Musical Megan falls for the local bad boy in this romantic teen drama. A young-adult story packed with emotion, desire, and pain of first love.The harder you love, the higher the stakes.Jazz is everything to Megan Hollis. When her hands clasp the saxophone, melodies flow with each breath.Music carries her from Copperwood to London, with university on the horizon. Set on attending London’s … university on the horizon. Set on attending London’s prestigious School of Jazz, all elements of her life harmonize.
Then she meets Vincent Turner, the mysterious guy with a dangerous reputation. Intoxicated by his possessive charms, Megan’s love shifts from melodic bliss to a dissonant nightmare.
While the future promises stardust dreams, her new relationship takes a turn for the worse. Megan becomes caught between what she wants and what everyone believes is best for her.
Will Megan learn to dance to the beat of her own rhythm?
Recommended for those looking for realistic stories about following your heart and standing on your own two feet.
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A friend’s mother told me something along the lines of “When someone tells you who they are, believe them.” I wish more people would hear that; especially teenage girls. In Around Midnight, Megan’s love interest Vince tells her pretty early on, “I’m a messed up person. You should be wary of that.” When someone tells you something like that, LISTEN.
Zarina Macha does an excellent job of realistically depicting what it’s like to be an adolescent girl who doesn’t quite fit in, and what it’s like to fall for the wrong person. Vince has a bad reputation, but he’s sweet and intelligent, and appears vulnerable and sincere. It’s not surprising when Megan falls for him and slowly starts compromising who she is and what she wants out of life, with his almost imperceptible nudges.
This is a great coming-of-age story, and a good cautionary tale for young women. If that’s your thing, definitely check it out.
Around Midnight
By
Zarina macha
Around Midnight is a story that very much fits into today’s teen life. Megan is a teenager with a life plan that meets a boy, and starts to question everything about what she thought she wanted for her future. Her first love is a rollercoaster ride, she finds herself “sick” with worry when it doesn’t seem to go so well and at the same time perfect. It also gives her the courage to rethink what she wants out of life.
A good read for young adults. A very true story as to how young love can go. In the end encouraging young people to think for themselves.
This is a young adult story that I really enjoyed. It had lots of drama and emotion, the characters were complex and imperfect, and the story was certainly believable. Although YA is not my usual thing, I did enjoy this romance and coming-of-age, the prose was lovely, and it had a lot more depth than I anticipated. I also loved the jazz throughlines, since I’m a big jazz fan, and really appreciated all the musical references.
This is the first book that I have read from this author and wow she blew me away. I didn’t know what to expect when I started this book but it exceeded all my expectations. This a young adult book that made you think of your past. When I started this book I could not put it down. I fell in love with the main character right from the beginning. It only took me a few hours to devour this incredible book.
Megan Hollis loves everything about jazz. She is getting ready to go to a special college for music. Megan gets lost every time she plays her saxophone. She thinks she has everything figured out but she meets a very mysterious guy: Vince. Megan is told by her new friends that he is bad news but he is so sweet to her. She ends up getting to know Vince and she falls for him hard. Megan starts to do things that she would never do but she likes Vince so much she doesn’t want to lose him. She starts to feel like she is not herself anymore. Will she stay in a relationship that is not making her happy or will she find a new rhythm she never thought she had?
Around Midnight by Zarina Macha. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I loved it. Its a young adult story but was very easy for me to get wrapped up in. Its the story of Megan Hollis a Jazz Prodigy. Her life is made complete when she picks up her Sax and music just flows thru her hands. She is happiest when she is playing and her main goal in life is to get to the Prestigious London’s School of Jazz. Everything is going great until she meets Vincent Turner a guy who has a bad rep but who has all the right moves. He knows everything to say to make Megan melt. Megan is intoxicated by him and she soon thinks he can do no wrong. But why is she feeling like she’s walking on eggshells, nervous and scared all the time. It can’t be Vincent, she’s crazy about him. Her family wants her to focus on her music but her heart says she needs to spend time with Vincent. Will her heart lead her down the path of destruction or will she let her mind rule over her heart? I loved this story.
Around Midnight by Zarina Macha – Review by Gail Guerrero
Four Stars
This is my first book by this author. I don’t usually read young adult but something about this story really clicked with me. Here you have this amazing gifted young woman ready to take her talent to next level. In comes this young man with that bad boy charm that no sweet girl can resist. Her world starts to shift. No longer is her dreams only about jazz but a passion she didn’t know existed. But what happens when her dreams and her wants don’t click? When everyone thinks they knows what is best? How will she learn to think for herself? When her relationship turns bad Megan truly has somethings to think through. I really liked this story even though I am much older. I found that I could understand how Megan felt when she found a desire and passion for something other than jazz. The author gives you a story with great detail and learning moments. I found myself rooting for Megan that she would do what was best for her and not what was expected. That she would learn that just because you love someone or desire to be with them doesn’t mean you have to. Especially someone toxic.
Around Midnight by Zarina Macha
4 of 5 Stars
“The harder you love, the higher the stakes”
Around Midnight is a young-adult drama by Zarina Macha. Megan Hollis loves Jazz and playing her saxophone, she moves to London with her parents to be nearer the prestigious School of Jazz which is Megan’s dream and her goal for the future. Things are going well for Megan when she meets Vincent Turner a mysterious individual with a dangerous reputation but Megan can not ignore the chemistry between them and ultimately falls for Vincent’s charms. Her new relationship soon takes a turn for the worse and Megan is stuck in a nightmare. She also becomes stuck between doing what she wants to do and what those around her think is best for her.
This is a coming of age book with Jazz always at the heart of the story. The author has written some great strong characters and the storyline moves along swiftly and took me with it, gripped from page one. I like how the characters are realistic and that the plot line looks at normal issues that young people face as well as the darker side of Megan and Vincent’s love. Although a YA book I enjoyed it, being slightly older, and I found it had a depth to it that not all YA books have. A fascinating read which I recommend.
Zarina Macha is a new author to me but I like her passion she puts into her story. She has a great character development and story line. While reading, I found myself back in high school when music was my release from my pain. Megan Hollis has music within her soul. Jazz is her muse. She went to London to study at the prestigious School of Jazz. She was focused on music until she met Vincent. Vincent made Megan think about other things than her Jazz music. He is mysterious and dangerous for Megan. Will Megan be able to do what she thinks is best for her? Can she distinguish what she wants? Will Vincent be a suitable partner or will he bring her down into trouble? I highly recommend reading this book to find out the answers to this and much more.
This is a good YA story. It follows Megan as she is relocated to London with her parents.
Her life is all planned out. With her talent and love for jazz she is going to go to a university in London to study and nothing will get in her way.
Until she meets Vince at a party. Vince is going to a college for boys who don’t play by the rules. And despite all her friends warning about his character she falls for him.
Soon Megan’s life in upside down as Vince’s true personality shows itself to be manipulative and nasty. Soon she is forced to choose between her music/future career or the love of a not so good guy.
Megan moves for her music as she lives for it. This is a very well written novel about young adult life it pulls in your heart strings. Vincent is your ultimately bad boy not to he wrecked with. Will Megan give up her dreams for his boy. Is he sabotaging her happiness.
Around Midnight by Z. Macha is a well put together book. Megan love music, jazz to be specific. She has moved to a new town and is making new friends which is a huge adjustment for anyone. As she is going through her 6th year and getting ready to enter university she meets Vince. He’s the guy your friends warn you to stay away from because he is nothing but bad news. Unable to stay away from him though, Megan finds herself in a relationship with Vince and doing things she has never done before. She tries to figure out what she wants to do with her life as she transitions from a teen to an adult. Should she take a gap year and figure out if being a musician is still the path she wants her life to take or something else? Also, where will Vince fit into her life if at all? Being young and in love isn’t easy especially when you don’t have everything figured out.
Around Midnight is a great young adult drama by Zarina Macha. This is the first time that I have read anything by this author and young adult is a relatively new genre for me but I have to say that I did really enjoy this book.
Megan Hollis is a 17 year old sixth form student with a great future ahead of her. She’s a fantastic musician and has always to go to the London School of Jazz when finished her A-levels. Her parents have moved to London so that she can be nearer the university.
Now that she’s in London, away from her best friend and struggling with life, she meets Vincent Turner. According to her new friends he’s bad news and she should definitely keep away from him. Undeterred Megan starts a relationship with Vincent. But does he make her happy?
This book takes a close look at the turmoil going through Megan’s head. She’s always loved jazz and wanted to go to the London School of Jazz but now she’s just not sure that’s what she wants. She loves Vince but he doesn’t always treat her how she’d like to be treated so should she stay with him?
Zarina Macha does a great job at showing the turmoil Megan is going through. It shows just how easily she is led astray by Vince into doing things she wouldn’t normally do. The book was very easy to read and the story flowed at a fast pace keeping you engaged and wanting to know what was going to happen next.
A great young adult novel.
Around Midnight by Zarina Macha is an interesting YA novel and is a fascinating read for not only YA’s but adults too. It is a well written novel with humour, romance but touched on serious topics as well which enriched the writing just that bit more.
We follow Megan Hollis – the main character – on her journey of finding love but having to make some big decisions on whether to keep it and find what she is going to do with her future. Having just moved to London with her family and taking her A Levels in a new school, poor Megan must try and decide what to do with her future, while making new friends and suddenly meeting the bad boy, Vince. And from there we carry on Megan’s story of emotional angst, a question of what is right and what is wrong and what does she truly want for her future.
Zarina has a lovely way of writing which hooks you from the first chapter and keeps you entertained all the way through to the end of the book. Throughout the book there are relatable subjects for most people, not just Young Adults but Adults who have perhaps gone through the same issues that Megan was going through.
Overall, I enjoyed the book with its realism and drama that most teenagers are faced with nowadays which made it that bit more realistic to me when reading. All in all, it’s an enjoyable book to read with some thought-provoking issues.
Around Midnight by Zarina Macha was a really good YA novel. YA fiction is my favorite genre, so I was very eager to read this one. This is the first novel I’ve had the pleasure of reading from Macha, and I highly enjoyed it! Megan (the main character) is very relatable, on her quest of having love and keeping it, and trying to figure out what she wants do as far as her future goes. It’s a very relatable novel itself, with mostly enjoyable characters and it was hard to stop reading it. I absolutely loved all the nerdy and pop culture references! It made the novel even more immensely enjoyable in my opinion! I highly recommend this novel and can’t wait to read more from Zarina Macha!
I have not had the pleasure of reading anything by Zarina Macha before but was completely enthralled in the idea behind this story based off the cover and the blurb. I wasn’t disappointed and found a very nice and fast paced read that kept me entertained from the very beginning until the last chapter. I loved how this was written in a way that could be enjoyed by anyone even though it is geared towards young adult readers. It touched on some serious topics with an underlying concept of choosing the path and handling the consequences that come of that decision. Megan and Vincent are both strong and hold their own but the two of them together is not necessarily a good thing. I must say I thought that I had things figured out then they did a completely different direction than what I had guessed. I love books that do that for me. I will definitely be looking into more of Zarina’s novels.
Fully immersed into her teenage life that includes playing her saxophone this privileged girl is ignorant of many of life’s pitfalls. She gets to meet some of those head on and they begin to disrupt her dream. She is lost and unsure but she can’t seem to move forward and forget.
This is easy to read and deals with complex situations. There is the surface of each situation but always look deeper. This is an okay book that I took at face value. Girl, dream, bad boy, regrets and struggles. I just looked at it as a typical section of a young girls/teen book. But upon reading the authors note I am reflecting back and I can look at it a bit differently. So if you give this a go make sure you read that as well.
5 Star
Around Midnight by Zarina Macha is a well written story about the struggles that come with following your heart. Although this is my first read by this Author. I can honestly say it wont be my last. I found myself lost in the pages and couldn’t stop reading till the end. Megan loves jazz ! She has heart set on attending the Prestigious School of Jazz, but then she meets Vincent. Things change and not necessarily for the good. What does her future look like Will she forgo her dreams to be with Vincent? This story had my emotions all over the place. Find out what happens next in this must read. I look forward to reading more from this Author.
This is the first book that I have read by this author and i thought it was a great read. I enjoyed book from the very beginning and I thought it was well written. The main characters are Megan and Vincent and I liked them both. I was rooting for them from the very first page and the the chemistry was scorching. Megan is a saxophone player who is looking for a future playing the instrument she loves. Things change and people come into her life and everything gets turned upside down. She has to decide if following her heart is the right path for her or should she play it smart.
I am looking forward to reading more by this author in the future!
Happy reading!
Around Midnight by Zarina Macha. This is a new author for me and I’m excited I found her because this story was great. The author writes characters that are complex and relatable, they have a great chemistry that has the storyline running smoothly and kept me trying to read faster to see what was going to happen and trying to slow down. It’s a story that has our characters learning how and when to follow your heart and dealing with life in general. We truly get to watch the characters grow. The storyline is engaging and well written, had a steady pace that never felt rushed. It’s a really good story and I highly recommend it. Four stars all the way and I excited to see what else this author has to offer.
Around Midnight by Zarina Macha, is a YA romance story that shows the raw feelings of first time love and the uncaring side of a boy who thinks nothing but himself. It is full of angst and betrayal, love and hurt, confusion and loss. It is a quick read but complex read that packs all the emotions for young love. It is easy to forget how wounding a fist love can sometimes be. I found myself loving Vince and Megan but that soon turned to hate for a boy who is toxic and manipulated and pressured and shown he was a nasty, nasty piece of work and for Zarina to inflect those sorts of emotions to the reader means she did a good job at writing him and the story.