Publisher:
Harper Voyager
Release
Date: 11th
August 2016
Edition:
UK hardback,
received via Illumicrate
Other
Titles by this Author: Stormdancer, Kinslayer,
Endsinger, The Last Stormdancer, Illuminae
(with Amie
Kaufman)
Destined
to destroy empires, Mia Corvere is only ten years old when she is given her
first lesson in death.
Six
years later, the child raised in shadows takes her first steps towards keeping
the promise she made on the day she lost everything.
But
the chance to strike against such powerful enemies will be fleeting, so if she
is to have her revenge, Mia must become a weapon without equal. She must prove
herself against the deadliest of friends and enemies, and survive the tutelage
of murderers, liars and daemons at the heart of a murder cult.
The
Red Church is no ordinary school, but Mia is no ordinary student.
The
shadows love her.
And
they drink her fear.
All I've heard about Nevernight since proofs started landing
on doormats is incoherent babblings of love and shock over one certain page.
That’s hype I couldn’t ignore, and I'm so glad I didn’t.
I have to admit that I had a bit
of a rocky start with Nevernight. The
first few chapters are a bit confusing with Mia’s present and flashbacks from
her past having equal weight in the narrative, but as soon as I grabbed on, I didn’t
let go. I devoured this novel over the weekend (I read fantasy quite slowly so that’s
pretty impressive for me!) and I just didn’t want to put it down.
Mia is ballsy and brave and I was
never quite sure what she was going to do. She’s brutal and fierce and clever,
but also very loyal and I loved how deeply she felt things, even if that did
lead her into trouble at The Red Church. The affectionate banter between her
and fellow acolytes Lotti and Ash was really lovely and I really enjoyed that
depth to a story that could easily have been eclipsed by the romance. And oh,
what a romance. Tric is mysterious, sweet, and completely lethal and Mia definitely
doesn’t love him. Nope, not at all. The tension between them sizzled.
There’s so much depth to Mia, the
people close to her and the world that I just didn’t stop wanting more. Thankfully,
we got one of my favourite (when done well) narrative tricks – footnotes! Added
in by the unnamed narrator, we got detailed elements of the world and its history
and mythology; Mia and the other characters sassed and wonderful snark
throughout; I really loved the footnotes. I know they put a lot of people off,
but Jay Kristoff made them work perfectly.
I'd heard lots about the horrible
shocks to come on a particular page in this book and as I veered into the final
100 pages of Nevernight I got worried
because I couldn’t remember which page exactly. Even though I was expecting the
twists, I was still thoroughly shocked – that is some serious skill right
there. I loved how it altered so many things and sent the end of the novel into
an unexpected spiral. I genuinely dragged that last quarter of the novel out
over several hours because while I was desperate to know what happened, I didn’t
want it to end.
Seriously, if you like your
fantasy violent, sexy, funny and utterly captivating, Nevernight is for you. I want more.
Sophie
I haven't read by anything by Jay Kristoff yet - mostly as I keep hearing mixed reviews. However this book does sounds pretty delicious... I may just have to give it a go :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSO GOOD! Just everything about it!
ReplyDelete