Sophie Reads YA: Melissa Grey

Waiting on Wednesday: The Savage Dawn (The Girl at Midnight #3) by Melissa Grey

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ARC Review: The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight #2) by Melissa Grey

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The Shadow Hour
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

Melissa Grey

Waiting on Wednesday: The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight #2) by Melissa Grey

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5 Stars

Review: The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight #1) by Melissa Grey

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The Girl at Midnight
Series: The Girl at Midnight #1
Author: Melissa Grey
Published April 28th 2015 by ATOM

Goodreads Synopsis
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.
Goodreads

Review
This book was absolutely perfect, well deserving of one of my most anticipated 2015 books!

In The Girl at Midnight, we follow the story of Echo, a teenage, human girl, living in the Avicen world. Echo, a thief, very gifted at her 'job', is sent on a sort of scavenger hunt in order to find the legendary Firebird, a mythical entity which is crucial in stopping the long war between the Avicen and the Drakharin. Throughout her journey she meets new people, some of which are enemy Drakharin's, and discovers more about herself than she ever thought possible.

I know that this book has been slated to entertain fans of The Mortal Instruments, The Grisha Series, and the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series, but I never really saw that many similarities between this book, and those others (thank god, considering how much I disliked the DoSaB series). I felt like The Girl at Midnight was the perfect fantasy series starter, and I was hooked from page 1. As said earlier, this was one of my most anticipated 2015 books (I actually won a giveaway for it way back in July), and I'm so glad I waited for it. As you may have been able to tell, YA Fantasy is one of my go-to genres, and this series is definitely up there with the greats on my favourites lists.

Echo, I thought, was a wonderful character - strong, feisty, and a little vulnerable at times - and the character development she underwent throughout the entire book blew me away. I can't wait to she how she grows further in subsequent instalments. With regards to the romance, I was not a fan of Rowan, at all, and definitely preferred Caius as Echo's love interest. However, we were also treated with another romantic couple (love-triangle, maybe), one which I was just as invested in.

I definitely felt as if this book was a beautifully written, and executed, story, and as soon as The Shadow Hour is available to pre-order, it will be right at the top of my wishlist. Anyone who has not yet read this book, I would definitely encourage them to, as I'm sure, if they enjoy fantasy, at least, this it will be one of their favourites, too.

Dates Read:
May 4-5, 2015

Rating
5 Stars