Book Review: Sometime After Midnight by L. Philips

Hey everyone, happy summer! Hope everyone is enjoying their time off and reading some good books along the way. A few weekends ago I sat down and read Sometime After Midnight by L. Philips in about two sittings and absolutely adored it! Here's a summary:

In a dingy Los Angeles club late one night, Cameron and Nate meet and find they have much more in common than their love of an obscure indie band. But when Nate learns that Cameron is the heir to a record label, the very one that destroyed his father's life, he runs away as fast as he can. The only evidence of their brief but intense connection is a blurry photo Cameron snaps of Nate's Sharpie-decorated Chuck Taylors as he flees. 
Considering that Cameron is a real life Prince Charming--he's handsome, famous, and rich--it's only fitting that he sets out to find the owner of the Sharpied shoes. Cameron's twin sister, a model and socialite, posts the picture of Nate's shoes on Instagram to her legions of fans with the caption, "Anyone know the gorgeous owner of these shoes? My hottie brother is looking for him." The internet just about breaks with the news of a modern fairy tale and the two become entwined in each other's lives in this sparkling story about the power of music, the demons that haunt us, and the flutterings of first real love.

I am always a HUGE fan of modern retellings of old stories, and so when I read the summary for a queer Cinderella about music, I was instantly hooked. This book is character driven and L. Philips does it perfectly, with well developed, fleshed out, realistic characters that keep you rooting for them. And while this book has several typical YA romance tropes, the author does them so well that they make the book even better. I went in, expecting this to be a coming out novel, as most queer YA books are, and was so pleasantly surprised to see both characters perfectly comfortable in their identities and surrounded by supportive family and friends. But while I loved the slow-burn romance, believable chemistry, and wonderful romantic and platonic relationships between the characters, I also loved that the book touched on some heavier topics as well.

The discussions of mental health, suicide, and the often harsh realities of the music industry in regards to Nate's dad were so important, so well written, and added so much to the novel. Philips does an incredible job of slowly building the information the reader knows about the past, continuing to leave you intrigued, concerned, and invested up until the very end. And even with a nice, rom-com ending to wrap up the story, it isn't perfect, and there is still some uncertainty left, and I really liked that she didn't just wrap it up in a bow and finish the book off. 

And of course, I have to mention, I LOVED all of the music in this novel. The discussions of music, the subplots about touring with bands, the writing of music, all of it was incredible and I loved it. In the end, I loved this book and its perfect balance of wholesomeness and reality, and I would 100% recommend it, especially this summer when you have a little extra time to read it all together.

See you all next month!
-Claire

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