A Midnight Clear

by Katherine Stone

Here is an original contemporary romance by Katherine Stone, one of the best-loved and bestselling authors working in the genre today. Katherine Stone's most recent paperback, Bed of Roses, has over 263,000 copies in print.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 1, 1999

About the author

Katherine Stone is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two novels, including her new Christmas novel, SLEIGH BELLS RING.

Katherine's books have been translated into twenty languages and are sold worldwide. A physician who now writes full-time, she lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, physician and novelist Jack Chase (Fatal Analysis, Mortality Rate, The Magruder Transplant.

Katherine's website is www.katherinestone.com.

Jack's website is www.medicalthriller.com.

Reviews

[Rainbolt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember now why I stopped reading K.S. Lots of words, little plot. The heroine is fragile & delicate, the hero is wounded and fragile, love happens upon them and heals them both. Quit talking about how fragile everyone is and MOVE THE STORY ALONG.

[M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

How this book’s rating is so high, I will never know. It’s so bad. It has everything except actual romance. You know those improv shows where the audience throws out suggestions and the actors have to create something out of them? This book is like that - a bunch of everything in a big old mess with hardly anything making sense. I feel like she churned this out because of a contractual obligation.
I take no pleasure in giving bad reviews, this one just couldn’t be helped. Do yourself a favor and skip it.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

the story is somewhat charming and heartfelt... albeit, there were the confusing switchings of POVs at times. But whatever happened to Grace? i believe that is a crucial plot point that was unaddressed when the story ended abruptly, missing it. that was what i regret mostly. otherwise, i love the connection between the MCs and their back stories. it really warmed my heart even in such wintry settings. 💖

[SAMUEL ANKELI · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good book

[Jeevika · Rating 4 out of 5]

P

[Natalie Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book even though it was a little weird .

[Ns · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Midnight Clear is not the typical romance story, although love plays a significant role in the healing of two lost and damaged souls.

Jace Colton is a private man, haunted by memories of a tragic Christmas years earlier that has left him tormented, and anguished ever since. As a trauma surgeon he dedicates his life to saving the most helpless and hopeless of lives but still it is not enough to distract him from his painful past.

Julia Anne Hayley finds herself lost after losing the only family she's ever known; her dear grandmother and fragile sister. Christmas is the season of hope where in her mind she can relive fond and loving memories of her loved ones, but memories aren't enough to save her and thus, her plight to finding herself takes her to London.

It is on the fateful flight to London that Jace and Julia connect and discover love, but before they can begin their lives together they must deal with their own pasts and heal. Amidst such healing comes the discovery of past secrets; secrets that a stranger wants kept hidden and is willing to do anything, even kill to keep it that way.

From the beginning it sounds very promising, a little of romance, a little suspense and having read other of Stone's works and enjoyed many of them I expected to really like it and wanted to but it wasn't the case for several reasons:

The never-ending prologue. Of course this was necessary to give background information on Jace and Julia and set up the circumstances that leads them to the persons they are. This was very thoughtful and emotional, meant to engage and connect with them. Often the best stories deal with the most damaged of souls and tragic of circumstances but this telling of a story within the story took up over half of the story. Instead of connecting to the characters I felt intrusive and an outsider listening to a sad story, rather than being immersed in it.

Another reason was the plot, or a lack of. Following the never-ending prologue, I felt burdened by emotions and left wondering if after having emotionally invested so much to the story if there was a plot forthcoming. The plot that was unveiled wasn't well-developed nor believable.

The second half of the story was much better when Jace and Julia finally began to act on their thoughts rather than dwelling on them. The story had potential with characters we can sympathize with and an interesting plot but didn't develop well. The story was too focused on the past, rather the explanation of the past, of which was told with poignancy. Thoughts, feelings and emotions were expressed poetically and made them quite captivating and powerful.

[Carol · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book. Two depressed people with a LOT of baggage about Christmas end up spending the holiday together. Visiting each other's dreams while they were separated...sometimes it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't. After giving us huge amounts of back story why leave one huge plot point hanging at the end? Is the author planning a sequel? I won't be reading it.
This is not what I am looking for when I read a Christmas romance.

[Sherry Swindle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Book could not stop reading

[Melissa (Always Behind) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sappy romance. Interesting but unsatisfactory ending. Two people with troubled pasts meet.

[Melva · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book. It's a holiday read, which is why I chose it. Could have more plot. The story didn't really pick up until near the end of the book. But it was worth reading.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting library find. A little slow at first. Likeable characters. Murderer easy to figure out. Only one logical suspect ( for me).
Second read March 2023