The Last Wish of Bristol Keats – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: The Last Wish of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats, #2)

Author: Mary E. Pearson

Narrator(s): Brittany Pressley

Format: audiobook (Libby)

Pages: 449 Listening Time: approximately 14 hours

Publication Date: 11/10/25

Publisher: MacMillan Audio

Categories: Romantasy, Series

Everyone needs something to hold onto, even if it’s a lie.

After Bristol nearly loses Tyghan to the monsters her mother unleashed, their love deepens to a whole new level. Together, Bristol and Tyghan work to understand and reconcile their differences, moving forward with their common goal of saving Elphame. But, when a daring rescue attempt turns disastrous and a beloved knight dies, Bristol is forced to confront the fact that her mother is more powerful than she could ever have imagined – and more dangerous, too.

Meanwhile, Tyghan’s heart is laid bare when he re-encounters his betrayer, Kierus, and must wrestle with a new secret that throws everything he thought he knew about his past into question. Bristol is Elphame’s last chance for survival, but where do her loyalties truly lie? If she embraces the magic that has always been her birthright, she could become a monster just like her mother. Is she willing to risk losing the people she loves most if it means keeping them safe?

Discover the stunning second book in the Bristol Keats fantasy duology, from New York Times bestselling author Mary E. Pearson.

Content Warning: violence, death, grief

+ This is a series with a large cast of characters and yet, there one only one narrator and she did quite a job! I think the only voice I didn’t love was for Tyghan – but that’s just a personal preference. She was amazing doing all the voices for this book. And I’m glad I listened to this book because I don’t think I would have been as invested if I sat down and read it.

+~ I felt like this story moved quicker than book one, which I appreciated. Maybe because it finally gets to to big battle. The ending is gets very emotional but also kind of gave me whiplash. I can see why Bristol does what she does out of grief, but again with their communication issues.

+~ There is so much conflict for Bristol in this story. Her parents are enemies of Tyghan and his court. She loves them so much that she wants to save them which is totally understandable. Tyghan has lost people due to her parents though so I can understand his anger too. Throughout the whole story it was just this back and forth of who was right and what the right choice was for dealing with her parents. I felt bad for Bristol. It still felt weird to me that Tyghan was raised with and is ex-best friends with her dad though – just something I can’t really shake. 🤦🏻‍♀️ It kinda gives me the ick.

+~ Because of Bristol’s conflict, there were many times where Tyghan and her and to work through their relationship because of the issues that came between them. I did not like Tyghan keeping things from her about her dad. So communication was something they had to work on a lot. Clearly they loved one another and really wanted to make things work out. There are some spicy scenes. And the ending? It’s very emotional for both of them.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I enjoyed this audiobook except how Tyghan’s voice was done – it just didn’t work for me but for all the other voices this amazing narrator had to do? Outstanding. This is not my favorite series from this author, I think it might be my least favorite of them all but I’m glad I got to finish it.