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A review by momwithareadingproblem
The Savage Dawn by Melissa Grey
5.0
I received an ARC from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
As I sit down to write this review, my heart still hurts. I’m still living in the world Melissa Grey created in The Girl at Midnight. The Savage Dawn is hauntingly written and a fantastic conclusion to Echo’s story. After finishing [b:The Shadow Hour|27245910|The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight, #2)|Melissa Grey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445926118s/27245910.jpg|45271857], I knew that this book was going to be darker than the rest, that it would take me through a gamut of emotions, and that it would leave me wanting more.
Please note that this is the final book in a series, there are minor, unavoidable spoilers to the previous books in this review. Read at your own risk.
Echo is a resilient character and one that people can easily identify with. Despite everything that is thrown at her, she remains the same. She is still the thief we met back in [b:The Girl at Midnight|20345202|The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight, #1)|Melissa Grey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403891131s/20345202.jpg|28353831]. She is still loyal to a fault to those she loves and will do anything including dying for them. She’s already proved this about herself. While everything I love about Echo remains, her character is pushed to the breaking point and she is forced to change. She is forced to become a better version of herself and I love her even more for it. She is one of my favorite characters ever!
But Echo isn’t the only stand-out character in this book. There’s Caius whose fate was unknown at the end of [b:The Shadow Hour|27245910|The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight, #2)|Melissa Grey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445926118s/27245910.jpg|45271857]. Caius is one of those characters that will stick with me for a long time. He’s wise (obviously, he’s 250 years old), but he still has a naivety about him that is endearing. He loves his sister despite what she has become, what she plans to do to him and the world, and he loves his people. He is the kind of leader you want to see, he will sacrifice anything for them, to keep them safe and to protect those he loves. Despite being the leader, he sees himself as the base of the pyramid holding those who rely on him, who look up to him, up. I love him!!! I love his quirks, his love of reading, and how he loves Echo. It’s….gah!!! I could write an entire blog post about just him but I’ll stop there.
The Avicen and Drakharin have come so far since book one. The mythology and world-building that started in [b:The Girl at Midnight|20345202|The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight, #1)|Melissa Grey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403891131s/20345202.jpg|28353831] has continued and Melissa Grey has built upon that foundation creating a fantastic world set within the realms of our own. Merging contemporary and fantasy together, the author has a created an urban fantasy must-read. As the mythology continues to expand in this book, the author brings the story full circle and it is poetic in its entirety. The foreshadowing and dread I felt while reading is something that has stuck with me even a few hours after finishing the book and I suspect will follow me for a few days….that’s the mark of a great author friends!
Overall The Savage Dawn was a heart-breaking conclusion that left me satisfied and wanting more all at the same time. I would love to see more from this world the author’s created either in the form of standalone novels or a new adventure, but if there isn’t anymore that’s okay too. If you’ve enjoyed the series thus far, you won’t be disappointed at its end. I highly recommend this series for fans of Laini Taylor’s [b:Daughter of Smoke & Bone|8490112|Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)|Laini Taylor|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1461353773s/8490112.jpg|13355552] and to anyone who appreciates a good urban fantasy.
As I sit down to write this review, my heart still hurts. I’m still living in the world Melissa Grey created in The Girl at Midnight. The Savage Dawn is hauntingly written and a fantastic conclusion to Echo’s story. After finishing [b:The Shadow Hour|27245910|The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight, #2)|Melissa Grey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445926118s/27245910.jpg|45271857], I knew that this book was going to be darker than the rest, that it would take me through a gamut of emotions, and that it would leave me wanting more.
Please note that this is the final book in a series, there are minor, unavoidable spoilers to the previous books in this review. Read at your own risk.
Echo is a resilient character and one that people can easily identify with. Despite everything that is thrown at her, she remains the same. She is still the thief we met back in [b:The Girl at Midnight|20345202|The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight, #1)|Melissa Grey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403891131s/20345202.jpg|28353831]. She is still loyal to a fault to those she loves and will do anything including dying for them. She’s already proved this about herself. While everything I love about Echo remains, her character is pushed to the breaking point and she is forced to change. She is forced to become a better version of herself and I love her even more for it. She is one of my favorite characters ever!
But Echo isn’t the only stand-out character in this book. There’s Caius whose fate was unknown at the end of [b:The Shadow Hour|27245910|The Shadow Hour (The Girl at Midnight, #2)|Melissa Grey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1445926118s/27245910.jpg|45271857]. Caius is one of those characters that will stick with me for a long time. He’s wise (obviously, he’s 250 years old), but he still has a naivety about him that is endearing. He loves his sister despite what she has become, what she plans to do to him and the world, and he loves his people. He is the kind of leader you want to see, he will sacrifice anything for them, to keep them safe and to protect those he loves. Despite being the leader, he sees himself as the base of the pyramid holding those who rely on him, who look up to him, up. I love him!!! I love his quirks, his love of reading, and how he loves Echo. It’s….gah!!! I could write an entire blog post about just him but I’ll stop there.
The Avicen and Drakharin have come so far since book one. The mythology and world-building that started in [b:The Girl at Midnight|20345202|The Girl at Midnight (The Girl at Midnight, #1)|Melissa Grey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403891131s/20345202.jpg|28353831] has continued and Melissa Grey has built upon that foundation creating a fantastic world set within the realms of our own. Merging contemporary and fantasy together, the author has a created an urban fantasy must-read. As the mythology continues to expand in this book, the author brings the story full circle and it is poetic in its entirety. The foreshadowing and dread I felt while reading is something that has stuck with me even a few hours after finishing the book and I suspect will follow me for a few days….that’s the mark of a great author friends!
Overall The Savage Dawn was a heart-breaking conclusion that left me satisfied and wanting more all at the same time. I would love to see more from this world the author’s created either in the form of standalone novels or a new adventure, but if there isn’t anymore that’s okay too. If you’ve enjoyed the series thus far, you won’t be disappointed at its end. I highly recommend this series for fans of Laini Taylor’s [b:Daughter of Smoke & Bone|8490112|Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)|Laini Taylor|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1461353773s/8490112.jpg|13355552] and to anyone who appreciates a good urban fantasy.