ARC Review: The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight #2) by Melissa Grey
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Series: The Girl at Midnight #2
Author: Melissa Grey
Published July 12th 2016 by Atom
Goodreads Summary
Everything in Echo's life changed in a blinding flash when she learned the startling truth: she is the firebird, the creature of light that is said to bring peace.
The firebird has come into the world, but it has not come alone. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and Echo can feel a great and terrible darkness rising in the distance. Cosmic forces threaten to tear the world apart.
Echo has already lost her home, her family, and her boyfriend. Now, as the firebird, her path is filled with even greater dangers than the ones she's already overcome.
She knows the Dragon Prince will not fall without a fight.
Echo must decide: can she wield the power of her true nature--or will it prove too strong for her, and burn what's left of her world to the ground?
Welcome to the shadow hour.
Goodreads
Review
See my review of book 1, The Girl at Midnight.
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
I really enjoyed The Girl at Midnight when I read it last year, and couldn't wait to get my hands on book 2, so when I was sent a review copy, I was overjoyed. In The Shadow Hour, Echo and her merry bunch - Caius, Jasper, Ivy, and Dorian - are hiding out in an abandoned warehouse after the battle in Germany, in which Echo became the Firebird they had all been looking for. The only one from her old life at the Nest she's still in contact with is the Ala, and when the Nest is attacked by an evil that was unleashed when Echo came into her Firebird powers, they must search for a cure to the poison that was spread, as well as a way to defeat the evil. However, all is not as it seems. Caius' twin sister, Tanith, the new Dragon Prince, is also searching for Echo, and for the darkness, for her own nefarious means.
One thing I do have to mention, I forgot so much of The Girl at Midnight, that I struggled with the first few chapters of this book, until I went and read some reviews. There's no sort of recap at the beginning, like you sometimes find in sequels, and I think that was a mistake in this case. However, once the proper action and plot kicked in, it was easy to keep up.
The characters were really fun to read. Echo was a bit difficult at times, but having the voices of all the previous Firebirds in her head, and the realisation that it may have been her fault that the evil, sort of Firebird twin was released, made it understandable. Caius and Echo's relationship had developed, and they were sort of on the precipice of a true relationship, until Echo's ex, Rowan, had to swoop in and ruin it all. I wasn't a fan of him in book 1, and he didn't do much to redeem himself this time around either. He tries to 'claim' Echo, calling her his girlfriend, especially when Caius is around, though they'd definitely broke up. I found the whole love triangle aspect annoying and frustrating, and seriously hope that doesn't continue in book 3. The other characters, especially Jasper and Dorian, were a breeze to read, and they made up for the annoyingness of Rowan.
The plot, though, made up for the issues mentioned above. I can see how this book is setting up the action for book 3, and be warned, there is another awful cliffhanger. Hopefully the wait for book 3 won't be too long, and I do hope there's a recap this time around, or else I'll probably have to resort to finding and reading reviews beforehand. A solid sequel, though not perfect. I'm still looking forward to the conclusion of the series though.
Dates Read:
August 12-16, 2016
Rating
4 Stars
Rating
4 Stars
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