Zora Broussard is on the run from her past. Sent from New York to New Orleans after an incident involving her magic, Zora is living a new life with a new name in the care of her Aunt Celine and her two cousins Ana and Evelyn. New Orleans is unfamiliar and filled with a different kind of magic than New York. Zora finds her place secretly singing in a club under the name Sweet Willow with her friend Jo. When one night their piano player falls ill, another man offers to play for them. A white man. It's the end of the 1920s though, and two Black women shouldn't be seen fraternizing with white men. And a Black woman certainly shouldn't fall in love with one.

Marriage between a Black woman and a white man isn't even legal, but Phillip and Zora do fall in love. Now, Zora not only has to contend with her out-of-control magic, but with her aunt, who is determined that she should become engaged to Christophe Bechet Jr, the son of one of the wealthiest Black families in the city. Events begin to spiral out of control as Zora and Phillip struggle to remain together in a society that desperately wants to keep them apart. Meanwhile, a fortune and a vision in a mirror predict doom for Zora.

Although it isn't immediately apparent that this is the second installment in a collection, it would benefit the reader to start at the actual beginning. I didn't read the first book, and I felt that it prevented my complete understanding of the narrative.

That being said!

I had some trouble picturing Zora's magic. The way it's described came across more cartoonish than I'd assume the author intended. I love the concept! I just think there was probably a way it could have been executed better in the writing. As far as music-based magic goes, the visual aspect didn't make a lot of sense for me. It also made it difficult for me to take those scenes seriously.

The love story and all of the troubles that they faced because of their feelings felt believable and true. I liked that the racism they faced wasn't used for shock factor, but that it was frank and honest. It didn't feel sugar-coated. Of course, I hated that they had to face racism, but it also wouldn't have been believable for them not to face it in the 1920s.

Zora's magic and her struggle with it was definitely a secondary aspect to the love story and Zora's more real-world problems. That part of the novel actually didn't feel wrapped up at all. An attempt was made, but it felt rushed and unsatisfactory for me. Maybe it will be better addressed in the next book, but from what I understand, the novels are all loosely connected and written by different authors, so I'm assuming not.

Overall, the novel was alright, but the ending wasn't satisfactory. In all honesty, I'm not sure I'd recommend it, and I didn't get invested enough to go back and read the first one.

This book was received as an ARC from Disney Publishing Worldwide in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved this book to the max and am a huge fan of this modern spin on the classic Disney fairy tale. I love the addition of the power of music and how it can change a person's life and take her away from the drama and struggle of her awful overbearing aunt and cousins. Then there is also a Romeo and Juliet essence when Zora meets Phillip and they end up falling for one another and then that's where the drama starts and the chaos erupts and for the reader, when the book gets exciting. I know our teen book club will be really anticipating the next book club and discuss what they read and I can't wait to hear their reviews.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Let me preface by saying I LOVED Broken Wish, the first book in this series by Julie Dao (which was a solid 5 stars from me and I don’t give that out lightly!). If you’re reading this review and haven’t read the first book, I highly recommend reading Broken Wish first, even though it isn’t required to understand this book, because you will have a far greater appreciation for Shattered Midnight if you do. It sets up this 4 book series perfectly and tells the origin story of how the magic mirror came to be in the first place.

Despite being written by a different author, this sequel had the same spark the first book had. Tensions, high stakes, and a bittersweet ending. It follows a similar formula to book one, and I’m interested to see where the next two books go. I personally preferred book one because I liked the setting/time period of it more, but it had the same spark that the first book had which I appreciated.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the scene when Phillip jumped to Zora’s rescue to bail her out of a tough situation. She gets irrationally enraged and states “I didn’t need your help” (when yes, she did) and “don’t save me. I’m not a trapped cat”. This is my pet peeve and I am seeing this more and more in YA. I hate hate HATE the notion that it is “feminist” and “empowering” for a woman to never accept help, ever, because accepting help makes them “weak”. It does not make a woman weaker or lesser than for accepting help, yes, even from a man. Accepting help does not make you weak. It makes you smart. It does not take anything away from your capabilities as a woman or make you lesser than. It is engrained in this culture that women cannot accept help from anyone or else it is “weak” and “anti feminist” and they have to handle things all on their own. I HATE the fact that so many people are portraying their “strong” female characters like this. It also feeds into the dangerous notion that women cannot accept help from anyone if they want to be a strong, independent, feminist woman. There is NOTHING wrong with accepting help, and blowing your top over someone for trying to be nice and help you just makes you look temperamental and bratty.

My point of this rant is, I did not like Zora as a character from this point on in the book and the above explanation is exactly why. This really soured the rest of the book for me and I really dislike women being portrayed this way despite the fact that it is becoming more and more common in YA female characters. That is not what feminism is, and characters/scenes like this just adds to the misinterpretation of what feminism really is. Being bratty when someone is just trying to be nice and help is not feminist. Trying to handle something 100% on your own just to prove a point instead of being smart and letting someone who has a clear advantage bail you out isn’t feminism. I’m so sick of this. YA needs to stop trying to imply that women cannot accept help from people and have to do everything on their own to prove a point, even if it means bending over backwards and getting themselves into trouble.

Despite the fact that I didn’t like the MC, I really enjoyed this book and I absolutely love this series. I will absolutely be reading the rest of the series and I’m a big fan! Only one book a year is not fast enough and I need the next one ASAP!

Thank you to Netgalley and Disney Hyperion for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

I loved Dhonielle Clayton's writing style and she really brought New Orleans to life through this book. Shattered Midnight comments on injustices that have long plagued our society and weaves them into a fantastical story of magic and love. The characters are interesting, likable, and well-developed. I look forward to reading more books from this series.

I did not read the first book in The Mirror series, but that didn't impact my enjoyment of this second title. Shattered Midnight wove hints of Romeo and Juliet and dashes of Cinderella with enchantment and suspense. The author does a nice job of spinning the tale and keeping you involved. The characters are interesting and likable. I would love to experience music and magic the way that the author portrays them. I did wish that the main character made more progress in her understanding of magic but as there are two more entries expected in the series, I suppose that will come with time. This book will certainly appeal to YA enthusiasts, and those with interest in the supernatural.

So I am writing my review on this book. I loved the author’s writing. She uses really good imagery. There isn’t much to say. This is a four book series, and since I have never read the first book, so I was a little confused. I like the characters and would like to see more of them, but they kept bringing up things from the first book. (I think) I want to read the first book, and then come back to this book. It was like American Horror Story, each season is different, but there are easter eggs from the first book. (I think)