Review for The Midnight Lie: Let's Go, Lesbians!

Alright, y’all. Maybe I really have broken my disdain for Fantasy in the last few months. Maybe there really is a whole wide world of woman-authored Fantasy literature that has not only a lack of male gaze but also a surprising amount of LGBTQ+ romance! Thank goodness, to be honest. If you couldn’t tell, I’ve recently finished Marie Rutkoski’s The Midnight Lie and thought it was amazing! I have many thoughts, as per usual.

The story begins with a retrospective first chapter in which the main protagonist of the story, Nirrim, wonders what kind of person she is and questions what her life would’ve looked like without committing to one action that set her life on a completely different course. It sets up an overarching theme of cautious questioning throughout the novel and also gives Nirrim that same reserved-yet-caring feel that some of this generation’s favourite heroines have, like Katniss Everdeen, Hermione Granger, and even August from Casey McQuiston’s recent novel, One Last Stop. The main story then opens to reveal that Nirrim lives in a caste system on a (usually) hot and tropic land that is literally separated by class with massive walls and different rules for each caste of “Unkith,” “Half Kith,” “Middling,” and “High Kith.” Nirrim is an orphan that considers herself lucky to be a step above Unkith thanks to her adoptive parent, Raven. The story then follows Nirrim’s unforgettable journey into understanding why there is a wall, why the rich are always taking the poor’s blood amongst many other things, including body parts, and whether or not the woman she meets during her travels is actually interested in her or just has a flirtatious personality.

Rutkoski manages to pack so much into this tight space of a couple hundred pages that definitely reads as a stand alone book up until the last few chapters, which makes the somewhat-cliffhanger that much more devastating. However, referring to the mass of content within the novel, I was super impressed by the world building that happens in this story. The amount of detail from the sugar that crusts the loaves of bread to the shifting colours of magic trees, Rutkoski’s Midnight Lie world allows for complete escapism while also keeping the characters closely rooted to our own lived experiences to make it all believable.

Further, the set up of the caste system is eerily close to ours in that everything that is illegal for the Half Kith, including same-sex romance and drugs, is legal, accepted, and encouraged for the High Kith. It’s certainly reflective of how the rich live in our world and is a key plot point for Nirrim’s character development that nicely explains why she would fool herself into thinking that her lack of feelings for the man interested in her is to do with anything other than nerves and selfishness. In reality, even straight women would eventually realize that Aden’s personality below the muscles and “benevolence” he boasts is just gaslighting and manipulation for his own gain. Aden's entire character is such a clear attack on toxic masculinity without ever using the words that put this novel over the top in terms of engagement.

Further, if we’re talking about love interests, I can’t finish this little review without mentioning the absolutely ensnaring Sid. The epitome of bi panic, Sid easily captures every reader’s attention with her easy charm and serious side that so clearly cares deeply about both Nirrim and the safety of the people around her. If Nirrim gives off the same energy as August from One Last Stop, then Sid is easily the same kind of character as Jane, but with a sureness and worldliness that makes it easy to understand why Nirrim quickly fell for her. It’s a match made in literary heaven that exemplifies Rutkoski’s expert navigation of character and eye for the little details that make them all come alive beyond the page.

There may or may not be a twist in the last twenty pages of the book, but it’s one of those twists that you look back and would’ve seen coming if you’d paid attention to more than just the romance for half a second. It also perfectly sets up the next book that comes out next month that will likely blow right through my sky-high pile of books to be read. But if it wasn’t clear, I’m recommending this novel. Heavily!