TL;DR: I loved the premise The Midnight Shift more than I did the execution. I don’t actually have that much to say about the book—it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me in the way that I thought it could’ve. It’s an interesting take on a vampire story and one that I don’t recall having read before, but overall, I felt so little emotional connection to the story, that it just fell flat-ish.

The Midnight Shift is told in three POVs—Su-Yeon, Violette, and another POV that I don’t want to spoil. The POVs alternate timelines with two in the present and one in the past, and because the book isn’t long, it feels like there’s a bigger build-up than there is an actual pay-off (at least for me). I really enjoyed reading about these women’s backstories, but I was most intrigued by Violette’s POV—there’s clearly so much history there and I wish that we got more closure to that storyline. This story delves into societal loneliness and I think it does have some interesting commentary, especially on the correlation between aging and loneliness, although it does explore this throughout different ages as well.

The vampire aspect was explored decently through the different perspectives and we slowly piece together the who, what, and why. However, I kind of felt that certain moments were glossed over and I don’t know if that was intentional by the author, but it left me wanting more. I was literally sitting there thinking “okay, is that it?” There were certain parts to the vampire lore that I also would’ve liked to learn more about. I’m convinced that exploring Violette’s history in more detail and in the present day would’ve added much needed depth to the story, and I’m sad that we didn’t get more.

Ultimately, we do get some answers, but the ending felt vague, inconclusive and rushed. Maybe it was just because I wanted more from the story, but it left me feeling unsatisfied and I had more questions that probably won’t ever be answered. Again, coming back to Violette’s perspective, adding just one chapter from a present day perspective could’ve given readers a sense of clarity or closure since her story really seems to just trickle off after significant events occur.

Something that I’ve also noticed in my experience reading translated Korean and (certain) Japanese works, is that I struggle to develop an emotional connection with the overall story. This happened here as well where I felt the writing including the characters were very flat. I don’t know if this is just me (it could be) but that’s also a big part of why I didn’t enjoy this more.

Overall, this was just a very okay read. I’m not entirely sure who I would recommend this to… Maybe those who are interested in translated fictions that have a mystery angle or those who enjoy learning about vampire lore from other countries? I just don’t find this very memorable and I’m bummed about it!

Have you read The Midnight Shift or is it on your TBR?

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