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meigothic's review
4.0
Disclaimer: I received a review copy for free via NetGalley, and am voluntarily leaving my honest thoughts. Many thanks to the publisher, Orbit Books, for the opportunity!
I really enjoyed this sequel!! I enjoyed Tara's writing style and was excited to come back to this world. Tara's summary of the first book was also really helpful since it had been a while, and there's a lot of revelations + more worldbuilding that we get with this entry. While in some books, having this many POVs can either be tiresome or annoying, I genuinely felt intrigued by most of the characters' journeys to want to see their perspective and that didn't change here. The relationship dynamics that I enjoyed also continued here, and the new characters introduced were also just as intriguing to me! I'll definitely be reading book 3.
I really enjoyed this sequel!! I enjoyed Tara's writing style and was excited to come back to this world. Tara's summary of the first book was also really helpful since it had been a while, and there's a lot of revelations + more worldbuilding that we get with this entry. While in some books, having this many POVs can either be tiresome or annoying, I genuinely felt intrigued by most of the characters' journeys to want to see their perspective and that didn't change here. The relationship dynamics that I enjoyed also continued here, and the new characters introduced were also just as intriguing to me! I'll definitely be reading book 3.
emilyrpf's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
katherineguild35's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
drakoulis's review
5.0
The Midnight Kingdom has all the brutality, darkness and complexity of The City of Dusk while significantlly ramping up the supernatural element!
Taesia, Nikolas, Fin and Julian are captives of Phos (in the body of Nikolas' brother), the malicious god of light, in Noctus, the realm of Nyx - Taesia's god. Phos is cruel and ruthless and getting away from him will have a heacvy cost.
Risha is fighting her way through Mortri, the realm of death, determined to ressurect Jas.
Angelica is travelling to her stepmother's country, Azune (inspired by Shogun-era Japan) to gain the imperial family's support for her claim to the throne and also snoop around for Deia's fulcrum along the way.
Dante and Brailee go after their rogue aunt Camilla, determined to find a way to open a portal and bring their sister back from Noctus.
With the protagonists spread in different realma, the book at some points feels that it drags on (especially in Angelica's and Taesia's POVs for me) but everything will be connected in the end, the buildup is carefully leading there. There is a lot of focus to the heirs overcoming their personal demons and doubts. Angelica is even angrier, Taesia is even moodier, Nikolas is even sadder.
I have a small complain, Tara Sim seems to love Taesia and Angelica a bit more than the others, and unforunately my favourites are Dante and I live for Nikolas-Fin scenes (Tara Sim's Timekeeper vibe comes out there) thus they get less "screen time" and less developped plot lines character arcs than the girls.
Can't wait for The Dawn Throne!
Edit: The book is out now!
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC.
Taesia, Nikolas, Fin and Julian are captives of Phos (in the body of Nikolas' brother), the malicious god of light, in Noctus, the realm of Nyx - Taesia's god. Phos is cruel and ruthless and getting away from him will have a heacvy cost.
Risha is fighting her way through Mortri, the realm of death, determined to ressurect Jas.
Angelica is travelling to her stepmother's country, Azune (inspired by Shogun-era Japan) to gain the imperial family's support for her claim to the throne and also snoop around for Deia's fulcrum along the way.
Dante and Brailee go after their rogue aunt Camilla, determined to find a way to open a portal and bring their sister back from Noctus.
With the protagonists spread in different realma, the book at some points feels that it drags on (especially in Angelica's and Taesia's POVs for me) but everything will be connected in the end, the buildup is carefully leading there. There is a lot of focus to the heirs overcoming their personal demons and doubts. Angelica is even angrier, Taesia is even moodier, Nikolas is even sadder.
I have a small complain, Tara Sim seems to love Taesia and Angelica a bit more than the others, and unforunately my favourites are Dante and I live for Nikolas-Fin scenes (Tara Sim's Timekeeper vibe comes out there) thus they get less "screen time" and less developped plot lines character arcs than the girls.
Can't wait for The Dawn Throne!
Edit: The book is out now!
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC.
teachertoledo_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gsas's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
wherethewildreadsare's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I ended up borrowing the audiobook and listened to this one. I listened to all 25+ hours of it. And im pretty sure I understood about 60% of what happened…
I’m trying to wonder if this is one of those slow middle books in a trilogy and it’s building to the epic final book or if it’s because of the audio. Maybe both? Idk this middle one was not as good.
I’ll still read book three.
I’m trying to wonder if this is one of those slow middle books in a trilogy and it’s building to the epic final book or if it’s because of the audio. Maybe both? Idk this middle one was not as good.
I’ll still read book three.
chunny's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
barriojm's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Definite improvement from the first in the series.