ARC Review: The Midnight Lie (The Midnight Lie #1) by Marie Rutkoski
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Series: The Midnight Lie #1
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Published March 10th 2020 by Hodder & Stoughton
Goodreads Synopsis
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.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
This book was one that as soon as it was announced I knew I needed it. I adored Marie's debut series, The Winner's Trilogy, and hearing that this book would be in the same world, but also not, and would feature an LGBT romance, I was desperate to read it, and when my review copy arrived, I was overjoyed. As you'll see from the dates read, I took me less than a day, really, and I only stopped reading to eat and sleep!
In The Midnight Lie, our MC, Nirirm, lives on Ethin, where the island is split into kiths. You have the half-Kith, who are seen as the lower class, the Middling, and then the upper class, high-Kith. The half-Kith live in the Ward, behind walls and with a whole range of rules and regulations regarding what they can do, wear, and how they can live. Nirrim belongs to the half-Kith. She was found in an orphanage box and raised to be half-Kith. When she was 8, she was 'adopted' by Raven, and taken to work in her tavern baking, and later forging official documents. She's always felt different, but put that down to her eidetic memory, and thought nothing more of it until a stranger arrives in the Ward, and she begins to question everything. She's arrested for rescuing an Elysium bird, and grows closer to the stranger, Sid. As they work to find out what it is about the island, and if there is in fact magic in Ethin, they fall for one another, but Sid is hiding something, and is bound to break Nirrim's heart when she doubtlessly leaves.
Like I said, I couldn't put this book down, and wanted to read it at all times, but silly things like sleeping and eating got in the way. From the very first page, I was hooked, and I remembered just why I loved Marie's previous series as her writing and stories are breathtaking. Nirrim is an outstanding main character, and I really cared for her throughout the course of the book, as she learnt more about herself, and started to become who she should be, and not who Raven told her she was. She had so many skills and redeeming qualities, that it was inevitable that Sid would fall for her, and vice versa. Sid's character was secretive, and seductive, and I just loved her. To me, I worked out who she was quite early on in the book, but I liked the mystery surrounding her, and the way her affection for Nirrim slowly came out, as if she was fighting it, because she knew she would have to return home soon enough.
The plot of this story was smoothly done, with just the right amount of show, not tell, and intrigue to keep us hooked. Every part of the book was necessary, and I am so glad that this is a duology, because I need to know more from Nirrim and Sid, especially with how the book ended and the epilogue. Really, this was fantastic, and you should get a copy as soon as possible!
Dates Read:
February 18-19, 2020
Rating
5 Stars
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