Possible Pairings: Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust, Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst, Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston, The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Fans of this tense, sexy story will be eager to see what comes next in the conclusion to this series. The Midnight Lie is a meditative exploration of the power of memory and desire as well as presentation. The final act will leave readers with more questions than answers as secrets are revealed and decisions are made for better or worse. The chemistry between Nirrim and Sid is palpable–especially in flirty dialog that adds needed levity to this story. Sid’s gender identity and presentation therein also add another layer to the story. As an outsider with wealth and an air of mystery, Sid operates with a certain level of freedom and safety–things Nirrim has never even dreamed of–which lead to thoughtful discussions of privilege and power dynamics between the two characters. Lyrical, dreamlike prose lends a fairytale sensibility to this otherwise grim tale as both Nirrim and Sid face increasingly risky stakes in their search for answers. After years of wanting nothing, because wanting is dangerous, Sid blows Nirrim’s small world apart and forces Nirrim to confront her wants and desires for the first time.

It is set in the same world as Rutkoski’s Winner’s Curse trilogy.Īs the title suggests, this book is full of lies both that Nirrim tells to other characters (and even readers) as well as the lies she tells herself to reconcile the privation and struggles she has endured to survive. The Midnight Lie is the first book in a duology.

Speaking with Sid across the dark prison, Nirrim begins to wonder if things really do have to stay the way they are or if, perhaps, they can be changed.Īs Nirrim and Sid search for answers about the secrets of the High Kith and Herath itself, Nirrim will have to decide if doing more than surviving is worth the risk–and the cost in The Midnight Lie (2020) by Marie Rutkoski. In prison Nirrim encounters Sid, a mysterious thief with a brash manner and numerous secrets. Arrested and jailed, Nirrim could be charged any tithe the authorities choose–her hair, her blood, something much harder to part with. Until the day Nirrim makes a terrible mistake. She has the knowledge that she helps people even if it is dangerous. She has Raven who is almost like a mother. Nirrim’s life in Herath is a prolonged exercise in survival. “Wanting something doesn’t always mean it is owed to you.” Wanting illuminates everything you need, and how the world has failed you.” I realized that wanting is a kind of power even if you don’t get what you want. “We had been taught not to want more than we had.

Sid the midnight lie