Review: The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

Publication Date: April 28, 2015

Synopsis:
Echo is a clever pickpocket, living in the streets of New York City. No one notices her, but she knows a secret that sets her apart. Beneath the streets live a magical race known as the Avicen. Large, bird-like creatures with, they are the only family that Echo has ever known.

When an age-old war threatens her family, Echo sets out to find the legendary Firebird, a creature that no one has ever heard of or seen, said to be the only thing that can put an end to the war. Armed with only that, Echo's journey begins.

But the further she goes, the more Echo realizes that not everything is what it seems.

Thoughts:
Okay, so I was actually approved for this as an e-ARC from NetGalley before the hype started, and I kind of regret not reading it before its publication date. But I can't change that now, so I'll have to settle for being happy that I picked this up.

I was looking for something quick to read when I decided that it was long overdue for me to read this. I remember that an author, I think it was Victoria Schwab, was raving about how good this was on Twitter and encouraging everyone to buy it and read it. And since I already had the NetGalley e-ARC on my Kindle app, I finally started reading it.

It really didn't take me very long to love this book. I think it was because of how the book started, in a library. Immediately, I knew that I would love it and found that I connected with the story pretty easily.

One of the first things I noticed about the book was how quotable it was. I love it when a book has great quotes that can be used and references in daily life, because it makes me feel so much more connected to the story and the overall series. It doesn't even have to be a super smart quote, it can just be something that I can toss out in the middle of a conversation that makes me feel incredibly smart and accomplished, but that no one else understands. And there were several lines from this book that we just that. Perfect quotes that I related to and could use.

Another thing that I noticed really early on while reading is that Melissa Grey's writing style is absolutely stunning. It reminded me a lot of Lauren Oliver's beautiful descriptions, while mixing in Tahereh Mafi's flowery metaphors. It was a perfect marriage of the two styles, which I found to fit perfectly with the story and the characters. And I think that I enjoyed the book even more because of the writing style. Which is interesting, because I never really noticed Lauren Oliver's writing style until Christine Riccio from PolandBananasBooks mentioned it in one of her reviews. On the other hand, I had felt like Tahereh Mafi's writing style in Shatter Me was a bit too overwhelming for my liking. And then this book came around and blended my favorite parts of Lauren Oliver and Tahereh Mafi's writing styles into a lovely story that flowed and leaped from the pages (look at me, trying to be all poetic and stuff).

Now, just because I said that, doesn't mean you can't expect a fantastic, action-packed journey. In fact, I think that the writing style actually enhanced all the action, because you could very vividly see everything in your mind and watch everything unfold. It just made the action more fun to read about, and a lot more exciting.

The plot might not sound like much from the synopsis, but I promise that it is so much more than that. There is a giant adventure and world that is waiting to be explored. And the characters will charm you with their witty banter and quick remarks. Honestly, this book has one of the sassiest casts I've read about. Not many authors can bring about such sassy, witty comments from their characters with absolute ease, and I have to applaud Melissa Grey for being able to do that.

The ending left me so incredibly excited to read the next book, which unfortunately won't come out until 2016. But I will wait with eager anticipation and try to get my hands on The Shadow Hour when it comes out.

Character(s):
I loved Echo. I found it really easy to relate to her, and I think it was because she loved books and libraries as much as I do. She also had a lot of really fun, witty things that she said, which made her so much fun to read about. And it wasn't just her love of reading that made me relate to her so easily, I think it was also her sarcastic personality that just made me feel like I had found a friend in her. Also, I felt like I saw some parts of myself in Echo, which just made her even more relatable to me.

Overall:
5 stars! I highly recommend that you check this out and pick it up, if you haven't already. I know that the hype might put some people off reading it, but this really is a fantastic book! I will personally be continuing with the rest of the trilogy and looking forward to see what else Melissa Grey will put out. If anything, I'm very willing to pick up anything else that Melissa Grey writes because I love her writing style so much (also, she knows how to ride a horse and shoot a bow and arrow at the same time, how cool is that?!)

Acknowledgements:
Thank you to NetGalley for hosting this on your site. Thank you also to Delacorte Press for approving my request to read this in exchange for an honest review.