Oh man, so, I had THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT by Melissa Grey recced to me half a dozen times by various people at Twitter, and I actually lucked out and won my copy. Needless to say, I was totally looking forward to reading this, and boy did this ever live up to the hype!
First of all, this was possibly the best use of a prologue I’ve seen in a long, long while. I know – all the advice you see would tell you to avoid including a prologue, but man I’m glad Melissa Grey did. It perfectly set the stage for the rest of the book and for Echo and the Ala’s relationship, and we learned just enough about Echo’s backstory in just a few words to understand her before we ever see the thief she’s grown up to be.
And really, what reader wouldn’t love a protagonist that chooses to live hidden away in a library? Seriously, Echo was going to be a girl after my own heart no matter what, but getting to know her was a treat with every new character detail we got.
Oh! I now have a new favorite word thanks to Echo’s habit of “collecting” words from around the world: tsundoku which means the habit of piling up books without reading them all. Ladies and gentlemen, we have my life summed up in a single word. I may have to get the damn thing tattooed LOL.
The settings were another part of this book that just blew me away. Echo ends up all over the world and in and out of the magical and mundane parts of it without skipping a beat or always noticing, but as the reader, I was treated to so many gorgeous images and lush cities that felt as true to life as being there. I really enjoyed the way the different iconic architecture was half the time used like mass transit. The whole magical transportation system just really thrilled me; no way to say quite why, just that it really did.
I really could just go on and on about how much I enjoyed this book, but I know there are already dozens of reviews out there, so I’ll refrain from babbling on too much.
I will say this though, as good LORD do I wish I’d had the warning: THIS BOOK HAS TWO SEQUELS. Again, this book is NOT a standalone, and hitting the end is going to be hell. Granted, it’s nowhere near the worst cliffhanger/open ending I’ve ever been accosted with, but it still definitely leaves you wanting more. So yeah, just be warned and be ready to preorder THE SHADOW HOUR. (Here I’ll help you do so LOL: http://www.amazon.com/The-Shadow-Hour-GIRL-MIDNIGHT/dp/0385744676)
Have any of you sunk your teeth into THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT yet? Do you have another book you think I’ll like? Tweet it to me @C_L_McCollum – I always need new books to read! *ignores the tottering TBR mountain looming in the background*