Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Blurb:

Nevernight is the first in an epic new fantasy series from the New York Times bestselling author, Jay Kristoff.

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, a sixteen year old Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic — the Red Church. Treachery and trials await her with the Church’s halls, and to fail is to die. But if she survives to initiation, Mia will be inducted among the chosen of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the only thing she desires.

Revenge.

Review:

“Never flinch. Never fear. And never, ever forget.”

I'm always down for a good revenge story, and who better to write it than Jay Kristoff? His books always deliver a bloody fantastic time. They are dark, stabby, and full of sarcastic dark humor that I just eat up like a beggar at a buffet. Now. I haven't read all of his books mind you, but I haven't met one I didn't love yet. Nevernight is no exception. 

I'm seriously late to the bandwagon where this series is concerned. I remember when I first got on Goodreads in 2016 everyone was reading this and singing Kristoff’s praises. And I honestly meant to read it much, much sooner than this, but better late than never. Right? 

Now that being said, I still, somehow, managed to go into this relatively blind (just how I like it). All I knew was Mia was an assassin and she had a cat named Mister Kindly. That's literally all I knew.

I was rather surprised to see this has the influence of ancient Rome woven throughout in its names, politics, military titles, and some cultural aspects. I’m always here for a story with the essence of Rome in it. I appreciated the worldbuilding, the pantheon of deities worshiped in the various lands of the empire, the religious fervor and zeal between two main factions of believers whose deities are in opposition of each other, all of these well thought out aspects that made this world feel tangible. 

“We are killers, you and I. Killers one, killers all. And each death we bring is a prayer. An offering to Our Lady of Blessed Murder.

The story begins with the past, then the current time, alternating back and forth between these two timelines giving us sneak peeks at the dramatic events that set Mia on the course to become a murderer supreme. Additionally, we got these cheeky little footnotes that added some snarky humor to things, as well as some more historical depth to the world. This writing style took a short bit to get used to, kind of like watching a film in a foreign language for the first time and you're adjusting to reading the subtitles at the bottom of the screen. I really enjoyed it and the uniqueness it added to the storytelling. I mean I've never had a book with footnotes before unless it was a textbook or nonfiction, so to be reading one that had these AND was highly entertaining was such a distinctly fun experience. 

When I picked this book up I was in the unfortunate state of a semi-slump so I didn't initially make much headway with it, despite loving what I was reading. But then I got to the chapter where Mia reaches the Red Church and I just knew THIS would be the chapter that really dragged me down into the bloody depths of this book. I wasn't wrong. I then couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I literally binged 274 pages, 61% of this, in one sitting, staying up until the wee hours of the morning just to finish it. And let me tell you I’m getting too old for that kind of nonsense, but I just had to with this fabulous book. That’s how damned good this book is. It was totally worth feeling dead all the next day. So clear your schedule and buckle in when you decide it's time to dive into this bloody fantastic world. 

Kristoff’s writing is so compelling to read. He has some of the most uniquely attention grabbing ways of describing things that most of the time you just see written mundanely. Just those descriptions alone had me underlining phrases/sentences frequently. You know you’ve discovered a great writer when they can say something and make it sound so different from how it's usually said/written. Those personal little touches just reach off the page and smack you in the eyeballs to truly pay attention and appreciate the word play happening right in front of you. It’s pure magic when you find it. A true craftsman of words painting imagery in your mind:

“a girl who was to murder as maestros are to music. Who did to happy ever afters what a sawblade does to skin.”  

Like how creative is that line alone? To say she was good at her job is one thing, but to say it like this??? *chefs kiss*

And don’t even get me started on the humor. The themes of the book are dark, just as you’d expect from a grimdark, but there is a generous portion of humor woven in amongst the darkness, a healthy dose of levity to an otherwise grim story. This is exactly my kind of humor too, the darkly funny, if somewhat morbid kind. So many moments that cause you to snort with laughter at the absurdity of situations where unexpected quips or deadpan deliveries are tucked in. I just ate it up! Mister Kindly especially had some great dialogue that just had me choking up with laughter. Who knew a wraith could have such an excellent sense of humor?

I found Mia such a feisty, bold, and fierce heroine (wait, can we call her that?? As an assassin-in-training I feel like that's a bit of a misnomer, so maybe we’ll just go with “female lead”). Her thirst for vengeance is unshakeable, even from such a young age. Nothing will sway her away from this path where most others would be cowed by the momentous task the effort would take or are too cowardly to begin with that they’d rather go sulk off in the shadows and hide. But not her. This girl has some serious spine, among other things, to persevere the way she does. And yet, she still is able to see the good in many other people around her. You wouldn’t expect it of her, not after everything she’s suffered, but somehow she does. There’s more than one instance where people tell her she’s too good to be in a place like a den of assassins. 

“This place gives much. But it takes much more. They may make her beautiful on the outside, but inside, they aim to shape a horror.”

And speaking of said den of would-be assassins, and murderously cut-throat to the last one, you can’t help but root for her in making friends since she’s spent the last six years of her life alone other than her cantankerous master. But can you really call any of these people friends? Can you really trust them to have your back when the stakes are so high and there’s only so many spots available to be a Blade? It’s not exactly Hogwarts with the house camaraderie and all that jazz. These housemates just may slit your throat when you're sleeping or while you’re studying for an exam. And yet, friends she makes, and you just truly hope for the best that they are indeed real friends, though mentally you’re holding them out at arm’s length ‘cause trust issues, ya know? Now if only Mia was just a tad less trusting…

“Will you learn death in all its colors…Will you become an Acolyte of Niah, and an earthly instrument of the dark between the stars?”

Which brings us to the plot. For a time you think you know what to expect, until something very unexpected happens and appendages go flying…Iykyk. You think you know who to be mistrustful of, and who’s more aligned with Mia’s stance. You think you know who the culprits are involved in some events where people have stumbled into the sharp pointy ends of things shall we say. Normally, I pride myself on figuring things out and not falling for the bait when an author throws out breadcrumbs to lead you off the scent of the true deceivers. I can tell you that Kristoff expertly led me by the nose with this one and then bitch slapped me in the end with the shock of who was actually responsible. Well played Mister Kristoff. Well played *begrudging applause.* That was a masterful bit of writing and has left me chomping at the bit to dive right into the next one, except I needed to pen this review first before muddling it in my head with new material. So believe me when I say I was desperately writing this as fast as I could, because I totally was. 

So in summary, if you enjoy books that are grim and stabby, full of snarky dark humor, and a heroine with an unquenchable thirst for revenge then this needs to be your next read! Don’t sit on it for years like I did. This is your next favorite read waiting to be cracked open and savored like it's your last meal.