Close to Midnight: a Dark Halloween Romance

Reed Twins #1

by Carin Hart

When he’s obsessed with the new girl in town…so his twin gifts her to him for Halloween

Sally

From the moment I walked away from my old life and started a new one in the small town of Shadowvale, I learned there were three rules I should follow if I wanted to survive— don’t go outside at night alone.

don’t ask questions about the obviously haunted house at the far side of town.

And don’t catch Hunter Reed’s attention.

Me? I broke all three almost immediately.

The Reeds own Shadowvale. They live in the haunted house, and everyone seems afraid of them. Everyone, that is, except for me.

Something about Hunter has me drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I know I could burn if I get too close, but that doesn’t stop me… and when he invites me to his house for Halloween, I would’ve gone even if he didn’t offer two grand for a night with me.

I guess I should’ve known that nothing is free—and the only way I can escape him is if I find my way out of his family graveyard by midnight.

But… what if I don’t want to?

Hunter

It was her big doe eyes that caught my attention, and the haunted smile that triggered my predatory side.

Sally… my sweet Sally.

I’ve watched her from the shadows, keeping her safe from a distance. I’m too dark, too twisted to corrupt her… but, as it turns out, my twin isn’t.

Our birthday is Halloween. Tonight, I expected to hunt—to kill—but when Nicholas sets Sally in my path, midnight starts the beginning of my chase.

If I catch her, I can do anything I want. She agreed to it, and as the hours pass, it becomes clear to me that she isn’t trying all that hard to get away.

Which is for the best since I have no intention of ever letting my little doe escape me now…

Genres: Dark Romance, Halloween, Dark, Romance, Novella, Stalker, Holiday

202 pages, Paperback

Published February 4, 2025

Reviews

[Mysti · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't as good as I was hoping for, but I'm still going to give this author another read.

Sally has moved to a new town after leaving her cheating/abusive ex. She's working at a coffee shop when she comes in contact with one of the towns infamous Reed brothers. Hunter and his twin, Nicholas, are surrounded with rumors that they kill people and bury them on their family land. Hunter is besotted with his sweet Sally, but he refuses to touch her, believing she's too good for him. Instead he stalks her. Somehow he doesn't notice that Nicholas is also hanging out with Sally, but for a different reason. He wants his brother to be happy, so he pretends to be Hunter and slowly gets Sally comfortable with him. On Halloween night, he arranges for Sally to come to their house in exchange for some money - Sally is going to be his birthday gift to Hunter. Halloween night is also the night they reserve for killing someone.

Eventually, Hunter claims Sally. HEA.

The sex could have been better. If it had been more graphic, it would have fit better with a darker theme. Sally also seemed to go back-n-forth a lot on if she really wanted to be with Hunter. Then the really confusing part - and I still don't understand it - there are times they both refer to Nicholas as Hunter. I can't even explain how to detangle that mess.

The book was ok for me. It just really lacked passion and it bordered on being dark, but not quite tipping that scale. I'll still give the second book (Nicholas's story) a try.

[Jessica Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Erm. I understand this is a Novella, but I don’t know if my dislike is in the whole story in general. Or if it’s just from me reading the word “Hunter” over and over and over again. We get it… you named him hunter cause he likes to hunt human… don’t need to say it every other paragraph.

The FMC is dumb. Literally every red flag she thinks about she is like “oh well, he’s hot”. Plus it keeps eluding to the next book, so that also takes away from the already short story to bring in extra characters with no background so instead of focusing on the story you’re wondering what the fuck happened to the other twins chick. Meh.

[Chelsie Lucas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh buddy. This one was no fun.
I’m not a huge fan of two twins, pretending to be the same person, and then the female main character choosing the one she thought it was the whole time even though it was technically both of them it’s just weird and she kind of let it all go or slide, as if that would be a natural reaction

It’s difficult to suspend your disbelief enough for that, especially in a very rushed ending

[Flannery Simchuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and the spice was great!! The character plot lines were invisible but meh

[Ella Adie · Rating 2 out of 5]

minus points for the fact i had to read the words creampie and pussy

[DarkRapture · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this fast-paced Halloween novella. It included everything I love in a dark romance. We have our FMC, Sally being stalked and hunted by a very twisted masked guy and if he finds her, well, you know how the story goes. There's also a chase scene through a creepy cemetery. The sex scenes were great, but I would have prefered for some of them to be a bit more detailed. Also, there were some typos that did pull me out of the story, but it wasn't too bad and didn't take away from my enjoyment of this book. Overall, this short story was perfect for spooky season. I can't wait to read the next book!

[Mora ؛༊ (sorta quit cause every book ends up ass)]

DNF @15%

This is just so repetitive, unoriginal and imo not good. The word/name Hunter is mentioned 295!!! times. WE GET IT!

MMC is a twin and FMC thinks she's hanging out with him (daily, for four months already) but actually only met him once. All the other times it was twin #2 pretending to be him, so twin 2 is who she started to like, but she thinks it's twin 1.
For me knowing that she's going over to their mansion to have sex with the twin she's been hanging out with, but it will be twin 1, just makes me feel so awkward as that's just deception. I just can't be bothered to continue reading and on top of that I'm already bored.

The book is short so I know/expect to get insta-love/lust, but seriously MMC interacted with FMC 1 time only and he is OBSESSED. And apparently stands outside her house to jack off..?
FMC is also stupid and ignores every red flag there is. She says stuff like "And if he turns out to be as big of a fucking liar as Max, maybe I’ll deserve to be another so-called victim of one of the Reed’s."

[sycokittykat - Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hunter likes to hunt

I usually love a masked man book but this one was not very good. Twins where one gets to know the girl while pretending to be the other only to gift her to his brother to be hunterd. Twins where one gets to know the girl while pretending to be the other only to gift her to his brother in an IICYIF you deal.

The work hunt was WAY overused and I was over it very quickly.

The FMC agreed to being prey for 2k cause she was desperate and that isn't any fun. Also, the actual primal play part which I love was lackluster.

This had its moments but overall I was bored through most of it. It was very repetitive and flat.

There are so many that are better out there.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fiction / Dark Romance / Halloween / Spicy
⭐⭐/5 🌶/5

Hi, I'm Sally I see red flags and run right to them!!!

The cover was the best thing about this. It did not live up to my hopes. The story is not for the fainthearted and while it had promise it never evolved, worse the spice was lackluster and confusing. I read each word and I do not understand who "Hunter" is.

It is Halloween, Twin serial killers, an "innocent" girl, and an abusive ex.... what could possibly happen? (this is NOT a RH).....

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holy shit this was repetitive. 🙄

I still don't understand the whole "he's Hunter but I'm Hunter" thing. It makes it sound like Nicholas isn't actually real, and that Hunter is schizophrenic or something. Or potentially the other way around. Also at the end it is alluded that there's more to Hunter and Sally, yet there's no epilogue or anything that explains it? Half of the book is an introduction to Nicholas and Tammy, who are the MMC and FMC of the next book. With this being a novella, I don't need half of it being about other people.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Halloween novella was super fast-paced and a bit repetitive. Fans of primal chase scenes and masked men may enjoy this one. Hunter becomes obsessed with FMC Sally. He wants her but doesn't want to drag her into his darkness. His twin brother Nicholas does not have the same problem. He arranges for Sally to be a birthday present for Hunter. She agrees to being his for Halloween (his and Nicholas's birthday). Once he has Sally, he isn't sure if he will ever be able to let her go.

[Ivy Blacke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sally attracts Hunter's attention. This is a problem or is it the beginning of something new, and much needed by Sally.

Hunter has become obsessed with Sally and his twin makes sure she is delivering herself to him on their birthday, Halloween.

I really enjoyed this story. But couldn't wait to get to his brother's story.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The spice was nice but there were some grammatical errors, and just consistency issues altogether. It didn’t give me true fear like other dark romances have. But he did bang her in a grave so whoopee to that!

[Isabelle]

Probably one of my weirder DNF reasons but… If I pick up a dark romance with masks and a murder hottie chasing someone through a graveyard, “considerate” isn’t what I’m looking for. This mMC just wasn’t it for me. 🤣🤣🤣

[Kitchen & Bookish Witch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Omg this was so incredibly fucking repetitive 🫠 both male characters were insufferable & the FMC was an airhead.
We GETTTT ITTTTT, he’s a hunter, his brother is a hunter but also not hunter himself. Your family is the top dog of the town and you like to unalive people for funsies.

[Nini · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
The only thing I didn't like? Was that ended 😭😭😭 I needed a little more of them😳😳😭

Can't wait to buy my physical copy 😭😭

[Fern E Wiggle · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun at first then petered out. sorry hunter

[tabs · Rating 2.75 out of 5]

un gemelo se hace pasar por el otro para conseguir que la chica con la que su hermano está obsesionado vaya a pasar halloween a su casa a jugar a depredador y presa PEC

[Teresa Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Crazy dark story. Without giving anything away you knew who the victim was going to be. You know how the story will end, but you still read through.

[Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

2-2.5 - I finished it, sure. but I was confused for about 80% of it

[Halla Lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hunted. Promises. Games.
Twins.

He wants her.
She wants him?
Or was it his twin?

A hunt.
A graveyard.
A mask.
A very smutty read.

Plot is 4⭐️ its there, but more spicee
Spice is 5 🌶

[Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fun, spooky, creepy premise, but the author doesn’t deliver.

spoilery:

She doesn’t ground it sufficiently in reality to make the stakes high enough: They’re the richest in town and don’t have jobs. They’re rumored to be serial killers but literally no one does anything about it. Hunter just sees her and instantly falls in love with her cuz she smiled at him? The small town is stocked with tons of kinky women who are willing to be paid for sex. And on and on. There’s no emotional grounding; it’s a fantasy in the lazy way.

Also, five acres isn’t that big. There’s no way they’d need twenty-four hours or even twelve to roam the whole thing, and hiding would be hard to do on that small a plot. Purportedly hours go by during most parts of the hunt between "catches," but Hunter would have to really be trying hard NOT to find her for it to take that long.

Also, what’s the point of the twins shifting and borrowing identities? It doesn’t appear to do anything helpful with the plot. Is it just to show the reader that they’re deranged? instead of lending an air of menacing instability, it's mostly just confusing and off-putting.

Also, this was supposed to be centered on a chase, but we hardly see ANY chase at all.

The author had an idea but didn’t work to flesh it out.

did not sell what was marketed.

[Cheyenne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated it 4 stars because It scratched an itch I needed and I know I'm ignoring a LOT of bad. So I'm going to list it all here for you to decide how you feel.

Sally is an abysmal FMC, but she is not as bad as a lot of the FMCs you find in Darker Romances where they shove psychological torture down their throat and a few chapters later the FMC is eating out of the MMCs hand. The expectation of suspending disbelief is at a solid 2.5/5 here, but only because her actions make me both happy because they got where id like her to be but reasonably upset because they were said so stupidly and quickly like a flick switched and she just didn't care.

Hunter seems better written, he feels like he's at least got most of his personality straight. Serial Killer, Obsessive - not afraid to show it, psychopathic and predatory. I actually really liked him, but i just got off the train of an even worse MMC trope. Hunter was a breath of fresh air and i liked that he was never pretending.

Whenever Hunter interacted with his brother he was honest - Sally was never going to escape - whenever Hunter interacted with Sally, he was softer holding his words back. That made sense to me.

The scenes from Hunters perspective, the Scenes with Hunter being who he was the most - those ring true to me and made me like this book as much as I do.

Hunters brother was interesting but not at the same time. The author tried really hard to get you interested in him, but i liked him more as a back up system for Hunter and I wish he would have been utilized in some way - not in a "Sharing" way (This isnt a spoiler, the Author clearly states there is no sharing) but something more intrinsic to the story.

There are SO many grammatical errors, spelling errors, phrasing errors, error errors that it made it hard to actually read. It was easier to skip over areas and fill in the blanks with my imagination than it was to read half the time. This author would benefit so much from having an editor that cares- and listening to them.

The smut is adequate, I feel like its not rushed but its black screened a lot and theater of the minded in most other instances. Its throughout, but its not making anyone's panties drip - but Hunters personality just might.

Its a short hour or two read though, so worth a gander if you want to take a small break and try out something light hearted in the dark Romance genre.

Finally - This book SUFFERS because it was a Novella and because of Sallys final words.

[Mrs. K. Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another spectacular little book from Carin Hart! Hunter and Nicholas Reed might be my new dark romance 🖤 book boyfriends. 📚 They wouldn't even need four thousand dollars 💸 to chase me through the woods and spend Halloween f*cked-up in their own private cemetery. 🪦

It is a novella, so the plot is simple and straightforward. It's not supposed to be complicated. It's just smut and murder, ☠️ pure and simple. LOLs. 🤣 However, I do wish I had more from the perspective of Nicholas, the older Reed twin. Carin Hart purposely put one chapter of his POV in as a precursor to events not only in this book but also in the companion duet, Really Should Stay. I think having that objective POV a few times more throughout the story would help me as a reader understand the Reed family ideology better, to understand exactly how and why they grew into serial killers.

Hunter wants Sally to stay with him so badly but is convinced he must KEEP her captive instead. Now, she's more than willing to remain holed-up with him in the Reed home forever, but the idea of CAPTIVITY is extreme, and makes me wonder what other traumas the Reed brothers had to experience growing up to resort to this for their true loves. 💔

I'm still excited to read Really Should Stay. It's set around Christmas time 🎄 instead of Halloween, 🎃 so I might wait until then to read Nicholas and Tamryn's story. It's sure to spice 🌶️ things up this holiday season!

[Nosoy Yo · Rating 0.5 out of 5]

Ni me ha enganchado, ni tampoco es que me haya gustado mucho. No creo que el motivo por el cual no me ha gustado sea porque es muy corto y no me de tiempo a conectar con los personajes ni con la trama, es directamente porque no había momentos que me hicieran querer conectar con el libro.
He estado en conflicto durante todo el libro, y no me permitía disfrutar porque ha pesar de estar leyendo los pensamientos de Sally, no logré saber si ella realmente disfrutaba de todo, si lo hacía por el dinero, porque le atraía Hunter, etc. No lo logro entender.
Algo que odié es que durante el libro se dice varías veces el tema de atractivo de Hunter, y como eso hace que las mujeres se 'olviden' de que es un asesino en serie, y de echo Sally también dice algo así en un momento dado, tipo que gracias a la atractiva cara de Hunter se había olvidado que es un asesino en serie, cosa que odié.
Luego algo que me genera conflicto es el hecho de que aunque Nicholas se hiciera pasar por Hunter y según Hunter actuaba como el, Sally dice que se había enamorado de el porque era dulce, algo que creo que es más de Nico que de Hunter, y creo que ella solo se ha quedado con el por el recuerdo de como actuaba Nico.
Es un libro del que probablemente me olvidaré, porque no hay nada que me parezca memorable. Ni la escena del cementerio, ni la de la tumba, ni nada. Son escenas distintas, pero que no han hecho que se me queden marcadas en la cabeza para siempre.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Part of a duet but can be read as a standalone
HEA

I was very excited to read this but it was a little hard for me to get through. Mainly it needs editing. I would have to reread things trying to understand what was trying to be said. And I honestly don't mind errors or spelling mistakes as long as I can still read and stay in the story. There were some other issues like the MFC said the last place she saw MMC but it wasn't the last place she saw him. Also I'm pretty sure the MFC had brown eyes in the book and at the end there is a picture and she has blue eyes? Just too many mistakes for me to ignore.

The spice could have been a lot more too for the kid of book it was. Maybe cut some out about the MMC's brother and his girl and rev up the spice scenes. Also for me in a HEA I like one more scene between the main characters after everything plays out.

Good story with some editing. I will be reading the second book come Christmas even with the issues.

Also for me Hunter claiming Nicholas was Hunter when he pretended to be Hunter wasn't really an issue for me. This is a messed up book with messed up characters and obviously the twins were raised messed up so their thinking will be messed up.

[Hayley Anglin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, dreamy, and kept me up past my bedtime

Close to Midnight by Carin is the kind of book that sneaks up on you. One minute you’re just “reading a chapter before bed,” and the next you’re staring at the ceiling wondering how you got emotionally sucker-punched at 2AM.

The writing? Lush but sharp. The characters? Flawed in the best way—like you want to yell at them and protect them at the same time. Carin knows how to build a moody atmosphere that wraps around you and doesn’t let go.

So why 4 stars instead of 5? There were a few parts that felt a little heavy on the inner monologue, like the characters could’ve said one sentence and saved me a few pages of overthinking. But honestly, I still loved the ride. It’s dark romance with bite, but also with enough heart to keep you rooting for everyone involved—even when they’re making terrible decisions.

If you like your love stories complicated, a little bruised, and close to midnight, this one’s worth picking up.

[Cristinaramosc_ · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Os soy sincera; me ha gustado porque ha sido súper disfrutón pero la traducción me ha estropeado un poco la lectura porque este libro solo está en inglés así que lo he leído en traducción mecánica. Sé que al ser pirata es normal que haya fallitos pero me sacaba mucho de la lectura. Quitando eso, me ha faltado algo. A lo mejor yo estoy muy enferma pero me hubiera gustado que ella hubiera tenido escenas con los dos (obviamente sin que ellos se toquen, que son gemelos, tan enferma no estoy) peeeero lo perdono porque el próximo libro es de Nicholas y con temática navideña. Tengo muchas ganas de leerlo para navidad y saber su historia porque en este libro nos cuentan ya cosas sobre la chica con la que está obsesionado pero no nos da mucho contexto a raíz de que tiene su propio libro y ahí se sabrá todo. Recomendado si quieres un libro corto de temática Halloween, con máscaras, primal play, bastante spicy y dos gemelos guapísimos y psicópatas. ¡Leed las advertencias antes de empezar!

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, this just wasn’t for me. For a short novel, it somehow felt SO long. I kept waiting for something to grab my attention and make me care about where the story was going, but it never really happened. The pacing felt off, and I found myself just wanting to get through it rather than actually enjoying the story.

I usually appreciate a shorter book because it gets to the point without dragging things out, but this one somehow managed to feel longer than books twice its length. I never really got invested, and nothing about the story left me feeling like it was worth the time. I can’t even pinpoint one specific thing that made it fall flat for me. It was more that the whole thing just didn’t work for me.

Unfortunately, this was a miss. Sometimes a book just isn’t your thing, and this was definitely one of those times. Two stars, and I’m moving on!

[Alyssa Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this quick read!!! The whole twin aspect was so interesting and really added to the story! I love quick reads but sometimes novellas can be boring aside from the spice. The twin dynamic really took this up a notch!!

I’m not taking a star for this bc I loved the book regardless, but there were several typos that irked me. And when he eats Sally out the first time it says he cuts his mask, but later he talks about how the mask is all cut up from eating girls out in the past so he doesn’t have to remove the mask. So which is it was the mask already cut or nottttt. A few other contradictions like that happened throughout the book but my love for the book overshadowed those minor details