Our Wicked Gifts – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Our Wicked Gifts

Author: Kathryn Foxfield

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 422

Publication Date: 7/7/26

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Romance, Fantasy

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Random House Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The daughter of a sinister magical family who made a deal with the devil must stop the man killing them off, one by one, in this deliciously dark fantasy thriller that’s House of Hollow meets Succession, laced with a kiss-or-kill romance.

Cicely is the black sheep daughter of the powerful Winter family, who made a deal with the devil in exchange for riches and ruthless magic. Soren is the boy her family banished to the underworld. Their fates intertwine when Cicely’s loathsome Uncle Dorian winds up dead at a masquerade ball.

Once overlooked for her lowly gift of discovering secrets, Cicely is now her family’s only chance at survival, tasked with finding the killer before he takes out every last Winter. With time running out, Cicely narrows her sights on Soren, who she suspects is back for vengeance.

Yet the more Cicely investigates Soren–and gets to know him–the more she begins to question how much family loyalty is worth. After all, when it comes to being a Winter, one can have love or power, but rarely both…

Content Warning: violence, death

World Building: The story is set in a contemporary world but with some fantasy because of the magic and deal with the devil the Winter Family has made. There is also a place called the Ruin which is where their magic comes from or something to that effect and I likened it to hell or the underworld. The Winters are wealthy and powerful and they are trying to hold onto that power, no matter the cost.

Characters: I love the complicated characters in the Winter Family. Told through Cecily, we see every aspect of her flawed family. Her mother who is like the queen of their family, her siblings who are more favored in their mother’s eyes. Her uncle Dorian and his family add to the dysfunction as well – and all of them have some kind of magical power because of the deal with the devil their ancestor made. Then there is Soren, a boy that the family killed to keep a secret, but he isn’t quite dead yet and has come back to cause havoc to the Winter family. Cecily herself is someone who loves her family, wants badly for her mom to love her as much as she loves her siblings, but also realizes how wrong her family is for wielding their power the way they do – yet Cecily will do the same if need be. It made for a lot of drama – fun drama though!

Romance: Cecily is the only one who can go into the Ruin and come back out, so it’s not a surprise that the boy she is falling for is dead and part of the Ruin. Soren wants revenge on her family, and Cecily knows her family isn’t good and she’s trying to uncover all the secrets but there are some hard choices that have to be made where Soren is concerned. I feel like the ending left it open for a book two and I hope there is one so I can see if Cecily and Soren’s romance progresses.

Story: I was very into this story. The Winters are trying to stay the top dog but lately it hasn’t been easy with so many scandals brewing. Most of them are not good people, and when their power starts to crack and someone starts murdering members of the family, it leads to a search for who is trying to kill them. I enjoyed the different magic each family member had, I thought it was unique. I enjoyed the complicated relationship between all of them, how they kind of despise one another but it’s family over everything and everyone. I liked the mystery and the suspense! There were some moments in the middle where it slowed down a little but it does pick up again. There are a few twists and the ending feels like it’s setting up for a book two, which I hope is the case.

Final Thoughts:

I thought this was a fun young adult story with magic, so much family secrets and drama, a murder mystery and even a little romance. I hope there is a book two!

Read if you like: