The Shadow Hour by Melissa Grey

The Shadow Hour (Girl at Midnight, #2)

by Melissa Grey

Everything in Echo's life changed in a blinding flash when she learned the startling truth: she is the firebird, the creature of light that is said to bring peace.

The firebird has come into the world, but it has not come alone. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and Echo can feel a great and terrible darkness rising in the distance. Cosmic forces threaten to tear the world apart.

Echo has already lost her home, her family, and her boyfriend. Now, as the firebird, her path is filled with even greater dangers than the ones she's already overcome.

She knows the Dragon Prince will not fall without a fight.

Echo must decide: can she wield the power of her true nature - or will it prove too strong for her, and burn what's left of her world to the ground?

Welcome to the shadow hour.

Reviewed by Amber (The Literary Phoenix) on

2 of 5 stars

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For me, THE SHADOW GAME was disappointment cake with disappointment frosting and I know a lot of that comes from what I look for in the books I read and what I specifically like to avoid.

Basically, if you want an interesting fantasy concept but are REALLY here for brooding and complicated romances, THE SHADOW GAME is the book for you. This was a theme I sensed in the first book as well, but it really took root in book two. I find this series has the opportunity for some really intricate, fascinating world building but instead chooses to fill the pages with love triangles and love against the odds and awkward interactions with old flames. If you look too closely at the fantasy world, it falls apart. The obstacles in the plot are side-stepped too easily. These are the things I look for in books - the magic and the adventure. Because these elements are cultivated less carefully than the romance... it didn't work for me.

I can see why a certain type of reader would love this - I really can! I took a chance on this series by continuing in and I'm more resolute now than ever that this series is not for me.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 4 September, 2020: Finished reading
  • 4 September, 2020: Reviewed