The Midnight Girls
by Alicia Jasinska
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Pub Date Dec 07 2021 | Archive Date Dec 27 2021
SOURCEBOOKS Fire | Sourcebooks Fire
Description
The Wicked Deep meets House of Salt and Sorrows in this new standalone YA fantasy set in a snow-cloaked kingdom where witches are burned, and two enchantresses secretly compete for the heart of a prince, only to discover that they might be falling for each other.
It's Karnawa? season in the snow-cloaked Kingdom of Lechia, and from now until midnight when the church bells ring an end to Devil's Tuesday time will be marked with wintry balls and glittery disguises, cavalcades of nightly torch-lit "kuligi" sleigh-parties.
Unbeknownst to the oblivious merrymakers, two monsters join the fun. Newfound friends and polar opposites, Zosia and Marynka seem destined to have a friendship that's stronger even than magic. But that's put to the test when they realize they both have their sights set on Lechia's pure-hearted prince. If a monster consumes a pure heart she'll gain immeasurable power and Marynka plans to bring the prince's back to her grandmother in order to prove herself. While Zosia is determined to take his heart and its power for her own.
When neither will sacrifice their ambitions for the other, the festivities spiral into a magical contest with both girls vying to keep the hapless prince out of the other's wicked grasp. But this isn't some remote forest village, where a stray enchantment or two might go unnoticed, Warszów is the icy capital of a kingdom that enjoys watching monsters burn, and if Zosia and Marynka's innocent disguises continue to slip, their escalating rivalry might cost them not just the love they might have for each other, but both their lives.
Available Editions
EDITION | Hardcover |
ISBN | 9781728210018 |
PRICE | $17.99 (USD) |
PAGES | 352 |
Featured Reviews
the midnight girls is everything i could've asked for in a sapphic ya fantasy book. we have enemies to lovers, monster girls, and morally grey characters. not to mention, it was a fast, easy read.
the midnight girls follows zosia and marynka, two rivals who compete to be the best at every chance they get. i love how neither of them are "good", and it doesn't change much over the course of the novel (which i like, because so many become good over the course of the book, which ruins the morally grey thing).
our side characters are just as entertaining as the main cast, and offer more queer relationships. there's a good mix of good, bad, and everything in between.
i really enjoyed the setting of the midnight girls, as it's not every day that you read a book set in a fantasy poland. i'm unsure how accurate some of the cultural traditions and superstitions are, but it still made for an entertaining read.
overall, this is one hell of a good book. idk how else to round off this review, but if you want more queer characters in your fantasy books, then i 10000% recommend this one.
Do you love your women morally grey? Do you like the enemies to lovers trope? Then the midnight girls is the book for you. Three witch apprentices compete against each other for the literal heart of a prince. But instead of getting the prince to fall for them two of the witches end up falling for each other. This book was absolutely amazing! I loved how Jasinska weaved Russian and Jewish lore and war throughout this book. I could not put it down!
This is what I want from a sapphic enemies to lovers book! So many books are described as enemies to lovers but I can assure you that the Midnight Girls is truly an enemies to lovers romance.
The book is set in fantasy Eastern Europe/Poland and I did appreciate the author using nicknames and then having to explain what it meant.
Three girls, witches' servants are sent to hunt for a prince's heart during karnawał and the story takes full advantage of the setting and time period. There's a masked ball scene! Battle scenes! Ice skating!
The chemistry between the main characters was incredible, I had to check if it was Young Adult because the author fully understood the homoeroticism of enemies to lovers assignment. I have saved so many "I hate her" quotes that border on desire.
There's also conflict besides the romance with the witches, the Prince and the war and at no point did it bore me or I didn't like the direction it was taking.
I would absolutely enjoy a sequel or a short story set after the book. I really want to see more of this universe