Blog Tour: The Shadow Hour by Melissa Grey {Review+Giveaway}

Welcome to my stop on the The Shadow Hour tour hosted by Irish Banana Tours!

Today I am excited to share my review, as well as a giveaway with you all!

The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight #2)
    by: Melissa Grey

Publication Date: July 12, 2016
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Fantasy
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Physical ARC received via the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 432 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N | IndieBound | iBooks | The Book Depository

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.

After reading and loving The Girl at Midnight, I was super excited to get my hands on the next book in the series, The Shadow Hour! And now I am absolutely dying for book 3 (which won't be released until next year, SOB)! I am completely invested in this series- it's characters, their romances, and the storyline all come together to create a fantasy that I just devoured.

The book picks up right where The Girl at Midnight leaves off, and we are in for one rollercoaster ride after the explosive events that led up to the end of the last book. We are reunited with our favorites, get to know some of the more minor characters from the previous book, and meet some new faces. (Some I loved, and some that just needed to go away.) While this book felt a bit slower than it's predecessor, I still enjoyed every minute of it. I do wish there had been more developments concerning Echo and Caius and I'm still not sure how Grey is going to have that storyline play out. I wasn't crazy about the love triangle feel between them though. I thought things would be a bit more resolved and put in place, but they didn't feel that way. I know Echo is dealing with ALOT, but I just wish she had been a bit more open emotionally when it came to her feelings for the boys. It was hard to get a read on her and I felt pretty torn over it.

However, we do get some developments with other characters and my little shipper heart was jumping up and down for joy in regards to some others...  Not to mention, I absolutely LOVED Ivy in this one. I liked her in the first, but I admire her for being a part of the team and doing what needs to be done for the greater cause. She also gets a bit of a romantic interest in this one that I am looking forward to seeing play out in the next book!

Romance aside, I LOVE the friendships that Grey has cultivated. Dorian and Caius, while complicated, really would lay down their lives for the other and that brotherhood was so endearing to see. The same went for Ivy and Echo. They may not be blood sisters, but they are sisters of the heart, for sure. As for Tanith and Caius's relationship, my heart was so broken over those two. Caius loves his twin so much and he still believes there is good in her, despite everything she's done. I was a wreck by the end and I am fearful for how things are going to turn out.

It's quite difficult to review this one, as I want to be completely spoiler free, but I promise you- this is a series you definitely need to start. I've loved getting to know these characters and watch them put aside their differences and form alliances to obtain peace for their races. The book takes a dark turn in the end and it definitely leaves you worried about our friends' fates. I can't wait for the next book to come out!

Melissa Grey penned her first short story at the age of twelve and hasn't stopped writing since. As an undergrad at Yale, she learned how ride a horse and shoot a bow and arrow at the same time, but hasn't had much use for that skill since graduating in 2008. 

Her debut novel, THE GIRL AT MIDNIGHT (Delacorte/Random House), is out now. The second book in the trilogy, THE SHADOW HOUR, will be published July 2016. The third and final book of the series will come out summer 2017.

To learn more about Melissa, visit melissa-grey.com and follow her on Twitter @meligrey. Website | Twitter |Instagram

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