This book had me intrigued from the very beginning. Trials, blood-bonds, and fate ensconce the pages from practically the first page which made this book a perfect binge-worth read.

The stakes were high and the pace was fast with very little down-time throughout the entire story. Something always seemed to be happening to move the story forward, whether that be the trials of The Ridding itself or through terror and escape from syphons, fiendlings or other supernatural elements.

I loved Caldwell and Cavendish, with their dark humour and dead-pan comments, and also Vesper with her feisty attitude and sheer spirit and will throughout the story. Although I loved these characters, Lonan for me was the real star. His whole demeanor and protective side had me rooting for him the whole way. I only wish we would have had more from his POV.

The romance angle was interesting, I loved the idea that not all blood-mates were what you'd want or the swoon-worthy love story that we usually see in these kinds of books where the FMC and MMC are fated to be together and live happily ever after.

Some closed door romance scenes, with zero spice would make this book appealing to both young adults and adults alike with a fun story about choosing your own destiny.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book via Netgalley.

Amber Hamilton is slowly becoming my favourite YA fantasy author. I loved seven deadly thorns and even with the high expectations i had for this book i was still surprised with how much i love it.

After loving Seven Deadly Thorns, I couldn’t wait to dive into Twelve Dark Hours and it absolutely delivered.
This is a fast paced YA fantasy that throws you straight into a high stakes, survive the night adventure where every hour counts. Once the story finds its footing, it barely slows down, delivering relentless action, danger, twists and genuinely creepy moments that kept me turning the pages. Totally consumed my day!
Vesper is a determined and compelling heroine, while Lonan completely stole the show for me. His unwavering loyalty, protective nature and slow burn chemistry with Vesper made every scene they shared worth savouring. Their banter was one of my favourite parts of the book.

Amber Hamilton continues to create an imaginative fantasy world packed with dark magic, blood bonds, supernatural threats and memorable supporting characters. The pacing is excellent, making this an incredibly bingeable read that left me eager for whatever comes next.
If you enjoy fast moving fantasy with high stakes, found family, slow burn romance and dangerous magical trials, this is one to add to your TBR.

If you enjoyed Powerless by Lauren Roberts, The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni,Lightlark by Alex Aster then this is a must for the tbr. 📚✨

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

YESS!! I was so excited when I saw another book by Amber Hamilton as I flew through Seven Deadly Thorns and was captivated by the world.

The minute I got approval on Netgalley I stopped all other reading to start Twelve Dark Hours and was completely captivated!

I love the way AH writes, the plot is fab, all the characters have a purpose and you can connect with them (which I prefer over stories with so many characters I'm having to take notes to work out wtf is going on).

I love the connection and banter between Vesper and Lonan, and the twists throughout (I don't want to put any spoilers).

This book has been written with so much love and emotion and it is evident in the way the story unfolds and for me it was just perfection.

Thank you so much for the ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed Hamilton's new book! I liked her Seven Deadly Thorns, and I liked how she stuck to the same vibe for this one.

The books are not related, however they take place in the same universe; and I do like the numbers on their titles. She has a whole fairytail universe to explore in this way, and I cannot wait for the next!

Is not a book to reinvent the wheel, don't get me wrong, but it goes down easily, is well written, captivating, interesting MCs, what more do you need?!

Will be recommending!

Das Buch „Twelve Dark Hours“ von Amber Hamilton umfasst 400 Seiten und ist bei Bloomsbury Publishing erschienen. Der Klappentext verspricht nicht zu viel: den Leser erwartet hier ein spannendes wie tödliches Abenteuer, das einen kaum zu Atem kommen lässt. Der Schauplatz ist grausam und das wird auch unverblümt so erzählt. Es ist der Autorin sehr gut gelungen, die verschiedenen Charaktere zu zeichnen und die Welt bzw. die Schule vorzustellen, ohne dass es gerade zu Beginn langweilig wird. Im Gegenteil, es geht spannend los und kontinuierlich atemberaubend weiter. Ich wollte ständig wissen, was als nächstes passiert und wurde immer wieder vom Verlauf der Handlung überrascht.
Ein schonungsloses Fantasy-Abenteuer, das zu fesseln weiß - ich werde mir diese Autorin merken!

“I am with you. In the Dark and in the Light. I’m with you.”

What an absolutely unhinged rollercoaster ride that was!

Due out in November, Twelve Dark Hours by Amber Hamilton is a standalone YA fantasy with gothic vibes and touches of horror 💀

The story follows Vesper and Lonan: academic rivals at Gossemort Academy, who are both hiding dangerous secrets. 

When a mysterious Prince sends the school into lockdown for a series of deadly trials known as ‘The Ridding’, there’s quite literally no escape, and the pair are forced to work together to face the horrors and survive til dawn ⏳

You can expect:

📈Fast pacing - with the descent into chaos and the clock ticking down, this book feels like a Cinderella-inspired nightmare that you can’t outrun. It’s action-packed the whole way through.

⚔️Deadly trials - this is a contest that no one signed up for, and some of the trials are seriously unhinged! The horror elements had me constantly wondering what fresh hell was up next (I never had to wait long!) and I’ll be forwarding Amber my therapy bill for the coffin scene.

💔Fated mates gone wrong - a great twist on a classic trope. What if your fated mate was actually a fate worse than death??

🩶Morally grey MMC - I was living for the snippets of Lonan’s POV - the yearning!!!

🧠Fragile male egos - “Whoever said there’s no fury like a woman scorned never saw the detonation of a man spurned by a woman.” CAN I GET AN AMEN?!

This was such a fun ride with a definite nightmare vibe! Highly recommend if you enjoy books that have your nervous system on high alert the whole way through.

Thank you so much to the author, NetGalley, and the publisher for this ARC!

Unfortunately, I was unable to read this book either on my phone kindle app or my actual kindle (amazon fire I believe) due to formatting errors - namely sentences being split across multiple lines. However, from what I did read, I really did enjoy it, so will be purchasing when it comes out so I can read it properly. I'm just sorry that I was unable to give a helpful review as I was unable to read it.

I felt like this book was written just for me, it hit the spot in every way a book should. I could not put it down and found myself telling myself just one more chapter!

This was a quick paced book where the action starts straight away keep the same pace throughout the whole book. this book has twist and turn throughout while students are faced with deadly trials.

I absolutely loved the MFC she came across as a badass who was determined and fearless and took multiple risks for the people she loved and didn't stop fighting throughout the book. I really enjoy the little snippets at the end of chapters from Lonan, I found that it really added an extra layer to the story and it was nice to see his feelings on the page! All the other characters brought something different to the story and I found that no two characters were the same.

This story did well to blend high-stake trials, nonstop action and horror with the immense world building to really make you feel a part of the story. I found that the plot had me guessing with some of the twists, while also having the romance that delivered plenty of moments that made my heart flutter.

I was lucky enough to receive an advanced readers copy of this book and leave my review voluntarily. it is the first book I have read by this author but it defiantly will not be the last.

Amber Hamilton you’ve done it again. An absolutely brilliant book. I could not put this down. The magic system was fantastic, the mix of dark and light magic and how it’s wielded was beautifully written. The story and characters had me in a chokehold. You could literally trust no one in this book and I was going between wanting to scream at the pages and also gasping. The woven romance was full of yearning enemies and I was lapping it up like a woman starved. Wow. Just wow. What on earth do you put in these books Amber?!

This book captivated me from the start.
I couldn't put it down and devoured it.

The pace, plot and characters are perfect and I felt like I was along for the ride.

Who hasn't experienced heartbreak of some kind and the way that is weaved throughout the story and the way in all comes to the end. It had me feeling every part.

Vesper was everything I needed as was the story. I highly recommend this book.

Loved this book! It’s written so well and the plot had me hooked. Will be recommending to all as a romantasy academia fan.

Hello thank you for sending me this to read i really enjoyed it thank you i was hooked from page one to the very last page and I just wanted more thank you would definitely recommend

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for my arc, I really appreciate it.

I enjoyed the first book, Seven Deadly Thorns in this world, so I was excited to read this. I was not disappointed, in fact this book was so much better.

Although both books are set in the same world this book can definitely be read without reading the former. There's nothing from the first book that you need to know going into this one.

This book was full of adrenaline from the beginning, it was non stop. The pacing was so fast, it had me hooked. Like the first it has an academic setting, this time the students find themselves locked inside the school, made to endure deadly trials, called The Ridding until the sun rises. These tests are meant to weedle out the weak and unfaithful.

Taking part is our FMC, Vesper who is aided by her nemesis, Lonan. Thoughout the book we are treated to the odd chapter from Lonan's point of view, which I found really added to the story. I love an MMC who loves from a distance, who loves without expecting or wanting anything in return. The utter devotion, the yearning from him was perfect! Needless to say I really enjoyed the romance aspect.

The trials themselves are quite dark, verging on horror which added to the suspense. I particularly liked the second trial when they are cursed to speak their truths or die.

As with the first book, there are lots of plot twists and reveals, Hamilton excels at writing big gasp moments. I hope we get to revisit this world in more of her books.

It is the annual Solstice festival at Gossemort school, a magical school that trains young students for the battle on the side of Light against Dark. Vesper Fontaine and Lonan Duval are always competing for the best student in the school and tonight will be no different. However, a surprise visitor sets off an ancient trial that invokes the Fates of Life and Death. Bravery will be needed, hearts will be tested and monsters will be revealed.

This was my first foray into this author's work and so I didn't really know what to expect other than what the blurb told me. This is a YA romantasy that is set in the same universe as her other book but you don't have to have read the previous book. In fact reading Twelve Dark Hours has made me buy Seven Deadly Thorns. The world building in this was delicious, the way that Light and Dark interplay as a plot device and I love that the crossing boundaries between the two was so prominent throughout. The female main character was a complete and utter badass. Friendships were such a key part of this book and I love that the focus was on the female friendships aside from the love story. This book gave me 'Cinderella with a ladleful of dark and twisty' vibes. I loved that the ancient Fates were characters and them being involved in the trial was done brilliantly. This book had me excited for what was coming next, the monsters were terrifying and I can't wait to jump back into this world.

Whether you’ve read Seven Deadly Thorns or not, Twelve Dark Hours is an absolute showcase of well executed pacing, time-bound storytelling, utilising every inch of a confined setting, and character development even within such a short space of time. Amber Hamilton truly excels in what I can only call the romantasy version of something like 24 or The Pitt in its real-time action, while world-building at the same time.

Vesper isn’t the most lovable protagonist, but that’s done beautifully on purpose. She’s a real person. She makes decisions some of us would make and others would turn their nose up at, and that’s why I love her throughout this story. She isn’t striving for perfection, she’s just getting through life and, at the end of the day, aren’t we all?! This made me warm to her in the way I would a true friend and got me much more heavily invested emotionally!

I can’t quite find the words to tell you how exceptional this plot, cast, story, and message are conveyed in under 400 pages. With the 12 hour timeframe, we’re practically reading in real-time. With the trials and the entrapment of those trials, we’re bound to a Hunger Games-esque arena. The mortality stakes make the relationships, romantic, familial and otherwise, more intense. Everything is heightened in this novel and it moves brilliantly!

Amber Hamilton’s writing is wonderfully charismatic in the way she world builds but through character and dialogue as opposed to a sole focus on description. I didn’t feel as though I was being told about the world, I was learning about it from the way the character’s engage and work within it. This is a truly marvellous autumnal read for the darker nights, and I cannot recommend a preorder enough!

What I enjoyed the most while reading Twelve Dark Hours is the cultural depth. The book has roots in traditional folklore—specifically a dark, reimagined Cinderella story set in a magic academy—and this alone was so fresh to me.

he story begins with Vesper Fontaine, the main FMC, who is forced out of her quiet routine and thrown directly into a dangerous world of magic and political secrets. Despite being rivals competing for the top spot at Gossemort Academy, Vesper and her classmate Lonan share a dangerous secret that could get them killed. In the meantime, their peace gets captured at the annual Solstice feast when a mysterious crown prince arrives, claims Vesper as his bloodmate, and triggers the Ridding—a brutal, night-long survival test. Vesper finds herself locked inside the school on a mission to rescue her future and survive until dawn alongside Lonan.

During their high-stakes journey facing three ruthless trials, Vesper and Lonan are forced to rely on each other and begin discovering deeper feelings for one another. The story slows down just a bit around the middle of the book where the characters uncover their hidden heritage, test their loyalty to the Light, and question what it means to be bound to a fated mate. Somehow, just like this, the clock keeps ticking closer to dawn, and the dark academic tension builds into a thrilling climax.

This is a spectacular and atmospheric standalone masterpiece. I did enjoy this book so much as it's fantasy with deadly trials, secret shadow magic, and a rivals-to-lovers dynamic that completely left me breathless

LOVEDDDDDDDDDD READING THIS BOOK SO MUCH !!!!!! IT WAS SO ENGAGING, THE CHEMISTRY, PLT AND EVERYTHING WAS SO GOOD ABOUT THIS BOOK

Twelve Dark Hours was completely all consuming for me. The moment I stepped into this world, everything else just faded out. The characters had such rich complexity, and the relationship dynamics carried so much weight that every scene felt alive. The emotions were intense in all the right ways, both in the big moments and the quiet ones that caught me off guard. I devoured the plot because it kept deepening those connections and pushing them further. Once I picked it up, all I wanted to do was keep going.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for the approval to read this book.

Having read Seven Deadly Thorns, I knew coming into Twelve Dark Hours that Amber Hamilton delivers the most delicious gothic worlds with interesting magical systems, and that she did.

I really enjoyed this book. The plot of the ridding was interesting, and the twists kept me on my toes. I enjoyed being kept in the dark as the story developed. I also think that an overnight trial always makes for a more atmospheric read.

Our FMC, Vesper, was strong, and I loved her independence but also intense love for her friends. She was written with depth and you could genuinely feel the war raging inside her as she uncovered the truth.

Lonan was a 10/10 yearner. Completely dedicated to her. I loved that he was intrinsic to the storyline, and not just a side character with little impact and a crush. The little POVs in the occasional chapter were perfect.

Overall, I loved the world. I loved the atmosphere. I loved the characters. I just loved the book. Can’t wait to see what Amber delivers next, but what I can guarantee is that I will eat it up.

Twelve Dark Hours is a book about rivalry, overcoming fears, and fate.

Although this says it is marketed towards Teens and YA, I think it's fair to say that this is firmly in the Teen section. TDH has a great plot and some great characters, but they're not quite as fleshed out as I would like them to be.

Everything you need to know about the characters is laid out on the page, word for word. Several times it is stated that Vesper is a poet, or is heartbroken/heartless. These are things that can be shown in the way she speaks and acts. Having it written out multiple times makes the characterisation less authentic.

Vesper is the main character and she is a character for sure. She is a constant hot and cold from start to finish. She will share a sentimental moment with friends, and run headfirst into danger a breath later. She repeats the same actions several times throughout the duration of the story and is very clearly immature, emotional and not very reflective.

There are bones of character development there for both Vesper and Lonan, but again, rather than show the development, it's sudden changes and the emotions/feelings behind it are explained to us as readers.

I can definitely see how this book will appeal to some people, and I am definitely older than the books targeted demographic.

It was an enjoyable book nonetheless, and I would read more from this author.