Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing a new queer cozy(ish) romantasy, Into the Midnight Wood by Alexandra McCollum. Read on to find out if it is a new favorite!

A whimsical queer romance about two mismatched roommates whose fragile – and definitely not romantic at all – balance is upended by an impending family wedding and an otherworldly danger in the nearby enchanted wood.

There are 100 things wrong with Meredith Schwarzwelder. At least.

#1 He has an absurd name.

#3 He’s an irredeemable eccentric who flirts with everyone in his path.

#35 He cries at anything.

#50 He talks to mice, or imagines he does.

For David Carew, keeping track of these things is the only way he’s managed to remain living with him for as long as he has.

But when magic starts to seep in from the Midnight Wood and a dark being emerges with a sinister plan involving Meredith, David decides that it’s time to leave the cottage, and his roommate, behind. Then Meredith’s brother gets engaged to the daughter of David’s boss, and he sees the perfect opportunity to advance his career and make his escape.

With wedding bells sounding and the dangers of the Midnight Wood encroaching, David realizes there’s much more hiding beneath the surface of his roommate’s seemingly carefree charm, and that perhaps his own exasperation carries more fondness than he’d like to admit.

There are 100 things wrong with Meredith Schwarzwelder. And David’s starting to like them all…

***Thank you to Dutton for providing an advanced copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

I’m not sure what exactly I was expecting from Into the Midnight Wood, but it managed to worm its way into my heart with its quirkiness and whimsy. I adored this book so much and could not get enough of the characters. I laughed and cried and erupted in rage at different points in Meredith and David’s journey. When starting the story, I never thought I was picking up a new favorite book, but here we are.

The plot of Into the Midnight Wood didn’t have much to it. So, don’t come into the story expecting some grand epic fantasy with lots of action. This book was more of a slow-paced, slice-of-life story that focused on the characters’ relationships and inner journeys. Stuff was happening, obviously, like Meredith needing to deal with his horrible family as they prepared for his brother’s wedding and David attempting to gain a promotion while searching for his own place. There was also the sinister presence in the forest wreaking a bit of havoc. It was just all in service to the bigger picture of the character growth happening. In the end, I was happy with how all of the different threads came together.

Despite the book’s name, the midnight wood played less of a role in most of the story than I expected, and the world-building, in general, was quite chaotic and not well-defined. The wood was sort of an ominous and powerful thing in the background, and I’d have loved to spend even more time in it. Random creatures populated this town with no explanation, such as the real estate agent with tentacles, and I’m honestly not even sure where the town was set. Ultimately, none of the weird, unexplained eccentricities of the town mattered that much, though, and they provided a fun sense of wonder and whimsy. As someone who typically prefers a lot of structure to magic and world-building, the chaos really worked for me in this story, which was a pleasant surprise.

Now on to my favorite thing about Into the Midnight Wood: the characters. Meredith was equal parts delightful and exasperating. lol. He was so extra and such a whimsical ray of sunshine that lit up every scene he inhabited. His chaotic nature was A LOT but in a good way. It also hid a lot of depth that became clearer and clearer as the story progressed. So much of everything happening in this book was tied to his past and the hurt he carried around from the world looking down on him for who he was. I liked that we didn’t get his POV in this book because we got to uncover the person behind the facade alongside David, which was a journey filled with so much emotion. I also really loved how the character inhabited the space between masculinity and femininity. There were times that his character felt quite masculine and others where he was super feminine and wearing dresses. However, no matter what, he felt distinctly like Meredith, which speaks to the strength of the characterization.

As for David, he couldn’t have been more opposite from Meredith if he’d tried. He was serious and liked things tidy and structured. Meredith’s chaos was anathema to him, and his list of things he “hated” about Meredith was honestly a pretty hilarious way to structure the first half of the story. The two of them bickered and acted like an old married couple despite them, or at least David, not realizing they were totally in love. lol. The miscommunication and denial were dialed up to a ten between them, but I didn’t mind it because the entire situation was just so entertaining. David slowly coming to terms with his feelings and realizing Meredith’s chaos might be good for him was really endearing. He peeled back Meredith’s layers and found the wounded person on the inside. Then he decided to do everything he could to make his life better, which was both sweet and sad since he had contributed to so many of the hurts, as well. Their relationship was far from perfect, but the way they genuinely cared for each other oozed off the page.

I could say so much more about Into the Midnight Wood and the relationship between Meredith and David, but I don’t want to ruin the experience of getting to know these characters while reading. The story was quirky and quite cozy with so much heart, and I never expected to fall in love with it so much. All things considered, I rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

There you have it! My thoughts on Into the Midnight Wood by Alexandra McCollum. Does this book sound like something you would enjoy? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments. I definitely recommend giving it a shot.