Book Review: The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight, #1)

Author| Melissa Grey
Edition| egalley courtesy of Netgalley*
Genre| YA Paranormal
Publisher| Delacorte Press
Release| April 28th, 2015
Rating| 4 Stars

I was super excited when I got approved for this one on Netgalley.  I didn't think it would happen- but then it did!  Immediately it shot to the top of my TBR list.  Before I get to reviewing the actual content, can we take a look at the cover?  It's absolutely gorgeous (and rather symbolic after you've finished reading the book).

The Girl at Midnight follows Echo, an orphaned human who was raised by bird-like creatures.  When she discovers a treasure map that takes her into the path of the Avicen's dangerous enemy, the Drakharin, she must learn to work with her enemy.

The first thing I really noticed when I was reading this book was how similar it was to many of my other favorite books.  At first, this was a charming familiarity, but as the similarities continued, I couldn't help feeling that Girl at Midnight was trying to be these other books.  And trying too hard, for it wasn't living up to it's promise.  The two books I really felt it mimicked were Mortal Instruments and Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Fans of these series may still enjoy this one, particularly how similar.  I just couldn't get over the idea that it wanted to be books I loved so much.

The book is pretty good overall, though.  The writing was pleasant, and the characters were decent, though a little two dimensional.  They started to really break the mold towards the end, but weren't always given enough room to grow.  The main characters of Echo and Caius were the standard YA fair.  The side characters of Jasper and Dorian weren't much more original.  The wild card, and most interesting, is Echo's friend Ivy, who doesn't get enough screen time.  She could honestly star in her own novel and I wouldn't mind.

While I'm glad I didn't have to buy this book to read it, I probably wouldn't have minded if I did.  I'd also easily recommend this one to a lot of people.  Because, at its core, it's pretty decent.  For me the plot twist at the end was no surprise, but it was a good ending regardless.  I wish I could say more, but it's really best if you read it for yourself.

This one would be particularly good for people who are newer to YA.  I think it does fall to many tropes, but if you haven't spent a tone of time in the genre you will be pleasantly surprised.  Or, if you see this one in your library, don't be afraid to pick it up.


*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this one.