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Give Me ‘til Midnight is a critically acclaimed debut YA novel inspired by the author’s love of Dublin and of time loop films.

Published by Everything With Words on 10/9/26, Give Me ‘til Midnight, the debut novel of Irish author Oran Doyle, is set across contemporary Dublin and has a fresh take on the time loop genre. Its theme of overcoming the sense of being stuck in life connects with young people and is drawn from Oran’s own decade-long struggle to get published.

This teen / young adult novel for ages 12+ is set on a sunny Thursday in May in Dublin city centre. Harmony’s a school drop-out in a dead-end job. Liam is the self-declared ‘King of Dublin’ in a twenty-four-hour time loop. Fearful that she’s in the loop too, Harmony convinces Liam to give her until midnight to break the cycle. Searching the city, these sixteen-year-olds share their secrets. Looking for answers, they find each other. But can they escape the loop?

Oran’s love for Dublin is on every page. His parents are from Dublin – each from a different side of the Liffey. Growing up in Sligo and overseas, he has lived within cycling distance of the city centre for all his adult life. He says: “I love Dublin and the city is central to my book. It’s on Grattan Bridge that Harmony realises Liam’s in a time loop. Harmony chats with a teen theoretical physicist in Trinity College. And when Harmony and Liam have a fight by the Spire, they make up over chicken fillet rolls at the Blessington Street Basin.”

The novel is already critically acclaimed. In her review in the Irish Times, Claire Hennessy calls Give Me ‘til Midnight “an absolutely terrific first novel from a writer we can hope to see more of” and “a refreshing take on the now familiar time loop plot”. Author Louise O’Neill (Asking for it) endorses the book, saying: “It’s a tender, time-twisting love story that captures the restless ache of being young. Wistful, moving and clever.”

Give Me ‘til Midnight is a fresh take on the time loop genre. Unlike every other loop story, Give Me ‘til Midnight is not told from the POV of the individual in the time loop. Instead, it gives us the viewpoint of smart, observant Harmony, who figures out Liam is in a loop. The book takes places over one iteration of that loop – one sunny Thursday in May.

Oran says, “While I love time loop films and books, I was keen to do something different. I chose to tell the story from the point of view of Harmony, who at first thinks she’s outside the loop then grows scared she might be in it too, just without knowing it. And instead of having Liam be desperate to leave the loop, I wanted him to seemingly love it, declaring himself to be the King of Dublin.”

The central theme of Give Me ‘til Midnight is about the sense of being stuck. It has the tag line: Liam is stuck in a time loop. Harmony is just stuck. In it, Harmony has dropped out of school and is working in her mother’s little cafe. In a loop he thinks he’ll never escape, Liam imagines himself as the King of Dublin to escape his own loneliness.

Oran says, “I’ve worked with young people in paid and voluntary roles for decades, and I think any young person can relate to the feeling of being stuck. This is especially true with social media allowing them to see the wonderful things happening in other people’s lives when it feels like nothing is happening in theirs. I was eager to show them in my book that it is through connection and friendship, and ultimately love, that Harmony and Liam become unstuck.”

This theme is inspired by the author’s own decade-plus struggle to be published. Oran says, “It wasn’t until quite recently that I realised my book is connected to my own experience of being stuck in my writing for years. I was really close to giving up at times.”

It took four unpublished novels, during eleven years of writing with many setbacks, before Oran finally signed with his agent Kirsty McLachlan at Morgan Green Creatives. He says, “After the call in May 2025 in which Kirsty asked me to sign with her, I was overwhelmed. I just started to cry. It was a dream come true.”

Give me ‘til Midnight is available in all good bookshops.

Contact the author: Via contact page on this website

Notes to editors

Oran Doyle is available for interview
Additional photos available on request

About Oran Doyle

Oran Doyle’s writing background is in screenwriting. He has worked as a script editor and reader, with one of his features receiving development funding from the Irish Film Board. His short films were funded by RTÉ. As Education Officer with the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign, he ran a project linking Irish and Timorese secondary schools. He subsequently worked with vulnerable children and families in Ireland. He lives in Dublin. Give Me ‘til Midnight is his debut novel.

Follow @doyle_oran on Instagram.

Book cover