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samthebibookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Why to read- Fantasy, dystopian with magic, sapphic main couple, gods,
Trigger warning- homophobia,violence, toxic relationships, murder, physical and mental abuse, casteism
Nirrim is a half-kith, one of the lowest groups of people in the island of Ethin. They are kept separated by the upper caste in the Ward within the walls. The walls which are painted white with limestone. But why?
If you ask this question to the people of Ethin, they will simply say “it is as it is”. Who implemented the laws for the caste system? Who appointed the lord Protector? Who said that half-kith can't have particular things and more importantly….why are there no history books??
The answer, “it is as it is”
Nirrim is the perfect obedient person you can wish for. She’ll never say no and will do anything her mother figure Raven asks her to do. But sadly she doesn't even know when people are taking advantage of her. But she can see, see things which are forgotten and now are just mere memories.
But when she is captured for a crime she didn't even committed she meets Sid (or should i say, my darling princess who is gonna steal me, uhmm no back to review) Nirrim gets the idea of curiosity, a want but believe me questioning things in Ething is not the best idea.
Sid is the character I wanted to read so badly and Marie Rutkoski completed my wish, She is a mysterious traveller, likes suits and rocks them, has short blonde hair and uses heavy humor as a coping mechanism (not the best thing, but girl screams simp for me, and i do)
This book , please read it seriously. You may find yourself saying to Nirrim that please don't let people take advantage of you but her character development is so awesome, and she teaches you a very good thing
“But nothing is as it is. Everything comes from something. There is nothing and no one without a past.”
To question, in a real life perspective we live in a society where all the laws are laid out, people go through their routines without even thinking how this came to be? What is the reason? Why do we do what we do? Who made us do it?
I love you Nirrim just give me Sid pls-
But now that Nirrim becomes curious and finally knows the truth , she will take back what was taken away . Now that the truth is out, people are gonna pay for it.
Trigger warning- homophobia,violence, toxic relationships, murder, physical and mental abuse, casteism
Nirrim is a half-kith, one of the lowest groups of people in the island of Ethin. They are kept separated by the upper caste in the Ward within the walls. The walls which are painted white with limestone. But why?
If you ask this question to the people of Ethin, they will simply say “it is as it is”. Who implemented the laws for the caste system? Who appointed the lord Protector? Who said that half-kith can't have particular things and more importantly….why are there no history books??
The answer, “it is as it is”
Nirrim is the perfect obedient person you can wish for. She’ll never say no and will do anything her mother figure Raven asks her to do. But sadly she doesn't even know when people are taking advantage of her. But she can see, see things which are forgotten and now are just mere memories.
But when she is captured for a crime she didn't even committed she meets Sid (or should i say, my darling princess who is gonna steal me, uhmm no back to review) Nirrim gets the idea of curiosity, a want but believe me questioning things in Ething is not the best idea.
Sid is the character I wanted to read so badly and Marie Rutkoski completed my wish, She is a mysterious traveller, likes suits and rocks them, has short blonde hair and uses heavy humor as a coping mechanism (not the best thing, but girl screams simp for me, and i do)
This book , please read it seriously. You may find yourself saying to Nirrim that please don't let people take advantage of you but her character development is so awesome, and she teaches you a very good thing
“But nothing is as it is. Everything comes from something. There is nothing and no one without a past.”
To question, in a real life perspective we live in a society where all the laws are laid out, people go through their routines without even thinking how this came to be? What is the reason? Why do we do what we do? Who made us do it?
I love you Nirrim just give me Sid pls-
But now that Nirrim becomes curious and finally knows the truth , she will take back what was taken away . Now that the truth is out, people are gonna pay for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
rushvalleys's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
ceciliasa's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I didn't enjoy the ending very much, it felt rushed.
Content Warnings
Minor: Cannibalism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship
make_believer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
baponthecob's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Blood
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved this while I was reading it, and now that I've put it down I'm torn between wanting the sequel, and not trusting that the sequel will be satisfying given how this book ended and some other issues which I'll discuss. Firstly, what this book is: THE MIDNIGHT LIE is a sapphic story of moments of happiness amid oppression and abuse in a fantasy setting. It's about loving small joys and good things for their transience, not in spite of it. It's a heartbreakingly relatable portrayal of trauma bonding, abuse, and betrayal, piling small cruelties atop systemic injustices in a setting where escape isn't enough.
One thing this does very well is show what gaslighting can look like in a way that gently and persistently provides a series of outside voices to counter the narrative being fed to the main character by her abuser. Her protests of this person's goodness and faithfulness become smaller and smaller until she finally has to decide what to do with the information she has been given. It begins subtly and slowly builds in a way that makes it a useful example of how insidious the abuse is and how much her abuser is controlling her understanding of reality, beginning when she was a much younger kid. As much as it muddles the message a little, I'm glad that the people trying to point out the one person's abuse aren't paragons themselves, that's especially important because it stop the main character from just switching which character has her undying loyalty.
I like how queer this is but please don't pitch it to anyone as a sapphic romance. It's sapphic, there is a romance, but the combination of traits implied by that conjoined phrase is not representative of this book. So much of the emotional core in THE MIDNIGHT LIE revolves around whether and how to trust untrustworthy people, whether they can't be trusted because they're personally cruel, they're not powerful enough to provide protection from the system, or they're impermanent and nothing and no one lasts forever. This commentary on untrustworthiness and betrayal makes for a fascinating book but an emotionally fraught romance. I'm also concerned about possible biphobia transphobia from some interactions with the love interest. The words the love interest chooses when expressing jealousy are suspiciously similar to some biphobic and transphobic talking points and it was uncomfortable to read, waiting to figure out whether the character was bigoted or just insecure and using bigoted language to convey those feelings. I think it's more the second one, but I remain unsure.
The end-of-book revelations about the truth of the setting worked well and made things make sense but I hate the decision that the main character made with that information. I don't know what she should have done instead given what she learned, but I hope the sequel takes the consequences of her choice seriously and doesn't treat it flippantly. I want it fixed but I don't want it cheapened by being handled too quickly.
One thing this does very well is show what gaslighting can look like in a way that gently and persistently provides a series of outside voices to counter the narrative being fed to the main character by her abuser. Her protests of this person's goodness and faithfulness become smaller and smaller until she finally has to decide what to do with the information she has been given. It begins subtly and slowly builds in a way that makes it a useful example of how insidious the abuse is and how much her abuser is controlling her understanding of reality, beginning when she was a much younger kid. As much as it muddles the message a little, I'm glad that the people trying to point out the one person's abuse aren't paragons themselves, that's especially important because it stop the main character from just switching which character has her undying loyalty.
I like how queer this is but please don't pitch it to anyone as a sapphic romance. It's sapphic, there is a romance, but the combination of traits implied by that conjoined phrase is not representative of this book. So much of the emotional core in THE MIDNIGHT LIE revolves around whether and how to trust untrustworthy people, whether they can't be trusted because they're personally cruel, they're not powerful enough to provide protection from the system, or they're impermanent and nothing and no one lasts forever. This commentary on untrustworthiness and betrayal makes for a fascinating book but an emotionally fraught romance. I'm also concerned about possible biphobia transphobia from some interactions with the love interest. The words the love interest chooses when expressing jealousy are suspiciously similar to some biphobic and transphobic talking points and it was uncomfortable to read, waiting to figure out whether the character was bigoted or just insecure and using bigoted language to convey those feelings. I think it's more the second one, but I remain unsure.
The end-of-book revelations about the truth of the setting worked well and made things make sense but I hate the decision that the main character made with that information. I don't know what she should have done instead given what she learned, but I hope the sequel takes the consequences of her choice seriously and doesn't treat it flippantly. I want it fixed but I don't want it cheapened by being handled too quickly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Animal death, Biphobia, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
CW for brief misgendering, threats of sexual assault.wefeltforever's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, and Sexual content
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, and Homophobia
yvonne_cl's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Police brutality
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
greendaisy's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The writing is high quality and the characters are well-written, my lower rating is more a matter of personal taste. The ending is sad, not thrillingly sad or bittersweet sad, just sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Grief, Child death, Murder, and Blood
Abuse dyamics aren't present in the romantic relationship but play an incredibly large part in the story so beware if that is not something you are ready to read.asonia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Homophobia and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual content and Toxic relationship