Midnight Meeting

by Kaelyn Rodriguez

This breakout horror novel could be described as The Haunting of Hill House Netflix series meets the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Annabel Allan's monotonous and lonely life is turned upside down when her elderly grandmother invites a new tenant to stay in their very much haunted manor. Allan Manor, a sprawling, gothic estate with a mind of its own, is crumbling, and the spirits that reside there are becoming harder and harder to appease. As the past and the present unravel, Annie finds herself forced to confront very real demons and let her walls down. However, Annie must find a way let love and light in and keep evil out, while Allan Manor and her past actively fight against her.

Genres: Horror

171 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 27, 2024

Reviews

[krod]

I give it 5 stars because I wrote it👻👻👻👻

[Megan Diehl Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this on the way to and from Iowa today! Like the back says, “This breakout novel could be described as The Haunting of Hill House Netflix series meets the works of Edgar Allan Poe.” It grabbed my attention from the beginning. Playing through my mind like a movie, with every chapter opening another layer to a dark secret of what is and has been going on in Allan Manor! It tickled my horror need and made my heart radiate with family love! Thank you Kaelyn Rodriguez for writing this great piece that checked all my boxes! I cannot wait for more!

[Mommy.Reads.Smut · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love ghost stories, suspense and love then this is the book for you. With quotes throughout of the hauntingly beautiful work of Edgar Allan Poe you cannot go wrong.

[Kacie Robles · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I was a little confused but that’s probably cause it’s just me as a person, but the more I read the more I didn’t wanna put it down and try to put together pieces to this puzzle in the story and figure out who is who and how they fit into the story, I will say first thing is that I adore Will. I was unsure of him at first but he warmed up to me. The suspense I had with this book and the paranormal heeebie jeeeebies was 10/10 lol. BUT THE ENDING WAS A CLIFFHANGER. Such a good read. Loved it so much!

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Something to note right away: This is an indie author. First book too! I saw it on a random TikTok and thought, why not?

I think any book that has to compare itself to another or add in tropes (deliberately telling you what they are) will not stand on its own. In fact, it felt too much like HOHH and not like it's own story. Think like an AU of the Netflix show. Like a Wattpad crossover story.

But I enjoyed the descriptive phrasing in this book.I could imagine the house and grounds clearly, and it gave me Late October vibes where the leaves are dying and so is everything else. Very atmospheric. It was probably my favorite part of the book.

The issue is that there was no editor and it is glaringly obvious. I was reading on Kindle and I was reporting so many times words were misspelled. Ever character names! The spacing of things was also off, but I got over it (seemed the tab button was hit twice for every paragraph).

Something that frustrated me was that when characters would speak in the same paragraph. There wasn't enough line breaks and it all seemed mushed together. I saw another reviewer who said that the story structure needed help and it's true. I felt the ending was a bit cheesy and the romance forced.

Seeing as how this is the first book and I believe I saw the author say it took them 3 weeks to write it (and some odd months to edit). I am hoping that if there is another book written by them, it will have an editor or beta readers!

[Michelle Grimison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale of a woman who is struggling to take care of her grandmother, a crumbling manor, and keeping the evil entity contained in the basement!

Of course I found a reel on Instagram that said “Poe inspired horror romance” and I had to read it!
100% Poe inspired… but romance?! I guess technically there is a little bit of a closed door romance happening, but the overall theme of the book is that there are ghosts and demons in the house… and the demons want Annie!

I thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure out the family history and seeing who the spirits were and how they all ended up trapped in the manor.

The “Allen” POV chapters threw me for a loop initially cause I was confused as to why the house has a POV… but you figure out why later.

[Jessica Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Poe and like a good spooky story this is a good quick read for you!!! Ghosts, deals with the devil and Edgar Allan Poe quotes sprinkled in that correlate to the story, what more could a Poe fan want? I rated it 4/5 stars because the structure needs some help. I found myself not being able to read through it smoothly bc of the spacing and extensive paragraphs. The dialogue was hard to follow due to it being mashed in paragraphs. The ending was super creepy and saved it from being a 3/5 star.

[J.K. Spivey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and Spooky

While I loved the themes, the ghosts, and the majority of the descriptive writing, the lack of editing and plot strengthening really dragged this book from the 5 stars it should have been to the 3 I felt forced to give it. If the author would give this book a pass through an editor and clean up the ending and the grammar/punctuation errors, it would be such an amazing novel.

[Teresa Chiwanga · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great fun little story with spooky vibes! I thought it was amazing for someone’s first ever written book. If you like Edgar Allan Poe you will enjoy the little bits of his poetry sprinkled throughout and all of the Easter eggs hidden within. If you are looking for absolute perfection then this probably isn’t for you like I said it is the author’s very first book. However, if you are looking for a fun time with spooky/thriller vibes then I think you will enjoy this!

[Brittney · Rating 4 out of 5]

the house has a voice

This spooky little story was intriguing! Once I started it was hard to stop! The walls could literally speak and I was here for it! There were many different stories within a short novel I was definitely left wanting more answers! If you love Poe and horror then I’d suggest you give this little horror show a chance!

[Bríste Diltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought Midnight meeting on the kindle and a paperback copy to show support to the author. I fell in love fast with this book. The way quotes from Edgar Allen Poe are placed though out are perfection. If ya love suspense and ghost stories. This is definitely a book to give a try.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great story! I love Edgar Allen Poe’s stories and poems and the way Kaelyn brought his work into her writing was done so well. It was an exciting read and the ending was so interesting! There is so much I love about this book 🖤

[Alexandra Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this!! It was so quickly paced and for only 172 pages so much happened!!! Absolutely love the whirlwind romance that didn’t take away from the spooky happenings!!

[Amanda Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly haunting

As a Poe fan , WOW. This book is fantastic and I devoured it in 2 hours. A true horror love story.

[A.E. Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool!

Such a unique and creative read! It was short, which is great for my adhd brain! I wasn’t overwhelmed by the amount of content!

[J.D. Crist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this very enjoyable. The ghosts kept me guessing who they were until the very end. The ending felt like a cliffhanger and part of me hopes that there is more to this story.

[Mala · Rating 3 out of 5]

for those who are fans of Poe, the author throws in quotes of his works throughout the novel. A house with its own feelings, and ghosts of ancestors this was a good quick read

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️ The perfect spooky book! 👻 Definitely gave haunting of bill house and Edgar Allen Poe! It have haunted house with spirits and mold horror. 🦠 Absolutely loved it for a quick summerween read ☀️🩸

[Allyssa Gaines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how heavily inspired this was by Edgar Allan Poe. From the character’s names, to the atmosphere, this was a really great story. I also loved getting to read from the house’s perspective at some points, it was so unique! My one complaint would be that due to the formatting, the dialogue was hard to follow at times. This does end on a creepy cliffhanger, so who knows, maybe we’ll get a sequel!