Nevernight by Jay Kristoff Series: The Nevernight Chronicle #1
Published by Harper Voyager on July 25, 2016
Source: Publisher
Genres: Fantasy
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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 the 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 Hogwarts, but Mia is no ordinary student. The shadows loves her. And they drink her fear.
You know that blissful, happy feeling after you’ve finished an awesome book and you have no words to describe it? That’s me right now.
I got so absorbed in Nevernight I forgot how to review. That’s why I put together this list to tell you what I loved about it! Also everyone loves lists right? #helpful
1. School of Witchcraft & Wizardry assassins
The Red Church where they train the deadliest assassins in the art of fighting, poisons, thievery and seduction is not for the faint of heart. It’s filled with cunning tutors, deceit and danger at every turn. If it’s not another trainee with a grudge after you, it’s the midnight stabbings, getting poisoned or one of 100 ways the school themselves have concocted to kill you. Whoever survives this brutal induction becomes a Blade but apparently that’s not enough – there’s fights to the death, constant tests and trickery. And a treasure hunt, O what fun!
2. Shadow cat that feeds on fear
Mister Kindly is a shadow cat that follows Mia around, feeding on her fear and watching over her when she has nightmares. If it wasn’t for Mister Kindly, Mia wouldn’t be half the assassin that she is. He gives her the confidence to face fights and situations that a normal person would avoid and his loyalty is unwavering. Now where can I get myself one of these? (we’ll find out in Book 2, according to Jay Kristoff).
3. Mia and her sarcasm
In such a brutal world filled with death, Mia is a fiercely independent woman who’s driven by death and vengeance. She’s dealing with PTSD, surpressing a dark past that she doesn’t want to face. I loved her sarcastic remarks and her bullshit detector when it came to others. She’s incredibly competitive and sometimes overconfident when it came to her abilities, and I loved how her fellow apprentices at the Red Church constantly kept her on her toes.
4. Bloody, brutal stabbings
If I was to count the amount of times someone got stabbed, or dismembered, or was covered in blood, we’d be here all day. With someone ready to be stabbed (intentionally or not) around every corner, there’s never a dull moment in Nevernight!
5. Brooding, handsome Tric
Dark, brooding, muscular and tattooed, I like to picture Tric with the face of Theo James. The way he’s instantly drawn to Mia, their spellbinding chemistry and how they looked out for each other is apparent to everyone, particularly Mister Kindly much to Mia’s dismay. I loved how they became friends in the desert at the start of the book, and their fun banter with each other. Tric might take a less competitive approach to becoming an acolyte than some of the other classmates, but his quiet confidence and intriguing back story really gave him life.
6. Sexy times
I shipped Mia and Tric so hard in this one, past traumas and competitiveness be damned. You’d be surprised to hear that there’s actually not that much romance in Nevernight, but at least there’s lots of steamy sex.
7. Library of my dreams
All the books in the world constantly materialise in this endless library filled with dark, leatherbound copies. I lapped up all the descriptions and kept on wanting more. In fact, if we get a book just about this wonderful library, that would be great, thanks.
8. Sarcastic, humourous footnotes
Often, fantasy books waste many pages describing the world while slowing the plot to the crawl, but not Nevernight! The footnotes are abundant and they often make hilarious remarks or fill in back stories about the world. I really looked forward to these smarmy footnotes in the book.
9. Gorgeous, descriptive writing
The start of Nevernight has a steep learning curve with switching perspectives, flowery prose and dense, detailed writing. But after the first 100 pages or so, you get used to it and it really seeps you in. I loved the level of detail that the writing went into, where you could vividly picture the desert sands, the shadowy corners, the fear at every turn and Mia’s fear and bravery. Nevernight is a beautifully written experience.
10. All the side characters
From the countless apprentices, to the quirky tutors at The Red Church, to the minor characters like Naev and Mercurio, all the side characters are super fascinating in Nevernight.
With it’s dark and brutal fantasy storyline featuring a school of assassins and a story of vengeance, I absolutely loved Nevernight. It stole a day and a night from me as I was enthralled with the sinister clutches of the Red Church and the past and present of Mia’s journey. With brilliant side characters, great character development and a sexy romance, this book has instantly become one of my favourites.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Thanks Harper Voyager for sending me a review copy!
What did you love about Nevernight?
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Ah I really need to start reading this now! You have made it sound fantastic!
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Yessss please read and love it! IT's sooo good!
Ahh I loved this as well! I admit I was a little nervous about the flowery prose and just the writing style in general, but it ended up working for me! AND THE NOT CAT. I really need one of those in my life hahaha!
I'm so glad you ended up loving this Jeann!
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I know, I struggled when it first started but really fell into the writing before I knew it – I was obsessed! LOVED IT!
YESSSS WASN'T IT BRILLIANT? It took a while for me to warm up to it, but once I did, I loved it. And I definitely need a Mister Kindly in my life!
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I LOVED IT SO MUCH! I want to re-read it I loved it so much. Yes, can there be a Mister Kindly please?
Not gonna lie, #4 and #6, especially number 6, are the only reasons I want to read this book. I have the audio on my wishlist, I really want to try it!
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I hope you pick it up Nereyda, it's my favourite this year!
I actually haven't heard the best things about this book so far, so it's incredibly refreshing to get a review on the opposite side of the spectrum! I really like the sound of a school of assassins, as well as that kitty cat which feeds on her fear. Sarcasm is always good for me in terms of characters because that's the kind of thing I love!
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Oh man, that\’s a shame that you haven\’t heard too many positive reviews Olivia! I\’m glad to hear that there are a few elements that you are keen on.
Loved this post! The whole idea of a cat that feeds on fear and watches over someone is really neat…I've never encountered anything like that in a book before. I was kind of on the fence about this one, but that main point has me sold now…I'm such a sucker for cats, haha.
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Thanks Kelly, I\’m glad that you are keen on reading it! That shadow cat was seriously the best thing ever lol.
Your review is tempting me ahhhh <3
I hope you pick it up and enjoy, Clara!
Yay! I'm so happy that there's so many fantastic reviews for this! So hella excited to check it out, dark and brutal fantasy is right up my alley! The cover is to die for. Great review, Jeann!
Yessss it definitely deserves all the raves Cyn! Thank you, I hope you enjoy it!
I loved Jay's other book Illuminae so I'm crossing my fingers this one is just as good (although, from your review, it sounds like I won't be disappointed). Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous review! ♥
Thank you Zoe, I hope you enjoy it so much! His writing is A+
This seems like such a fun book! I've been trying to get it. But it's not at my library?!?! Am I typing the title in wrong!
But I can't wait! Footnotes are so unique. Also, who doesn't want a shadow cat? Raise your hands. -looks around- See?
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The footnotes were so much fun and I loved the shadow cat so much! Oh man, I hope you get your hands on it soon, it\’s so good!
I LOVED this too Jeann! I just think Jay Kristoff can do no wrong. And I just ordered a limited edition copy of Nevernight and I can't wait to get it:-) Lovely review!
I completely agree, I hope you enjoyed the book Tammy if you've read it yet! That limited edition would be AMAZING.
Oh, I can't wait to read my copies (yes, copies). Lol. This sounds brilliant, Jeann!
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LOL I have 2 copies of Nevernight myself. I can't wait for you to read it!
OOH the school of assassins sounds awesome! and also the shadow cat, I'd LOVE to have one! I've read some negative reviews of this book, mainly because of the flowery prose, but I'm glad you like it! Let's just hope I could survive because I just can't deal with flowery prose 😀 Great review Jeann! <3
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Yeah, the writing defintiely takes a bit of getting used to at the start but once you get into it, it's SO good.
So glad to see you enjoyed this Jeann! It sounds so amazing. I can't wait to read it!!
IT WAS SO GOOD Lauren. One of the best books I've read all year!
So glad to see you enjoyed this Jean! It sounds so amazing. I can't wait to read it!!
Oh yes!! This was absolutely AMAZING!!
This is not for the faint of heart because the school of assassins is ruthless and awful as it should be! I spent all my Friday last week to devour it and savour it and I'm currently re-reading it!! One of the top 10s of this year for sure!
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I loved it so much, I spent a whole day/night reading it as well and it was totally worth it! I think it's my favourite of the year <3
It sounds like you really enjoyed this book! I've read quite a few negative reviews of it recently and I was surprised because it seemed like this book was a highly anticipated 2016 release. Regardless, I'll probably try it eventually (your review has definitely intrigued me – I just need to get through the books I already have! ):
– Rachana @ Spun
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I loved it so much Rachana, Jay Kristoff can do no wrong in my eyes! It's definitely one of my top reads of this year 🙂