Review: Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Destined to destroy empires, Mia Covere 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 that 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 demons 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.

The story centers around Mia Covere, a girl of mysteries and shadows bent on revenge. Though she is of fantasy and has almost nothing in common with me (which isn't surprising considering she's training to be an assassin), I could relate to her and understand her so well. She has a snarky attitude that I so loved. Her character develops beautifully as the story advances. She is a teenager thrown into a hard, cruel and very much adult world. She is strong but not without weaknesses; brave but not without fears and amazing but not without flaws.

I'm going to go into detail about the other characters as that might give away too many things! Let's just say the characters are PERFECTLY crafted. Each character affected me in some way or the other. Some characters made me laugh, some made me cry and some others made me angry.

Also, I love the cat who is not a cat. Don't ask me about him! Read and find out!

RUTHLESS. That's a word to describe the plot. Another would be BLOODY. And let me tell you, O, my gentlefriends, I am not complaining. The plot is a heady concoction of mystery, murder, vengeance and seduction. The plot starts on page one. I had a hundred questions in my head by the time I reached chapter 3. The story starts with a girl thirsting for revenge but grows into something bigger and darker.

Though the author will refer to you throughout the story as a gentlefriend, I must warn you that if you are in fact gentle or soft, this story is not for you. Nevernight is not for the faint of heart or those looking for a feel-good read. It may not be Game of Thrones but it certainly is no Harry Potter. I see the Red church has been compared to Hogwarts and I have just one thing to say, I doubt Hogwarts would have be so dark and ruthless even if Voldemort had been the headmaster. The Red Church is building assassins, people who can inflict pain and so the Church builds them with pain.

The author does a splendid job with the world building. The maps in the book are gorgeous and the stories of the world captivating. I can't even begin to think of the work that must have gone into creating a world so unique and detailed.

The ending has me begging for more. Mr.Kristoff it's not polite to present us with a glorious cliffhanger and a hundred questions and not even announce the publication date of the sequel!!

O, my gentlefriends, and here we reach, the matter of controversy. The prose was to some heavy, to some purple, and to some others beautiful. It was to this humble Dona, EXQUISITE. I loved the writing, the over-the-top metaphors and the footnotes. While the footnotes did give me a textbookish feel at times, they play such an important role in telling the readers about the histories of the Kingdoms the author has created. I loved the sense of humor in the footnotes as much as I loved the sense of darkness that the words in the story bring. I admit though that at places, the writing requires a lot concentration to understand but it's totally worth it!

- Everything!- the characters, the plot, the writing EVERYTHING!

- Not a damn thing!

Read the book. Now. RIGHT NOW. Then let me know so we can rave and fan-girl about the marvel called Nevernight!

 5 of 5

(The images used in this review besides the cover are mine and are not to be used anywhere without my permission)

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