Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1), by Jay Kristoff

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And for the first time in months, I'm writing a review! 

But I finished Nevernight on Friday, and I can't think of a better book to launch me out of my review slump! 

Enjoy! 

Title: Nevernight

Author: Jay Kristoff 

Genre: Fantasy 

Status: Book 1/3 in "The Nevernight Chronicle" 

Pages: 463 

Blurb: "Mia Corvere is only

ten years old when she is 

given her first lesson in death. 

Destined to destroy empires, the child 

raised in shadows made a promise on the 

day she lost everything; to avenge herself on 

those that shattered her world. 

But the chance to strike against such powerful 

enemies will be fleeting, and Mia must become 

a weapon without equal. Before she seeks 

vengeance, she must seek training among the te

infamous assassins of the Red Church of Itreya. 

Inside the Church's halls, Mia must prove herself against 

the deadliest of opponents and survive the tutelage of 

murderers, liars and daemons at the heart of the murder cult. 

The Church is no ordinary school. 

But Mia is no ordinary student." 

My Thoughts 

Let me start with the point that I experienced something rare regarding this book: I didn't love or hate it particularly. It seems I'm alone in that, considering how far people are going to show how much they despise/ love this book on Goodreads! 

And even now as I'm writing this review, I'm not certain on my rating for this book because some aspects I loved, but I had some problems with it as well. 

For example, the writing took a while to get into. In fact, for the first 100-150 pages, I was loath to pick this up. The writing was just so dense, I struggled to find the motivation to pick it up. It took me maybe 3-4 days for me to make it past the first 150 pages, and then I was soaring through. But if each  sentence wasn't as detailed as it was, I know it wouldn't have taken me half as long to read as it had. (I finished it in a week.) 

Really, that was the only negative thing I have to say. 

However, I'm not going to say that it was an insignificant problem, because it wasn't. 

But there was an awful lot I did like about Nevernight. 

First off, I loved Mia as a protagonist. It was unbelievably easy to fall into her story, I never tired of reading from her perspective. I liked how she was always sure of herself, her next move, yet she didn't appear cocky or overconfident. That's not to say she didn't attract her fair bit of trouble (my heart was beating so fast at some parts, I swear I was close to a heart-attack!) But aside from that, she never stepped away from a challenge. I very much enjoyed following Mia through the halls of the Red Church.

Speaking of the Red Church, the lessons were crazy! They constantly kept the students on their toes, and although I won't disclose what happens in these lessons, I will say that I have never read about a school as cut throat as the Red Church. 

Not just the lessons, but seeing Mia's will to survive the challenges that awaited her throughout the school year, was fantastic to see. One of the best parts of the story was not knowing what was coming next, which is kind of what it was like being a student in the Church- but a lot less terrifying! 

All of those things were fantastic, but what I enjoyed reading about was the relationships.  The students were always trying to one up each-other, the teachers scared me with their trials and tribulations, but my favourite companionship was between Mia and her shadow cat. (Yep, there's a shadow cat!) 

The students in the Red Church all had their eye on something: becoming a blade for the Church. And they will stop at nothing to reach that goal. They're all full of bloody-minded determination, and they will say and do almost anything to reach the top. Some of the fights I saw in this book were bloody-thirsty and violent, and they set my heart on edge! 

Overall, I kind of liked this book. The parts I enjoyed, I really really enjoyed. Unfortunately it was kind of the same for the parts I disliked too. However, I will continue on with the series, (mainly because it's already arrived at my house), but I think I'll take me time with this trilogy, instead of rushing through it in one month, like I originally planned because, even though I've now noted down my thoughts, I'm still not sure on my rating.

Here's hope for the second book, Godsgrave! 

I hope I enjoy it! 

Okay! That's my review of Nevernight! I hope you enjoyed it, and if you've read it, feel free to comment what you thought! 

I hope you have a good evening, and I'll see you all soon! 

Byeee! 

-Abi xxxxx