The Midnight Lie (The Midnight Lie #1)Author: Marie Rutkoski
Genre: YA LGBTQ+ Fantasy
Release Date: March 3, 2020
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, Giroux Books for Young Readers
Description:
Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society’s pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Life in the Ward is grim and punishing. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colors. You either follow the rules, or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences.
Nirrim keeps her head down and a dangerous secret close to her chest.
But then she encounters Sid, a rakish traveler from far away who whispers rumors that the High Caste possesses magic. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. But to do that, Nirrim must surrender her old life. She must place her trust in this sly stranger who asks, above all, not to be trusted.
Set in the world of the New York Times–bestselling Winner’s Trilogy, beloved author Marie Rutkoski returns with an epic LGBTQ romantic fantasy about learning to free ourselves from the lies others tell us—and the lies we tell ourselves.
There wasn't much of anything I didn't like about this book. I loved getting to know Nirrim, our main character, as she struggles with not only the laws and rules of the city and her lower caste, but with herself as well. I thought she was incredibly realistic and I connected with her right from the beginning of the story. She has her strengths and weaknesses, and definitely some flaws (all of which we get to see throughout the book) but they only make her more real. She struggles a lot internally with her own demons and past. I really loved getting to know Nirrim on a deeply personal level throughout the story. By the end, I felt as if I had known her for years and was right beside her on her journey to the truth.
One big reason that I loved this book was the author's writing style. By now, if you read my reviews, you'll know how much point of view matters to me personally as a reader. It can easily make or break a book for me - and has on several occasions. The author chose to write this story in my absolute favorite style - the first person point of view from Nirrim's perspective. I love the first person POV because I always feel more deeply connected to the narrator. We get to know Nirrim very personally throughout the story. Her hopes and dreams, fears, memories, emotions, inner thoughts, and everything in between are exposed, letting the reader really identify and connect with her on more than one level. I love that the author chose this writing style and I absolutely loved getting to know Nirrim so intimately.
The plot was intriguing and had a lot of things going on. There's action and adventure, magic (yay!), some mystery, and even a bit of romance. It has just about something for everyone and it weaves together the different genres effortlessly to create a wonderfully crafted story. I felt like I was right beside Nirrim the entire time, experiencing everything with her - which is something I always love when reading. I can't go into much detail about the story line itself because I don't do spoilers and I wouldn't want to give anything away accidentally. The story itself is layered and touches on universal topics that every reader can identify with - believing in yourself, learning to free yourself from the lies that other people have told you and even the lies that you've been telling yourself. These are lessons that everyone can learn from and the author weaves them seamlessly into the story itself. It did make me sit back and think a few times about the various lies we tell ourselves and the lies other people tell us that we blindly accept as truth. I loved the depth and layered story line of the book along with the all of the excitement, magic, and romance. I have to admit that I had pretty high hopes and expectations going into this because I've read the author's other works. Luckily, it doesn't disappoint and actually went above and beyond what I hoped. I'm so glad that this is only the first book in a new series because I definitely want more of these characters and I'm dying to see where the author will take us from here. I very highly recommend this book to fans of YA fantasy, magic, action and adventure, diverse characters including LGBTQ+, romance, and fans of the author's other books.
