A review by morningtide
The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is just one of those fantasy books that hit the right spot for me personally. I could see people finding Nirrim to be annoying/naive/whatever but I love a protagonist that is hopeful even to an  fault. I cheered when she came to terms with her relationship to her mother-figure Raven and how bad it was, and her guilt-ridden attachment to whats-his-face and instead embraced when she wanted. Sid was a fun character and I loved her little moments of angst and apprehension that Nirrim couldn't actually be into her, but when we only get one point of view I'm usually just not gonna feel super attached to anyone else, I think.

This is the first book in a while that actually made me want to jump right into the sequel. I was so excited to see the consequences of Nirrim's choices.

I actually didn't even realize this was a spin-off duology until I went to take out the second book from the library, but honestly don't really find the original story to be very appealing to me. I'm fine with that. I'm glad I was able to enjoy this book without having to commit to others first!