MARIE. RUTKOSKI

'Rich characterization, exquisite worldbuilding and rock-solid storytelling make this a fantasy of unusual intelligence and depth . . . Breathtaking, tragic and true' Kirkus on The Winner's Curse Set in the world of the NYT-bestselling Winner's Trilogy, The Midnight Lie is an epic LGBTQ romantic fantasy about learning to free ourselves from the lies others tell us - and the lies we tell ourselves. Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society's pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Life in the Ward is grim and punishing. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colours. You either follow the rules, or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences. Nirrim keeps her head down, and a dangerous secret close to her chest. But then she encounters is, a rakish traveller from far away, who whispers rumours that the High Kith possess magic. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. But to do that, Nirrim must surrender her old life. She must place her trust in this sly stranger who asks, above all, not to be trusted.

The Midnight Lie

I love the way Sid talks; only a handful of pages in but totally in love with this traveling shadow.

Caroline Clutterbuck Kapulkin

"I like leaving," he said. "It feels wonderful. The newness of what will come next. Like fresh, cool skin beneath my fingertips. Waking upon my last day somewhere, eating my favorite foods, burying my face in my favorite scents. Honeyed half-moons. A bay papered with ships. A song sung in my language. I love everything more when I leave it. Maybe, then, it's the most I'll ever love it."

It occurred to me that it was a special person, a gentle one, who allowed another to keep her secrets. 

Or it was the sort of person who had secrets of her own.

The Midnight Lie quotes

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