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lennie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.
I always love folklore / mythology retellings and when i found out this was also queer, i was all in.
This book is dual pov and the main characters are witch's apprentices for two out of the three witches of Lechija.
The witches are called White Yaga, Red Yaga and Black Yaga and have jurisdiction over Morning, Midday and Midnight respectively.
Each has an 'apprentice' to do their bidding and gather hearts for them to consume.
However, a rivalry that has been going on for years between Marynka (Midday's servant) and Zosia (Midnight's servant) will be put to the test when the two are once again sent out to capture a heart.
Marynka & Beata (Morning's servant) end up accidentally travelling with Zosia (as they don't know who the other is). Marynka & Zosia become very close very quickly. But their fast friendship is put to the test when their identities are revealed.
I absolutely loved Marynka and Zosia, they were both morally grey and didn't apologise for it. One wants power and one wants freedom but ultimately what they want is the same thing.
I really enjoyed the story but i felt it ended a bit abruptly and really would've liked to see more of Marynka and Zosia after the events of the book.
CW: death, blood, murder, child abuse, injury, self harm, war
I always love folklore / mythology retellings and when i found out this was also queer, i was all in.
This book is dual pov and the main characters are witch's apprentices for two out of the three witches of Lechija.
The witches are called White Yaga, Red Yaga and Black Yaga and have jurisdiction over Morning, Midday and Midnight respectively.
Each has an 'apprentice' to do their bidding and gather hearts for them to consume.
However, a rivalry that has been going on for years between Marynka (Midday's servant) and Zosia (Midnight's servant) will be put to the test when the two are once again sent out to capture a heart.
Marynka & Beata (Morning's servant) end up accidentally travelling with Zosia (as they don't know who the other is). Marynka & Zosia become very close very quickly. But their fast friendship is put to the test when their identities are revealed.
I absolutely loved Marynka and Zosia, they were both morally grey and didn't apologise for it. One wants power and one wants freedom but ultimately what they want is the same thing.
I really enjoyed the story but i felt it ended a bit abruptly and really would've liked to see more of Marynka and Zosia after the events of the book.
CW: death, blood, murder, child abuse, injury, self harm, war
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Self harm, and War
jes7037's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty
pey333's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty and Alcohol
lahariel's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship
shaipanda's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book didn’t grab me for some reason but idk if that’s cause I genuinely didn’t enjoy it that much or because I just finished one of the best books I’ve ever read
I did love that it was gay tho cause obviously lol and I enjoyed it overall but it was still a kinda meh read for me
I did love that it was gay tho cause obviously lol and I enjoyed it overall but it was still a kinda meh read for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Physical abuse and Murder
Minor: Abandonment and War
qraveline's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder
modernmatilda's review
adventurous
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? Yes
5.0
Fierce monster girls who literally steal hearts and sexual-tension-filled sword fighting FOR THE WIN! 🤘
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•
It's no secret that I LOVE books with dark fairytale princesses-who-will-kill-you vibes, so I already knew The Midnight Girls was going to be a big hit with me. The book follows two rivals, Zosia and Marynka, who are in competition for a prince's heart. But not in an affectionate lovey-dovey fall-for-me way; they are literally competing to see who can rip out his heart first to bring it back for their jaga (witch grandmother) to eat. And then they slowly start to fall for each other. While growing their magic. At a winter festival. I am HERE FOR IT!!!!!!
•
•
The ending is GORGEOUS and open-ended in a poetic way, the snowy atmospheric setting is delightful, and the representation throughout is fantastic. I wish the title was different (only one of the girls is named Midnight) and I wanted more exploration of the prince's side of the story (especially with Kajeta!), but overall this is my first 5-star book of the year.
•
•
I'm so thankful to Aly for the physical advanced readers copy and Alicia Jasinska for writing such a delightful fantasy standalone (which the world needs more of).
•
•
cw: child abuse, blood, body horror (brief), death, murder
rep: Polish-coded cast & setting, lesbian mc, bi female mc, lesbian character, gay character, bi male character, Muslim side character, Jewish side character
•
•
It's no secret that I LOVE books with dark fairytale princesses-who-will-kill-you vibes, so I already knew The Midnight Girls was going to be a big hit with me. The book follows two rivals, Zosia and Marynka, who are in competition for a prince's heart. But not in an affectionate lovey-dovey fall-for-me way; they are literally competing to see who can rip out his heart first to bring it back for their jaga (witch grandmother) to eat. And then they slowly start to fall for each other. While growing their magic. At a winter festival. I am HERE FOR IT!!!!!!
•
•
The ending is GORGEOUS and open-ended in a poetic way, the snowy atmospheric setting is delightful, and the representation throughout is fantastic. I wish the title was different (only one of the girls is named Midnight) and I wanted more exploration of the prince's side of the story (especially with Kajeta!), but overall this is my first 5-star book of the year.
•
•
I'm so thankful to Aly for the physical advanced readers copy and Alicia Jasinska for writing such a delightful fantasy standalone (which the world needs more of).
•
•
cw: child abuse, blood, body horror (brief), death, murder
rep: Polish-coded cast & setting, lesbian mc, bi female mc, lesbian character, gay character, bi male character, Muslim side character, Jewish side character
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, and Murder
Minor: Body horror and Blood
nytephoenyx's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I really, really wanted to like The Midnight Girls because I thought the magic/monster-driven concept at its center was wonderful. There are edges of fairytale to the story – the kind of fairytales that evoke gruesome images, not princesses and pumpkins. It’s not gory, but it is dark, and the trio of competing young women was compelling. Especially when we speak of stealing princes’s hearts… and not in the way you may think. That said, it felt Jasińska wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do with the story at times – some scenes are powerfully written, but the threads that tie them together are loose and tangled. It didn’t quite work for me.
We have a trio of servants who work for three witches in three forests – Beata is White Jaga’s servant in the Morning Forest, Marynka is Red Jaga’s servant in the Midday Forest, and Zosia is Black Jaga’s servant in the Midnight Forest. They are tasks with stealing hearts for princes for their witches to devour to make them stronger. Almost every time, Zosia “Midnight” wins the race and Marynka “Midday” hatesit. Beata “Morning” just does her best and accepts her place. The Midnight Girls is mostly Marynka’s story of hate and love and rivalry and frustration and finally peace. Zosia’s story is woven in as well, but at the heart, it’s Marynka’s tale. It’s a love story, mostly.
There are a lot of things going on in The Midnight Girls. There’s Karnawal – a winter Carnival festival – and there’s Price Józef’s story with Kajetan. There’s a lot of working relationships that Jasińska clearly wanted to develop, and none of them got quite enough attention, not even the sapphic romance between Zosia and Marynka. For the first two-thirds, I was bored and frustrated, save for the occasional vibrant scene (the ice maze!). The last third caught my interest but it moved so quickly that as soon as things seemed to be developing… they stopped. The book ended.
That said, there’s a lovely review on Goodreads from a Polish reader commenting on the magic, Polish-coded cast, and general setting. It’s a lovely, happy, enthusiastic review and a reminder that there are so many groups underrepresented in literature still, even if they don’t seem so obvious to the casual reader. The sheer joy in this review reminds me how often only the western-most European cultures get mention. While I found the world-building a little awkward (is this real? Fantasy? Magical realism? Jasińska seems to jump but I believe it’s intended to be fantasy intertwined in the real world), it’s clear this book is not for me and it’s made another so happy.
Criticism unrelated to the book itself or the author – this title feels like it was chosen by someone who didn’t read the book. Jasińska stated online that she didn’t title the book herself, so this is not on her. To be clear, there are no “midnight girls”. There is one girl affiliated with “midnight” (Zosia) and three girls who are monsters.
The Midnight Girls is a pass from me, although there are moments and pieces I appreciated. I think that to the right reader, this will be a wonderful read and I appreciate that it exists even if I read too deeply into things like the relationships and the world building and ruined it for myself. I celebrate that this is a YA book with well-represented Polish-coded characters, queer relationships, and dark, spooky sunset magic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and War
nutm3g's review
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
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
The Midnight Girls was an exciting and entertaining read, where the villains were given the chance of a romance story for once. The sapphic enemies to lovers felt fully hashed out and believable, exploring the thin line between love and hate (as well as how quickly it can shift between the two). I enjoyed that the author did not set out to write a story where they would be "redeemed" or turn good, but rather let their love and story unfold while they remained true to themselves. While set in a semi-real historical backdrop where Poland and its people grappled for freedom from their oppressors and their right to maintain their identity we see Zosia (Midnight), Marynka (Midday), and even Beata (Morning) grapple with the same ideas of freedom and identity. It was an enjoyable read, with wonderful magical world-building.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Torture, Grief, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Death of parent
audeira's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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
Graphic: Violence and Murder