The Taylor Swift Midnights Book Tag

I simply must do as many Midnights-themed book tags as I can find. Those are the rules.

I found this tag at Amani’s Reviews. I listened to the album while answering the prompts because obviously.

LAVENDER HAZE

Prompt: “Meet me at midnight!” – Lavender Haze. Find a book where there’s a secret or forbidden romance and the couple has to sneak around.

Without spoiling anything, The Councillor’s Lysande Prior engages in secret relationships with multiple people.

Come to think of it, Dante and Jale are also embroiled in a secret relationship that everyone already knows about.

This book has many secrets.

MAROON

Prompt: A book with a friends to lovers trope. “You were my closest friend.”

I thought about buying Girlfriend Material by Katia Rose because 1. it’s sapphic and 2. it’s pink.

Then I saw the “Friends to Lovers” label and bailed on that purchase.

ANTI-HERO

Prompt: A book that makes you root for the anti-hero.

The Bone Orchard’s Charm is positioned as an anti-hero.

She’s well-liked by those who don’t matter and despised by those closest to her.

She acts cruel to keep her loved ones safe.

I was firmly on her side the entire time.

SNOW ON THE BEACH FEATURING LANA DEL RAY

Prompt: A book written by two authors. Bonus if they’re best friends.

Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando follows two strangers who are about to become college roommates.

The two don’t meet in-person until the end of the book.

YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN, KID

Prompt: “I’ll run away.” A book where the character runs from their problems.

I was initially intrigued by Stephen Aryan’s The Coward because it followed a hero who ignored the call and instead ran for his life.

The book started strong, then took a tedious left turn into expected fantasy-adventure tropes.

Wasn’t my thing.

MIDNIGHT RAIN

Prompt: “He wanted a bride, I was making my own name.”

More Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet shook me to my core by giving the romance an ambiguous ending.

I’m not sure how I feel about Morgan’s boyfriend Eli as an adult.

Dude tried to force a “normal” high school relationship on his traumatized girlfriend.

He never actually tried to understand her, either.

Years later, though, after exploring my own anxious attachment style, I kind of get it.

QUESTION…?

Prompt: Find a book that has the miscommunication trope. “Miscommunications and I.”

The Love Hypothesis runs on miscommunication in a way I find charming rather than irritating.

This book is fun AND it made me feel things. Can’t ask for much more than that.

VIGILANTE SHIT

Prompt: A book where the character goes through a bad breakup.

This is a pretty significant spoiler for The Princess Diaries series, I guess:

Princess Mia is my favorite book in the series because it follows Mia through her post-breakup depression.

She starts eating meat, makes a surprising ally, and detonates the Genovian monarchy.

The ending makes me tear up every time.

BEJEWELED

Prompt: “Sadness became my whole sky.” Find a book that made you cry.

I wept through Melanie Gillman’s Other Ever Afters.

First of all, their art is incredible.

Second, it still thrills me to see myself in fairy tales.

These stories gave me genuine hope for a happily ever after.

As a reading experience, it was very healing.

LABYRINTH

Prompt: A book where the character has a panic attack. “Breathe in, breathe through, breathe deep, breathe out.”

Panic attacks kick off the plot of The Boyfriend List.

Well, I guess a breakup does.

We only learn about the breakup, though, during the therapy sessions Ruby starts to combat her panic attacks.

SWEET NOTHING

Prompt: “All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing.”

I haven’t read The Cherry Tree Cafe. I just liked the cover.

I thought it had the exact vibes of this song.

MASTERMIND

Prompt: A book with a plot twist you didn’t see coming.

The real twist of The Return was realizing at the end that I had been suckered into reading another lackluster thriller.

The characters had tons of backstory but no emotional realism. The self-consciously whimsical setting added nothing to the tension. The interactions that were supposed to be unsettling felt almost comical.

I don’t know if this counts as a spoiler when it’s mentioned in the BLURB, but here goes:

Julie isn’t acting like herself because she’s…NOT HERSELF.

It turns out that all along she was a waste of my time.

THE 3 AM EDITION

THE GREAT WAR

Prompt: A book with a character that reminds you of this line “I vowed not to cry anymore.”

Yerba Buena sees its protagonist Sara Foster stuff her trauma for over a decade.

I know she was trying to be strong.

I still thought this choice limited the book’s emotional impact.

BIGGER THAN THE WHOLE SKY

Prompt: A book that makes you think of the line: “What should’ve been you.”

This prompt immediately reminded me of I Capture the Castle.

(Spoilers for I Capture the Castle)

Castle ends with Cassandra rejecting Simon.

He’s half-heartedly offered to marry her to spite their respective siblings.

It’s not the genuine expression of desire Cassandra had hoped for.

Growing Up Sucks, indeed.

PARIS

Prompt: A book where the character is : “so in love that I might stop breathing.”

The boys of I Kissed Shara Wheeler are deeply in love.

It would be nice if THEY realized it.

HIGH INFIDELITY

Prompt: A book where the character lies. “I bent the truth too far tonight.”

IN BENJI’S DEFENSE, he lied to the other characters of Hell Followed With Us for his own safety.

When he does disclose, things go better than anyone expected.

God, I loved this book.

Here’s to a trans allegory that ACTUALLY WORKS.

GLITCH

Prompt: “We were supposed to be just friends.” Find a book with a friends to lovers trope.

I loathe friends to lovers with every fiber of my being.

The Love Con features best friends/roommates and mutual pining.

I liked the concept, but I figured out pretty quickly I wouldn’t be able to stomach the dynamic.

You’re both adults. Just date.

WOULD’VE, COULD’VE, SHOULD’VE

Prompt: “And I damn sure never would’ve danced with the devil.” Find a book with a bad boy.

One of Ocean’s Echo’s protagonists is a bad boy socialite with a taste for danger and NOTHING TO LIVE FOR.

He’s conscripted into the military and forced to enter a soul bond with another soldier.

In terms of punishment, this seems extreme.

DEAR READER

Prompt: “Dear Reader, the greatest of luxuries is your secrets.” Find a book where the character learns a big secret.

I’m using this prompt as an excuse to talk about Cryptid Club.

A “siren seeking siren” post results in a siren going on a date with the elusive Siren Head.

Siren Head is like a cute version of the Silent Hill monsters.

This book was CUTE and made me want a Sasquatch tattoo.

I relistened to folklore and evermore recently and, man, I missed Pop Taylor. I’m glad she’s back.

Otherwise, I have taken a break from Midnights to stream Carly Rae Jepsen and Ethel Cain.

More Midnights content to come!