Book Review: The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight #1)
Author:  Melissa Grey
Publisher:  Delacorte Press, 368 pages
Expected Publication Date:  April 28, 2015
*ARC received from publisher via NetGalley

From Goodreads:
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.

Review:  

This book is compared to Cassandra Clare's City of Bones and Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone and you know what?  It actually reminded me of those books.  What???  That hardly ever happens.  I absolutely loved this book.  So much.  Some people may be bothered by the fact that this book does seem like a mash-up of other books (including Daughter of Smoke and Bone), but it just made me love it more.  

The world-building is excellent, with just the right amount of information given at the right time.  You have the Avicen, a bird-like race who look human except for they have feathers for hair and feathers on some parts of their bodies.  And a lot of them have to wear sunglasses to hide their inhuman eyes.  Then you have the Drakharin, a race who, over the years, barely have any dragon-like qualities left (scales over some parts of their skin).  Then of course there are the humans, unaware of these two enemy races (except for Echo).

Echo…one of my favorite characters.  Ever. She's basically a female Jace (except she doesn't think she's irresistible to the opposite sex).  She's funny and snarky and she made me laugh.  

The book is told through multiple POVs so you get into the heads of the other characters as well.  What a fun gang this turns out to be.  A thief, a deposed prince, an apprentice healer, a royal guard, and another thief (described as a scoundrel). Loved the dynamic between all of them.  So much fun!  So many feels!  I already feel like reading it again.

This book has everything.  Read it!

Posted by:  Pam