Actual rating: Strong 3.5 stars 
 Listen up, Fantasy nerds. I'm going to give you six very good reasons why you should make The Girl at Midnight a priority on your TBR list. 
 1. Do you like snarky dialogue? Yes or yes? 
 Echo's snark game is on point. I personally love a main character who can pull her own weight and let her snark flag fly free. There were several times where I legit laughed out loud. Considering I am a robot, that was impressive. Well played, Grey. 
 2. Are you on the market for a new book boyfriend? Yes or yes? 
 Who doesn't enjoy a troubled, brooding, howt dragon-humanoid type guy? Amirite? Even though The Girl at Midnight isn't exactly centered on the love life of Echo, she does have moments where there's noticeable romantic tension with Caius, the Drakharin prince. Honestly, I ship it like Fedex. 
 3. Do you enjoy vivid descriptions in your novels? Yes or yes? 
 One of the best parts of The Girl at Midnight is the writing. Grey takes her characters to various parts of the real world and the fantasy world, allowing plenty of opportunities for her to show you her way with words. From artifacts, food and architecture, I always felt like I could easily picture the scenes. 
 4. Do you enjoy stories with great friendships? Yes or yes? 
 I was surprised that The Girl at Midnight took care to include other relationships that were not romantic. In a lot of YA there is special emphasis placed on the love interest, and I'm cool with that. But it's always really great to see the same about of attention applied to friendships, specifically between two female characters. The friendship between Echo and Ivy is prominent from the start and remains a big part of Echo's story until the end. Not only is Echo mostly concerned for her friend instead of a potential love interest, but she and Ivy have conversations that don't always revolve around boys at all. In fact, I would guess that majority of the time they are talking about something entirely different. This was one of my favorite aspects. 
 5. Are you a fan of Daughter of Smoke and Bone? Yes or yes? 
 The rumors are true. The Girl at Midnight does feel a lot like Daughter of Smoke and Bone, especially in the beginning. They both feature an orphan, human girl, living amongst fantasy creatures. They both struggle to be accepted by the characters in the fantasy world. And they both have a connection to someone on the enemy's side that they don't understand at first. However, somewhere along the way, The Girl at Midnight stood a part from Daughter of Smoke and Bone thanks to the romance not being in the forefront and a well-timed plot twist. I'll admit thinking it would go in the same direction that DoSaB did, but was pleasantly surprised by the end when I was wrong. They didn't personally distract me from the story, but I can see it being an issue for other readers. The good news is, considering the ending, I doubt we'll continue seeing those similarities in book 2 anyway. 
 But if you enjoy stories that keep you guessing, involve traveling to different cultures, ancient wars and the like, you'll probably not mind the similarities. I know this is also compared to The Mortal Instruments, but I honestly do not see the parallels at all. 
 6. Do you like series that don't end in a cliffhanger for each book? Yes or yes? 
 Thankfully, this book does not end in a cliffhanger! There will be 3 books total, but I feel like I'll be okay waiting for book 2 since things were wrapped up nicely. But I will not turn down an ARC. *ahem* (I am shameless.) 
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