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The Midnight Lie

an epic romantic fantasy for fans of Six of Crows

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The Midnight Lie

By: Marie Rutkoski
Narrated by: Roisin Rankin
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Summary

 'Rich characterization, exquisite worldbuilding and rock-solid storytelling make this a fantasy of unusual intelligence and depth . . . Breathtaking, tragic and true' Kirkus on The Winner's Curse

Set in the world of the NYT-bestselling Winner's Trilogy, The Midnight Lie is an epic LGBTQ romantic fantasy about learning to free ourselves from the lies others tell us - and the lies we tell ourselves.

Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society's pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Life in the Ward is grim and punishing. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colours. You either follow the rules, or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences.

Nirrim keeps her head down, and a dangerous secret close to her chest.

But then she encounters id, a rakish traveller from far away, who whispers rumours that the High Kith possess magic. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. But to do that, Nirrim must surrender her old life. She must place her trust in this sly stranger who asks, above all, not to be trusted.

(P) 2020 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd©2020 Marie Rutkoski Epic Fantasy Romance Fiction Magic

Critic reviews

Lush, romantic, and powerful. In THE MIDNIGHT LIE, Marie Rutkoski spins a sensuous tale about awakening to the truth
Utterly immersive and gorgeous. Marie's stories are the loveliest knives that cut you straight to the quick
Darkly enchanting . . . The Midnight Lie is unsettling and thrilling, the world intricate and purposeful.
Lush, swoony, painful [and] enraging
Praise for THE WINNER'S CURSE series
'A one of a kind, BRILLIANT book . . . a bold tale on loyalty, love, family, friendship, suppression and power
Beautifully written [and] masterfully plotted . . . A rare and special reading experience: I loved it. I want more.
Spellbinding . . . Rutkoski's richly imagined world is full of dynamic repartee, gruesome battle scenes, and shifting alliances
Dynamic and engaging . . . I loved this novel
Faultlessly written, home to a rich cast of mesmerising characters, and possesses just the right amount of intrigue, romance and emotion to make the story one that leaves an impression. My mind is still reeling from those final few pages
Stunning
There is no doubt this is going to be one of the most complex and compulsively readable fantasies of the year
Excellent
The mysterious connection between magic and the tithes is spun out with excellent suspense, which, along with the assured writing and wealth of fantasy invention, will keep readers avidly turning pages
All stars
Most relevant
I cannot even begin to express how much I adored this book! It is stunningly written and I feel like the narrator was the perfect fit. My one criticism is that the audio quality itself isn't always amazing, but honestly it's a small thing that was only present every now again, so it didn't break immersion or ruin my listening experience.

The characters and plot and DESCRIPTION are just absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait for a follow up.

Sublime!

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The book was from start to finish incredible. I've never read any of this authors work before and so i didn't know her writing style, which of course always is a concern. That concern quickly vanished, i loved the style of how the book was written, i could quickly get in to it because of the awesome way the author painted up everything. When it comes to the story, it's such a nice story with many plots. I don't think I've cheered on a protagonist as much as I really did in this one. the characters charm, both the main character Nirrim and of course beloved Sid are both such nice characters. Nirrims character development is stunning and when it comes to the "bad guys" in the book, i truly have jarrad towards Raven. I'm completely breathe taken and stunned from this book. I can't wait for the other books!
if you haven't listened to this book then i recommend you too. teens, young adults and adults will love it alike, it's very nice and even though the book takes place in a world with some real magic i think even non fantasy livers would love this. and if you're LGBTQ+ then come on! Give it a listen! If you're just a fantasy lover or a sucker for romance then boom. literary everyone, just listen to it, you won't be let down!

absolutely stunning!

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I absolutely loved this, listened to it in just a couple of days. The writing style is beautiful and elegant. The tone was used very skillfully and I found myself entranced with listening. The story could be a little predicatble at times but overall that didn't take away from the enjoyment I had whilst listening

Fantastic Queer Fantasy

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amazing writing and performance I felt as if I could vision all the scenes in my head and I love how each character developed and deepened as the book progressed.

immediately yes!

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