The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey

GaM #1

Book Summary via Goodreads:

 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, but 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.

I received this book from NetGalley for Review

I loved this book. The magical feel was wonderful, and I loved the characters as well as the writing. 

This book had the same magical feel of Daughter of Smoke & Bone, with out feeling like a copy. The way the story unfolds felt really natural. The protagonist, Echo, was a believable character. She smart, and knew how to take care of herself in a way that was real.

The story itself was really interesting, and the world building was very well done, I was especially surprised to find out that this was Melissa Grey's debut novel. The character dialog was really natural, the writing and the magic painted a beautiful picture.

The Avicen, a race of bird-like people, took Echo in and raised her since she was a small child. I appreciated that while she did view them as her family, and allowed her free rein around their world, not all of them completely welcomed her even after 10 years. It made the story feel more real that way.

The ancient old rival of the Avicen, the Drakhain are a race of Dragon-like people. They are fairly similar to the Avicen, only instead of having feathers, they had dragon scales speckled over parts of their body. I found both races  very interesting and unique. Their rival seems to go back so far that few or possibly nobody remembers how it started, even though both races live very long lifetimes.

All the characters were wonderful, Echo is smart and resourceful, clever without having all the answers. She is flawed and she knows it but doesn't seem to really let it get to her. Caius, the Dragon Prince, is also a really great character. His only wish is to end the bloodshed between both races and to have peace. Other than the "villains", Cauis's twin sister and the leader of the Avicen people (I forgot both of their names) The rest of the characters were kind of just supporting characters in this first book. I would love to see more of Dorain and Jasper as the story progresses.

Technically there was a "love triangle" but it was done in a way that didn't really feel like one. Rowan, the boy Echo leaves behind when she goes on her quest, I got a distinct feeling that he didn't really feel all that deeply for her since she is a mortal human and Rowan will live a much longer lifetime that she will.  The attraction between Caius and Echo developed felt more real. But at the same time, we never really got to see how Rowan and Echo's relationship from friends to more-than-friends happened. But the romance was very back burner for this story.

There is suspense, betrayal, intrigue, and a magical mysterious creature, known as the Firebird, that everyone wants for their own, but only will reveal itself to someone deserving and willing to sacrifice everything to get it.

I hope everyone gives this magical and wonderful book a chance.