Wow. I thought that The City of Dusk was promising, but I never would've predicted the sequel would be one of my favourite books of the year. This had a little bit of everything and I would absolutely recommend it, especially if you're the sort of person who love The Locked Tomb.

<b>POVs:</b>
So we've still got a lot of POVs going on-- 7, to be exact. The main six are in third person limited and a chapter may switch the POV character part way through, and the last POV is in first person (mysterious, ooOoo). In the first book this was difficult because all of the POVs need time to start their respective storylines and introduce all their characters and backstory. For Midnight Kingdom, I was invested in all the different POVs and suffered each time we changed because I just wanted to keep going with the story I was in!

I do really like how the writing gets rather playful in the way it handles Nik's perspective, but it's not a straightforward style so I can imagine other readers being slightly frustrated or confused by that.

<b>The Pacing:</b>
There's a slight disservice that each storyline mirrors the others. If one is going on a quest, it seems like they all are going on a quest. If one is getting betrayed, it seems like they're all getting betrayed. They are paced in tandem and all crescendo at the same time, so I think that telegraphed a few things and maybe made them overall a little less impactful.

<b>The Plot:</b>
There is soooooo much plot here. And lore! And world-building! I honestly don't even know what to say because it was >600 pages and I was engaged the whole damn time.

<b>Sequel:</b>
Generally when reading a sequel I am looking for: expansion of the world, expansion of the magic, furthering of the plot, and new discoveries. If I can fall in love with the characters and seem them grow/their relationships grow then that's perfection.

And this did all the things!

<b>Selling Points:</b>
I don't wanna spoil but I will just briefly mention some highlights--
- a sarcastic, talking decapitated head companion
- a demon called out on his nakedness who puts on a brief fashion show
- sorankun (essentially dragons)
- the author mentioned how much she learned about both volcanoes and blackholes while writing this book

<b>Pop Culture:</b>
I mentioned The Locked Tomb above because there's something in this writing style that felt very reminiscent of the inherent sarcasm and dry humor of Tamsyn Muir, as well as working in memes and pop culture to a very large, dark Fantasy world. There'd be modern slang like "Love that for us," and references that were so very clearly Brooklyn 99. And I had a blast with that!

<b>Do you hate eye stuff?:</b>
All eyes are endangered here. Proceed with caution and at your own peril.

<i>I received an ARC from NetGalley and Orbit, all opinions are my own.</i>

It's my own fault for not checking if this was a series. That being said my reasoning for not starting books in the middle of a series. I thought the book was fine at first but as the story progresses I can't find a character to like or be interested in. The story had it's moments of good story craft but other times not so much. I enjoyed what storyline I could follow reasonably well. I will not be picking up the first book in the series. Until next time Happy Reading!

I had a really hard time getting into The Midnight Kingdom despite enjoying the audiobook for The City of Dusk. I think I may wait to read this on audiobook. I think the world building is excellent, might just be a personal preference for me to feel connected to the characters being enhanced by an audio book.

*phew* this was quite a ride! and the cliffhanger? I need more!!! The battle picks up fright after the last book. The "friends" and heirs are dispersed across kingdoms and must work to save the entire world.

This was a satisfying follow up to the first book in this series. The political intrigue seemed to take a step back and more action was present in this book. The cast of characters was increased from the already large cast it was from the first book. So that was surprising but it wasn't too hard to follow overall. The world building continues to shine for me but I felt a few of the characters fell flat. Overall a good read that I'd recommend.

Where the city of dusk was full of political intrigue and magic, the midnight kingdom is non stop adventure and action.

We once again follow the heirs, who are now scattered after the events of City of Dusk. The characters continue to grow and develop and we meet a few new characters who bring an even wider breath of life to this book. I truly enjoyed it and the only bad part now is waiting for the third book!

Thanks Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Midnight Kingdom, the second book in the Dark Gods series by Tara Sim, was a magnificent read. This book was such a strong follow up to The City of Dusk.

This one picked up right where we left off in the first book. In true second book fashion this one was a lot of setup to get ready for the finale. A packed first half leading into an action packed ending. My favorite!

Tara Sim sure knows how to keep her audience captivated through a lengthy book. Her writing is so beautiful and captivating. I am so grateful for the opportunity to read this one.

Thank you, NetGalley!

An ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.

This was a satisfying sequel to The City of Dusk. Once again I enjoyed the characters and the world, but it took me longer than I would have liked to finish it.

If you liked The Jasad Heir, you’ll most likely enjoy this. I plan on reading book 3 when it comes out.

I am a big fan of Tara Sim. I think she’s very good at creating characters with depth and interesting worlds to put them in. This book certainly lives up to that standard.

That said, this series had a pretty large cast to start with - four primary characters, five secondaries that get a lot of attention - and it’s only gotten bigger in this book. You’re still mostly following the original four but the number of relevant people they interact with has increased significantly. Also, many of those secondary characters became more prominent in this part of the story arc.

Over the duration of the book, the characters are all scattered across different realms, and the chapters are not split by POV. So there are points where you might be following two or three of the main characters in the same chapter but in different places/situations. Which I think can get a bit confusing if you’re not paying close attention.

None of this makes the book bad in my opinion. The reason I bring it up is because I generally listen to Sim’s books while working and this is definitely one your better off physically reading. I think it will be easier to follow changes in perspective and also the more subtle details of the overall story if you do. This is definitely more of a high fantasy and heavily detailed approach to storytelling than her previous works. Likely because it is targeted at an older audience.

All of that aside, I did enjoy this book. I think it’s a good continuation of the previous setup and it wasn’t filler to draw out the final battle just because. We got a chance to see the characters deal with the consequences of their actions which is always interesting for me. We also got to see them struggle with right and wrong, though I’d argue the vast majority of them are morally grey regardless (and I love it!)

I think this book (and series) is great for someone who wants to get into high fantasy but isn’t ready to tackle the massive ones like Mistborn, Realm of the Elderlings, ect. Or someone is who is transitioning from YA (which Sim has written in the past) to Adult Fantasy.

If I had one request going forward, it’s more Nikolas.

Thank you for providing an ARC for me to review.

I struggled a lot with this one. I had to DNF around 30%. It’s too complex for me. I had no idea what was happening and who everyone was that far in.

I don’t think it’s a bad book. I just don’t have the capacity for it. I’m sure many will adore it.

I will not be reviewing this on other medias as I feel I did not finish it and cannot give a full opinion.

A strong sequel! Definitely picked up right where book one left off. There was a lot going on but I was enjoying all the different plotlines. I liked the fact that we got to travel and experience the different realms more in this one. I liked all of the new characters that were introduced. With the original characters/heirs, Taesia is still my girl but Rishi grew on me a lot with her journey through Mortri (the realm of death). Also, Angelica's journey and her character development almost had me actually liking her. Just a little though.

My only critique is that I did feel the book dragged in some areas but overall, I'm looking forward to book three. This was my most anticipated book for 2023, so thank you to Netgalley and Orbit Books for the ARC!

The City of Dusk was easily the best in the 2022 class of "adult debuts" that I read from YA authors. It stopped on the cliffhanger of everyone being trapped in their respective realm (where they had previously been locked out) and now they have to find a way out back to their home. The heirs were just as bombastic as in the first book, and I really enjoyed that former secondary characters were allowed to step up and new characters were seamlessly woven into the fabric of the story.

This book does suffer a bit from the middle child syndrome - it's not as exciting as the first and it's mostly about the journey - but the worlds are so interesting and I cared about the characters so it wasn't as much of a second book slog as it might have been otherwise. I'm also a huge "not everything has to be a love story" advocate, so the obvious pairing off of the heirs as love interests was expected but not necessarily welcomed. Can't some people just be friends? Sim is excellent at writing intimate, sexual scenes though, so it wasn't that' big of a deal.

It's a subtler continuation of this journey, but still a win! If you haven't read The City of Dusk yet, you should, then go check out The Midnight Kingdom.

Do you ever read a book that is so good it ruins other books for you?

I sped through the first one and was so eager for this one that I essentially finished it in a single sitting.

Highly recommend for anyone looking an incredible queer fantasy.

The book starts off with a brief reminder that gives details of the 4 houses which was good but I wish it was little a more detailed and it would have been beneficial to have a recap of the previous book. They could even use the same structure but talk about where each person left off to help the reader remember. Instead, the book jumps right into it, starting right after the events of the last book.

The first book was fairly localized and this one explored a lot more, sending our characters to all different locations. I liked this because we got to learn about new cultures and ways of living in the different areas they went to.

The book was told in multi POV format and I believe there were 6 main ones (plus a lot of side characters with each one) which made for some diverse storylines. The author did a really good job of giving each of them their own time to develop and all of their plot lines were fairly different so it kept it interesting. I feel like Angelica’s POV could have been an entire book but they all worked well together.

Out of all the perspectives, Risha’s was my least favourite. It was pretty slow to follow along with and was ridiculously predictable. This plot-line alone dropped my rating down a star. I believe her POV will be more exciting in the next book, plus necromancy magic is pretty cool. I thought my favourite perspective was going to be Taesia/Julian but Angelica definitely took that spot. She definitely has her faults but continues to grow as a character and learns more about herself. There is a lot of natural character growth with her and even all the side characters from her POV were top notch. The location she was in was also of intrigue and she had some really exciting events happening where she was. We even got to see her type of magic being further explored and expanded.

I’m very excited to read the next book. The characters are all getting stronger with their magic and I can only imagine how this next one is going to go. I will be anxiously awaiting its release.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Orbit in exchange for an honest review.

The Midnight Kingdom picks up immediately following the dramatic events at the end of The City of Dusk. Our main characters are scattered amongst the realms and are each facing their own sort of trials. Taesia, Julian, and Nikolas begin the story trapped in the transported remnants of the Bone Palace with Phos, the vengeful god of Light. Risha is in Mortri, trying to find a way to escape before she dies in the land of the dead. Angelica remains in the mortal realm, but she has political turmoil to deal with as the Mardova family tries to hold Nexus together. We also get chapters focusing on Dante and Brailee as they try to track down their traitorous aunt Camilla. 

I was surprised to find that my favorite chapters were those that followed Angelica as I thought she was one of the most shallowly developed characters in The City of Dusk. She’s given her chance to shine though I may be biased because her chapters were filled with politicking as she finds herself an ambassador and I do love that. Risha remains one of the most well developed characters and I love that we get to explore the realm of Mortri with her, though I wish more time were spent on the history and workings of the realm. Complexity was hinted at, but not that many details were given which was SUPER disappointing because there are four kings that reign over their respective cities and punish the souls in their own unique ways. Why WOULDN’T I want to know more about that!? 

Equally surprising was that the Lastrider siblings weren’t my absolute favorites. They are the edgy shadow wielders and I’m usually such a sucker for that kind of thing! I did enjoy their chapters, but on more than one occasion I found myself rolling my eyes a bit because of course nothing is easy and they have to suddenly plan a heist for magical artifacts. I did like the Noctan’s use of star charts and how they’re used to read a person (much like astrology). The Lastrider siblings are so stubborn and shady that they come across as very stereotypical YA characters, which I was in the mood for in the first book, but was apparently feeling less tolerant of this time around.

There’s a lot to like about these books in terms of plot and even accessibility for folks who might want to delve into the realm of adult fantasy after reading mostly young adult books. I mentioned in my review of the first book that I didn’t think the writing skewed more toward the young adult end of things as some reviewers stated. The content is definitely a little more brutal and bloody than some YA fantasy but…. I might rescind that statement. I enjoyed this, but I definitely had my favorite characters and some whose chapters I wanted to skim over because they were mostly there to fill in some little details. They were playing a support function and while they weren’t unimportant they weren’t exactly important either. I’ll most likely read the third and final book in this trilogy when it’s released because I’m invested in the outcome at this point! I must know what happens!

After reading City of Dusk I needed this book, I waited almost patiently for it and the second I had it in my hands... well on my Kindle I was a happy happy woman.

With a world built of dreams and nightmares, The Midnight Kingdom takes us back to Nexus and the fight to save not only the heirs but the universe, finding out who survives, where they end up and what happens next will leave you holding your breath and breathless at the same time.

Taesia and Nikolas are battling evil gods while Risha is fighting her way home through the realm of Death and Angelica, well Angelica is trying to stay alive in every sense of the word.

With the help of old friends, learning to rely on themselves and each other, and facing new enemies, all while learning that all magic does have a cost we have a brilliant story filled with the magic and mysticism I've been longing for.

If you're looking for an epic tale that spans the universe and angers the gods this book is for you, if you're looking for the potential to fall in love with a fantasy series this book is for you, if you just love dark fantasy mixed with magic, gods, monsters, and all things evil this book is for you, I'm just going to say it, if you're reading this review, this book is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for providing an advance copy of this E-Book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ok. I’m rounding up a bit for this one but I really like doorstop fantasy books. I will say that this might be one to read once the author wraps the series up so your memory of the book is fresh as you start the next one. There are a Lot of point of view characters. It’s easy to lose track of what’s going on and this is absolutely my genre so I’m used to it! Some fantasy books do get too grim and gory for my tastes but I feel with this series like at least some are going to make it through and be ok! 4 stars if you’re also a fan of nice thick fantasy novels and three if you just like fantasy ok.

Tara Sim does it again! I loved each different perspective we got, with each of the heirs going on their separate journeys. I like that they each have their own motives, goals and personalities. Each character is very well written and rounded, even with the multiple POV's it is easy to keep track of the characters and their respective powers as they each have a distinct voice. I think this is peak fantasy, I liked seeing the relationships deepen or fracture. It also contains a wide variety of representation which is important. Its a twist from the first one as now the heirs are all separated and have to go on their own journey instead of in the first when they were all working together for separate reasons. Overall I really enjoyed this sequel and I appreciate being given the opportunity to read and review this book early through Netgalley.

This book was so fun to read. It was my first Sci-Fi book. It builds off the first book. So please read the first one. There is soooo much that is going on in the book and I love it! I love the world building and the different descriptions of each setting. This is a multi POV and I love reading each one. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time because you didn’t know what was going to happen next. I am so excited when to read the next book! I want to thank NetGalley, Orbit Books, and Tara Sim for a chance to read it and give a honest review. I post my reviews on GoodReads and Amazon..

**Spoilers for book 1**

I continue to be enthralled by this world. The second instalment picks up right where the first one ended. The fours heirs are scattered across the worlds and the gods are present and cruel.

We follow them as they battle their own enemies, grow in their power and try to fix all the things that have gone wrong even if they didn’t cause them.

By the end of the journey, we have seen them solve some problems, create others but not solve the overarching issue of the Sealing from the first book. I hope (and suspect) this will come with book three.

While we do learn a bit more about the gods and Ostium in book 2, there are still unanswered questions that I wish had been answered here. Also, at times the book was a bit confusing and I found myself needing to reread certain passages. No book is perfect and I read the first one ages ago, so not unexpected. I did really enjoy watching the relationships between the characters blossom and change. I can’t wait to see what happens in book 3!

If you liked book 1, you will almost certainly enjoy book 2! Highly recommend.