Review: Yours at Midnight by Robin Bielman - 2.5 Wine Glasses!

Yours at Midnight
by Robin Bielman
ebook, 161 pages
Published December 18th 2012 by Entangled Publishing
ISBN13 9781622668625

Lyric Whetsone only had eyes for Quinn Sobel's brother Oliver, until a car crash took Oliver's life on New Year's Eve. Then, a moment of shared grief between Quinn and Lyric became something more impassioned, something that frightened Quinn so much he ran from Lyric's bed and her life, disappearing for four long years.
Now Quinn's back for another New Year's Eve, struggling for closure, desperate to leave his grief in the past and make amends with the girl of his dreams.
But Lyric has a secret--one that could drive Quinn from her life forever. Will Quinn run away from the love and acceptance he's always wanted...or will he claim his New Year's kiss and make her his at midnight?

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Crystal's Thoughts:


Quinn Sobel always felt second best when it came to his twin brother Oliver. Second best in school, second best with his parents and friends, second best with the girl next door. But when his brother dies in a car accident New years Eve, Quinn can't help but blame himself for it. He leaves his home town for four years, but not before having one passionate night with the girl he has been in love with since forever. But now he's back and he is ready to make amends for his actions, stow away that guilt and start the New Years off right. Lyric Whetsone is not going to make it easy for him though. Leaving for four years without even a goodbye has put a bad taste in  her mouth when it comes to Quinn, not to mention that they've always had a love/hate relationship. But was all that bickering and teasing growing up hiding deeper feelings? Quinn is determined to have a second chance with Lyric but Lyric is hiding a huge secret that could cause Quinn to take off again.

This is one of those reviews were I just have to list what worked for me in Yours at Midnight, and what didn't.

What I liked:

• Yours at Midnight was a full, well-written story that didn't feel rushed despite its novella length. I felt as if the author really took her time to give readers that 'complete' feel which is oft times difficult to do with novellas. She masterfully weaved the past into the present to give readers a feel for the history between these characters.
• Emotions, this story is full of them. From loss, to heartache, despair and betrayals, lust to love; you'll go through the range of them side by side with the characters.
• Quinn; I really enjoyed the tortured and brooding hero of this story. More than anything else I think. Being in love with the girl next door only to have her fall for his twin brother was very hard on him and he took it out on Lyric by teasing her. Then, when his brother is killed in a car accident he has to live with the guilt of always being envious of him and the last words they exchanged. It's a big burden to carry and easily relatable, even if you don't have a twin or siblings. He had several layers to his character and easily came to life from the pages for me.
• The family atmosphere and the wide cast of characters gave the story a nice homey feel and put a smile on my face.

What I didn't like:

• Lyric, the heroine. Her character did not click with me at all. I just could not wrap my mind around, or accept, the reasoning behind her keeping such a very important secret from someone, period, but especially loved ones and close neighbors. It was ridiculous and selfish to me.  I can't say too much more about it without getting into spoilers but her reasoning's were weak, had no substance, and just pissed me off. Especially, when we come to find out someone else knew about her secret and never set her straight on it when she should have and had every right to. And then for everyone to forgive Lyric so easily at the end just blew my mind. 

I just could not get past this and it is the reason that Yours at Midnight is just shy of a three star rating for me. I think I would have enjoyed this story more if Lyric had actual grounds to keep her secret on, but it seemed just thrown in there to add conflict and not fully developed compared to the rest of the story. 

2.5 Wine Glasses