Published by: ATOM, April 28th 2015
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 361
Format: Ebook
Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.
Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.
Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, but if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.
But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.
Oh boy.
My review of this is going to be in two parts - the first 50%, and the second.
First:
The Girl At Midnight is a unique, magical story that feels like a real life fairy tale when you read it. It's original and compelling, and I didn't hate most of the characters. I wasn't sure about the Caius and Dorian POVs but the rest of the book made up for them.
I loved the quest to find the Firebird. I loved how original the world-building was, and the whole society of birds and their quirky underground community. The marketplace was cool. The travelling through doorways was AWESOME. The writing is evocative and lyrical in parts, and there were some really great quotes that I loved.
I was excited to see where the story would lead next!
Second:
One percent into the second half (ONE PERCENT) The Girl At Midnight changes violently from a captivating fantasy, a vital quest, and a desperate scrabble to survive to ... mostly romance. The quest and the Firebird take A MAJOR BACKSEAT. And what comes to the front is a cliche, forced romance (love triangle!!! Yay!!!) between Echo, the pretty alright main character, and Caius, who is a morally corrupt tortured asshole. But not your average tortured asshole. One who is just vile and makes me retch.
I wanted the story to keep moving forward, but it slowed down considerably and allowed for moments like this:
Their fingers brushed when he took the key from her hand, and a shock ran up his arm, stronger than static.
And this:
There was something monumental about her. He was beginning to understand what drove a certain breed of man to make art.
This comes from a guy who is hundreds of years old, should be immune to the teenage cliched crush, is terribly hung up on his dead wife, and yet ... this ridiculous romance starts to form. And I've read it a hundred times before and I am just not interested. I wanted to read to the end for the awesome quest but by that point I could see that it had already been kicked down the ladder of priorities.
Sorely disappointed. This book was seriously awesome and wonderfully unique, and would have easily made its way onto my favourites shelf, but then the catastrophe of a romance happened.
Characters ★★★☆☆
Setting/world-building ★★★★☆
Writing ★★★★☆
DNF at 71%
