Three Kisses, One Midnight by Roshani Chokshi, Sandhya Menon, and Evelyn Skye
Publication Date: 1st Sep 2022
Genre: YA Romance, Linked Novellas, Low Contemporary Fantasy
3.8 Stars
One Liner: Lighthearted and fun
Moon Ridge is a delightful small town with 400 years of history. Everyone knows about the Lady of Moon Ridge and her love story. Halloween has a special significance in the town. After all, the Lady of Moon Ridge descends from the stars once every hundred years and walks among the people to help lovers unite at midnight.
It’s no surprise that the high school students (and many adults) are super excited about Halloween. It’s the hundredth year and time for the mysterious lady ghost to make an appearance.
The Coven, a trio of mismatched besties- Onny, True, and Ash, have mixed feelings about the special occasion. Onny is excited to find true love using her granny’s love potion. True wants nothing to do with magic. Ash is doubtful if he’ll ever find love (or win it).
What happens on Halloween party eve? Do the friends get what they want? Can they hope for their deepest wishes to come true? And what’s Halloween without some magic?
Onny’s Story
Onny comes from the richest family in the town but is loved by many. She plans her life based on astrology, tarot, and signs from the stars. Ash and True love her enough to indulge in her antics (which are often). She is determined to use the love potion on the guy she sets her eyes on. But things rarely go as planned.
Her story sets the tone for the rest of the novel. It uses the academia frenemies-to-lovers trope with a third party thrown into the mix. Onny is infuriating but a sweetheart too.
Ash’s Story
Asher is an awkward nerdy teen who feels comfortable with art and just two humans, Onny and True. He has a huge crush (turned love) on Cassidy, his neighbor. When a chance incident brings him and Cassidy close enough to talk and spend some time together, can Asher use the chance to win his lady love?
The story is sweet and predictable (which is the case with this genre). Ash’s love for art comes across very clearly though the ‘love track’ could have been better. Still, it suits the book’s theme and atmosphere.
True’s Story
True believes only in science. Magic has no place in her life despite being Onny’s best friend. She’s learned to guard her heart, but meeting Orion at the Halloween party might just change her mind (or her heart).
This story has insta-love and maximum paranormal activity in the entire book. Makes sense that it would happen to True, right? ;) The story is rather cute, even if I didn’t like the insta-love trope.
Overall Observations:
The writing is a bit disjointed in places but a fast read once you stop looking for a seamless transaction between the stories.
It is a YA book so expect some (a lot) eye-roll moments and dialogues. The Coven is colorful, with each of them having a distinct personality. They act more like early teens, but that’s fine too. They are still teens.
All stories are pretty light though they do deal with some heavy issues. Don’t look for anything deep. This book is meant to be enjoyed.
There’s a diverse rep and a cool LBGT couple (who can have a story of their own).
The magic isn’t really there. The book has very mild bits of paranormal (almost as if ticking off a box). The atmosphere is there but not enough magic except in the last part. It would have been better if the events were more evenly distributed across all three stories.
I’d have loved it more if the three stories were interwoven into one novel where things happen in parallel. It sure would have helped with character development and pacing.
To sum up, Three Kisses, One Midnight is a lighthearted read in a cozy setting. It’ll work as a breather between heavy reads as long you don’t think much about the plotlines.
Thank you, NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, for the eARC.
#ThreeKissesOneMidnight #NetGalley
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