Review Detail

SHATTERED MIDNIGHT is a sweeping YA historical fantasy, the second installment of a unique series around a magical object where each book follows a different person and is written by a different author. This book takes the reader to 1920s New Orleans, where Zora is on the run for her magical mistake in NYC. She is living with her aunt and cousins under a false name, trying to suppress her magic and lay low. Her mother is doing damage control in New York, using magic to hide Zora.

Zora loves jazz - and her magic revolves around music, making for a powerful combination. While she lives under her aunt's tough thumb during the day, at night she sneaks to a club where she sings as the Sweet Willow. Trying to understand herself and her magic, she sees the world as it is, segregated and punitive for the color of her skin - Zora is Black. When she falls in love with a white boy, Phillip, it is a dangerous thing and the world will not allow them to forget it. Zora is determined to be true to herself and her heart, if only she can find a path to her destiny.

What I loved: This was a sweeping read that carries the reader back in time to life in the 1920s for someone who is Black, with speakeasies, segregation, danger from police and white people, as well as all the related daily challenges these many obstacles bring. Even going into a shop or buying food presents challenges for her aunt's relatively wealthy Black family. The historical setting was brought to life through the writing, and these were powerful themes. Other themes around family legacy, power/powerlessness, hatred, music, religion, and expectations for women were also really thought-provoking.

The plotline of the mirror is really intriguing, and the object has a larger role in the later parts of the story. The use of magic and its role as a source of self-protection made it feel like magical realism - it was easy to believe it could exist. Zora was an intriguing character who is trying to define her life for herself and carve out her own destiny - something that seems impossible when the world and your family feels that they know where you should be. The romance was really sweet and built nicely into the overall plot.

What left me wanting more: As a very small thing, the ending was a bit open, and as someone who likes all the answers, I would have liked to step even further into the future to see where things ended up, but maybe we'll learn about it in the next book. The beginning of the book was very slow-building, but it did really pick up about a third of the way through.

Final verdict: Overall, SHATTERED MIDNIGHT is a thought-provoking YA historical fantasy that I would highly recommend for fans of THE BELLES, LEGENDBORN, and SO MANY BEGINNINGS.