I need the second one IMMEDIATELY! This setting is so unique. I can see it and feel it and I want to experience it. I want to go with Nirrim through the different areas and experience that life and adventure. I love the character development and the relationships as well! Nirrim grows so strong and resilient through the book. Aden, Sid, Morah, and the others are such beautiful side characters that mean a lot to the plot! I can’t wait to see more development through the second book!

5/5 stars! Totally recommend!!

**Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the first book I've read by Rutkoski but it wont be my last. I enjoyed the book a lot. Especially the relationship between Sid and Nirrum. I also found the way she showed abuse and coersion very truthful.

SUMMARY: Nirrim lives in a stratified world in which she has no power, no resources and no hope that anything will change. But Nirrim is special, and when she catches the eye of a flirtatious traveler, they embark on an adventure to uncover what the High Caste is trying to hide.

I was interested to read The Midnight Lie because the next book in the series, The Hollow Heart, is scheduled for publication September 14, so it felt like the right time to dive in! I enjoyed this YA Dystopian Fantasy, and there were a lot of things to recommend it. The mythology and world building were solid, and I loved the charming FF romance between Nirrim and the rakish Sid. (The romance was a low-level smolder rather than the focus of the book, and everything that happens is very closed-door, which made sense for the story.)

Plot-wise, however, I did feel like not a lot happened. Rather, this book seemed to be laying the groundwork for the REAL story, which will likely take place in The Hollow Heart. The Midnight Lie ends on a massive cliffhanger, so I’d be interested to know what happens in the next installment.

A big thank you to @netgalley @fsgbooks and the author for providing me a digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

⭐⭐⭐.75

I will admit, I was a bit hesitant on this series after Rutkoski's first series was a bit all over the place for me. However, the romance for this one was actually something I was really into and I am very interested into seeing where this story heads.

Lovely world building in a land of haves and have nots. I liked the characters more than the society created. Cliffhanger ending but I am intrigued enough to continue on. The best part of the writing is in the little descriptive parts when I can visualize the cell or the clothing. The caste system is a bit severe but the dialogue and character interplay are excellent.

I can’t wait to read the next one. I think the pacing is a bit off at the end but it’s setting up for a sequel.

I absolutely loved this book. The world building, character development, and relationship development was just perfect. The revelations, secrets, lies, all just wonderful. I loved the exquisite storytelling and the way the mystery just naturally unraveled. And the romance … just amazing. Every dystopian fantasy lover should read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for granting me access to this title, I’ve been wanting to read it for a while and this is the perfect excuse!
The MIdnight Lie centers around Nirrim, an orphan raised in the Ward of Ethin as a half Kith. As a half Kith, she’s learned better than to question tradition and the strict rules that keep her people in her place despite sometimes remembering or seeing things no one else can. After being sent to jail for trying to return the property of the high Kith, Nirrim encounters Sid, a foreigner who has come to the island after hearing rumors of magic. Sid asks Nirrim to help uncover the secrets of the city. Together, Nirrim and Sid not only grow closer but try to pick apart the inconsistencies behind the traditions that have governed Ethin for so long. WIll either be prepared for what they uncover or for how they feel about each other?
I am not the biggest fan of stories with societies like this where the High kIth have everything and the half kith can’t even have sweet things and if accused of extravagances have to give up things like hair and blood and such. Those kinds of worlds are brutal and unpleasant and once I realized this was one of them, especially one where orphan Nirrim’s foster mom was abusive, I nearly put the book down. The real world is bleak enough so I don’t often enjoy reading books where things are even bleaker but then Nirrim was in prison and we met Sid.
So let’s be clear, in their first interactions, I was already digging the romantic vibe like hell yes and then the twist happened and I loved it about 1000x more. Suddenly the whole interaction and the character of Sid was even more interesting and better and I was then a billion times more interested in the book as a whole than I had been. That’s not to say it was a bad book before then, certainly not, just a tad bleak. It had great writing and promise but, ordinarily, I’m not extremely interested in stories with castes where lower castes get nothing because they tend to be miserable. To Rutowski’s credit, she balanced that enough with the interest of Nirrim’s possible abilities and the mystery of why their world is the way it is. Thankfully, the romance came along very quickly and spiced it up even further.
I’ll admit, I’ve never read the Winner’s Curse trilogy but I think Marie did a good enough job with this I didn’t feel like I was missing anything which I had been worried about.
Random side tangent, I noticed both covers, the new and the old both featured snakes quite heavily but...snakes didn’t seem to be that prominent in this story? The Elysium bird played a big part, why not have a bird and feathers a bigger part of the cover design? It just struck me as odd and a weird choice. Maybe I missed the snake reference or maybe the snakes are a metaphor? Who knows. Neither covers are a good match, honestly, but oh well.
Ugh, that ending. That was a very abrupt and painful ending but also the type to make you think and make you long to have the sequel in your hands already. I’m lucky I don’t have nearly as long to wait. I can’t imagine waiting as long as so many other people did between the two. Talk about a cliffhanger! I cannot wait to see how Marie solves the big problems she bright into play at the end but more than that, I look forward to seeing more of this world and these characters. I look forward to checking out the Winner’s Curse trilogy. I know the two series are a bit different but I want to read more by this author.

I really enjoyed this story. This is the first book by this author I've read and I found it very mesmerizing. It is a fantasy with a foray into the world of alternative lifestyles (lgbtq). The city and land is divided into a hierarchy as we are in real life. The rich, the middle class, and then the lower class. The dregs are exiled to no man's land. No one in this current land knows that there is life beyond their island. I could not put the book down most of the time so I highly recommend it,

Truly enjoyed this book!

In some ways it was the "typical" dystopian - there is a huge difference in class structure with the poorest being hungry and tired and the world is dull and grey. There is one person who could possibly save everyone.. etc etc

However, this was different in many ways. The worlds were very different from the usual, the story was very different and they were not underground, etc. I loved the worlds that were built - they reminded me of hunger games (just as a visual reference). I loved the characters - you didn't know the motivations of everyone - who could be trusted, who could not.

This was a F/F romance twist - my first one - and I love how it was handled. When i first downloaded it, I did not realize it was LBTGQ. I am certainly a supporter of gay rights, but wasn't sure I could like a book with two females in a romantic relationship. To really enjoy a book, I need to relate to the characters and I wasn't sure. But I gave it a shot and I worried about nothing.. I loved both characters and how their relationship developed.

The ending was quite a surprise to me and I am hoping there will be more books in this series.

I want to give a round of applause to the author for the ending. It was surprising, and interesting and left me wanting more. However, it did NOT end on a cliffhanger, which really annoys me when that happens.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and to #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my opinion. I truly enjoyed this book!

What the heck?! You're going to leave me with an ending like that?! Nooooooo! All I can say is that it's a good thing the next book is coming out soon! This story did not go the direction I thought it would. But man, it leaves you with many glimpses of what might come in the following books.

I found Nirrim to be a very interesting character and the author takes her time with her, from her past as a "throwaway baby" to her time in the orphanage, and then her time as a foster child with a manipulative, abusive guardian, which we can all see, which her "sisters" see, but which she doesn't see. She has spent years being manipulated, abused, gaslighted, and all she can do is see how much she must love her guardian, and how much her guardian must love her.

Enter Sid, a traveler from another land who is immediately intrigued by Nirrim and gets her to question not just her life with the guardian, but the life of their society with is a very rigid class structure where anyone not high kith is meant to serve the high kith. No spoilers here but there is just the right amount of romance for a YA novel, beautiful worldbuilding, beautiful writing with solid dialog that kept my interest the whole time. And of course, there is that ending--argh! Well-played, Marie Rutkoski. Yes, I will be reading the next book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a very interesting story with amazing characters. I was completely hooked. I can’t wait too read what will happen next.

It has been quite awhile since I read the Winner's Trilogy and absolutely fell in love with its world and characters. When I heard that Marie Rutkoski was releasing a new book set in the same world I was eager to dive back in! Alas, the world began to end and this beautiful book sat on my shelf for two months before I finally picked it up. When I did, though, I couldn't put it down!

The Midnight Lie is the story of Nirrim, a girl living in the Ward where the the lowest class on the island are contained within a wall. Nirrim's people are not allowed outside the wall - ever. Nirrim has learned to be content with her life working for Raven, the woman who has raised her since she was abandoned as a baby. But when her paths cross with Sid, a traveler from far away, everything begins to change in more ways than one.

Like in The Winner's Trilogy, the romance is absolutely the standout of this story. Don't get me wrong! It's amazing in several other ways, but the majority of this book explores the relationship with Nirrim and Sid, as Nirrim comes to terms with her feelings. Although I sometimes have issues with fantasy that's romance-heavy, I was absolutely here for it! The relationship between these two was so sweet and heartbreakingly real. Both characters made me fall in love with them by the end and I am dying to get my hands on the sequel to continue their story!

But the rest, the rest! The Midnight Lie is technically set in the same universe as The Winner's Curse, but this island is something different and new. There's magic on the island and a whole new mythology that I can't wait to explore more. The island is divided into three distinct parts and each one is interesting in its own way, but the High Kith's world was especially fascinating. The way magic is interwoven into their society was unique and terrible and amazing.

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book, but it has earned a spot on my favorites shelf! The ending was perfect, but brutal, and I can't believe I'm going to have to wait so long to see what happens next! I'm hoping the two series intertwine a bit more in book two. This is definitely a book you don't want to miss!

Excellent read. The storytelling is beautiful and really resonated with me. The writing is strong and the characters are relatable. I highly recommend this book.

Marie Rutkoski is my go-to for YA romantasy (romantic fantasy) and this newest offering DOES NOT DISAPPOINT! The world is fully realized and feels lived in, the main characters are interesting and complex and are people you want to root for, and the romance is so stinking swoony. Just all around fantastic. Cannot wait for the sequel and more adventures!

I love the cover. Its what drew me in. The story itself fell a little flat, largely because while I found the world she built interesting, I was never particularly invested in the characters. I do love Marie Rutkoski's style, she knows where to put the knife and how to twist it. That in itself will make me pick up the next book in the series and I hope it gets better from here.

Great story and loved the romance. Loved the cast of characters and how the story came to be. Great story and I would read this author again.

Oooh, the new series set in the world of The Winner's Curse that we never knew was coming! It's a sloooooow burn, the most beautiful writing, and an ending that's equally EVIL and addicting!

Sadly this book just didn't grab me. I'm sure it's all me, but it wasn't keeping my attention. I may try again at a later time.

The writing is good, but the plot and characters felt a little weak! I liked the romance and the representation, so I'll definitely recommend to teens, and I'm intrigued about where the series will go, so I'll be picking up book 2 anyway.