Audiobook Review: The Midnight Orchestra by Jessica Khoury

Things are finally looking up for Amelia Jones: she's officially a Mystwick student, and she even has a teacher to help her learn how to use her rare Composing magic. When Mystwick enters an international magic competition, it’s Amelia's chance to Compose something that will help them win the day.

The only problem is that she still doesn’t understand how her powers work. But then she hears about a super exclusive Midnight Orchestra—half performance, half magical black market—and Amelia is sure that’s where she’ll find the answer to her Composing problem.

But the Midnight Orchestra is far more sinister than it initially appears and if Amelia can’t unlock her Composing powers, not only will Mystwick lose the musicraft competition, she won’t be able to rescue her friends from the danger unleashed in this thrilling adventure.

GENRE: Middle Grade Fantasy

PURCHASE LINK: Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jessica Khoury is the author of many books for teens and young readers. Her stories have been translated into over a dozen languages and have been finalists for awards like the South Carolina Junior Book Award, the Ignyte Award, the Maine Student Book Award, the Oklahoma Sequoyah Masterlist, the Amelia Bloomer Project, and many more. Her bestselling middle grade debut The Mystwick School of Musicraft was named one of the Best Audiobooks of 2019 by Audible and is one of the Top 20 Most Listened-To children's books of all time.​

In addition to writing, Jess is also a fantasy cartographer and illustrator. Her artwork has appeared in NYT Bestsellers, video and tabletop games, and of course her own books.

Jess currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her husband and daughters. She spends free time hiking in the mountains, playing video games, and sketching new characters for new stories.

Review

As much as I'm using the print/digital cover for this post, I listened to the audiobook, which I'm pretty sure will affect your reading experience — if only because you will actually get to hear the scores being played, and that in itself is simply brilliant. (For my review of the first book, please see here.)

I enjoyed this sequel just as much as the first! The music was still superb, there were lots of interesting new characters, and some old favorites got their well-deserved moments. New magic concepts were introduced as well... I'd say more but I don't want to spoil anything, you just have to listen and experience it.

Though the twists weren't real shockers, I think it was also because the author had been careful to plant the seeds so everything just clicked into place at the right time. Amelia and her friends also continue to deal with complex themes and issues, which actually made me forget for most of the listen that this is a middle grade / lower YA novel.

I don't know, I just really really like this series! So imagine my delight when I saw, just as I finished this one today, that the third book is ready for me on Audible too. I'M READY.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️⭐️️

---

Hi! I'm Marie, a Filipino SFFH author and book reviewer currently based in the UK. I’m the co-author of The Prophecies of Ragnarok, a Norse myth new adult urban fantasy trilogy, and I also have several short stories published in anthologies and literary journals.

You can find more info about me and my books, and also subscribe to my newsletter for more content, here. And if you like what I do, please also consider supporting me on Ko-fi! 🩷 https://ko-fi.com/mariesinadjan

If you fancy a short read, I have a cozy reimagining of the Norse myths about Hel, but it's just under 70 pages and can be read in one sitting. ✨ Plus there's a swag kit coming soon! Includes a "membership card," a bookmark, a sticker, an origami dog, and an exclusive 500-word story 🫶🏼

All things end, and all must die.

But death is not always the end.

When Geiravor Lokisdottir was stripped of her name and cast out of Asgard, torn from her family and the life she had known, she thought she’d lost it all. But in the shadows of Niflheim she discovers the path to her destiny, and what it truly means to be queen.

This is a prequel short story to THE PROPHECIES OF RAGNAROK trilogy by Meri Benson and Marie Sinadjan, and a retelling of the myths involving Hel, the Norse goddess of death and the queen of the underworld.