Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Interview: Melissa Grey + The Girl at Midnight

http://www.amazon.com/Girl-at-Midnight-Melissa-Grey/dp/038574465X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430882188&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Girl+at+Midnight

I have the distinct pleasure today of welcoming author Melissa Grey to the blog to answer a few questions about her newest YA fantasy release, The Girl at Midnight. I absolutely LOVED this book, I've been on a fantasy binge for about a year now and this one was everything I could have hoped for (mini review below the interview!). If you guys haven't devoured it yet, I highly recommend it. *attempts to wait patiently for book 2*

To introduce Echo, Caius, Ivy, Dorian and Jasper to those who have not yet had the chance to meet them, please assign each of them a high school-style superlative (best hair, most likely to succeed, etc.).

Echo: Most Likely to Steal the Declaration of Independence

Ivy: Most Likely to Try to Talk Echo Out of Stealing the Declaration of Independence

Caius: Most Likely to Succeed in Winning a Throne But Maybe Not the Best at Keeping It

Dorian: Most Likely to Fall for Someone He Really Shouldn’t

Jasper: Best Hair, Best Eyes, Best Everything

In many ways the colors of an Avicen’s feathers matches their individual personality traits (I’m looking at you Jasper!). If you were Avicen, what color would your plumage be?

Easy. Purple! Like my current hair color.

While we don’t get to see too much of her in this first book, what we do get to see of Tanith has us gritting our teeth and curling our fingers into fists. What would you say are three characteristics that always make for a good villain?

Conviction, cunning, and ferocity. Battling someone who is convinced they’re in the right even when they’re obviously not is pretty daunting.

We get to spend time with a few different characters in The Girl at Midnight. What’s one book written from a single point of view that you wish allowed you into the head of one or more secondary characters?

The Archived and The Unbound by Victoria Schwab. There are so many mysteries in those books that I just want to role around in the PoVs forever. She wrote a story from the point of view of Wesley Ayers (also known as my current book boyfriend) and I’m still haunted by it. I need more. Do you hear that, Victoria? I need more.

Echo and company follow a trail of rhyming clues as they track down the elusive firebird. Looking forward to the next book, could you give us a short rhyme with a hint or two of what awaits?

Magic, and mayhem, and murder, oh my!
Can people stop fighting so Echo can have pie?
Wherever there is darkness, there must also be light,
But will it be bright enough to beat back the blight?

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions Melissa!

• • • • • • • • • • • 

THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT



Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act.

Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, though if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.

But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.


MINI REVIEW

The Girl at Midnight is the perfect blend of fantastical adventure and forbidden romance, complete with a stunning cast of secondary characters who all shine in their various shades of gray. We get to spend time with a group of five young men and women, each with layers to their personality we can't wait to peel back and examine more closely as we're carried along with them in their attempt to locate the mythical firebird. The relationships of every individual to each of the others are fraught with tension for a wide array of reasons, and where a larger cast sometimes opens the door for us to pick favorites, each member of the firebird search party earns themselves a special place in our hearts.

Echo and Caius are the two with whom we spend majority of our time, both out of place in their respective worlds and looking for a way to close the gap between the long-feuding Avicen and Drakharin. Theirs is a romance that takes chapter upon chapter to build, two opposing sides uniting in a shared purpose who eventually find their minds and hearts filled with more than just a desire for peace. While things are likely to get more complicated rather than less as their story continues, they're a couple easy to root for in this first installment.

The only minor complaint is with a slightly jumbled ending, the chaos of the final battle cut off quickly in the heat of the moment before we suddenly find ourselves on the final page. Overall though, The Girl at Midnight has humor and romance (on a number of fronts) as well as epic magic and a long-standing war between two mythical species, ensuring we turn the pages with all haste to see what becomes of characters we've quickly grown to love.

Rating: 4/5

Find Melissa & The Girl at Midnight:

39 comments:

  1. I've been trying to incorporate more fantasy into my reading lately. I crave it, but other non-fantasy books keep getting in the way of my happiness. ;) TGaM is one that I need to read.

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    1. I completely understand Christy, there are so many books out there I keep meaning to make time for, but then a new one catches my eye... hope you find the time for this one!

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    1. YES! Loved the paranormal element to this one:)

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  3. You always ask the best interview questions! Sounds like this book needs to be added to the stack

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    1. I thoroughly enjoyed this one, I'll hand it over when you get home:)

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  4. I loved this book! That was such a cool teaser for book two! :) I could also totally see Echo stealing the Declaration of Independence. Such a fun interview, thanks for sharing!

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    1. IT WAS SO GOOD LAUREN!!! I was in a funk prior to this one and it snapped me right out of it:)

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  5. Great interview and mini-review, Jenny! This book seems like a solid fantasy that I should add to my TBR list. I hope you had a great trip to Ireland. I can't wait to hear about it and see your pictures! :)

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    1. Thanks so much Christina!

      And I'm currently going through all my pictures, I took entirely too many. Hope to have them up in the next few weeks:)

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  6. I loved this book so much too, Jenny so I'm really excited you loved it as well! That last question though!! EEP! I need book 2! :D
    Lovely interview, Jenny!

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  7. Oh my gosh Jenny, I'm so going to like this group of kids! I need to pick this one up. Great interview and review!

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    1. YES! I loved all the characters in this one and didn't find myself wishing to return to any one of them when I was with the others:)

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  8. So happy to hear you loved this one Jenny! I'm super excited to finally get my hands on this one!
    Great interview too!

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    1. I have a feeling you're going to love it Pili! *crosses fingers*

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  9. I am ridiculously excited about this book! My copy is on the way, but it's taking its sweet time arriving from the UK and it's driving me nuts! I think I'll like Echo very much. I mean, most likely to steal the Declaration of Independence! Steal! Count me in.
    I've heard such wonderful things about the writing and everything else, I just know this one will be special.

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    1. Echo was a win for me Maja! She was feisty and snarky, but she took things seriously when she needed too and I found myself rooting for her easily:)

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  10. I definitely have this one on my wishlist/tbr shelf and knowing that you enjoyed it only makes me MORE excited for it Jenny :D Thanks for sharing this lovely interview with author Melissa Grey and I loved your mini-review as well ♥

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    1. I can't wait to see what you think Micheline!

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  11. Loved your mini review, and now this is seriously on my list. I love fantasy and have had great success as of late in the YA genre with it.

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    1. I can't get enough of fantasy Kim! I thought it would be a phase and I'd be on this kick for a little while, but it's showing no signs of stopping. I'm all fantasy all the time:)

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  12. I hadn't heard much about this one yet but wow, it sounds fantastic! And what great interview questions!

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  13. I got this on my reading pile and I hope to get to it shortly. It definitely sounds like its a great read and something that I would thoroughly enjoy. I also got it on order for my library as well. Great interview!

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    1. I was a big fan Rummanah. The characters and the history between the Avicen and Drakharin were both so well done:)

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  14. I love fantasy and really need to make more time for it....

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  15. I have copy of this and I am excited that this is full of humor and romance. Boo though to the jumbled chaotic ending. Still I can't wait to read my copy.

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    1. We just got ripped away from the battle rather abruptly and then this installment was over, so it was a little disconcerting. A super minor complaint though, overall this was a win:)

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  16. Hm... well the author has a STUNNING first name. Just sayin'... ;) I'm very curious and I would also pick purple! I'm not loving the sound of the ending but if it didn't bother you too much I think I can handle it. :)

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    1. Heh. That she does ;-) It only bothered me from the standpoint that everything up until that point was flowing really well and then the story stumbled a bit. Just for a step though, and I have no doubt the next book is going to be epic:)

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  17. Oh poor Caius, I hope he doesn't get a throne taken away!

    And I was not aware that Victoria had written a story from Wesley's POV, I love him too! :)

    I have this book but need to actually make myself a reading schedule so I get to it. Too many books come out in April/May.

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    1. You'll have to read and see Amber ;-)

      And yes, April and May are two brutal months in terms of books. So many good ones I want to read!

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  18. Oh me too. Rhyming never works out well for me ;-) Hope you give this a try Felicia!

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  19. Loved this book - I could almost taste the words they were so yummy, lol. Besides the wonderful romance, acion and myths woven into it, wasn't all the fun settings great??
    Lovey post, Jenny :)

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  20. Magic and mayhem and murder - wow! Even if the ending is not perfect, I'm excited about this one :)

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  21. I just heard the audiobook for this one last week and it was really good!

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  22. Loved the yearbook method to presenting that characters! So creative and nice to see something different from the usual :3 I want to read this book a lot, and have it on my TBR! I like the sound of the fantasy elements, the characters and also the straightforward writing style.

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