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The Girl at Midnight #3
The Savage Dawn
The war between light and dark has begun. The sides have been chosen and the battle lines drawn.
After awakening the firebird, Echo is now the only one with the power to face the darkness she unwittingly unleashed upon the world…right into the waiting hands of Tanith, the new Dragon Prince. Tanith has one goal in mind: destroy her enemies, raze their lands, and reign supreme in a new era where the Drakharin are almighty and the Avicen are nothing but a memory.
The war that has been brewing for centuries is finally imminent. But the scales are tipped. Echo might hold the power to face the darkness within the Dragon Prince, but she has far to go to master it. And now she’s plagued by uncertainty. Is she strong enough to stare into the face of evil and not lose herself in its depths?
The war has begun, and there is no looking back. There are only two outcomes possible: triumph or death.
After awakening the firebird, Echo is now the only one with the power to face the darkness she unwittingly unleashed upon the world…right into the waiting hands of Tanith, the new Dragon Prince. Tanith has one goal in mind: destroy her enemies, raze their lands, and reign supreme in a new era where the Drakharin are almighty and the Avicen are nothing but a memory.
The war that has been brewing for centuries is finally imminent. But the scales are tipped. Echo might hold the power to face the darkness within the Dragon Prince, but she has far to go to master it. And now she’s plagued by uncertainty. Is she strong enough to stare into the face of evil and not lose herself in its depths?
The war has begun, and there is no looking back. There are only two outcomes possible: triumph or death.
496 pages, Hardcover
First published July 11, 2017
73 people are currently reading
4346 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Grey
17 books1,147 followersMelissa Grey penned her first short story at the age of twelve and hasn't stopped writing since. As an undergrad at Yale, she learned how ride a horse and shoot a bow and arrow at the same time. She also has a Masters in Art History but that's a much less useful skill.
She is the author of The Girl at Midnight trilogy, Rated, and the forthcoming The Valiant Ladies of Potosi.
To learn more about Melissa, visit melissa-grey.com and follow her on Twitter @meligrey.
She is the author of The Girl at Midnight trilogy, Rated, and the forthcoming The Valiant Ladies of Potosi.
To learn more about Melissa, visit melissa-grey.com and follow her on Twitter @meligrey.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 262 reviews
September 7, 2017
Arg, my heart. What just happened. I was so set on giving this a four and then the ending happened, followed by the epilogue, and I'm just sitting here confused and stunned. Mostly confused.
He mended the holes in the world only to tear one open in her chest. <-- me, right now
This felt stronger than book two, though lacking in the simpler and almost effortless fun of book one (which, I mean, makes sense due to escalations and reveals), buuuuut.. I just don't know. Seriously. All the confuse.
3.5? 3? I don't even know.
ps, currently accepting hugs if you feel so inclined.
He mended the holes in the world only to tear one open in her chest. <-- me, right now
This felt stronger than book two, though lacking in the simpler and almost effortless fun of book one (which, I mean, makes sense due to escalations and reveals), buuuuut.. I just don't know. Seriously. All the confuse.
3.5? 3? I don't even know.
ps, currently accepting hugs if you feel so inclined.
August 10, 2017
Be prepared for me to be the black sheep with this one. WHY? It went on for too bloody long. It felt like this story was one giant simile. I bet if you took them all out, as most of them were completely pointless, this story would be cut in half. This did not need to be nearly 500 pages.
FRTC.
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Full review can be found here: https://agingerlyreview.wordpress.com...
I can now happily mark this series off of my TBR list. I feel proud of myself as this final book was pushing 500 pages. I still do not believe it should have been that long of a book and I’ll get into that. Was it good? MEH. I’m underwhelmed when it came to the final book. It went on much, much longer than it should have.
Short recap: Echo, the Firebird, is in a race to save the world from Tanith, who is the vessel for the shadows.
My overall feelings towards this entire series are MEH at best. The first book blew me away, while the second was alright, and the third was struggling. I kept feeling more and more like I was reading another version of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. That’s awful, I know but the similarities between the two are just so strong. That being said, the story felt as if it wasn’t sure what it wanted to be. It didn’t feel very flushed out or developed. There are chapters and chapters where nothing happens. Not a thing. There are pointless conversations about food or long-winded descriptions of buildings. Two things should have been put in place of these gaps: 1) Nothing. Delete those suckers and move on. 2) Character development! *GASP* Who would have thought?! There are times that fighting or training stops so the characters can figure out their feelings for each other. WHAT? What is happening?! Good question! Why stuff 500 pages into this book with pointless similes and love triangles if you aren’t going to have these characters do anything worthwhile?! Oh yes, multiple love triangles. They are all annoying and will cause you to groan.
Here is the other very large thing that annoyed the snot out of me: this book is one giant simile. I would bet my book collection that if you took those pointless similes out, the final page number would shrink to almost half of its current size. Bet. Grey had to have spent a considerable amount of time thinking of phrases to use to compare everything to something else. “He jumped back from a ghost, like he was being scared at a Halloween haunted house.” Insert eye roll here. Give me a break. Pointless, unnecessary, and it certainly does not add anything to the story.
Let’s talk about the severe lack of character development. There was none. BOOM. These characters were the exact same as they were in book 2, which was disappointing. Echo has been through so much yet she was still the same petulant child from the start of the series. OH WAIT. MY BAD. There’s now a LOVE TRIANGLE that she’s in the middle of! Who does she love? Answer: Who cares. It’s a watered down romance at best. No gushy feels, no swoony moments, nothing to write home about. Remember the now bad person Tanith? Well, she is left alone a good majority of this story. She’s doing her thing with no effort on Echo or her team to find her. Jasper and Dorian kiss a couple of times, are angsty about it, then kiss some more. I have nothing to say about the rest of the characters because nothing happens. We do not ever find out what happens to the other characters – Ivy, Helios, the Ala, or anyone else – because they aren’t talked about. Don’t expect a resolution because it won’t happen.
I’m sure there is no need for me to talk about the (lack of a) plot within this story. The action scenes are far too few so it draws the story out to the point of near boredom. I wanted to DNF several times but forced myself to finish. Why? Just so I could say I did finish. I almost regret this. There are so many topics that were introduced, talked about a couple of times, then never mentioned again. It all made me confused and angry. Why give me so much information that had a lot of potential, only to not do anything with it? Was it all just for page fillers? I hope not but that is how it came across. The ending was practically a joke. It was completely predictable and very unfulfilling. I waited a long time to finish this series after such a strong start and I feel so let down. I will probably continue to read Grey’s books but I will be very hesitant. If you enjoyed this, I am happy for you and wish I could share in your excitement. This series proved that not every book is for every reader.
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Full review can be found here: https://agingerlyreview.wordpress.com...
I can now happily mark this series off of my TBR list. I feel proud of myself as this final book was pushing 500 pages. I still do not believe it should have been that long of a book and I’ll get into that. Was it good? MEH. I’m underwhelmed when it came to the final book. It went on much, much longer than it should have.
Short recap: Echo, the Firebird, is in a race to save the world from Tanith, who is the vessel for the shadows.
My overall feelings towards this entire series are MEH at best. The first book blew me away, while the second was alright, and the third was struggling. I kept feeling more and more like I was reading another version of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. That’s awful, I know but the similarities between the two are just so strong. That being said, the story felt as if it wasn’t sure what it wanted to be. It didn’t feel very flushed out or developed. There are chapters and chapters where nothing happens. Not a thing. There are pointless conversations about food or long-winded descriptions of buildings. Two things should have been put in place of these gaps: 1) Nothing. Delete those suckers and move on. 2) Character development! *GASP* Who would have thought?! There are times that fighting or training stops so the characters can figure out their feelings for each other. WHAT? What is happening?! Good question! Why stuff 500 pages into this book with pointless similes and love triangles if you aren’t going to have these characters do anything worthwhile?! Oh yes, multiple love triangles. They are all annoying and will cause you to groan.
Here is the other very large thing that annoyed the snot out of me: this book is one giant simile. I would bet my book collection that if you took those pointless similes out, the final page number would shrink to almost half of its current size. Bet. Grey had to have spent a considerable amount of time thinking of phrases to use to compare everything to something else. “He jumped back from a ghost, like he was being scared at a Halloween haunted house.” Insert eye roll here. Give me a break. Pointless, unnecessary, and it certainly does not add anything to the story.
Let’s talk about the severe lack of character development. There was none. BOOM. These characters were the exact same as they were in book 2, which was disappointing. Echo has been through so much yet she was still the same petulant child from the start of the series. OH WAIT. MY BAD. There’s now a LOVE TRIANGLE that she’s in the middle of! Who does she love? Answer: Who cares. It’s a watered down romance at best. No gushy feels, no swoony moments, nothing to write home about. Remember the now bad person Tanith? Well, she is left alone a good majority of this story. She’s doing her thing with no effort on Echo or her team to find her. Jasper and Dorian kiss a couple of times, are angsty about it, then kiss some more. I have nothing to say about the rest of the characters because nothing happens. We do not ever find out what happens to the other characters – Ivy, Helios, the Ala, or anyone else – because they aren’t talked about. Don’t expect a resolution because it won’t happen.
I’m sure there is no need for me to talk about the (lack of a) plot within this story. The action scenes are far too few so it draws the story out to the point of near boredom. I wanted to DNF several times but forced myself to finish. Why? Just so I could say I did finish. I almost regret this. There are so many topics that were introduced, talked about a couple of times, then never mentioned again. It all made me confused and angry. Why give me so much information that had a lot of potential, only to not do anything with it? Was it all just for page fillers? I hope not but that is how it came across. The ending was practically a joke. It was completely predictable and very unfulfilling. I waited a long time to finish this series after such a strong start and I feel so let down. I will probably continue to read Grey’s books but I will be very hesitant. If you enjoyed this, I am happy for you and wish I could share in your excitement. This series proved that not every book is for every reader.
July 9, 2018
This was the absolute perfect conclusion to what has become one of my new favourite series! I don’t see it around often and I think it’s a downright shame because it is truly such a fantastic series. The world building is stunning and the characters and their development throughout the series is just phenomenal! And I like that it doesn’t end up all sunshine and roses and that there is loss and sadness, it makes the story that much more beautiful and real.
June 18, 2017
This was an amazing end to an incredible series that I can't help but want more of!! Thank you for sharing these characters and this story with us!!
Full review to come soon
Full review to come soon
June 26, 2019
Here are some of my thoughts:
• I really enjoyed the side characters, but the main characters’ story arcs were rather boring and disappointing.
• Echo was funny at times with her spunk. However, her story somewhat dragged on without much of anything that really interested me.
• Caius – his story arc was also disappointing. And I found the romance with Echo to be lackluster (especially with the whole Rose stuff). I wanted more developments. Also if his relationship w/ Tanith was going to be such a big deal, I think they could’ve shown their relationship being built through more flashbacks (and I hate flashbacks usually – but in this case, it would’ve been effective to make me give a fuck about their relationship). It just feels like love b/c their family but I wanted to understand more of their relationship if it was gonna be such a central part of the plot.
• The stars of this series would be Jasper, Dorian, and Ivy. Jasper was sarcastic, bold, and funny. Dorian was stoic but loved seeing the character development – especially after he felt genuine guilt for hurting Ivy in the first book. To see him support and protect Ivy now with affection showed how much his character had changed. Ivy was lovable, and I loved that she fought in her own ways.
• Even the side characters’ romances were better than the main characters’ IMO. Dorian and Jasper were ADORABLE. And I loved seeing the progression of their relationship especially as Dorian came out of his shell and learned to allow himself to love Jasper. Ivy and Helios were cute too – sweet and innocent, but also developed to be quite complicated.
• I like the relationship Echo has with the Ala. It’s a sweet mother/daughter type of relationship.
I think I would have given this series 2.5-3 stars, just because I enjoyed the side characters (in their personalities and in the romances/friendships among them). However, due to the plot not particularly catching my attention, Echo and Caius’ romance not developing much, and the ending being overall unsatisfying (more details in spoilers section at the bottom of the review) – 1.5 stars.
Things that you might want to know (WARNING: Spoilers below)
Happy/satisfying ending?
Tears-worthy?
Humor?
Favorite scenes?
• I really enjoyed the side characters, but the main characters’ story arcs were rather boring and disappointing.
• Echo was funny at times with her spunk. However, her story somewhat dragged on without much of anything that really interested me.
• Caius – his story arc was also disappointing. And I found the romance with Echo to be lackluster (especially with the whole Rose stuff). I wanted more developments. Also if his relationship w/ Tanith was going to be such a big deal, I think they could’ve shown their relationship being built through more flashbacks (and I hate flashbacks usually – but in this case, it would’ve been effective to make me give a fuck about their relationship). It just feels like love b/c their family but I wanted to understand more of their relationship if it was gonna be such a central part of the plot.
• The stars of this series would be Jasper, Dorian, and Ivy. Jasper was sarcastic, bold, and funny. Dorian was stoic but loved seeing the character development – especially after he felt genuine guilt for hurting Ivy in the first book. To see him support and protect Ivy now with affection showed how much his character had changed. Ivy was lovable, and I loved that she fought in her own ways.
• Even the side characters’ romances were better than the main characters’ IMO. Dorian and Jasper were ADORABLE. And I loved seeing the progression of their relationship especially as Dorian came out of his shell and learned to allow himself to love Jasper. Ivy and Helios were cute too – sweet and innocent, but also developed to be quite complicated.
• I like the relationship Echo has with the Ala. It’s a sweet mother/daughter type of relationship.
I think I would have given this series 2.5-3 stars, just because I enjoyed the side characters (in their personalities and in the romances/friendships among them). However, due to the plot not particularly catching my attention, Echo and Caius’ romance not developing much, and the ending being overall unsatisfying (more details in spoilers section at the bottom of the review) – 1.5 stars.
Things that you might want to know (WARNING: Spoilers below)
Happy/satisfying ending?
Tears-worthy?
Humor?
Favorite scenes?
July 13, 2017
The best book in the series. I'm sad the journey's over, and I'll miss these characters deeply, but my god what an amazing, beautifully written, fun and emotional journey it was.
From here on out, every time I walk by the 5th Avenue library, I'll think of Echo and Ivy and Caius and Dorian and Jasper... I'll slow my steps and feel for that tug. That lingering little bit of magic that Melissa has so easily (expertly) convinced me to wholeheartedly believe in.
From here on out, every time I walk by the 5th Avenue library, I'll think of Echo and Ivy and Caius and Dorian and Jasper... I'll slow my steps and feel for that tug. That lingering little bit of magic that Melissa has so easily (expertly) convinced me to wholeheartedly believe in.
October 2, 2017
I find it hard to believe that the person who wrote The Girl At Midnight also wrote this. It's the same characters and the same story, but The Savage Dawn feels like a fanfiction with absolutely no editing. It goes on forever in parts you don't care about. In scenes where interesting things are finally happening there are large sections dedicated to boring introspection and unnecessary back story. I'm not sure if the editor Krista Marino (thanked in the acknowledgments) just gave up after The Shadow Hour or if she did the best damn job she could and this book was initially 1000+ pages.
I know a lot of people don't like the ending because it doesn't end with sunshine and rainbows, but that is not the reason I didn't like the book. I can appreciate a sad ending like any European, but this was just poorly written.
If you had started the series and DESPERATELY want to know how it ends, then read it. Otherwise, don't bother. Imagine your own ending and you'll be better off.
I know a lot of people don't like the ending because it doesn't end with sunshine and rainbows, but that is not the reason I didn't like the book. I can appreciate a sad ending like any European, but this was just poorly written.
If you had started the series and DESPERATELY want to know how it ends, then read it. Otherwise, don't bother. Imagine your own ending and you'll be better off.
Want to read
November 7, 2016LKAJDFH;GKAJDF;ASKDF LOOK. LOOK AT THAT COVER. It's so stunning an dark and I NEEEEED THIS BOOK ASAP. *grabby hands*
abandoned-series
July 11, 2017Super bummed but this is not the ending for me.
October 8, 2018
WOW!! I just love this series and absolutely loved this book!! If you haven't started this series yet, please do so!
July 11, 2018
BOOKS. WITH. ENDINGS. LIKE. THIS. ARE. WHY. I. HAVE. TRUST. ISSUES.
Like, okay, be forewarned because I really don't want to spoil the series for anyone reading, so everything after this paragraph I'm going to mark as a spoiler because I am about to RAGE. Non-spoilery things: The book was exciting and romantic and if you've liked the characters up til now, you'll like them in this one too. I think there was a little lack of development for everyone except Dorian, but this book is really much more about resolution of the plot of the trilogy than characterization because it's a third in a trilogy so whatever that's fine I get it. Everything is great and you very much feel tragedy coming. You know pretty quick into it, that things aren't going to be 100% perfect and happy and roses and rainbows and unicorns, fine. I can do sad endings and tragedy if it is resolved and concluded in a way that makes sense to the plot and that works within the mythology and rules of the world it takes place in. HOWEVER.....(and what follows is all spoilery so DO NOT PEEK UNLESS YOU WANT THINGS SPOILED)...
Like, okay, be forewarned because I really don't want to spoil the series for anyone reading, so everything after this paragraph I'm going to mark as a spoiler because I am about to RAGE. Non-spoilery things: The book was exciting and romantic and if you've liked the characters up til now, you'll like them in this one too. I think there was a little lack of development for everyone except Dorian, but this book is really much more about resolution of the plot of the trilogy than characterization because it's a third in a trilogy so whatever that's fine I get it. Everything is great and you very much feel tragedy coming. You know pretty quick into it, that things aren't going to be 100% perfect and happy and roses and rainbows and unicorns, fine. I can do sad endings and tragedy if it is resolved and concluded in a way that makes sense to the plot and that works within the mythology and rules of the world it takes place in. HOWEVER.....(and what follows is all spoilery so DO NOT PEEK UNLESS YOU WANT THINGS SPOILED)...
August 1, 2017
*Source* Library
*Genre* Young Adult, Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5
*My Thoughts*
The Savage Dawn, by author Melissa Grey, is the third and final installment in the author's The Girl at Midnight trilogy. As the story picks up, Echo is fearful for the safety of Caius who was taken by his sister Tanith. The same Tanith who dethroned him as Dragon Prince, and also allowed the dangerous darkness known as Kucedra to enter her body. Echo has been hearing about the fated Firebird prophecy from Ala, the Avicen who saved her, since she stabbed herself in the heart, and became it's vassal. But, Echo disrupted the balance when she welcomed the Firebird into herself, and into the world, and now the world is in deep trouble.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
*Genre* Young Adult, Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5
*My Thoughts*
The Savage Dawn, by author Melissa Grey, is the third and final installment in the author's The Girl at Midnight trilogy. As the story picks up, Echo is fearful for the safety of Caius who was taken by his sister Tanith. The same Tanith who dethroned him as Dragon Prince, and also allowed the dangerous darkness known as Kucedra to enter her body. Echo has been hearing about the fated Firebird prophecy from Ala, the Avicen who saved her, since she stabbed herself in the heart, and became it's vassal. But, Echo disrupted the balance when she welcomed the Firebird into herself, and into the world, and now the world is in deep trouble.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
http://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/201...
October 27, 2017
THAT IS HOW YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING END THIS SERIES?!?!
You could've just stabbed me in the fucking heart instead.
My heart is broken. I don't like how this series ended. I will forever have trust issues.
OTHER THAN THE ENDING THAT BROKE ME, the rest of the book was amazing. So good. The one thing I would change about this book would be the fucking ending.
October 20, 2017
I'm taking a star off for the ending. It's petty because this was awesome but I'm sad about it. So much happened in this book and I just want more of Echo and Caius forever. I love them so much. And of course Jasper and Dorian. THE SLOW BURN ALMOST KILLED ME! Definitely a great series and I'll be watching for Ms. Grey's other books from now on. I thought this book would drag since it was the last in the series and almost 500 pages at that, but it didn't. I enjoyed every twist, turn and new discovery.
September 6, 2018
soooo they’re a literal star now? i see
July 20, 2017
Would have been 4 stars except for the ending and a few other issues. And it's not about Caius dying, actually, because at least his sacrifice made sense, but about the stupid hope that Echo had, about Rose finding him, etc. What was up with that? It made it seem like he could somehow still be alive. So that was just confusing. And I thought Echo was going to tell Rowan her real name. Unless Echo actually was her real name? Again, confusing. And the whole plot with the firebird. What was the point? Why did they need to find the firebird if the firebird brought about the kucedra? How was that a good thing? And the firebird was so weak compared to the kucedra, which again, made no sense, if they were two sides of the same coin, wouldn't they be equal in power? I hate when fantastic first books don't finish strong and in a satisfying way. There are definitely only a few authors who can achieve that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
September 19, 2017Well that was a bullshit ending :/
August 1, 2018
The Savage Dawn is the conclusion to The Girl at Midnight trilogy, and I was pretty uncertain about reading it after getting my hands on The Shadow Hour, which I found to be a weak story. Apparently I was so disappointed that I never wrote a blog post about it. Oh well. I'm not going back to reread it. By the way: major spoilers ahead, like always. Do not read any of this if you don't want spoilers.
So. This book was incredibly disappointing.
First of all, the story was so. So. Long. The book is 482 pages; normally, this wouldn't be a problem for me. I don't mind reading thick books and I think I'm a fast reader, but nothing actually happened in the story until Chapter Twenty-Four. There were, essentially, twenty-three chapters of nothing. Just characters talking, building and further establishing relationships, and this would have been fine if Ms. Grey hadn't already built and established these relationships for two entire books already. I know how Echo feels about all these people and how they feel about her, and I got really tired of reading banter between all our different players. It was tedious to read and I can't imagine that it was any fun to write, so why include it at all?
Nothing significant happens in the story until they rescue Caius, and then things start speeding up, but only incrementally. I skipped through more than half of this book because I was tired of reading dialogue and emotions, especially when they didn't contribute anything further to the plot. The most significant thing was Dorian finally feeling comfortable (?), or I guess, getting the motivation to act on his feelings and get together with Jasper. And all of their romance was so boring because it was just repeats of everything that was going on in the previous two books: Jasper flirts, Dorian is flattered but says nothing, Jasper mopes, they get into a life-or-death situation, the two of them are on level ground again, and the cycle begins once more. For some reason, in this book, Jasper almost gets killed by mermaids and Dorian saves him, and this is when Dorian finally decides to reciprocate because he's just almost witnessed Jasper dying. This would be fine and dandy, except! All of this happened in a previous book. Shadow Hour, I think. Dorian almost gets speared through with a sword and Jasper saves him but gets speared instead, and then Dorian dotes on him until he recovers. I think that all of this romance stuff should have happened back then!! It was so much more tense because this was Jasper's first brush with death, and the only reason I can think of for delaying their relationship till now would be because Ms. Grey wanted to build it a little further. And if that was the case, than that whole spear thing should have happened in this book, because it didn't really have any effect on anything in the previous one. I don't understand why we keep cycling through the same events.
Another repetitive trope: Ivy gets kidnapped. FOR THE THIRD TIME. The first time, I was actually afraid for her. The second time, she got kidnapped on purpose to bait Tanith, so w/e I wasn't that worried. This time, I was just annoyed. Kidnap anyone else! Kidnap Jasper or Dorian! We've already seen how Ivy reacts in these circumstances and her kidnapping does not further the plot in any way, nor does it further her character. I was over it before it even began.
Helios: a useless and redundant character. If the kid was going to be a traitor, don't chicken out and make him a "good guy at heart". Turns out that he joined the group and spied on them because Tanith threatens to kill his brother. So the whole time, he was just picking up info and passing it to her. He would have made a great villain, but instead, he gets turned into a mediocre, neutral character. He's absolutely irrelevant in this book. And when he stabbed Tanith after regretting his actions, she should have killed him!!! Why didn't she slit his throat!?! She had everything ready and she's like "nah let's throw him into the wall instead" so of course he lives. And then when Caius decides that he needs to die for betraying them (justified - he nearly got them all killed) and Ivy begs for his life, Caius should have killed him anyways!!! Or at least incapacitated him!!! The only reason he is in this book is because the author wanted to pair up Ivy with someone!!! I'm very exasperated by this.
Speaking of characters with a main goal of romance: Again. JASPER. He was my least favorite character (closely followed by Helios), both for the same reason: they have no reason to exist except to act as a pair-mate to some, more important character in the book! Jasper is the most boring character in the entire series. He contributes nothing except sass to the group, which Echo already has covered. He should have remained a minor character and maybe made a cameo over the three books; he had no reason to be a protagonist, and didn't even have a protagonist's skillset.
Let me draw a comparison here between Six of Crows and The Girl at Midnight series. I think I've done this before but bear with me, because this time, I'm much more organized: here is the difference between a bad character (Jasper) and a good character (Jesper Fahey). They even almost have the same name.
-Jasper: fueled ENTIRELY by romance. What is his motivation? What is his goal? Echo wants to stop Tanith and save the Avicen, that's her main reason for existing. Caius wants the same but for the Drakharin, and also to take back his throne. Dorian wants to help Caius take back his throne because he believes that Caius is the true king. Ivy wants to help Echo and also, save her people. And Jasper? Jasper wants TO DATE DORIAN. That is his ENTIRE reason for joining the group.
-Jesper: In SOC, Jesper Fahey joins the team because 1) Kaz is kind of his boss, and he trusts Kaz to make good plans and fulfill them, 2) because he has a huge gambling debt that he needs to repay before the loan sharks of Ketterdam bury him six feet in the earth and 3) he might have a little crush on Kaz. So there is some romantic motivation but it is entirely theorized by Wylan and doesn't present itself till the very end of SOC. It has a negligible effect on Jesper's actions and is his least prioritized goal, if impressing Kaz and possibly roamncing him is even a goal of his.
-Jasper: is SO CREEPY when it comes to flirting. This is mostly in TGAM, and Dorian is more receptive in the later books, but I distinctly remember feeling uncomfortable during the first book because Jasper is like that creepy guy at the bar who keeps hitting on a super reluctant girl, even though all she wants is to get a drink. This is mostly the fault of the author. If Dorian was interested, why on earth did Ms. Grey write him in as uncomfortable for so long? I'd understand him because uneasy because Jasper is Avicen, and they've been enemies forever, but because of the way she wrote their relationship, Dorian falling for Jasper came off to me like he had been worn down by Jasper's constant advances, rather than actually falling for Jasper himself.
-Jesper: Wylan is super receptive to Jesper!! Always! He even flirts back.
-Jasper: Has no distinctive traits other than being pretty, flirtatious, and a stereotypical gay character. He's flamboyant and flirty and sarcastic. He's vain. I don't remember anything else about him because his other traits only cropped up once or twice.
-Jesper: Demonstrates impulsivity, charm, impatience, friendliness, determination, and so many other traits. Jesper is super multifaceted.
-Jasper: has no actual skillset and there's no need for him to join the crew. If Echo is the leader, Ivy is the healer, and Caius and Dorian are tanks, Jasper is the guy tagging along and nearly getting himself killed. I don't even remember why he's there in the first place. Oh, wait. It's because he likes Dorian and follows him around like a puppy. But for real, my issue here is that he should have a distinctive and memorable role in the story, but he feels like some rando that's just wandering around and acting as a plot device now and then. Since this book features a medley of characters who are part of a group with a goal in mind, each character should have a specific role!
-Jesper: He's the SHARPSHOOTER. I can tell you that immediately! Just like I can tell you that Inej is the wraith, Nina is the grisha grifter, Matthias is the soldier, Wylan is their bombs and inventions guy, and Kaz is the leader. Everyone has a specific role that they play, and each role is easy to remember. No one is dead weight and they are all a necessary part of the group.
-Jasper: not fleshed out at all. What's his background? What are his motivations other than sleeping with Dorian? Does he serve any purpose other than being a love interest?
-Jesper: We all know his background and his story and his motivations. He's a character that you actually grow attached to.
Anyways. I'm going to stop with the list because I think I made my point.
Just to solidify one more thing: the only relationship that actually interested me in this series, was Caius and Echo. Ivy and Helios seemed liked they had been forced together because Ms. Grey didn't want to leave Ivy boyfriendless, and Dorian and Jasper are just... ugh. I don't like Jasper and I don't like how their relationship was built. I truly, honestly think that this could have been a much more interesting story with a slightly tweaked cast of characters: Caius and Echo, sure, and then I still think that a relationship between Dorian and Ivy would have been so much more engaging to read, because they start off on such a horrible note. Their relationship in the series is fine - they become friends - but compared to [Dorian and Jasper] or [Ivy and Helios]? I think [Dorian and Ivy] tops them by miles. They were utter contrasts to each other, since Dorian's so hateful and angry and Ivy's entire life is defined by her choice to be kind, and to forgive. Plus the whole Avicen/Drakharin thing would have been so much more pertinent to them because, hear me out: Jasper's fond of his people but he's basically a loner, right? So he literally has no problem dropping the Avicen and leaving to be with his Drakharin boyfriend. But Ivy's not like that: she's always loved her people and made herself a home among them. She's tied too closely to them to be cut off like that. So it would have been a really intriguing conflict for Ivy to have to either try a long distance relationship with Dorian, or choose to leave her family for him once he becomes the interim king. They could have bonded over their respective friendships with these incredibly important and reckless people who get into terrible situations and subsequently drag them into their adventures. I think that they had a lot of fodder to work off of.
And Jasper? First of all, he should have had a distinctive part of the story. And if I were going to pair him up with someone, I'd bring in a warlock. I remember vaguely that he had some sort of relationship with Quinn? Not a good one. But the warlocks are an incredibly interesting cast of characters that are so underutilized. They only show up once or twice, just to creep everyone out. I think they had their biggest role in TGAM. But I think Jasper would have been really interesting with another morally ambiguous character, someone who works for their own benefit and introduces themselves as such, unlike backstabbing Helios. That way, we could see more conflict in Jasper's life: he demonstrates wanting to help the Avicen, but the person he likes is not so interested in altruism. And that person could have joined Tanith for power, then had a redemption arc that was much more fleshed out. One which affected the story in a more significant manner than Helios, whose life or death would not have mattered in the slightest to the overall plot. Jasper falling for a morally ambiguous character would have been interesting and further developed his character because he'd have to demonstrate that he's not totally unbiased and reveal that hey, he actually is a good person who cares about the world. I don't know. I just think, basically, that each character should have had a specific role in the group and in the story.
Other than that: I read this book literally ten minutes ago and can hardly remember anything memorable about it. Caius died, or did he? He gets sucked into the in-between alongside Tanith, and the end features Echo and Rowan trying to reintroduce themselves to each other, like they're going to start their friendship anew. So I don't know what's going on with that. Tanith was a pretty good villain, I'll admit, and the kuçedra was an interesting monster and I really wish that it had been explored more as its own entity, and not an extension of Tanith. Dorian almost gets killed but then Echo revives him with her magic powers, not that it would have mattered because Dorian and Jasper will never die, as they have demonstrated in the previous books. They've been brought back to life at least once already, so I had no expectations of them dying. I was really hoping that Ivy would die because it would have crushed Echo, but nope. She's just out there... healing people... and Caius's fate didn't really bother me? I mean, he was cool, but the way that he vanished wasn't really death. Echo gets no closure, which means that she still has hope, which means that it wasn't the tragic ending that I think would have been a good conclusion to the series.
Ultimately, The Girl at Midnight was a wonderful story and I wish that we had seen that same writing quality throughout the other books. Unfortunately, Shadow Hour and Savage Dawn proved that we would not. I won't be recommending this series because I know how it ends, and, well, it seems that I'm on a bad book streak again. So fingers crossed that the next novel I pick up is better.
P.S. Reading through this, I'm sorry if I sounded harsh. I guess I'm just tired and really hoped for more with this book. If the author reads this, please don't hate me! I think that TSD had a lot of potential, but... well. Maybe it just wasn't for me.
Read more here.
So. This book was incredibly disappointing.
First of all, the story was so. So. Long. The book is 482 pages; normally, this wouldn't be a problem for me. I don't mind reading thick books and I think I'm a fast reader, but nothing actually happened in the story until Chapter Twenty-Four. There were, essentially, twenty-three chapters of nothing. Just characters talking, building and further establishing relationships, and this would have been fine if Ms. Grey hadn't already built and established these relationships for two entire books already. I know how Echo feels about all these people and how they feel about her, and I got really tired of reading banter between all our different players. It was tedious to read and I can't imagine that it was any fun to write, so why include it at all?
Nothing significant happens in the story until they rescue Caius, and then things start speeding up, but only incrementally. I skipped through more than half of this book because I was tired of reading dialogue and emotions, especially when they didn't contribute anything further to the plot. The most significant thing was Dorian finally feeling comfortable (?), or I guess, getting the motivation to act on his feelings and get together with Jasper. And all of their romance was so boring because it was just repeats of everything that was going on in the previous two books: Jasper flirts, Dorian is flattered but says nothing, Jasper mopes, they get into a life-or-death situation, the two of them are on level ground again, and the cycle begins once more. For some reason, in this book, Jasper almost gets killed by mermaids and Dorian saves him, and this is when Dorian finally decides to reciprocate because he's just almost witnessed Jasper dying. This would be fine and dandy, except! All of this happened in a previous book. Shadow Hour, I think. Dorian almost gets speared through with a sword and Jasper saves him but gets speared instead, and then Dorian dotes on him until he recovers. I think that all of this romance stuff should have happened back then!! It was so much more tense because this was Jasper's first brush with death, and the only reason I can think of for delaying their relationship till now would be because Ms. Grey wanted to build it a little further. And if that was the case, than that whole spear thing should have happened in this book, because it didn't really have any effect on anything in the previous one. I don't understand why we keep cycling through the same events.
Another repetitive trope: Ivy gets kidnapped. FOR THE THIRD TIME. The first time, I was actually afraid for her. The second time, she got kidnapped on purpose to bait Tanith, so w/e I wasn't that worried. This time, I was just annoyed. Kidnap anyone else! Kidnap Jasper or Dorian! We've already seen how Ivy reacts in these circumstances and her kidnapping does not further the plot in any way, nor does it further her character. I was over it before it even began.
Helios: a useless and redundant character. If the kid was going to be a traitor, don't chicken out and make him a "good guy at heart". Turns out that he joined the group and spied on them because Tanith threatens to kill his brother. So the whole time, he was just picking up info and passing it to her. He would have made a great villain, but instead, he gets turned into a mediocre, neutral character. He's absolutely irrelevant in this book. And when he stabbed Tanith after regretting his actions, she should have killed him!!! Why didn't she slit his throat!?! She had everything ready and she's like "nah let's throw him into the wall instead" so of course he lives. And then when Caius decides that he needs to die for betraying them (justified - he nearly got them all killed) and Ivy begs for his life, Caius should have killed him anyways!!! Or at least incapacitated him!!! The only reason he is in this book is because the author wanted to pair up Ivy with someone!!! I'm very exasperated by this.
Speaking of characters with a main goal of romance: Again. JASPER. He was my least favorite character (closely followed by Helios), both for the same reason: they have no reason to exist except to act as a pair-mate to some, more important character in the book! Jasper is the most boring character in the entire series. He contributes nothing except sass to the group, which Echo already has covered. He should have remained a minor character and maybe made a cameo over the three books; he had no reason to be a protagonist, and didn't even have a protagonist's skillset.
Let me draw a comparison here between Six of Crows and The Girl at Midnight series. I think I've done this before but bear with me, because this time, I'm much more organized: here is the difference between a bad character (Jasper) and a good character (Jesper Fahey). They even almost have the same name.
-Jasper: fueled ENTIRELY by romance. What is his motivation? What is his goal? Echo wants to stop Tanith and save the Avicen, that's her main reason for existing. Caius wants the same but for the Drakharin, and also to take back his throne. Dorian wants to help Caius take back his throne because he believes that Caius is the true king. Ivy wants to help Echo and also, save her people. And Jasper? Jasper wants TO DATE DORIAN. That is his ENTIRE reason for joining the group.
-Jesper: In SOC, Jesper Fahey joins the team because 1) Kaz is kind of his boss, and he trusts Kaz to make good plans and fulfill them, 2) because he has a huge gambling debt that he needs to repay before the loan sharks of Ketterdam bury him six feet in the earth and 3) he might have a little crush on Kaz. So there is some romantic motivation but it is entirely theorized by Wylan and doesn't present itself till the very end of SOC. It has a negligible effect on Jesper's actions and is his least prioritized goal, if impressing Kaz and possibly roamncing him is even a goal of his.
-Jasper: is SO CREEPY when it comes to flirting. This is mostly in TGAM, and Dorian is more receptive in the later books, but I distinctly remember feeling uncomfortable during the first book because Jasper is like that creepy guy at the bar who keeps hitting on a super reluctant girl, even though all she wants is to get a drink. This is mostly the fault of the author. If Dorian was interested, why on earth did Ms. Grey write him in as uncomfortable for so long? I'd understand him because uneasy because Jasper is Avicen, and they've been enemies forever, but because of the way she wrote their relationship, Dorian falling for Jasper came off to me like he had been worn down by Jasper's constant advances, rather than actually falling for Jasper himself.
-Jesper: Wylan is super receptive to Jesper!! Always! He even flirts back.
-Jasper: Has no distinctive traits other than being pretty, flirtatious, and a stereotypical gay character. He's flamboyant and flirty and sarcastic. He's vain. I don't remember anything else about him because his other traits only cropped up once or twice.
-Jesper: Demonstrates impulsivity, charm, impatience, friendliness, determination, and so many other traits. Jesper is super multifaceted.
-Jasper: has no actual skillset and there's no need for him to join the crew. If Echo is the leader, Ivy is the healer, and Caius and Dorian are tanks, Jasper is the guy tagging along and nearly getting himself killed. I don't even remember why he's there in the first place. Oh, wait. It's because he likes Dorian and follows him around like a puppy. But for real, my issue here is that he should have a distinctive and memorable role in the story, but he feels like some rando that's just wandering around and acting as a plot device now and then. Since this book features a medley of characters who are part of a group with a goal in mind, each character should have a specific role!
-Jesper: He's the SHARPSHOOTER. I can tell you that immediately! Just like I can tell you that Inej is the wraith, Nina is the grisha grifter, Matthias is the soldier, Wylan is their bombs and inventions guy, and Kaz is the leader. Everyone has a specific role that they play, and each role is easy to remember. No one is dead weight and they are all a necessary part of the group.
-Jasper: not fleshed out at all. What's his background? What are his motivations other than sleeping with Dorian? Does he serve any purpose other than being a love interest?
-Jesper: We all know his background and his story and his motivations. He's a character that you actually grow attached to.
Anyways. I'm going to stop with the list because I think I made my point.
Just to solidify one more thing: the only relationship that actually interested me in this series, was Caius and Echo. Ivy and Helios seemed liked they had been forced together because Ms. Grey didn't want to leave Ivy boyfriendless, and Dorian and Jasper are just... ugh. I don't like Jasper and I don't like how their relationship was built. I truly, honestly think that this could have been a much more interesting story with a slightly tweaked cast of characters: Caius and Echo, sure, and then I still think that a relationship between Dorian and Ivy would have been so much more engaging to read, because they start off on such a horrible note. Their relationship in the series is fine - they become friends - but compared to [Dorian and Jasper] or [Ivy and Helios]? I think [Dorian and Ivy] tops them by miles. They were utter contrasts to each other, since Dorian's so hateful and angry and Ivy's entire life is defined by her choice to be kind, and to forgive. Plus the whole Avicen/Drakharin thing would have been so much more pertinent to them because, hear me out: Jasper's fond of his people but he's basically a loner, right? So he literally has no problem dropping the Avicen and leaving to be with his Drakharin boyfriend. But Ivy's not like that: she's always loved her people and made herself a home among them. She's tied too closely to them to be cut off like that. So it would have been a really intriguing conflict for Ivy to have to either try a long distance relationship with Dorian, or choose to leave her family for him once he becomes the interim king. They could have bonded over their respective friendships with these incredibly important and reckless people who get into terrible situations and subsequently drag them into their adventures. I think that they had a lot of fodder to work off of.
And Jasper? First of all, he should have had a distinctive part of the story. And if I were going to pair him up with someone, I'd bring in a warlock. I remember vaguely that he had some sort of relationship with Quinn? Not a good one. But the warlocks are an incredibly interesting cast of characters that are so underutilized. They only show up once or twice, just to creep everyone out. I think they had their biggest role in TGAM. But I think Jasper would have been really interesting with another morally ambiguous character, someone who works for their own benefit and introduces themselves as such, unlike backstabbing Helios. That way, we could see more conflict in Jasper's life: he demonstrates wanting to help the Avicen, but the person he likes is not so interested in altruism. And that person could have joined Tanith for power, then had a redemption arc that was much more fleshed out. One which affected the story in a more significant manner than Helios, whose life or death would not have mattered in the slightest to the overall plot. Jasper falling for a morally ambiguous character would have been interesting and further developed his character because he'd have to demonstrate that he's not totally unbiased and reveal that hey, he actually is a good person who cares about the world. I don't know. I just think, basically, that each character should have had a specific role in the group and in the story.
Other than that: I read this book literally ten minutes ago and can hardly remember anything memorable about it. Caius died, or did he? He gets sucked into the in-between alongside Tanith, and the end features Echo and Rowan trying to reintroduce themselves to each other, like they're going to start their friendship anew. So I don't know what's going on with that. Tanith was a pretty good villain, I'll admit, and the kuçedra was an interesting monster and I really wish that it had been explored more as its own entity, and not an extension of Tanith. Dorian almost gets killed but then Echo revives him with her magic powers, not that it would have mattered because Dorian and Jasper will never die, as they have demonstrated in the previous books. They've been brought back to life at least once already, so I had no expectations of them dying. I was really hoping that Ivy would die because it would have crushed Echo, but nope. She's just out there... healing people... and Caius's fate didn't really bother me? I mean, he was cool, but the way that he vanished wasn't really death. Echo gets no closure, which means that she still has hope, which means that it wasn't the tragic ending that I think would have been a good conclusion to the series.
Ultimately, The Girl at Midnight was a wonderful story and I wish that we had seen that same writing quality throughout the other books. Unfortunately, Shadow Hour and Savage Dawn proved that we would not. I won't be recommending this series because I know how it ends, and, well, it seems that I'm on a bad book streak again. So fingers crossed that the next novel I pick up is better.
P.S. Reading through this, I'm sorry if I sounded harsh. I guess I'm just tired and really hoped for more with this book. If the author reads this, please don't hate me! I think that TSD had a lot of potential, but... well. Maybe it just wasn't for me.
Read more here.
July 18, 2017
I AM NOT OKAY
August 6, 2017
ORIGINALLY POSTED: https://bibliomantics.com/2017/08/05/...
The conclusion to Melissa Grey's The Girl at Midnight series has arrived, and I promise you, you are not emotionally ready. From the witty dialogue to the lyrical prose, the compelling characters and the superb world building, the final book in the trilogy is far and above my favorite. While it's hard to say goodbye to Echo and her superb squad, the bittersweet ending is a beautiful and fitting conclusion.
The conclusion to Melissa Grey's The Girl at Midnight series has arrived, and I promise you, you are not emotionally ready. From the witty dialogue to the lyrical prose, the compelling characters and the superb world building, the final book in the trilogy is far and above my favorite. While it's hard to say goodbye to Echo and her superb squad, the bittersweet ending is a beautiful and fitting conclusion.
October 7, 2018
I have such strange feelings for this series and this book in particular. On one hand, it was engaging enough to finish in no time, but on the other hand dear lord this was a mess.
I actually almost wanted to give this three stars, just because something that happened in the end made me very happy (Probably table for one here), but dear lord this was a mess².
Simply put: This trilogy hasn't met one romantic trope that it didn't want to use straight. Now, I don't mind tropes at all. There are quite a few you'll have to rip out of my cold dead hands, but if you write a lot of them, I think you should at least try to freshen them up a bit?
Or at least make the story otherwise engaging and unique enough. Sadly that didn't happen here either. It didn't even feel like the final book in a trilogy, because once again, Echo is pretty much off to do her own thing all the time, instead of you know... learning how to fight, finding out more about her own power or motivating her people in general. While her people prepare for certain doom, she's mostly concerned about Caius.
Same with Dorian, which brings his relationship with Jasper to a screeching halt and back to the endless will-they-or-won't-they with an extremely obvious ending.
Honestly, I've talked enough about the love story in this trilogy in my former reviews, so I don't want to rehash everything here again, but let me just once again say that I'm usually not someone who says "He's too good for you." to a female character but dear lord was Rowan ever too good for Echo. Yes, he was probably the least developed of all the main characters (cause he was conviniently away on missions - you know, to save the world - a lot of times), but he was always there when Echo needed him, he never got angry at her for (emotionally) cheating on him, ready to slide back into the role of best friend and always supported and comforted her. Meanwhile our heroine (once again) forgot him as soon as he left her eyesight.
He wasn't "just" her boyfriend. He was her best friend since childhood and she just... kept forgetting about him. Even in moments when she listed all of her important people in her head he wasn't there.
But Caius had strategically placed shimmering scales on his cheeks I guess...
So our heroes - except for the only character with some sense: Ivy, who was actually trying to do something about aforementioned certain doom - were mostly concentrated on getting Caius back. Which obviously meant side-quests for everyone (that also mostly focused on the various romantic relationships)!
Meanwhile war preparations happened mostly off screen.
And this is the point where I have to admit that I barely remember anything, cause the probably only one who cared less than me was Echo herself... but then she had been damn near useless in her own damn story since the beginning.
The villains were okay-ish. Caius' sister was certainly a better one than the big evil thingie that popped up. She had potential to become a great one, but in the end she was basically just an inferior Azula.
So let me just say that I thought the only genuinly surprising thing happened near the end. It is one GIANT ENDING SPOILER, so please don't look at it if you're sensitive to those!
I was genuinly surprised, which is why this book got a second star instead of just one. The first one is for Ivy, Rowan and some nice scenes between Dorian and Jasper (who were otherwise for the first time just as boring as Caius/Echo).
I actually almost wanted to give this three stars, just because something that happened in the end made me very happy (Probably table for one here), but dear lord this was a mess².
Simply put: This trilogy hasn't met one romantic trope that it didn't want to use straight. Now, I don't mind tropes at all. There are quite a few you'll have to rip out of my cold dead hands, but if you write a lot of them, I think you should at least try to freshen them up a bit?
Or at least make the story otherwise engaging and unique enough. Sadly that didn't happen here either. It didn't even feel like the final book in a trilogy, because once again, Echo is pretty much off to do her own thing all the time, instead of you know... learning how to fight, finding out more about her own power or motivating her people in general. While her people prepare for certain doom, she's mostly concerned about Caius.
Same with Dorian, which brings his relationship with Jasper to a screeching halt and back to the endless will-they-or-won't-they with an extremely obvious ending.
Honestly, I've talked enough about the love story in this trilogy in my former reviews, so I don't want to rehash everything here again, but let me just once again say that I'm usually not someone who says "He's too good for you." to a female character but dear lord was Rowan ever too good for Echo. Yes, he was probably the least developed of all the main characters (cause he was conviniently away on missions - you know, to save the world - a lot of times), but he was always there when Echo needed him, he never got angry at her for (emotionally) cheating on him, ready to slide back into the role of best friend and always supported and comforted her. Meanwhile our heroine (once again) forgot him as soon as he left her eyesight.
He wasn't "just" her boyfriend. He was her best friend since childhood and she just... kept forgetting about him. Even in moments when she listed all of her important people in her head he wasn't there.
But Caius had strategically placed shimmering scales on his cheeks I guess...
So our heroes - except for the only character with some sense: Ivy, who was actually trying to do something about aforementioned certain doom - were mostly concentrated on getting Caius back. Which obviously meant side-quests for everyone (that also mostly focused on the various romantic relationships)!
Meanwhile war preparations happened mostly off screen.
And this is the point where I have to admit that I barely remember anything, cause the probably only one who cared less than me was Echo herself... but then she had been damn near useless in her own damn story since the beginning.
The villains were okay-ish. Caius' sister was certainly a better one than the big evil thingie that popped up. She had potential to become a great one, but in the end she was basically just an inferior Azula.
So let me just say that I thought the only genuinly surprising thing happened near the end. It is one GIANT ENDING SPOILER, so please don't look at it if you're sensitive to those!
I was genuinly surprised, which is why this book got a second star instead of just one. The first one is for Ivy, Rowan and some nice scenes between Dorian and Jasper (who were otherwise for the first time just as boring as Caius/Echo).
July 31, 2017
Quite the Novel Idea https://quitethenovelidea.com https://quitethenovelidea.com/?p=13934*Sigh* I debated back and forth on how to rate The Savage Dawn. I really loved
The Girl at Midnight
and even though its sequel was not perfect, I was still more than eager to read the last installment, especially after the excruciating cliffhanger. I was not entirely happy with The Savage Dawn and thus I will try to keep this review short, to the point and spoiler free.
I loved that we get to see the whole gang back together: Echo, Ivy, the Ala, Rowan, Dorian and Jasper and a few new characters. I also liked that it was action packed, full of quests, mysteries, and such. I think Echo grows a lot into her role and is more confident. The sames happens to Ivy and I love her chapters too.
The romance is more developed in The Savage Dawn and it's not secret that I adore Caius. He is indeed one of the MCs and it shows in this book. Echo and Caius learn to trust each other and to communicate much better. The is no love triangle, but rather a determination to find what was lost and to save the world from the darkness. The romance between Dorian and Jasper is even more swoony.
The writing is awesome, the banter, the dialogue between the characters is amazing, witty, sarcastic, funny.
Now we come to my biggest issue with the story. As you might know, I have an extreme dislike of open endings that this one has big gaps. I was loving the story, the action, the romance, where everything was going, until the last battle and then it all went downhill fast. Not only did I not get closure, but the battle seemed to be more about Caius and Tanith, giving it a much-ado-about-nothing kind of vibe that I didn't' care for. It's almost open enough to warrant another installment to the series or at the very least a novella. Very unsatisfying and extremely frustrating. Oh, and it made me cry to boot :(
Overall, the ending of the series is almost everything I was hoping for, but it left too many unanswered questions and it felt too open for me.This review was originally posted on Quite the Novel Idea
I loved that we get to see the whole gang back together: Echo, Ivy, the Ala, Rowan, Dorian and Jasper and a few new characters. I also liked that it was action packed, full of quests, mysteries, and such. I think Echo grows a lot into her role and is more confident. The sames happens to Ivy and I love her chapters too.
The romance is more developed in The Savage Dawn and it's not secret that I adore Caius. He is indeed one of the MCs and it shows in this book. Echo and Caius learn to trust each other and to communicate much better. The is no love triangle, but rather a determination to find what was lost and to save the world from the darkness. The romance between Dorian and Jasper is even more swoony.
The writing is awesome, the banter, the dialogue between the characters is amazing, witty, sarcastic, funny.
Now we come to my biggest issue with the story. As you might know, I have an extreme dislike of open endings that this one has big gaps. I was loving the story, the action, the romance, where everything was going, until the last battle and then it all went downhill fast. Not only did I not get closure, but the battle seemed to be more about Caius and Tanith, giving it a much-ado-about-nothing kind of vibe that I didn't' care for. It's almost open enough to warrant another installment to the series or at the very least a novella. Very unsatisfying and extremely frustrating. Oh, and it made me cry to boot :(
Overall, the ending of the series is almost everything I was hoping for, but it left too many unanswered questions and it felt too open for me.This review was originally posted on Quite the Novel Idea
September 3, 2024
My only complaint is that the ending was not long enough, beautiful yes it was but did it tell of much? Not really. Like what is going to happen next, what lives will our characters lead? I just like a little bit of closure okay? So the series gets a -A for not wrapping up like anything.
Other then that, I adored this book. These characters, I like every single one of them, expect maybe Tanith but everyone else yes. And of course I love our main guys-Jasper, Dorian, Echo, Caius. Ivy and Rowan, although my favorite is Jasper for sure. I ship all of the ships, which is very rare for me, there's normally a romance I don't agree with but in this book, I was in it for all. The sense of friendship, family, love, dark and light is so deeply woven in with a heartwarming embrace. It's with a deep sadness to say goodbye.
Other then that, I adored this book. These characters, I like every single one of them, expect maybe Tanith but everyone else yes. And of course I love our main guys-Jasper, Dorian, Echo, Caius. Ivy and Rowan, although my favorite is Jasper for sure. I ship all of the ships, which is very rare for me, there's normally a romance I don't agree with but in this book, I was in it for all. The sense of friendship, family, love, dark and light is so deeply woven in with a heartwarming embrace. It's with a deep sadness to say goodbye.
Read
July 26, 2017I was COUGH, COUGH spoiled by a review that didn't utilize the spoiler tag, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF I WANT TO FINISH THIS NOW.
November 20, 2017
Yeah, I'm glad this series is done but this last book was sadly quite disappointing. Way too long. So much of it just dragged and dragged. Sometimes I felt like it looped in senseless circles. I don't know. I'm rather frustrated over the ending. I'm quite gutted :(
July 6, 2017
I received this book from the publisher for being a part of the blog tour team for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
The Savage Dawn brings a conclusion to the world Melissa Grey created two years ago. Having read the first two installments of this trilogy as ARCs made it a tad difficult to dive into this one a bit later. As usual I struggled to get my memory caught up with what had happened and what needed to happen. But soon I was hooked into the story as Echo and her friends try to save the world!
Caius has been taken prisoner by his sister, the Dragon Prince, Tanith, and it’s Echo’s first mission to find and rescue him. But she will need the help of her friends and a little creative thinking! Rescuing Caius is only the first part of the mission for when they do find him, he’s nowhere near fighting ready.
I’ll admit, I had a hard time getting back into this one. Purely memory reasons. When I can’t remember what happened before, it really makes it hard to know why I need to care about the success of all the separate missions and whatnot. Obviously there’s the, Echo is our hero and she needs to win/succeed thing going on, but I like remembering the deeper reason why! Clearly my notes from before were not as detailed as I thought!
Despite that, I did still like the story! The characters were always my favorite part of this series! I mean, Echo lives in a library! How cool is that?! And she knows all these obscure words that have such fun meanings! I would never be able to remember them all like she can! I’m definitely a reader of the moment, when reading a book I could tell you what’s going on and all that, probably not be able to give you the backstory if it was the final book of a trilogy, but I’d be able to tell you what happened for the most part. Trying to remember books I’ve previously read and tell you things? Yeah, not as likely to happen! Lol.
I also still adore Dorian and Jasper! Jasper is by far the funniest of the group and I love his sense of humor! And I love how far Dorian has come. Granted, I can’t remember his character exactly from the first book, but I remember not having happy feels towards him right away! But now? Definitely an amazing guy! And of course there’s Caius! He was also incredible and strong! And I loved watching his progression as well! All of these characters do a lot of growing and it was most enjoyable to witness!
There’s a good deal of action in this one too. It’s kind of spread out. We have the planning stages, the action itself, and some after math coupled with downtime moments. It’s got a nice balance of things. There were also about three sweet romances going on as well! One was subtle, and actually, you never really know the final outcome…I mean I suppose you can infer it, but still. I like concrete answers! Lol. Naturally, the will they, won’t they romance between Caius and Echo was sweet and swoony. You can pretty much say the same thing about Dorian and Julian, except there was a little more conflict between theirs. But still, there was just the right amount of romance to this story and it was nice and subtle instead of all consuming!
The ending was exciting and shocking and I admit, I’m left a bit stunned and emotional! Like a serious range of emotions are inflicting me right now as I write this review and try to keep myself from saying things I shouldn’t! Don’t worry! I’d never spoil anything for you guys! But yeah…that ending was emotional! All kinds of emotions! And it also leaves you to wonder, what if? You have this sense, that though the series is over, there will still be more to come from this world. It’s changed quite a bit over the course of the books and I can definitely see more potential to the world itself, should Melissa not ever be completely done with it! You never know!
The Savage Dawn was a remarkable conclusion to the world of The Girl at Midnight! I am sad to say goodbye so soon, but Melissa definitely ended it at the right place. I may have more I’d like to say to that, but won’t! For obvious reasons. ;) I am definitely looking forward to more books from Melissa!
Overall Rating 4/5 stars
The Savage Dawn releases July 11, 2017
The Savage Dawn brings a conclusion to the world Melissa Grey created two years ago. Having read the first two installments of this trilogy as ARCs made it a tad difficult to dive into this one a bit later. As usual I struggled to get my memory caught up with what had happened and what needed to happen. But soon I was hooked into the story as Echo and her friends try to save the world!
Caius has been taken prisoner by his sister, the Dragon Prince, Tanith, and it’s Echo’s first mission to find and rescue him. But she will need the help of her friends and a little creative thinking! Rescuing Caius is only the first part of the mission for when they do find him, he’s nowhere near fighting ready.
I’ll admit, I had a hard time getting back into this one. Purely memory reasons. When I can’t remember what happened before, it really makes it hard to know why I need to care about the success of all the separate missions and whatnot. Obviously there’s the, Echo is our hero and she needs to win/succeed thing going on, but I like remembering the deeper reason why! Clearly my notes from before were not as detailed as I thought!
Despite that, I did still like the story! The characters were always my favorite part of this series! I mean, Echo lives in a library! How cool is that?! And she knows all these obscure words that have such fun meanings! I would never be able to remember them all like she can! I’m definitely a reader of the moment, when reading a book I could tell you what’s going on and all that, probably not be able to give you the backstory if it was the final book of a trilogy, but I’d be able to tell you what happened for the most part. Trying to remember books I’ve previously read and tell you things? Yeah, not as likely to happen! Lol.
I also still adore Dorian and Jasper! Jasper is by far the funniest of the group and I love his sense of humor! And I love how far Dorian has come. Granted, I can’t remember his character exactly from the first book, but I remember not having happy feels towards him right away! But now? Definitely an amazing guy! And of course there’s Caius! He was also incredible and strong! And I loved watching his progression as well! All of these characters do a lot of growing and it was most enjoyable to witness!
There’s a good deal of action in this one too. It’s kind of spread out. We have the planning stages, the action itself, and some after math coupled with downtime moments. It’s got a nice balance of things. There were also about three sweet romances going on as well! One was subtle, and actually, you never really know the final outcome…I mean I suppose you can infer it, but still. I like concrete answers! Lol. Naturally, the will they, won’t they romance between Caius and Echo was sweet and swoony. You can pretty much say the same thing about Dorian and Julian, except there was a little more conflict between theirs. But still, there was just the right amount of romance to this story and it was nice and subtle instead of all consuming!
The ending was exciting and shocking and I admit, I’m left a bit stunned and emotional! Like a serious range of emotions are inflicting me right now as I write this review and try to keep myself from saying things I shouldn’t! Don’t worry! I’d never spoil anything for you guys! But yeah…that ending was emotional! All kinds of emotions! And it also leaves you to wonder, what if? You have this sense, that though the series is over, there will still be more to come from this world. It’s changed quite a bit over the course of the books and I can definitely see more potential to the world itself, should Melissa not ever be completely done with it! You never know!
The Savage Dawn was a remarkable conclusion to the world of The Girl at Midnight! I am sad to say goodbye so soon, but Melissa definitely ended it at the right place. I may have more I’d like to say to that, but won’t! For obvious reasons. ;) I am definitely looking forward to more books from Melissa!
Overall Rating 4/5 stars
The Savage Dawn releases July 11, 2017
February 16, 2019
“It’s the same nonsense for which all monuments are built: we fought, we bled, we died, and all in the name of glory. And so we perpetuate the legend that all that fighting and bleeding and dying is worth something so that future generations can go on repeating the sins of the past while expecting it to result in anything besides more fighting and bleeding and dying.”
4 stars!!
I marathoned this series while I was at the library today and HOOHOO!! I love rereading books that I loved when I was even the slightest bit younger. When I first read this series, I rated the first two books 5 stars and rereading them just reminded me of why I loved them so much. It was so fun to be immersed in a world that I used to be so fond of. It was also really great to see the growth and development that the plot and the characters went through over the course of the series. I really, really enjoyed reading this final installment and seeing how this amazing story ended. It was so fun to become reacquainted with the characters again and to pick up right where I left off as a little fangirl of this series.
4 stars!!
I marathoned this series while I was at the library today and HOOHOO!! I love rereading books that I loved when I was even the slightest bit younger. When I first read this series, I rated the first two books 5 stars and rereading them just reminded me of why I loved them so much. It was so fun to be immersed in a world that I used to be so fond of. It was also really great to see the growth and development that the plot and the characters went through over the course of the series. I really, really enjoyed reading this final installment and seeing how this amazing story ended. It was so fun to become reacquainted with the characters again and to pick up right where I left off as a little fangirl of this series.
July 30, 2017
2,5* Dit had goed kunnen zijn maar helaas was dat niet het geval. Veel was een herhaling van boek 2 en het einde was verwarrend omdat een aantal verhaallijnen niet worden afgewerkt en omdat er nog heel wat vragen zijn. Het voelt alsof de reeks niet af is...
July 6, 2018
I was a bit underwhelmed by this book. I really struggled to connect with the characters and the story. Maybe I'm just trying to compare it too much to other books of the same genre. I don't know. I did like this world, I was just missing something.
February 3, 2018
I DON'T HAVE THE WORDS RIGHT NOW
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