Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) in Aussie Readers

Sep 16, 2015 Rebecca rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: loveozya, young-adult, read-in-2016, genre-fantasy

actual rating: 4.5

this was seriously amazing.

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Dec 26, 2020 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: aussie-author

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 dete 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. ...more

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Oct 08, 2016 Joy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, recommended, adult-fiction, 2016-goodreads-challenge

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Stab stab stab.

That's pretty much me internally going "Why did it take you so bloody long to finish this book?!" Well, a number of factors really. I went on holidays for a few weeks (yes I took this book away but didn't get a chance to finish it), and then was slammed at work when I got back. Hello 2,000+ emails in my inbox.

Yes, I took my damn sweet time reading Nevernight, but it was so worth it. It's like when you savour a beautiful bottle of wine, that's pretty much how my readin

- - -

Stab stab stab.

That's pretty much me internally going "Why did it take you so bloody long to finish this book?!" Well, a number of factors really. I went on holidays for a few weeks (yes I took this book away but didn't get a chance to finish it), and then was slammed at work when I got back. Hello 2,000+ emails in my inbox.

Yes, I took my damn sweet time reading Nevernight, but it was so worth it. It's like when you savour a beautiful bottle of wine, that's pretty much how my reading experience with Nevernight went.

Nevernight follows a young girl of 16, Mia Corvere, who lost everything on the night her father was hung for attempting to overthrow the Republic of Itreya. With her mother and baby brother snatched away and locked in the Philosopher's Stone, Mia barely escapes with her own life. Raised in the shadows of death, Mia is trained to follow in the path of night, in a world where three suns burn bright thanks to their god, Aa. Mia is out for revenge on the ones that wronged her family, and she'll stop at nothing to kill the men responsible.

I don't even know where to start with this review — I thought every part of this book was brilliant, even down to the footnotes. Mia is one of the fiercest female protagonists I've read in a while — and I'm not just saying this about her personality. The girl is steel, but at the same time she remembers what being human means. The first book follows Mia as she trains at The Red Church, an assassin school that's being hunted down by the Republic. Kristoff does an amazing job illustrating the history of Mia's world, and building the foundation for what's to come. And while the first book is by no means short of action (in fact, I was on the edge of my seat pretty much throughout the last quarter of the book), the two that follows will definitely be downright EPIC. I seriously can't wait.

It's hard to review a book like this without revealing too much, and the style of storytelling definitely takes some getting used to, especially the language. I understand that some people thought the language was too flowery, but I personally enjoyed it a lot. It felt right for the period it was set in (the world is an adaption of the Roman Republic), and I particularly loved the use of footnotes to incorporate little snippets of history that didn't fit in with the direction of the main story. Such a smart concept from Kristoff, because it felt like I was reading a story within a story!

And you know what else Kristoff did really well in? RIPPING THE READER'S HEART OUT. You can never really predict who will be safe at the Red Church, not even for our main protagonist!! And this is despite knowing that there's two more books to follow. But Kristoff is just evil enough that you know anything at all could happen to your favourite characters. And just when you feel like you can breathe a sigh of relief because the scary part is over...he freaking pulls the rug out from under you.

No mercy. No mercy at all.

I was literally FLOORED at the turn of events, and kept hoping it was a very bad joke and everything would be okay. Yeah...be prepared to have your trust and your heart stamped on, with salt and vinegar poured on for good measure. That's the only advice I will give you, if you have yet to read this book. Kristoff is EVIL, I tell you. Pure evil!! But that's totally fine because Nevernight is absolutely freaking brilliant. Pick up a copy now.

Thank you to Harper Voyager Australia for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

...more

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Aug 11, 2017 Alan Baxter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: dark-fantasy, grimdark, fantasy

Loved it! Dark and wildly imaginative. Looking forward to Godsgrave now.

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Oct 01, 2019 Nicki Markus rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-fantasy-sci-fi

I loved Nevernight from start to finish. It is so refreshing to come across a YA fantasy with a little 'edge'. I adored the premise and the characters, and the world of the story immediately caught my interest and held it. The narrative style was a tad offputting in the first couple of chapters, but once I got used to it, I thought it worked perfectly, especially all the snide asides in the footnotes. Some of those had me laughing out loud. It's testament to how good the book is that I could eve ...more

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