll round it to a 4.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC of the book. I enjoyed the story and the character development. I was engaged from the very beginning. As a fan of horror/thrillers, I loved this story. The mystery and intrigue was there and I found myself staying up late to finish chapters. This is a book that's great for spooky season.

I enjoyed this book for the original concept. I usually read thrillers and this was more of a sci-fi or fantasy, but still a very enjoyable read. It also reads a bit like YA- which is fine with me even though I wasn't originally expecting that. It was told from alternating POVs of the two main characters. I enjoyed one more than the other so those parts seemed to go a little faster while the other parts dragged. I wish that the characters would have came together sooner in the book instead of near the end. The "dream people" intrigued me the most. I also liked how it seemed to be a very modern day story. Current movies and tiktoks were referenced which makes the reader feel more connected.

Entertaining fantasy story. A slightly alternative world where dreams can be, and are, recorded and shared. Maeve shares her dreams online to her followers. Which is fine until a murder occurs seemingly linked to one of her dreams. Not online yet Peri somehow experiences Maeve in their dreams. Two people searching for answers, and without knowing it each other. Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Do you remember your dreams? What if you could record them and share them to your followers on Social Media? A fascinating concept, right?

Maeve and Peri are the dreamers in this story, and when one of Maeve’s disturbing dreams comes true and Peri has a mystery women recurring in their dreams, the two get way more than they expected.

It’s not a bad story, but it does need some work on the pacing and the consistency of the world building. Definitely more suitable for a YA audience rather than for adults. It didn’t hold my interest as there’s too much teenage-level drama!

2.5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Wren Handman and BooksGoSocial for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed the two characters seperately and the seperate dilemmas they were experiencing in the dream world/ real world. Out of the two I enjoyed Peri's POV more, their explanation for why they love dreams over reality tied in with their experience as a non-binary person.
I did find the ending just a tad rushed- Maeve and Peri only teamed up towards the end of the book and the climax was over quite quickly in my opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review

3.5 stars rounded to 4

If you like Black Mirror then you're sure to enjoy this sci-fi thriller with a cool and imaginative mystery plot. Join Maeve and Peri as they record their dreams and discover more than they bargained for. Dual POV which at first seem unrelated to each other begin to intertwine as things get more complicated. An easy and quick read!

Wow what a book. I was on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed exploring the characters dreams and their different lives. Such a great read. I really enjoyed it

What if you could make your living by getting a good night's sleep and recording your dreams, then posting them for others to see. Would you do it? Would you consider it art?
In A MIDNIGHT SO DEADLY, both Maeve and Peri make a living by recording their dreams and posting them online for the world to see. One night, Maeve has a dream in which her best friend stands up to her boyfriend, and a few weeks later, he ends up dead. Not long after, other people begin posting that they're having the same dream themselves. Then, people die. Meanwhile, Peri has fallen for a mysterious woman in their dreams, who needs their help escaping her own nightmare.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a “cozy paranormal thriller”, but after reading it I’d have to say that description fits!

This story introduces us to a world where people can record their dreams and then share them online with others. The consequences that come from this aren’t what you’d think. There are downsides to sharing your dreams-deadly ones.

For people interested in futuristic worlds with a touch of eerie, this read is for you!

Not gonna lie: this book ended up being not what I expected to be when I read the synopsis.
The dynamic among the characters didn't appeal to me, the writing style didn't clique with my taste, and I definitely hoped this would lean to horror.
I'm sure other readers will enjoy it much more than I did.