Shattered Midnight Blog Tour

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the SHATTERED MIDNIGHT by Dhonielle Clayton Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: SHATTERED MIDNIGHT (The Mirror #2)

Author: Dhonielle Clayton

Pub. Date: January 18, 2022

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Pages: 304

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle,  Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

The Mirror: Shattered Midnight is the second novel in the innovative four-book fairy-tale series written by Julie C. Dao, Dhonielle Clayton, J.C. Cervantes, and L. L. McKinney, following one family over several generations, and the curse that plagues it.

Zora Broussard has arrived in New Orleans with not much more than a bag of clothes, a beautiful voice, and a pair of enchanted red shoes. Running from a tragic accident caused by her magic, Zora wants nothing more than to blend in, as well as to avoid her overbearing aunt and mean-spirited cousins. Music becomes Zora’s only means of escape, yet she wonders if she should give it all up to remove the powers that make her a target, especially as a Black woman in the South.

But when Zora gets the chance to perform in a prominent jazz club, she meets a sweet white pianist named Phillip with magic of his own, including a strange mirror that foretells their future together. Falling into a forbidden love, Zora and Phillip must keep their relationship a secret. And soon the two discover the complicated connection between their respective families, a connection that could lead to catastrophe for them both. In the era of segregation and speakeasies, Zora must change her destiny and fight for the one she loves . . . or risk losing everything. 

 

Grab Book 1, BROKEN WISH now!

INSERT I didn’t read book one, but this series is not one you need to read in order, in order to enjoy it. Do I want to go back and read book one now? Yes. Will I? Yes. Anyway onto my review!

This book was delightful, and it was so much darker than I expected -which is always a win in my books-. Our MC Zora was quite easy to connect with, for me it might have been the musical connection but I think it was more than that, Clayton gave us a very sympathetic character. She’s detailed, flawed, and living in a world that already judges her based on the color of her skin; now she’s fallen for a man she legally can’t be with and a power that would make the world fear her. Zora is on the run after a disastrous accident involving her magic, fleeing New York to hide in New Orleans but magic brings out her power, it is her power and she’s now surrounded by it. Her Aunt is harsh but it’s obvious she cares in the only way she knows how but I enjoyed the dynamic between them when there was a lull or a moment of sincerity; the same went for Zora’s cousins. Or at least one of her cousins.

I think it would have been great to delve into Zora’s family more, especially her mother and her magic. Book one though gives us more answers as far as Zora’s grandmother goes.

The romance between Zora and Phillip have a sweet chemistry and I wish that I would have had more of their development but I would say the purpose is to tell Zora’s story and more so her powers and her family’s legacy more than the love story. Don’t get me wrong, Phillip is important and prominent in the story, I just think that I would have loved to see more of their feelings growing.

The end of this was NOT AT ALL what I expected and I do think I’ll probably be haunted thinking about this book for the next few weeks and impatient to read the next book to see more about this elusive mirror. I loved Clayton’s writing style so much (but I usually do) and the pacing was quite well done, a bit of a slow start to introduce Zora and New Orleans and then it just settles in perfectly.

4/5 cups of coffee from me, thank you so much to Rockstar Book Tours and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion as part of the tour!

About Dhonielle:

Dhonielle Clayton is a New York Times Bestselling author of The Belles series, the coauthor of the Tiny Pretty Things duology which debuts as a Netflix original series soon, and the author of the forthcoming MG fantasy series The Marvellers. She hails from the Washington, D.C. suburbs on the Maryland side. She taught secondary school for several years, and is a former elementary and middle school librarian. She is COO of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books, and co-founder of CAKE Literary, a creative kitchen whipping up decadent—and decidedly diverse—literary confections for middle grade, young adult, and women’s fiction readers. She’s an avid traveler, and always on the hunt for magic and mischief. 

 

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Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of SHATTERED MIDNIGHT, US Only.

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