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animelanie's review
5.0
Read for Review
Set to the tune of a unique dark Polish folktale, this fantasy novel is fast paced, an easy page turner. Told from the perspective's of the two servants, Marynka and Zosia, both who are strong female main characters, the story moves smoothly and quickly. With an undercurrent of a female-female romance, filled with friendships and fraught relationships, this is a great read. The banter between the main characters is enjoyable, while the developing relationships feel natural. Essentially a villain versus villain romance, where readers are rooting for the pair to find a way to overcome their circumstances. With a touch of horror throughout the novel with the use of dark magic, 'The Midnight Girls' is a true dark fantasy.
Themes : Fantasy; Magic; Monsters; Enemies; War; LGBTQIA+; Power; Feminism; Romance
A rare five stars because I enjoyed it, read it very quickly because of how engaging it was.
Set to the tune of a unique dark Polish folktale, this fantasy novel is fast paced, an easy page turner. Told from the perspective's of the two servants, Marynka and Zosia, both who are strong female main characters, the story moves smoothly and quickly. With an undercurrent of a female-female romance, filled with friendships and fraught relationships, this is a great read. The banter between the main characters is enjoyable, while the developing relationships feel natural. Essentially a villain versus villain romance, where readers are rooting for the pair to find a way to overcome their circumstances. With a touch of horror throughout the novel with the use of dark magic, 'The Midnight Girls' is a true dark fantasy.
Themes : Fantasy; Magic; Monsters; Enemies; War; LGBTQIA+; Power; Feminism; Romance
A rare five stars because I enjoyed it, read it very quickly because of how engaging it was.
bmzhang's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Hated the MCs, confusing narrative, and also boring
lostinworlds's review
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
gray_05_sea's review against another edition
4.5
I really enjoyed this as an audiobook- I like when audiobooks have more action. Beata was the character that I struggled with the most - I just never get that her character had complex or clear motives. I am not usually interested in YA, and do not think I would have enjoyed this as much as a physical or digital reading experience.
dhishfish's review
4.0
3.5 Stars
My friend definitely overhyped this one so my expectations were a little let down. I definitely loved the concept, based on polish mythology, two girls literally stealing hearts. like literally, but i do belive it could have been executed better. I think this book would have been wonderful as a series, because not only could our main characters Marynka and Sosia's relationship been developed better, into something big and dangerous and powerful (because they are, after all, rivals to lovers and incredibly powerful 'monsters') but also the country politics because there was a whole other thing with two side characters that I would've loved to see explored. Overall I did enjoy this book, the pacing was a little off, but it was a thrilling read nonetheless
My friend definitely overhyped this one so my expectations were a little let down. I definitely loved the concept, based on polish mythology, two girls literally stealing hearts. like literally, but i do belive it could have been executed better. I think this book would have been wonderful as a series, because not only could our main characters Marynka and Sosia's relationship been developed better, into something big and dangerous and powerful (because they are, after all, rivals to lovers and incredibly powerful 'monsters') but also the country politics because there was a whole other thing with two side characters that I would've loved to see explored. Overall I did enjoy this book, the pacing was a little off, but it was a thrilling read nonetheless
alyssanicolereads's review
2.0
I do not like to leave negative reviews but honestly, I have to with this one. The characters were so immature throughout the entire book and it made them completely unlikeable.
The whole book was based on Marynka’s inability to accept defeat and constantly making bad decisions in the name of being unable to back down from a challenge. There was a hint of a love story between Marynka and Zosia, but it didn’t really come to a head until the very end. I would have loved to see their actual relationship built on more, instead of the constant bickering and one upping each other.
And poor Beata! The morning servant pined over Marynka for YEARS, only to be completely ignored. Even her friendship seemed to be taken for granted.
The two characters/relationship I actually cared the most for weren’t even the true main characters - Józef and Kajetan. I would have given anything to actually see their soul mate relationship play out and I was rooting for these two to defeat the servants the entire time.
The ending was.. underwhelming. Maybe I’m missing something here, but for me, it was just really hard to even finish this book.
The whole book was based on Marynka’s inability to accept defeat and constantly making bad decisions in the name of being unable to back down from a challenge. There was a hint of a love story between Marynka and Zosia, but it didn’t really come to a head until the very end. I would have loved to see their actual relationship built on more, instead of the constant bickering and one upping each other.
And poor Beata! The morning servant pined over Marynka for YEARS, only to be completely ignored. Even her friendship seemed to be taken for granted.
The two characters/relationship I actually cared the most for weren’t even the true main characters - Józef and Kajetan. I would have given anything to actually see their soul mate relationship play out and I was rooting for these two to defeat the servants the entire time.
The ending was.. underwhelming. Maybe I’m missing something here, but for me, it was just really hard to even finish this book.
arvreads's review
I just didn’t connect with any of the characters and was not fully compelled by the story. I was forcing myself to continue reading mainly because I really dislike giving up on books.