Once upon a time there were three witches….
These witches are sisters. White Yaga, Red Yaga and Black Yaga. Each witch is immensely powerful and in competition with one another to be the best.
They all take on apprentices to do their bidding, their chores and their slaughtering, because these witch sisters need freshly ripped out hearts to stay alive. These apprentices are usually waifs that would have died otherwise, so the witches expect them to be grateful for their shelter, food and magical training. These waifs become powerful monsters.
Each monster rules a certain time of day – Morning, Midday and Midnight.
Morning is Beata cherub cheeked and beautiful. Able to stun any victim with her beauty, before she takes their heart from their chest.
Midday is Marynka – Red haired, with freckles across her nose and fire in every fibre of her being. She is impetuous, impatient and powerful. She has spent the last six years wanting to be even stronger, and her main rival is Midnight.
Midnight is Zosia – Raven haired, slippery as the shadows or night she can pull down in an instant with a snap of her fingers.
The hearts that provide the most power are those of the land’s Princes. Midday and Midnight are often after the same hearts, causing the vicious competition between them. When they are both after a particular heart so pure it will make their witch ‘grandmothers’ the most powerful of all, they finally meet, scheme and plot against one another.
But this Prince is no pushover. He’s led his land through war and is all the witches believe. Pure of heart, brave, and willing to protect all his people, including one who personally betrayed him.
An annual festival provides the perfect backdrop for the stealthy battle that begins – between the prince and the monsters, the prince and his ex best friend and the monsters themselves… who just might be falling for each other.
This feminist fairytale is very Brothers Grimm, with magic flowing thick and fast, menace and mayhem aplenty and witches pulling the strings.
The world building is lush and I felt like I was there, in a land of many princes, gallant soldiers and creatures controlling fire and shadow to achieve their objectives.
The rivalry was raw between the monsters who were once just lost little girls, now controlled by evil witch sisters also compelled by their own rivalries. Enemies to friends is a common trope, but The Midnight Girls fight against it to the very last page.
Author – Alicia Jasinska
Age – 14+
Look inside or listen to a sample here
(2021, Penguin, Feminist, Witches, Fantasy, Fairytale, Princes, Pure Hearts, Training, Control, Monsters, Rivalry, LGBTQ+, True Love, Grimm, Apprentice, Fire, Shadows, Escape plans, Action, Horror)