There are no ghastly monsters, no spells being cast, no quest etc. Initially this feels like rather a soft fantasy book. Is this perfect - maybe not but so so readable and, for me, enchanting. Or a lie that is not technically false, like a misleading truth".Īs you read this there is an underlying tension - do we know all the "Midnight lies" that have been told - I doubt it. A kind of lie told for someone else's sake, a lie that sits between goodness and wrong, just as midnight is the moment between night and morning. The Midnight Lie itself (though bear in mind this is from a proof copy) from early in the book. For the last quarter or so I stopped pretending and just kept reading! I kept think - "just a little more and then I'll put it down".
The gradual reveals about Sid and Nirrim, and her world, made for gently compulsive reading. There is so much I'd love to share about this book but that would simply dilute the journey for other readers and that would be sad.
When Nirrim meets Sid things begin to change. There have no travellers on this island and yet that is exactly what Sid is. On the other hand High Kith can do what they like really. The city is dark in places and the law such as it is has a disregard for those of lower status such as Nirrim. The phrase "It is as it is" is one used by people like Nirrim quite often. She now works at an inn and bakery (& as a forger) for bed and board without pay. She must place her trust in this sly stranger who asks, above all, not to be trusted. But to do that, Nirrim must surrender her old life. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. Nirrim keeps her head down, and a dangerous secret close to her chest.īut then she encounters a rakish traveller from far away, who whispers rumours that the High Kith possess magic. You either follow the rules, or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colours. Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society's pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Set in the world of the NYT-bestselling Winner's Trilogy, The Midnight Lie is an epic LGBTQ romantic fantasy about learning to free ourselves from the lies others tell us - and the lies we tell ourselves. Breathtaking, tragic and true' Kirkus on The Winner's Curse
'Rich characterization, exquisite worldbuilding and rock-solid storytelling make this a fantasy of unusual intelligence and depth.
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