You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
I don't... I don't fully even understand what just happened here. And I didn't care enough to worry about it, so there's that. This basically sums up my experience:
Sigh. So, a friend asked me how it was going when I was around page 50. So by that I mean, I won't be spoiling anything for you. But this was how I'd sum it up:
We meet girl. She doesn't want to be married. Uncle says she must; sets up a meeting with a matchmaker. For reasons. She plans to run away. Girl's like "nah, that seems hard", meets with matchmaker. Pisses off matchmaker, who then asks her to BE a matchmaker. THEN, random switch to some RANDOM ASS DUDE who is not properly introduced. And a... war skirmish.
Then a time jump. And I still have NO FUCKING CLUE who this guy is, and why there have been 4 chapters in his POV. And why there is a war. Or why this matchmaking thing is so important. Or anything.
Seriously, it jumped back and forth and the military guy POV was talking about places that meant nothing to me, groups of people that I had never heard of. Are these counties, kingdoms, cities? I don't know. But it was confusing, because they're talking about attacks and strategies, and I had no idea. Just... nope. As such, it was incredibly confusing.
So, let's push that aside, because I have never and will never understand it. Let's get back to our girl Sage, who has decided that she'll be the matchmaker's apprentice. Again, for reasons. None that are clear to me, but whatever. Here's my main problem with Sage: I get that she doesn't want to be married off to some random guy. I get it. I respect it. Hell, I agree with it. But she is so damn judgmental of the girls who are looking forward to finding husbands. And yeah, it wouldn't be my cup of tea either, but why do you have to rain on everyone else's parade, girl? She makes it very clear that she feels superior for being "above" the whole finding a mate thing.
And lest we forget, there is some really... racially insensitive stuff going on here too. There are a lot of reviews that go into more detail about this, so do check them out, but here's a snippet in case you were wondering:
"I've noticed how some of the soldiers look at you. Especially that darker one you spend time with."
What!? NO. That is something like, your grandma's old, racist friend would say, leading you to explain why that is not okay. And it is not. Also, I know a lot of people have discussed the dark skinned aggressor trope, but I legit had no idea who was fighting who, so I was so lost I can't even comment on that part. But the descriptions alone of the different armies and their levels of "darkness" were bad enough. And frankly, it seemed like they had no other defining characteristics, which is probably why I couldn't figure out who was fighting or why. And in case you were wondering, yes, it is made abundantly clear that Sage is white.
Anyway, for a more detailed account, I'm going to link you over to the lovely Aila's review, because she discusses this well.
Now, we must talk about the society. Look, I get that a lot of societies- hell, even our own, often- treats women as "lesser than". But this was just kind of gross. Sage was seen as extra special because she climbed trees and wore pants as a kid. Well, guess what? Not everyone had that luxury, I'm sure. She ended up being well educated, which again is not something other girls had the opportunity to do. So instead of, I don't know, helping out your fellow woman, instead Sage just rolls her eyes at them and becomes a special snowflake. She solves all the things, even things that there is really no basis for her to have been able to figure out (can't say much more because spoilers), and it seems like answers to problems just pop out of thin air and into her head so she can save everyone. Because she hates makeup and dresses.
There were some twists which I think might have been good if I'd had any idea what was happening in the first place. But I was so confused, and by this point, angry, that I just couldn't bring myself to be too shocked with any revelation- mostly because I wasn't sure if it was a twist, or just my own confusion being sorted out a little. Like "OH, now I get that one thing!", but is that because it was a twist, or I just finally understood what was happening? No way to know, friends. No way to know.
Will I Read the Sequel? Yeah, really really not. Which is rare for me. But I cannot with this book. Or Sage. Or the confusion.
Bottom Line: I still have no idea what I read. All I know is that I was not a fan of most of the characters (save a few side ones that I kind of enjoyed) and really have no idea why there was a war happening and what this group of girls had to do with any of it. And definitely not here for the racial tropes either.
**Quote taken from uncorrected proof, subject to change.