Scan barcode
livinliterary's review against another edition
4.0
I was eager to find out how the characters that I came to love would fare after the disastrous events of the first book, and, thankfully, I was not disappointed.
This book certainly does not suffer from the dreaded "second book syndrome" - The Shadow Hour is just as full of magic, excitement, and intriguing characters as its first installment. Each character has become more complex and the stakes have been raised, but there is still the humor in the dialogue and story itself that creates a wonderful balance which makes this story such an exciting page-turner.
This book certainly does not suffer from the dreaded "second book syndrome" - The Shadow Hour is just as full of magic, excitement, and intriguing characters as its first installment. Each character has become more complex and the stakes have been raised, but there is still the humor in the dialogue and story itself that creates a wonderful balance which makes this story such an exciting page-turner.
amym84's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted at Vampire Book Club
At the end of The Girl at Midnight, Echo became the new vessel for the Firebird. Now she’s dealing with the enormity of what the Firebird is supposed to represent: peace. When the Avicen Nest is attacked by a strange shadowy creature, Echo realizes that there are two sides to every coin. Where there is light, there is also darkness. But if Echo wields the full power she now possesses will she fall into the path of darkness?
Echo must figure out how to utilize the powers she’s been given in order to save her people. Though tensions between the Avicen and Drakharins are still high, former Dragon Prince Caius believes he can talk his sister, Tanith, into siding with the Avicen in order to beat this common enemy. However, Tanith’s need for power runs deep, and Echo quickly learns the time for action is now.
As I was reading The Shadow Hour there were a couple things that struck me. One, the Firebird mythology that Melissa Grey has created here—coupled with the Firebird’s shadowy counterpart—is done extremely well. The play between light and dark (good and evil) is one of the oldest in the book, but when done well, as it is here, it makes for a very compelling story. Echo is plagued by the voices of past vessels. She struggles with understanding where their influence stops and her own freewill begins. But she handles everything with such grace and confidence, even when she thinks it’s just a façade for those around her. I loved seeing her navigate through this new position of power she’s found herself in.
Two, I found myself liking the secondary characters’ voices more than Echo’s. Don’t get me wrong, I like Echo’s character well enough. But I loved when Melissa Grey would change perspective and give Caius, Ivy, Jasper, or Dorian their points of view. It made the story feel better rounded because Echo is not going into this battle alone. She has the help of her friends and they all have a part to play outside of what Echo has to do, so it’s only right they get their time to shine.
Unfortunately, there were some things that didn’t work for me so well. Probably, the most glaringly obvious one is that Ms. Grey graces readers with the presence of not one, but two, count it TWO, love triangles. I mean, I detest them on a good day, but two for me is pretty much overkill.
Triangle one, between Jasper, Dorian, and devious warlock Quinn, was pretty easy to sort itself out, which makes me wonder why its potentiality was even introduced in the first place.
Triangle two, is awkwardly between Caius, Echo, and Rowan (Echo’s maybe ex-boyfriend). I say awkward because there are all these feelings hovering around these people, but no one talks to each other about them. Echo doesn’t even know if she and Rowan are broken up or not, and she doesn’t even know if her feelings for Caius are her own or from Rose (his former love, once a vessel of the Firebird, who’s thoughts now reside within Echo’s head). I know more important things were going on, but I felt like if the characters themselves didn’t deem it worthy of attention, why should I? This impacted my reactions, or lack thereof, to certain events in the book, which I think was supposed to have more of an emotional response than I could muster.
Overall, I loved the continuing story. I will definitely read the last installment in the trilogy. I just pray the triangles are sorted out swiftly.
At the end of The Girl at Midnight, Echo became the new vessel for the Firebird. Now she’s dealing with the enormity of what the Firebird is supposed to represent: peace. When the Avicen Nest is attacked by a strange shadowy creature, Echo realizes that there are two sides to every coin. Where there is light, there is also darkness. But if Echo wields the full power she now possesses will she fall into the path of darkness?
Echo must figure out how to utilize the powers she’s been given in order to save her people. Though tensions between the Avicen and Drakharins are still high, former Dragon Prince Caius believes he can talk his sister, Tanith, into siding with the Avicen in order to beat this common enemy. However, Tanith’s need for power runs deep, and Echo quickly learns the time for action is now.
As I was reading The Shadow Hour there were a couple things that struck me. One, the Firebird mythology that Melissa Grey has created here—coupled with the Firebird’s shadowy counterpart—is done extremely well. The play between light and dark (good and evil) is one of the oldest in the book, but when done well, as it is here, it makes for a very compelling story. Echo is plagued by the voices of past vessels. She struggles with understanding where their influence stops and her own freewill begins. But she handles everything with such grace and confidence, even when she thinks it’s just a façade for those around her. I loved seeing her navigate through this new position of power she’s found herself in.
Two, I found myself liking the secondary characters’ voices more than Echo’s. Don’t get me wrong, I like Echo’s character well enough. But I loved when Melissa Grey would change perspective and give Caius, Ivy, Jasper, or Dorian their points of view. It made the story feel better rounded because Echo is not going into this battle alone. She has the help of her friends and they all have a part to play outside of what Echo has to do, so it’s only right they get their time to shine.
Unfortunately, there were some things that didn’t work for me so well. Probably, the most glaringly obvious one is that Ms. Grey graces readers with the presence of not one, but two, count it TWO, love triangles. I mean, I detest them on a good day, but two for me is pretty much overkill.
Triangle one, between Jasper, Dorian, and devious warlock Quinn, was pretty easy to sort itself out, which makes me wonder why its potentiality was even introduced in the first place.
Triangle two, is awkwardly between Caius, Echo, and Rowan (Echo’s maybe ex-boyfriend). I say awkward because there are all these feelings hovering around these people, but no one talks to each other about them. Echo doesn’t even know if she and Rowan are broken up or not, and she doesn’t even know if her feelings for Caius are her own or from Rose (his former love, once a vessel of the Firebird, who’s thoughts now reside within Echo’s head). I know more important things were going on, but I felt like if the characters themselves didn’t deem it worthy of attention, why should I? This impacted my reactions, or lack thereof, to certain events in the book, which I think was supposed to have more of an emotional response than I could muster.
Overall, I loved the continuing story. I will definitely read the last installment in the trilogy. I just pray the triangles are sorted out swiftly.
beccajoek's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Really enjoying this series even if can be a little predictable at times.
ameserole's review against another edition
5.0
“You're a thief, Echo.' The Ala Squeezed her hand, her grip strong despite her frailty. 'Steal him back.”
THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING BUT WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ENDING WAS THAT!?!?
a bullshit one.
Seriously, I'm freaking out so freaking much that I can't stop freaking out!!
Speaking of Tanith -
I want her to die so badly in the next book and I will be completely devastated if that doesn't happen. But don't ruin it for me I will definitely be picking up this book tomorrow and find out for myself.
Then there's Rowan and I just don't really care what happens to him. I'm glad that he sort of got to be apart of the "Scooby Gang" but was he really necessary? I get that he is friends with Echo, and no I will not say he is a boyfriend..ever, but meh he was just kind of there. At least to me he was. Now if he helped Echo go and save Caius, the love of her life, then I would be 100% okay with that.
Oh, and the Ala is back after being hurt sometime within this book and I absolutely love that she told Echo to go steal Caius back because he was... ya know ... stolen from her. But I have a feeling that Ala ships them together almost as much as I ship them.
Other than that, shit did hit the fan a couple of times. A lot of death has happened in this book. A lot of death. But it was so amazing and interesting and I loved every word on every page. I'm so beyond happy that I read this book and I can't wait to dive into the next book tomorrow.
EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK. RIGHT NOW. DROP EVERYTHING. GET THIS SERIES.
THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING BUT WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ENDING WAS THAT!?!?
a bullshit one.
Seriously, I'm freaking out so freaking much that I can't stop freaking out!!
Spoiler
I LOVE ECHO. ECHO IS MY MAIN BITCH. MY DIE HARD. I cannot live without Echo in my life anymore. This book sort of broke me. I don't want her with Rowan so she needs to figure that shit out and cut him loose. She needs to be with Caius. 100% needs to be with him right now. She needs to put on her thiefing pants and her big girl shoes and go face Tanith and steal him back.Speaking of Tanith -
I want her to die so badly in the next book and I will be completely devastated if that doesn't happen. But don't ruin it for me I will definitely be picking up this book tomorrow and find out for myself.
Then there's Rowan and I just don't really care what happens to him. I'm glad that he sort of got to be apart of the "Scooby Gang" but was he really necessary? I get that he is friends with Echo, and no I will not say he is a boyfriend..ever, but meh he was just kind of there. At least to me he was. Now if he helped Echo go and save Caius, the love of her life, then I would be 100% okay with that.
Oh, and the Ala is back after being hurt sometime within this book and I absolutely love that she told Echo to go steal Caius back because he was... ya know ... stolen from her. But I have a feeling that Ala ships them together almost as much as I ship them.
Other than that, shit did hit the fan a couple of times. A lot of death has happened in this book. A lot of death. But it was so amazing and interesting and I loved every word on every page. I'm so beyond happy that I read this book and I can't wait to dive into the next book tomorrow.
EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK. RIGHT NOW. DROP EVERYTHING. GET THIS SERIES.
sleepysamreads's review against another edition
I really loved The Girl At Midnight and was really looking forward to this. But sadly, it fell flat for me. I got about 75% through and just gave up. It was really boring. I still love the characters, but the actual storyline felt really generic to me.
manoncremers's review against another edition
2.0
After having read the magical tale of The Girl at Midnight, nothing could have prepared me for the utter disappointment that is The Shadow Hour. It look me a good year and a half to continue and finally finish the damn book. I wish that I hadn't: the seemingly innocent 'love triangle' turned into a frustrating, Twilight-like mess; the pace of this book was equal to that of a slug and in the end, it all resulted in a brief, unsatisfactory climax that left me wanting so much more. Despite my longing for a better third book, it's safe to say I won't be continuing this series.
snowblu3's review against another edition
2.0
The first book in the series was fluff but delightful fluff. The writing in the first wasn't the best, but the story was engaging and it had its redeeming qualities. This one, though. Meh. It's just dragging on. When I was forcing myself to at least skim through the last quarter of the book, I decided there was no point in continuing. I don't know how it ends and I don't care! It's a shame since the first one was much better. This one feels uninspired.
noolna's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't really have high expectations for this book - in fact, I skimmed about 20% of it. I was still curious from the previous book to see where the author would take it, and if we're being real - it didn't go very far.
It felt like a lot of the time the group of characters kept going from one place to another, following a wild goose chase and nothing really exciting happens. When something dramatic or "difficult" happens, the solution to it felt too easy and neat - there was nothing about it that showed how Echo or the others really grew from what happened. Also, I found Echo more annoying in this book than I did in the first one - but that could also be because I don't exactly remember what happened except for the ending.
The main conflicting "ships" are boring and just so bland. There's no life to it, Caius/Echo/Rowan still have no chemistry and what happened to Caius at the end didn't even make me feel the least bit sad. The problem is that the dialogue between the characters are either a) so stiff b) so childish c) trying so hard to be funny and it ends up just being lame. Also the separation of POVs was just sooooo confusing and everything was underwhelming.
A part of me wants to pick up the next book just to see how it ends and cause I'm curious to see if the Ivy/Helios thing continues on. Another part of me also doesn't care that much either.
It felt like a lot of the time the group of characters kept going from one place to another, following a wild goose chase and nothing really exciting happens. When something dramatic or "difficult" happens, the solution to it felt too easy and neat - there was nothing about it that showed how Echo or the others really grew from what happened. Also, I found Echo more annoying in this book than I did in the first one - but that could also be because I don't exactly remember what happened except for the ending.
The main conflicting "ships" are boring and just so bland. There's no life to it, Caius/Echo/Rowan still have no chemistry and what happened to Caius at the end didn't even make me feel the least bit sad. The problem is that the dialogue between the characters are either a) so stiff b) so childish c) trying so hard to be funny and it ends up just being lame. Also the separation of POVs was just sooooo confusing and everything was underwhelming.
A part of me wants to pick up the next book just to see how it ends and cause I'm curious to see if the Ivy/Helios thing continues on. Another part of me also doesn't care that much either.
pixelski's review against another edition
3.0
Firstly, thanks to Hachette Australia for this review copy.
Review originally posted at Fiction in Fiction in Fiction
3.5/5 stars.
The Shadow Hour is one of my most anticipated releases of 2016 because The Girl at Midnight was one of my favs of 2015. I’m not sure what to say about TSH – while I certainly enjoyed it, I didn’t think it wow’d me enough. I think this is because it took me so long to read it, partially because as I had so much going on in my life, but also because the story didn’t progress in a way that had me going “just one more chapter” whilst reading before bed.
The story opens with our gang hiding after the ending of book 1. The new threat that looms is the universe’s way of balancing Echo’s power and it’s basically this that drives the plot of book 2.
Whilst Echo is still witty in TSH she’s definitely a lot more subdued – which is expected given the circumstances. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the perfect character progression on Grey’s part but at the same time I missed her sarcasm and banter which brought so much life to TGaM. Echo is suffering internally – with what she’s become, with new responsibilities heaped upon her, and what’s to come. It’s a lonely ride for her as nobody really understands what she’s going through. I liked the way slowly accepts many things but is also willing to fight for what she hopes she can change.
I quite liked the glimpses into the Avicen and Drakharin worlds through Ivy, Rowan, Jasper, Caius, Dorian and even Tanith. They may be slight, but through slips in conversation and thoughts between these secondary characters I felt like I understood a bit more of their way of life prior to the mess. I loved the bonds of friendship that deepened between our gang, especially the understanding that developed between Ivy and Dorian.
Speaking of Dorian *bites lip* ohohoho MY SHIP. Dorian and a certain Avicen in this book had me smiling so much. Seeing these two trying to find a comfortable common ground was so endearing. At times it was a little too much push and not enough pull. But at some point, our shy Drakharin begins to slowly come out of his shell and our flamboyant Avicen responds in kind. FLAILLLL. As for my other ship? Well Echo is quite rightly indecisive in this book and my heart hurt for the guy I’m rooting for and I’m holding out hope in The Savage Dawn for them. I am so appreciative of Grey for writing a swoony romance in lieu of my other ship.
I think the plot in the first half of the book was what dragged it down for me. Not enough was happening – there were attacks, there was plotting but for some reason the pacing was off for me. I felt like there was something missing that gave TGaM that extra oomph. However, the book really picks up in the last quarter and the ending is INTENSE. Like knocked me off my feet and had me like omggggggggggggg what I NEED THE SAVAGE DAWN intense. There’s like darkness and pew pew and pow pow and boom and POOF ohmygod who died (did somebody die? You’ll have to read to find out). Whew that ending was so awesome. IT’S A CLIFFHANGER *cries* Can I please have the last book now?
My favourite aspect of this series though, is Grey’s writing. It’s descriptive and lush in an unassuming way. The way she teaches the reader words in foreign languages and puts in the definitions fits the situation so well. It’s not pretentious – it feels so natural and really adds substance to the story. The way she utilises 3rd person POV to describe character emotions too, adds dimensions to characters that, from Echo’s POV may seem unreadable. Grey’s style is definitely a highlight and what makes this series really standout.
While faltering in pace at the beginning, the strong character development, exploration of relationships and cliffhanger ending wrapped up in Grey’s elegant prose, makes The Shadow Hour an enjoyable sequel.
Review originally posted at Fiction in Fiction in Fiction
3.5/5 stars.
The Shadow Hour is one of my most anticipated releases of 2016 because The Girl at Midnight was one of my favs of 2015. I’m not sure what to say about TSH – while I certainly enjoyed it, I didn’t think it wow’d me enough. I think this is because it took me so long to read it, partially because as I had so much going on in my life, but also because the story didn’t progress in a way that had me going “just one more chapter” whilst reading before bed.
The story opens with our gang hiding after the ending of book 1. The new threat that looms is the universe’s way of balancing Echo’s power and it’s basically this that drives the plot of book 2.
Whilst Echo is still witty in TSH she’s definitely a lot more subdued – which is expected given the circumstances. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the perfect character progression on Grey’s part but at the same time I missed her sarcasm and banter which brought so much life to TGaM. Echo is suffering internally – with what she’s become, with new responsibilities heaped upon her, and what’s to come. It’s a lonely ride for her as nobody really understands what she’s going through. I liked the way slowly accepts many things but is also willing to fight for what she hopes she can change.
I quite liked the glimpses into the Avicen and Drakharin worlds through Ivy, Rowan, Jasper, Caius, Dorian and even Tanith. They may be slight, but through slips in conversation and thoughts between these secondary characters I felt like I understood a bit more of their way of life prior to the mess. I loved the bonds of friendship that deepened between our gang, especially the understanding that developed between Ivy and Dorian.
Speaking of Dorian *bites lip* ohohoho MY SHIP. Dorian and a certain Avicen in this book had me smiling so much. Seeing these two trying to find a comfortable common ground was so endearing. At times it was a little too much push and not enough pull. But at some point, our shy Drakharin begins to slowly come out of his shell and our flamboyant Avicen responds in kind. FLAILLLL. As for my other ship? Well Echo is quite rightly indecisive in this book and my heart hurt for the guy I’m rooting for and I’m holding out hope in The Savage Dawn for them. I am so appreciative of Grey for writing a swoony romance in lieu of my other ship.
I think the plot in the first half of the book was what dragged it down for me. Not enough was happening – there were attacks, there was plotting but for some reason the pacing was off for me. I felt like there was something missing that gave TGaM that extra oomph. However, the book really picks up in the last quarter and the ending is INTENSE. Like knocked me off my feet and had me like omggggggggggggg what I NEED THE SAVAGE DAWN intense. There’s like darkness and pew pew and pow pow and boom and POOF ohmygod who died (did somebody die? You’ll have to read to find out). Whew that ending was so awesome. IT’S A CLIFFHANGER *cries* Can I please have the last book now?
My favourite aspect of this series though, is Grey’s writing. It’s descriptive and lush in an unassuming way. The way she teaches the reader words in foreign languages and puts in the definitions fits the situation so well. It’s not pretentious – it feels so natural and really adds substance to the story. The way she utilises 3rd person POV to describe character emotions too, adds dimensions to characters that, from Echo’s POV may seem unreadable. Grey’s style is definitely a highlight and what makes this series really standout.
While faltering in pace at the beginning, the strong character development, exploration of relationships and cliffhanger ending wrapped up in Grey’s elegant prose, makes The Shadow Hour an enjoyable sequel.