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A review by capesandcovers
Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shahnaz
5.0
I requested this because I thought reading about a time loop in a fantasy setting would be fun, but Midnight Strikes was so much more than that. This is one of those books that I love so much that I don't really know what to write because I just want everyone to go read it. So if you're reading this, this is your sign to pick up this book ASAP. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. The only reason I didn't read the whole thing in one sitting yesterday was because I already had plans to go to a concert, otherwise I would've.
Anaïs was a really interesting main character, because as the reader learns who she is through the story unfolding, she's learning alongside them. Shahnaz managed to create a painfully human main character, and have her simultaneously be one of the most badass fictional women I've ever read. Anaïs truly goes through an insane amount of trauma and still tries to do the right thing anyway. And Leo? Leo lowkey reminded me of Cardan from TFOTA, which is high praise because Cardan is one of my favorite characters ever. There's so many layers to Leo that Shrek would be proud. I don't want to say too much more because of spoilers but I love those two, and the rest of the cast of characters so much.
One of the other things I absolutely adored about this book was how the situations weren't shown as black and white. Everything had nuance to it, and everyone had a reason for their actions, both good and bad. This book was deliciously anti-colonialism and was such a breath of fresh air when it came to heavier and complex topics like that. Maybe it's because of how poorly the last fantasy I read handled it's racism and colonialism, but Midnight Strikes truly shone bright when tackling those for me.
My only complaint is that some of the lines with swearing felt a bit out of place due to the phrasing sounding too much like it was from our world rather than the fantasy one, but it was so minor that it's barely worth mentioning.
Overall, Midnight Strikes is an excellent fantasy standalone that tackles finding yourself, your future, colonialism, power imbalance and so much more. It's also impossible to put down and has some swoon worthy romantic moments. It's something I'm really hoping to see in libraries and other places teens can access it, because I think it's a great way to encourage awareness of those topics within the books they read. Essentially, I think it could be a very fun way for teens to learn to question the subtext of what the other fantasies they read are, which is something I think is more important than ever in the wake of so much censorship.
Anaïs was a really interesting main character, because as the reader learns who she is through the story unfolding, she's learning alongside them. Shahnaz managed to create a painfully human main character, and have her simultaneously be one of the most badass fictional women I've ever read. Anaïs truly goes through an insane amount of trauma and still tries to do the right thing anyway. And Leo? Leo lowkey reminded me of Cardan from TFOTA, which is high praise because Cardan is one of my favorite characters ever. There's so many layers to Leo that Shrek would be proud. I don't want to say too much more because of spoilers but I love those two, and the rest of the cast of characters so much.
One of the other things I absolutely adored about this book was how the situations weren't shown as black and white. Everything had nuance to it, and everyone had a reason for their actions, both good and bad. This book was deliciously anti-colonialism and was such a breath of fresh air when it came to heavier and complex topics like that. Maybe it's because of how poorly the last fantasy I read handled it's racism and colonialism, but Midnight Strikes truly shone bright when tackling those for me.
My only complaint is that some of the lines with swearing felt a bit out of place due to the phrasing sounding too much like it was from our world rather than the fantasy one, but it was so minor that it's barely worth mentioning.
Overall, Midnight Strikes is an excellent fantasy standalone that tackles finding yourself, your future, colonialism, power imbalance and so much more. It's also impossible to put down and has some swoon worthy romantic moments. It's something I'm really hoping to see in libraries and other places teens can access it, because I think it's a great way to encourage awareness of those topics within the books they read. Essentially, I think it could be a very fun way for teens to learn to question the subtext of what the other fantasies they read are, which is something I think is more important than ever in the wake of so much censorship.