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    Nevernight
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    Nevernight
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    Nevernight
    Ebook687 pages10 hours

    Nevernight

    By Jay Kristoff

    4/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Fom New York Times bestselling author, Jay Kristoff, comes a dangerous new fantasy world and a heroine edged in darkness.

    Mia Corvere is only ten years old when she is given her first lesson in death.

    Destined to destroy empires, the child raised in shadows made a promise on the day she lost everything: to avenge herself on those that shattered her world.

    But the chance to strike against such powerful enemies will be fleeting, and Mia must become a weapon without equal. Before she seeks vengeance, she must seek training among the infamous assassins of the Red Church of Itreya.

    Inside the Church's halls, Mia must prove herself against the deadliest of opponents and survive the tutelage of murderers, liars and daemons at the heart of a murder cult.

    The Church is no ordinary school. But Mia is no ordinary student.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK
    Release dateJul 25, 2016
    ISBN9780008204013
    Unavailable
    Nevernight
    Author

    Jay Kristoff

    Jay Kristoff is the NEW YORK TIMES and internationally bestselling author of The Lotus War, The Illuminae Files, and The Nevernight Chronicle. He is a winner of five Aurealis Awards, nominee for the David Gemmell Morningstar and Legend awards, named multiple times in the Kirkus and Amazon Best Teen Books lists and published in over thirty-five countries, most of which he has never visited. He is as surprised about all of this as you are.

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    Reviews for Nevernight

    4/5

    395 ratings26 reviews

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    • 2/5
      It took me almost 4 months to read 20% of the book. That says a lot since I read over 200 books a year. Just wasn't my cup of tea. And the footnotes. sigh
    • 4/5
      This was a great book. It started a little slow for me. The beginning was a little confusing, and the footnotes irritated me. But once Mia got to assassin school, the story really picked up. By the time I reached the last few chapters, I stayed up late to finish it. It was that good.

      There is graphic sex and violence throughout the book. It is definitely not a children's book.

      I received an ARC from NetGalley
    • 5/5
      Loved this from the moment I picked it up. So much to recommend reading Nevernight, especially if you are a YA Fantasy author. I loved the shadows, (of course I did,) the not cat, (Mr Kindly) and especially the kick-ass heroine, Mia who is determined to avenge her father's killers. This gritty young girl is spurred to revenge by witnessing the death of her father and the subsequent cruelty meted out to her remaining family members.

      All the characters were so well defined - and I adored Tric. I know some readers develop book boy crushes and he'd be mine!

      This is YA but there are some seriously sexy scenes which are written so well that my jaw dropped! Ha ha... If I ever want to write sexy scenes I better bookmark these!

      The plot and world building were phenomenal. I was a little kind of oh, please tell me this is not happening.... by something that occurred towards the end of the novel, but no spoilers...

      I wish I had read Nevernight before I started writing The Curse of Time as there were so many parallels and that made me go WOW... In A Massive YEAH WAY! It should be compulsory reading for all fantasy authors! Definitely a favourite. No doubts I will continue with this series and read Godsgrave.
    • 2/5
      I was really excited to read this work, but in the end, I'm afraid it's just going to be remembered as one of my more disappointing reads.While this sounds like a fascinating story, and while I love the concepts behind everything and even the characters, I never really got into this book. More often than not, I was either slightly bored or slightly confused. Most of the depth of this came into play in the world-building and the background, but too often, it felt like the author's attention was more on being clever than telling a story. And, truly, there were some beautiful moments in terms of both writing and story--some that left me laughing out loud or feeling something immediate. But, generally, I was trying to find reason to care about the characters and the story, and reading just to read.So as excited as I was by the blurb and the concepts and what I knew of the story... I can't say I enjoyed this. I should have... but the style of all of this put me off, and I needed more depth in some areas, and less in others. I'm afraid I can't recommend this. I'm sure it's someone's cup of tea, but not mine.
    • 4/5
      Who doesn't love an assassin's tale? Cleverly written story, very engaging. Mia was a teenager, but I'm not sure if it was targeted for YA? If so, a bit too raunchy for me to recommend for that age group.
      Otherwise, it was a well-paced story with great world-building and an intriguing murder mystery, and sets up well for more to come. Looking forward to Godsgrave.
    • 4/5
      I loved this, Mia is such a great character and the, I have my suspicions who it it but they remain unnamed, Narrator, with their sarcastic asides in footnotes make this a great story. Mia sees her father die at 10, 6 years later she goes to learn how to be an assassin, but she has to keep alive and someone is stalking her classmates.I loved the twists and turns and how she kept going, parts of the end were heartbreaking but I was left wanting more.
    • 5/5
      Violence, gore and cruelty! This is a story that you will either love or hate. I am absolutely in the love category! Some people had issues with how the book was composed. Yes, there were some abuses of the English language, specifically metaphors and similes. Purple prose (prose that is too elaborate or ornate) does abound BUT the overall story with the characters are so freaking awesome that the abuses did not ruin it for me.Another thing that is love or hate about this book is that there are footnotes, which last for the first quarter of the book. The story is narrated in the third person voice and the footnotes are from the narrator’s point of view. They are there as additional information or funny side notes from his side of things. They are informative but also snarky at times. I personally found great humor in these footnotes and was glad for them.Now you are probably wondering what Nevernight actually means in this book or is it just a cool title? In this world of gods and men the citizens of the Republic lack darkness. Nevernight is the time of day when Itreya’s weather turns slightly cooler and makes it easier to sleep. There is no darkness and the actual day lasts two and a half years. Yeah, I would go mad. "Never flinch. Never fear. Never forget."The character of Mia Corvere is hell bent on revenge at all costs. She trains for six years just to have a shot at entering the Red Church so that she can be trained to become one of the deadliest assassins that the Red Church has to offer- a Blade. What she did not know is that there are only a few of those positions open and she will have to compete against her fellow trainees to earn a position. She is a strong, confident, and fantastic character.I honestly enjoyed every character in this book. I love that Naev speaks of herself in third person. Tric was a great character and he was the one true ally of Mia. I wish there had been more development with him. There was also Mr. Kindly who was a shadow that sort of resembled a cat and his job is to eat fear. I enjoyed his addition to this story quite a bit. Honestly I loved the entire cast. They all had great backstories and development.Understand though that there are no good guys in this book. Every person there serves or wants to serve the Night Goddess who is the Lady of Blessed Murder. They are stone cold killers and must present proof of their kills to even be considered for training. Do not expect princesses, unicorns or even a happy ending. There are explicit sexy times. There is brutality and there is unforgiveness. There is no room for softness in this book. It is an absolute masterpiece. I highly recommend.
    • 5/5
      “Maw’s Teeth” this is one of the most amazing stories that I have ever had the pleasure of beginning and sorrow of finishing. I want this story to actually be as long and continuous as the ongoing never ending Cinder series. Nevernight has the most amazing and realistic ( in personas ) characters that I have ever played put in my head as I read. The action, the personality of characters, the failing romance, the teachings, the religIon and settings unbelievably jump off the page. From the introduction of the narrator, to the last scene ( which fills your cup with intense action) this story comes to live instantly. I haven’t been this excited about a book since I started reading about 3 years ago. I don’t wanna say anything specific except, if you have a faint of heart with violence and direct, in your face attitudes, unrelenting back stabbing deception, death and the most realistic use of dialogue ( aka cussing, which is mire typical in 16 years old then some want to admit), this book is not for you. Mia rocks, Tric, is realistically secretive, Ash has the sarcasm and wit of a negative drag queen and Jessamine is a pure “B”. Set in a fantastical version of Italy ( in my minds eye) and so much backstory interjections from our narrator, you can’t help but visually create each and every element of this story. Jay Kristoff, co creator of the Illuminae Files, has given us a wonderful tale that will send you screaming as you shut the back cover. Craving the next installment just as much as your own personal addiction ( coffee, chocolate, cigarettes, all things Disney, gambling, Gummi Colas, etc.) HeHeHe
    • 5/5
      I really liked this story. I found the characters and the world very interesting. I originally thought this book was aimed at Young Adult, but as I was reading the first chapter I was pretty certain that it should not be for YA. It did take me three tries to read this book. I found the opening chapter very confusing to follow, as I had never read anything by Jay Kristoff before. I also wasn't dedicating much time to sitting down and actually reading the book, which is what it needs. I found you need to sit and give your full attention to the first 1/4 of the book, otherwise it can be very confusing to follow. The first 1/4 is a bit slow, but it is character and world building. I found this information necessary to fully appreciate who Mia is as a person and the world in which she lives. There are very graphic sexual and violent i.e. murder scenes that I would not recommend this for a YA. I look forward to reading the next book in the series and seeing where and what Mia gets up to.
    • 5/5
      I find that the more I love a book, the worse I am at articulating what it is I like about the novel. I'm going to try my best to overcome that here.

      This is not a novel that is light-hearted. You are reading a story about assassins and as such, this novel is grim and dark and full of complexity. Every person is a cold-blooded killer and you really cannot trust anyone. On top of that, there is a murder plot going on that becomes quite important as the story goes on. What I loved about this story was that it kept its theme throughout; the same intensity and darkness were maintained and the novel was engaging to read. I loved that the characters themselves were so dark and broken and messed-up - it made for such interesting characters. The author did a great job with creating the anti-hero and showing her growth. The story flits between her past and present in such a way that I felt like I knew her and also felt like she was an enigma all at the same time. Every character introduced has a purpose - but whether they are good or bad remains to be seen. This novel was a rollercoaster ride and it was one of the best rollercoasters I have ever been on!

      I am not a fan of lengthy descriptions and overusage of metaphors and similes. But it worked for this novel. The first chapter that I encountered was written in alternating paragraph form, depicting 2 distinctly different scenes in a similar manner. It hooked me. It was such a unique and interesting way to write and as soon as I read it, I had to reread it again to make sure of what I had just read. It was one of those woah-epiphany moments for me, and after that, I was captivated by the writing style employed in this novel. I loved that there were footnotes included that gave little funny tidbits from an unknown sarcastic narrator. I enjoyed having glimpses between the past and the present, and the way the author wrote made it a mystery as to who is actually on Mia's side and who is a potential threat.

      Overall, I found this book spellbinding from the start, with its unique (and humorous) prose, its sinister plot, and its amazing characters. I am anxiously waiting to read Godsgrave, the next novel in this series!
    • 4/5
      First of all, I read a few reviews that stated the prose is unbearable, but for me the prose was quite the opposite: bloody fantastic.There's a narrator. I love narrators. The narrator uses footnotes to build the world. I love footnotes. (I really need to tackle Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.) The narrator is snarky. Brilliant.Mia is an anti-hero and there's probably a lot of women I'd rather meet in a dark alley late at night, if possible I'd like not to meet Mia under such circumstances. She's quite deadly but so well developed.All characters are well developed and the story is uplifting in places, downright depressing in others, always bloody, always a bit scary and mostly laced with 'what the hell?' THESE ARE CHILDREN YOU MONSTER. (Looking at the author here.)The plot is filled with twists and is interesting throughout, there wasn't a single slow moment. The romance is amazing. Did you hear that? For once the romance is amazing!This is a brilliant book and I highly recommend it to all fantasy fans that don't mind a young protagonist. If you're worried about the narrator and the somewhat purple prose, just read the first chapter, it'll tell you everything you need to know.
    • 5/5
      absolute insanity! my hands are still shaking from that ending!
    • 5/5
      Just - wow!This was the best read I had in a rather long time. I.e. since Patrick Rothfuss' "The Wise Man's Fear".I simply love the extremely edgy characters and their biting humour, and to my surprise also the setting. I'm usually not too fond of Italian renaissance, but this was just the perfect cultural background.Can't help it but I need to read the second one...
    • 2/5
      I went into Nevernight expecting to love it and was left ultimately disappointed in so many ways.First of all was the style in which it was written. The early chapters were so heavy with purple prose that I found it almost impossible to get into the story. The narrative felt over padded, virtually without substance beneath lengthy and meaningless descriptions. Things were not helped by the numerous footnotes. Reading the eBook edition, these quickly became tedious as I found myself constantly clicking links to read the anecdotes at the back of the book. A few of these were amusing but most were just unnecessary world building, expanding corners of the universe that had no bearing on the story.While the prose did grow a little more streamlined once Mia had reached the Red Church, it then became clear that the novel was not very well structured. Mia's time at the academy became a whorl of lessons and it quickly became clear that the overall plot was actually incredibly weak. Things didn't really speed up until around the 80% mark. Until then it was just characterised by one-upmanship, flash backs of Mia's childhood and sex. Oh my, sex...The sex scenes were one of the things that I found least appealing about this story. For starters, they felt incredibly graphic for a YA novel. Everything has its place and I really don't expect to read sequences that border on the pornographic in a novel that otherwise seems to be aimed at teenagers. They were also very much written from a male perspective. Although the identity of the story's narrator is never revealed, the perspective is generally portrayed as being at Mia's shoulder, yet the sequences felt entirely written for male titillation, with comments about Mia discovering the "power" she held over men made in abundance.In terms of characterisation, the novel fell into The Hunger Games trap. Other that Mia and Tric, I didn't care what happened to any of the characters. Only a few of the acolytes were actually named and none were given detailed backstories or strong personalities. The most interesting background characters were the Shahiids, yet even they were never fleshed out at all, which was disappointing as it felt as though they had stories to tell.Mia was also a character that made me feel conflicted. Overwhelming similarities with Arya Stark aside, she was just a bit too overpowered. Everything came a little too easily to her and she was quick to overcome every obstacle that stood in her way. Despite her admittedly tragic back story, she just felt too invincible and so I never really grew attached to her. It was also disappointing that her "darkin" abilities were never explained. I expect that the subject will form the spine of the next book, but I really felt like there should have been more in this story.All in all, I was disappointed. I heard that Kristoff was a compelling writer but Nevernight didn't make me want to read his earlier work. However, I can see that I'm in the minority to urge you to pick up this book and see for yourself if anything about it entices you.
    • 5/5
      Mia Corvere is the privileged daughter of the Justicus in the Itreyan Republic, but unfortunately her father was hanged as a traitor, her family incarcerated, the Corvere estate confiscated, and now Mia is on the run after escaping her captors with the help of a mysterious shadow cat. Eventually she is taken in by an old man who trains her so that she may be admitted to the Red Church – a religion dedicated to the Mother, the Lady of Blessed Murder, which trains the most feared assassins in the land – to avenge her family. At only sixteen years of age, eager to become a Blade, Mia will be lucky if she makes it through the selection process of the Church alive …This is the first offering in a fantasy trilogy that's epic in scope and tells a very dark and thrilling tale full of blood, murder, revenge, intrigue and betrayal; the parallels to Game of Thrones are obvious. I was doubtful at first whether I should order the book when it was offered up for review, but because I very much enjoyed the first two volumes Jay Kristoff's Lotus War series (the third volume yet to be read), with a strong heroine and an engaging and imaginative plot, and because the cover art of Nevernight looked intriguing, to say the least, I ordered it, even though the synopsis gave me the distinct impression that this wasn't something I'd normally pick up from the shelf. After reading the opening chapter, I really thought I had made a serious mistake and that I wouldn't be able to finish the book if it continued in very much the same vein. To be clear: if you can get past the detailed descriptions of a murder being committed that almost glorify the violence, and scenes of a sexual nature that appear almost pornographic, then there is much to enjoy in this door stopper of a novel with its nearly 650 pages.Kristoff's world building is phenomenal: not only does he create a physical world from scratch with its different lands, inhabitants, cities and landscapes, but an entire belief system, along with philosophy and history, cultures and traditions. A lot of this achieved through the use of footnotes, which at times are rather extensive and in danger of disrupting the narrative. This device, along with the rather sarcastic voice of the narrator, reminded me heavily of the Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud, and I'm sure that a lot of readers will just skip over them; to me they added to the rich tapestry that was being woven by the author. To avoid too close comparisons with the medieval world created by George R.R. Martin in his epic series A Song of Ice and Fire, Kristoff has chosen to place his setting in a version of the Roman Empire, which, because of the struggle between loyalists true to the king and supporters of the Senate, at the heart of the enfolding plot, works very well. Throw in a bit of magik, a mysterious origin myth and shadow creatures, and you have a recipe for success. I found the amount of violence, and the detailed descriptions, a little hard to take – but then what do you expect when you have a novel set in a school for assassins? – along with a romantic storyline that wasn't always convincing; to me highlights were a thrilling pursuit in the Whisperwastes and the trials the apprentices of the Red Church were subjected to in order to find those who are most worthy of becoming a Blade in the service of the Mother, and I enjoyed the power plays, betrayals and intrigues more than the gut-wrenching violence. Once a certain stage in the novel has been reached, the tension almost never lets up, and there are some genuine surprises and a few well-delivered shocks in store.Several questions arising throughout the length of the novel remain unanswered, and the ending throws up a few new ones, both of which serve to whet the appetite for volume no. 2. A word of warning, though: if you have an aversion to blood, I would advise staying clear of this book as there is a lot of it, and the author skilfully manages to evoke both the taste and smell of it, so that even I as a former nurse felt slightly nauseated at the descriptions.(This review was written for Amazon's Vine programme.)
    • 5/5
      I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

      After reading Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman last fall, I was completely blown away and want to read everything that these two put out. So when I heard about Nevernight, I knew I had to get my hands on it ASAP! I was lucky enough to be approved for an eARC by the publisher. In fact, I believe I squealed for joy when I found out I was approved! Once I started reading, I was hooked immediately. I don't think that I was expecting there to be a humorous aspect to it and I loved it! I'm having a hard time with this review because all I want to do is gush! The writing style is unique for a novel in that there are chapter endnotes. They were a little difficult to read with an ebook copy but I'm sure once I get my physical copies (that's right, plural) it will be much better. I loved Mia's snarky attitude and her banter with Mister Kindly... perfection. The world that Kristoff has created is so fascinating! Itreya and the layout of Godsgrave is genius. Check out the awesome maps here! The Red Church seems so eerie and made my skin crawl a little bit, but in a good way. The perfect setting for those dedicated assassins. One of my favorite things about this book were the unexpected twists! Things are definitely not as they seem! There was one twist towards the end that had my jaw dropped for awhile. I could not believe what happened! Prepare to have your socks knocked off by this killer book! I can't wait to read it again when I the book is released.
    • 3/5
      I took a chance on this because all my reading friends have said this is a fantastic book.
      Sadly for me, I found it terribly boring and the sex scenes were very explicit, not that I am a prude but this is marked as a YA book (on GR at least) so there really is no need for it. The footnotes in the Kindle version were just annoying as I had to keep flipping between pages.
      I gave it a 3 star as some of the book was okay, but I won't be continuing with the series.
    • 3/5
      3.5I may not be much of a cat person but Mister Kindly is a beautiful, lovely shadow, not cat. I loved his dialogue.I overall enjoyed most of the dialogue between characters, some of it was a little humorous. None of the "twists" really surprised me, I found I saw most of them coming a mile away. I liked the writing style to a degree but at times it was a bit overdone obviously unnecessarily so.Something else I found to be lacking was how the red church "school/competition" was written. It definitely had the opportunity to be stronger if it had been more developed instead of having more of a focus on Mia and her crew. In turn, I think better world development would have made the novel more intriguing and the environment the characters were in more meaningful as well as unique.***UPDATE*** I just remembered that I also really liked Bastard the horse. Also, my inner teacher spirit would be the poison teacher but a whole lot meaner, just say'in.
    • 5/5
      “Maw’s Teeth” this is one of the most amazing stories that I have ever had the pleasure of beginning and sorrow of finishing. I want this story to actually be as long and continuous as the ongoing never ending Cinder series. Nevernight has the most amazing and realistic ( in personas ) characters that I have ever played put in my head as I read. The action, the personality of characters, the failing romance, the teachings, the religIon and settings unbelievably jump off the page. From the introduction of the narrator, to the last scene ( which fills your cup with intense action) this story comes to live instantly. I haven’t been this excited about a book since I started reading about 3 years ago. I don’t wanna say anything specific except, if you have a faint of heart with violence and direct, in your face attitudes, unrelenting back stabbing deception, death and the most realistic use of dialogue ( aka cussing, which is mire typical in 16 years old then some want to admit), this book is not for you. Mia rocks, Tric, is realistically secretive, Ash has the sarcasm and wit of a negative drag queen and Jessamine is a pure “B”. Set in a fantastical version of Italy ( in my minds eye) and so much backstory interjections from our narrator, you can’t help but visually create each and every element of this story. Jay Kristoff, co creator of the Illuminae Files, has given us a wonderful tale that will send you screaming as you shut the back cover. Craving the next installment just as much as your own personal addiction ( coffee, chocolate, cigarettes, all things Disney, gambling, Gummi Colas, etc.) HeHeHe
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. It was so interesting to me. This was like nothing I had read. This book was about a school for assassins. Specifically, this is a book about a girl named Mia who wants to become an assassin so she can get revenge for her father who was hanged and for her mother and her younger brother who were locked up in an infamous prison where she was left for madness. (Also in this prison once a year most of the prisoners brutally try to murder each other because whoever is left standing gets released.) This book had all the right twists and turns in my opinion. Anytime I started to wonder about a specific plot point or person who had been introduced, they would reappear, so I found the pacing to be really good. I really loved the plot of this book. Yes, there are other books where specific types of people go to a school to hone their talents (Harry Potter), but this felt quite unique to me. I never felt like I had already read it in a different form before. I also loved the main character, Mia. Mia has the power to control shadows, she's a darklin. She doesn't really know anything about her abilities or what she actually is because there are almost no other people who share her power. Many people at the school say she has been chosen by the night goddess, but she isn't sure she believes that. She is a very determined person but she grows a lot over the course of the story which was very enjoyable for me to read. I really liked watching her come into her own at the school and figuring out how to harness her powers and let go of her past. She was definitely a fascinating main character. I also loved all the secondary characters. My favorite was Naev. She was very spunky in my opinion. She worked as a hand in the assassin school that Mia is at and Mia helped her on the way to the school. I feel that sometimes with these kinds of characters who give the main characters advice and just work in the background can all have the same personality but Naev was very determined and very strong willed and very much not a push over, She would help Mia throughout the book but only after Mia proved herself to Naev. I also loved the character of Tric. Tric is another student at the assassin school and travels there with Mia. He is also kind of the love interest. He has an incredibly interesting backstory and a very strong personality. He is very self-conscience of his background and where he comes from and his early life and it is very interesting to see that come out throughout this book. All the other characters have similar strong personalities that I would expect from a group of assassins. I also really enjoyed reading about the school itself. In the school, all the student go to different classes that will help them become a great assassin in the hope that at the end they will be one of the few chosen to become a blade. Everyone who does not become a blade will become a hand and work at the school. At the school, we read about four teachers along with a librarian, the headmistress, and the leader of the blades. One of the teachers teaches swordplay, one teaches pickpocketing, one teaches poisons, and one teaches manipulation through sex and persuasion. All these teachers pose a challenge to the students and winning that challenge is one way to become a blade. I found these challenges to be fascinating. They were all so detailed and cool. I also loved the librarian characters. He was so intriguing and definitely a voice of reasons. The world-building in this book was also incredible. It was so interesting to read about a world with three suns based on Italy and ancient Rome. Reading about the political subterfuge and the underworld of assassins was really cool. I loved reading about the religion in this book and the systems of punishment and justice. A lot of the history of this book was told in footnotes in this book which I loved. I love footnotes in my books and I think it was a really clever way to explain the history of the world. There were also flashbacks in the beginning of a lot of the chapters that explained why Mia wanted to become an assassin. Sometimes I really don't like consistent flashbacks because it can rip me out of the story but I feel it was done well. The ending left enough open that I'm not disappointed but very excited for the next book and there we some twists that I never saw coming that were executed very well. I cannot wait for the next book to come out. If you are thinking about reading this book, do so and do it quickly!
    • 5/5
      I was gifted Nevernight by bestselling Australian fantasy/SciFi author Jay Kristoff, in 2019 from my Secret Santa (thank you again Little Miss Starr) via the Aussie Readers + Bloggers Secret Santa Exchange, and had hoped to have read it long before now, but better late than never!“Never flinch. Never fear. And never, ever forget.”In a land of three suns, where darkness falls just once a year, a young girl hides amongst the shadows. Mia Corvere, the orphaned daughter of a highborn family, is determined to avenge the murders of her parents and younger brother by the corrupt members of The Republic, no matter the cost. Chance leads her to the door of a mentor who prepares her to join the Red Church, a secretive organisation of assassins where she may earn a position as a Blade of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and thus the skill to vanquish her enemies, if she can survive among a hall of killers to graduate.Nevernight is an entertaining fast paced read, offering plenty of action, intrigue and interesting worldbuilding. Though the main thrust of the plot isn’t particularly unique, Kristoff does add his own imaginative touches so that the story doesn’t feel stale, and I was quickly engrossed in the tale from the first few pages.Mia is plucky, pragmatic, deadly and determined, but it’s her gift of weaving shadows that gives her an edge as an assassin. Mis doesn’t really understand her ability, she thinks of it as something that found her, in the form of Mr Kindly - a cat made of shadows that also feeds on her fear, rather than something that is part of her. I liked Mia a lot, like all fantasy heroines she has a streak of idealism that conflicts with her ability to create mayhem and murder. The cutthroat competition of the Red Church apprenticeship isn’t always easy for her, especially when it pits her against those she has befriended.Nevernight is both more violent and more sexually suggestive, and explicit, than I expected, as I was under the mistaken impression it was considered a YA novel. This wasn’t an issue for me, but it’s perhaps important to note that despite its teenage protagonist, Nevernight is written for an adult audience.The overall tone of Nevernight is quite dark, what with deaths and monsters, but there is also plenty of wit and sarcasm which I appreciated. I confess Nevernight occasionally feels a touch overwritten, but not so much that I cared, I enjoy a creative metaphor and Kristoff supplies plenty. I can take or leave the author’s fetish for footnotes though, I found it easiest to read through them at the end of each chapter. An exciting tale of love and loss, bloodshed and betrayal, dark and light, Nevernight is the first book in the Nevernight Chronicle trilogy. Godsgrave and Darkdawn are already available, I hope to read both soon.
    • 3/5
      This here is some kind of fucked up Harry Potter, but replace some of the magic with murder.

      I'm not usually one to write reviews, but here are some of my thoughts on the book. Call it a review if you'd like. This is for the Audiobook version.

      The book starts off with a weird duality of the same lines being used to describe both a first kill and some freaky underage deflowering, which comes off somewhere between disturbing and confusing.
      Speaking of flowers, the descriptions and the writing style are very flowery and sometimes it got to be a bit much. It also felt at times like the author was trying too hard to be edgy.

      It took a while to get the story going. By the third chapter it seemed the main character was still being introduced and no story was yet being told. At least not in the present timeline. At first, it seemed this book intended to use the classic two timeline thing, which I'm not all that into. However, after the story got going properly the timeline switches were reduced to occasional scenes, which is totally fine. At some point after it got going, I did start to enjoy the story.

      There are explicit sex scenes. I'm not sure how I feel about them. I don't know if it's the writing, narration, or if I'm just not used to sex being described so explicitly in a book. Though I have read a few that had fairly explicit scenes, this felt even more so. It didn't bother me, but I didn't really enjoy either.

      I'm often pretty good at catching the twist early, but this time it surprised me. Though I did place my suspicions correctly at one point, the red-herring was done well enough that I bought it. After the reveal, everything fell into place quite nicely.

      Slow start, overly flowery descriptions and the occasional try-hard edgy writing aside, it's still a good book. Not amazing, but good. Probably a 3.5, but I decided to round it down.
    • 2/5
      How disappointing. I thought this would be right up my street and reviews are mostly positive. But I really struggled and gave up at about page 100. I found the foot notes really distracting and annoying - a good writer should be able to get this info into a story without footnotes. Plus the text size on my copy was really small which did not help. I may try again in audiobook format in the future and see if I get on better with this then.
    • 4/5
      When the narrator tells you (on page one) that this story isn't going to have a happy ending...reader, you should listen. This book is DARK, and the dark stuff just keeps coming. This book is also full of the purplest of prose, so the reading experience is unusual and takes a bit to adjust to.But oh reader...this one is worth it. Mia is a protagonist to savor - her journey is exciting and heartbreaking, and she loves and grows and learns within these pages. Knowing her story will undoubtedly end in tragedy makes the time spent sweeter. I can't wait to jump into book two.
    • 4/5
      The story of Mia's journey of revenge is immersive, dark, and riveting. I almost stopped reading after 60 pages because I found the amount of crudity shocking, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

      PSA: Nevernight is not YA (contrary to some misleading shelving by librarians and bookstores). Solidly NA or just adult.
    • 5/5
      This is a grand fantasy of lies, betrayals, magics, lusts, secrets, revenge and murders. Mia, the girl who lived thanks to her shadow. She is a brave 10 year old when we start her story standing below the gallows where is father is to be hung. Holding the hand of her mother who preached that she must not show fear as she watches him dangle the dance of death. This is only the first horror of many to come. Her mother and baby brother are torn from her side, her life is marked for death till a shadow changes the path she is on.Her life’s desire leads her to a school for assassins. a brutal, cold an heartless place. Friends are questionable, trust is unwise, punishments are severe, trials are deadly. So many secrets, and they are buried deep, some in the formidable library, some in the minds of the unwilling or lost to the dead, the answers could kill them all or save them. That is the trick, and the genius of the story, nobody knows what is under their noses. I loved all the characters, I wanted to know more, to know them better even the nasty, wicked evil, repulsive ones. They are written with just enough information to complete the picture but not enough to color it in. The colors come slowly, characters true natures changed and I was left gobsmacked.I loved the shadows out of this one. The ending, omg the ending. I need time to breath again to write a review. If I meet Mr. Kristoff I'm going to Thump him upside the head, he killed off…..Grrrrrrrr ,Mr. Devious Author ! It is not the first book I’ve read from him I love his Lotus War series, and yes I did squeal with delight when offered a chance to review this. Thank you, Mr Kristoff and St. Martins Press."...too many books. Too few centuries." -One of my favorite quirky characters said these words.