The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski Series: The Midnight Lie #1
Published by Farrar on March 3, 2020
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 358
Format: ARC
Source: ALA
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
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.
my thoughts:
I have to confess something that might make me a bad blogger; I haven’t actually read the Winner’s trilogy. I’m normally one of those readers who can’t read a spin-off until I’ve read the original but a huge draw for me is covers and I could not resist the one for The Midnight Lie. While I don’t feel like I missed out on anything from the original trilogy, The Midnight Lie sealed the need for me to finally pick up that series.
The Midnight Lie takes place on the island of Ethin where a wall divides the cities and the cities are separated based on “kith.” Nirrim, a half kith orphan, has spent her whole life behind the wall, separated completely from middlings and high kith. She has never questioned her status or her life until she’s thrown in prison and meets a high kith traveler named Sid. Sid brings more questions than answers into Nirrim’s life and sets Nirrim on a path to discover the history of Ethin and the true reason the wall divides the half kith from everyone else.
Nirrim was honestly the thing I both loved and hated the most about The Midnight Lie. She had the potential to be such a strong character but instead she was so extremely naive. I understand that she had to start out that way in order to grow into the character she became but I could not understand how one person could be so blind to so many things going on around her. Most of the people in her life were horrible people and she just couldn’t see it, even after it was pointed out to her. There were times I really wanted to bang her head into a wall and see if that would help her see things more clearly. However, aside from her naivety, she was a great character. She didn’t have an easy life but she didn’t let that turn her into a bad person (even though she was surrounded by bad people.) She constantly saw the good in the world and she strove to make it better for people who couldn’t make it better for themselves. Sid saw that in her from the start and it drew them together immediately. I liked Sid quite a bit. She was flawed, for sure, but she had such a great personality and sense of humor. She was adventurous and full of spirit. She brought out a new side of Nirrim that made me like her even more.
Also, let me just say, the romance was on point and super steamy! The moment Nirrim and Sid met, I could tell that I was going to want them to end up together. Like I said, Sid brought out a whole different side of Nirrim. She brought out her dangerous and spirited side. She helped Nirrim see the darker side of things and learn to embrace that side. And Nirrim brought out a different side of Sid. There is a lot of Sid’s history that isn’t told but it was easy to see that she was a very closed off, guarded person. Nirrim brought down her walls and showed her that there were still good people in the world. I hope for more of Sid’s history in the next book and obviously, more Sid and Nirrim time.
While the story did take some time to really get going, I felt like the writing and world building were enough in the beginning to move things along. I never felt like the book dragged and if I’d had the time to just sit and read, I probably would have read it straight through. Things really pick up about a quarter of the way through and they don’t slow down after that. And let me just tell you, that ending was not one I saw coming and I think I still need to pick my jaw up off the floor.
Overall, The Midnight Lie is a gorgeous start to a new fantasy series that features an interesting world and characters you’ll want more of. It was a wonderful introduction to the writing of Marie Rutkoski for me. Established fans of her writing have a riveting new story to look forward to and new readers can dive right in and fall in love like I did.
“It is a midnight lie, she said. A kind of lie told for someone else’s sake, a lie that sits between goodness and wrong, just as midnight is the moment between night and morning.”
-Marie Rutkoski, The Midnight Lie
what others are saying about The Midnight Lie:
Star-Crossed Book Blog’s review: “This book….met every expectation I could have had for it.”
Mugglenet’s review: “After reading only a few chapters, it was easy to see why she’s gained such a passionate readership.”
if you liked The Midnight Lie, you might also like:
Have you read The Winner’s trilogy? Should that be my next binge read? Are you going to pick up The Midnight Lie?
