10 Things I Loved About Nevernight

August 19, 2016 by Jeann @ Happy Indulgence | 5 stars, Books, Reviews

10 Things I Loved About NevernightNevernight 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! 

10 Things I Loved About 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

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Thanks Harper Voyager for sending me a review copy! 

What did you love about Nevernight? 

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Jeann is an Aussie YA blogger and mum who loves to read and recommend books! You can usually find me fangirling about books on my various social media channels including Twitter @happyindulgence, Instagram and Youtube.

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33 responses to “10 Things I Loved About Nevernight

  1. 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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  2. Olivia-Savannah

    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.

  3. Kelly

    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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  4. 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!

  5. 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! ♥

  6. booksbonesbuffy

    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!

  7. 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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  8. Pili

    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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  9. rachana14

    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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