Fantastic! This book does not shy away from the darkness of being trapped in a time loop ending in your death each night. I loved the contemplation of the consequences on one's psyche and sense of self such an experience would wrought. Anaïs works tirelessly to save a nation that has done nothing for her and I cannot help but lover her.

Highly recommend. ( )

Thank you TBR and Beyond Tours for the chance to read and review Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shahnaz! I’m so happy to be on this book tour for a fantastic female Pakistani-American writer!

Midnight Strikes is Zeba Shahnaz’s debut novel! This 443 page long book was released on the 14th of March and was published by Delacorte Press.

Most of us have encountered the time loop trope because of the movie Groundhog day, where a man relives the same day over and over again. Zeba Shahnaz’s story, told from the point of view of Anaïs, a young woman from a marginalized community from the edge of the kingdom, makes brilliant use of this device to illustrate the trauma of living and surviving catastrophic events. Keep in mind, the rest of my post will have spoilers, so skip ahead to the blurb if you don’t want to read those.

There are many things to like about Midnight Strikes, we have interesting magic systems and even better characters. As Anais travels back to that night and meets them over and over again, sometimes having conversations she would never have had otherwise, she gets to know them and even love them differently. It was heartbreaking to see her at the end with Leo, she has fallen in love with all the sides of him she’s seen; this prince who believes when no one in their sane mind would.

I also want to talk about the arranged marriages in the book because it’s so intimately a brown girl problem. Anais makes it clear she isn’t looking for love and romance and all the things we should, ideally speaking, hope for. She’s just looking for someone bearable. Someone who can maybe turn out to be a friend in the long run. This theme also continues with Clara and her marriage; her father loves her, and his begging at the end made me feel like she would have been forgiven, regardless of all the havoc she wreaked. But despite all that she is, her worth to him and the kingdom, he tells her only after her marriage is arranged, as though she is a bystander and not a main component.

There are also more familiar tropes; money isn’t all, breeding and nobility matters just a bit more. People want more than a police state, but that’s all this kingdom knows how to give them. ( )

This impossible to put down time-loop fantasy is Groundhog Day plus blood and magic.

Lady Anaïs needs to find a husband at the ball, at least according to her mother. But after dancing with a series of boors, she catches Prince Leo’s eye. His reputation as court flirt precedes him, so Anaïs shocks herself when she agrees to accompany him to the garden. She’s sure he’s not the husband she’s looking for, but when they return to the ballroom, bombs go off, killing almost everyone instantly.

Anaïs finds herself stuck in a loop of dying over and over again unless she can figure out what trapped her in the time loop and who’s attacking the palace. This time loop continued longer than I thought possible, with so many days and different scenarios!

I loved Anaïs and Leo’s chemistry. Whether he’s being flirty, moody or heroic, Prince Leo delights as the bad boy with a heart of gold. I love how they always seem to find each other and end up wanting to kiss in almost every storyline.

The magic is woven through these character’s lives, but some of them have more power than anyone knows. This ends in a spectacular clash of magicians as several sides struggle for control of the palace and the kingdom.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and TBR & Beyond Tours for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I'm a sucker for a good time loop story, and this one definitely didn't disappoint! Anais is stuck in a time loop, cursed with repeating the same night over and over and over again, and unless she can figure out a way to stop a massive explosion from occurring that kills everyone attending a royal ball, she will continue to die every night. She enlists the help of the youngest member of the royal family, as well as her friend and her frenemy, but since she is the only one stuck in the time loop who actually remembers what's happened, she has to explain things over and over, which understandably leads to a lot of frustration for her!

I loved this book! The time loop aspect was what drew me in, but I fell in love with the world, too. I mean, A+++ for world-building! The descriptions were so detailed that I had no trouble picturing everything that was happening. I loved the prince that Anais is forced to work with, Leopoldo, because he's been written off by the royal family as a lush and an embarrassment, but we find that there is a whole lot more going on there than meets the eye.

I'm very happy to recommend this book, and gladly give it 5/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Zeba Shahnaz for the opportunity to read and review this book. ( )