After sitting here, writing and rewriting the same sentences, I'm still at a loss as to how to accurately describe my feelings about Midnight City. The words bouncing around in my head range from "wow" to "stunning" so if this review is a slight rambling, please forgive me. Now that the PSA is out of the way, on to the good stuff.

For the first time ever I was given both a strong male and female protagonist. From the moment that I met Holt I knew I'd love him. His humanity is evident, even through the hard outer shell that he has built in order to survive. Here's a guy who is the perfect mix between a knight in shining armor and a lone wolf. Then I met Mira and my whole world flipped upside down. When these two characters interact, there are literally sparks. Two evenly matched, survival-minded individuals, who also happen to be of two different genders. Do you sense that there might be chemistry? Oh, you'd be right my friends.

Which brings me to my next talking point, the lack of what we all like to call "insta-love". Holt and Mira definitely clash at first. However the further the reader follows them into the story, the more these two come to rely on one another. This is a slow, sweet, and completely believable build up. Unfortunately for you, I won't go any deeper than that. I truly believe that this is something you need to read to really appreciate. Let me just say that this romance was so fulfilling for me. It wasn't overdone, but simply added another layer to this expertly woven story.

Now I'm sure there are those of you who are balking at the idea of an alien invasion as the main premise of a book. I can assure you that the writing in Midnight City is gorgeous. It builds a world that is ravaged by invasion, and held together by only the younger generation. Even if you aren't generally a reader of science fiction, there is a strong dystopian element as well. Everything that J.Barton Mitchell writes flows just perfectly, and allows the reader to get lost in the struggle. Thus the reason I read this straight through.

Never in my bibliophilic life have I been as floored after reading a book as I was upon finishing Midnight City. This book is the whole package. A lightning fast plot, two equally matched and well-fleshed out characters, plus writing that draws you in. I loved absolutely everything about this book. More please. As soon as humanly possible.

Edit: The audio book is also pretty good! I'd suggest reading it if you can, but the narrator isn't too shabby. Still a five star read for me! ( )

This was a great start to this series, although I wasn't thrilled with the cliffhanger ending. On the other hand, I'm kind of eager to get my hands on the second book, so perhaps the non-ending ending is effective.

Definitely recommend YA and sci-fi fans give it a read. Very interesting story and characters. Full review is at www.onfictionwriting.com. ( )

This is a very well written book, with an intense story on loyalty, friendship, love and survival. The plot is quite simple and will keep you hooked from the first page to the end. Our hero is called Holt. He is a bounty hunter that has as his companion his dog named Max, and the currently highest prize is Mira Toombs, a treasurer seeker and freebooter. Earth was conquered eight years before by aliens and their domination is based on the transmission of a signal that they broadcast all over called Tone, and make all humans on early twenties and over to be submissive to their call to unconditional servitude. But there are a few that are immune to the Tone, like Holt. Mira is almost succumbing to the signal, having just some more months before turning herself to the aliens. Holt captures Mira, and a strong connection between them develops almost instantly, but he fights hard not to fall for her. After capturing her, an alien ship crashes near them and when investigating it, Holt finds its only survivor, an eight years old young lady that can only remember her name, Zoye. But soon they learn that the whole alien force is seeking Zoey and they figure out that she must be very special to draw all that attention. The story develops in a very intense thriller and the end is very unpredictable and leaves that feeling that we want more and very soon! This might turn out to be a very interesting Hollywood movie. It has all ingredients for an instant success blockbuster!

I recommend this book to the permanent library of all science-fiction lovers that wants to be entertained with a thriller story that will hook you from the beginning and you will read it on the edge of your chair. It took me around 13 hours to read the whole book. This book was written by J.Barton Mitchell and it was published by St. Martin's Griffin on October of 2012. Amazon.com was kind enough to provide this product for me through their Vine Program for reviewing and I was not requested to provide a positive review. Opinions expressed here are my own. ( )

Great characters but with hokey pokey plot points

I’m a serious fence sitter when it comes to Midnight City. It started with great action right from page one – showed us a bit of mean post apocalyptic human behavior, but what really reeled me in was when the aliens came on the scene and sent everyone scurrying. I won’t tell how, but it got my blood pumping and me jonezing for more.

Then all of a sudden things get hokey. I was expecting more alien and it felt like I got magic or fantasy instead. All of the stuff about”strange lands artifacts” and combining them together to get the contraptions to do certain things. It didn’t throw me completely off the book, but I was mildly annoyed by it.

The idea of how the people succumb to the Tone and start going towards the Alien motherships uncontrollably was a cool idea. Having it show up visibly in the eyes was a great tension builder. I liked the three main characters and how the relationships slowly build and become more attached. It was well done and distracted me from the things I didn’t like about the story. For instance, Midnight city and its point system…so stupid that I made ugly faces every time it was mentioned.

Overall, enjoyable but I don’t know if I’d continue. ( )

I couldn't connect with this novel. The start is confusing with no explanation about what is occurring. The lack of background info and the way it just seemed to jump into a scene made it very difficult to want to continue reading. I may try again in the future, but for now this is in the DNF pile. Others say it gets better and less confusing as the story continues, but with all the books to choose from, I don't have the time or patience to trudge through something I am not enjoying. ( )