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Nevernight The Nevernight Chronicle Jay Kristoff 9781250073020 Books

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Nevernight The Nevernight Chronicle Jay Kristoff 9781250073020 Books

Sometimes you stumble across a book, and, for whatever reason, your expectations are low. Could be the harlequin mask on the cover, could be a previous series by the same author you were wholly uninterested in, could be a billion different things that individually are insignificant, but cumulatively . . . You turn up you nose.

O, gentlefriends . . . Do not do unto yourselves the same disservice I almost did unto mine.

NEVERNIGHT by Jay Kristoff is . . . exquisite.

I almost didn't read it. Indeed, the release date sneaked up on me, tapped me on the shoulder, and waved hello on Monday afternoon, and I joked to friend that I should at least update my status on Goodreads and pretend to be reading it . . . Six hours later, it was ten pm, and I was 40% in.

The first chapter was baffling. Told from two seemingly different perspectives, it chronicles two very different firsts, but uses almost the exact same words. I was internally shouting, "WTF is this?!" but I was curious enough see where it led, and the further I got, the closer the two scenarios spun toward completion, and then it was over, and I understood . . .

In Jabberwocky , Lewis Carroll turned the English language on its head. He used nonsense words that were dicipherable because of his expert manipulation of sentence structure and other, real words, that made the meanings of his imaginary words obvious.

For the first time since I really understood and appreciated what Carroll had done, I felt the same kind of glee as I read about a girl losing her virginity and a girl taking her first life. One experience held the potential for the creation of new life, the other bringing an irrevocable end to life, and yet . . . He used . . . The same words.

*mind blown*

Riddikulus writing skills aside, the story was also fantastic.

What's my #1 complaint about assassins in YA fiction?

You: You may have mentioned something about reluctant assassins a time or three.

Me: Damn right.

You: Not a problem here?

Me: *laughs maniacally*

"People often shit themselves when they die.
Their muscles slack and their souls flutter free and everything else just…slips out. For all their audience’s love of death, the playwrights seldom mention it. When the hero breathes his last in the heroine’s arms, they call no attention to the stain leaking across his tights, or how the stink makes her eyes water as she leans in for her farewell kiss.
I mention this by way of warning, O, my gentlefriends, that your narrator shares no such restraint."

Duly noted, Mr. Narrator, sir.

And lest you be scared off by visions of graphic and violent death . . . I won't lie, that is part of this story. But only part:

"She’s dead herself, now—words both the wicked and the just would give an eyeteeth smile to hear. A republic in ashes behind her. A city of bridges and bones laid at the bottom of the sea by her hand. And yet I’m sure she’d still find a way to kill me if she knew I put these words to paper. Open me up and leave me for the hungry Dark. But I think someone should at least try to separate her from the lies told about her. Through her. By her.
Someone who knew her true.
A girl some called Pale Daughter. Or Kingmaker. Or Crow. But most often, nothing at all. A killer of killers, whose tally of endings only the goddess and I truly know. And was she famous or infamous for it at the end? All this death? I confess I could never see the difference. But then, I’ve never seen things the way you have.
Never truly lived in the world you call your own.
Nor did she, really.
I think that’s why I loved her."

*goosebumps*

Mia Covere's tale reminded me a bit of Arya Stark's: a girl whose family is destroyed by politics and hands grasping at power, stumbles into a follower of a most murderous god(dess), and becomes his apprentice. But Mia is more than just a girl . . . She's a girl with a shadow dark enough for two.

You: WTF does that mean?

Me: READ THE BOOK.

And how many Guardians of the Galaxy fans do we have? B/c the coolest part of that movie was the black market space station that was the HEAD OF A CELESTIAL BEING, am I right?

Well, Mia grew up in Godsgrave, which just might be where the rest of the body fell . . . Okay, it's probably a different being entirely, but the concept is the same, it's friggin' awesome:

To the north, the Ribs rose hundreds of feet into the ruddy heavens, tiny windows staring out from apartments carved within the ancient bone. Canals ran out from the hollow Spine . . .

My only words of caution are that, if you haven't already cottoned on, there is SEX in this YA novel, which isn't as uncommon as it used to be, but isn't yet unremarkable. And I'm not talking fade-to-black, acknowledgment of sexual congress, I'm talking burn-your-ears, think-interesting thoughts-about-the-hands-that-penned-them sex scenes.

FYI.

Kristoff calls Mia an assassin who is to death what a maestro is to a symphony. I felt the same way about Kristoff's manipulation of words and language. Whether Mia slipped into a room like a knife between the ribs or we met a man whose face was more scar than face, this reader felt like she was being spun and tossed by a master. Solus might by the Guardian of Songs, but Jay Kristoff made me dance to the music of his story in ways I've rarely been moved. O so ridiculously highly recommended.


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Nevernight The Nevernight Chronicle Jay Kristoff 9781250073020 Books Reviews

I was hooked into this story by the fact that it follows a girl going to assassins school and I have to say I really truly loved this book. I loved Mia and how she doesn't hesitate in murder. If this was a story about a girl acting as a reluctant assassin who agonizes over what she has to do, I wouldn't have enjoyed the story as much as that path almost seems expected. Plain and simple, she's an assassin. Unapologetically. And that comes across very clear in the book. I love (and the author does an amazing job in having this come across) that the story makes this fact very clear and also gives Mia some heart without making her seem cold hearted and evil. Though that being said there is one bit that disappointed me, towards the end. The only reason, and I mean only reason, why I'm giving this book a 4 star and not a 5 star is the footnotes. Our narrator in the story has footnotes (some that are a half page or quarter page long) on almost every other page. It's a pet peeve of mine in books when an author or 'narrator' interrupts a story like that, as there is nothing that gets you out of said story faster than having to read these footnotes. In my experience, all these footnotes are on irrelevant trivia or notes- things that don't add to the story in any way but only detract from it. If the footnotes were more relevant and there was less of them I would have not as minded as much.
My Thoughts
This was my first of Kristoff’s books to read (minus his co-authorship with Amie Kaufman with the Illuminae Files). I was really impressed with his writing, descriptions and character growth. Overall this book was a slowish read taking me a couple of weeks. I chose to take it slow because the writing was a bit dense and the world complex. For me, this was not a negative in the slightest. I love being fully immersed and really getting a lot of background and insight into all the characters.

Mia, our main character, was nothing short of bad-a**. She suffered through an awful event in her childhood and so she sought nothing more than revenge. I loved her drive (haha) and yet even with her complete dedication to revenge those that hurt her family she was still likeable, relatable and had heart. I wasn’t ever exactly sure what she’d do in a situation which made her unpredictable and honestly fun to read.

The secondary characters were amazing as well. Even those that barely made an appearance in the book *coughs* Lord Cassius *coughs* had me enthralled. I wanted to know MORE and this kept me reading. I was so impressed with the backstory we got for various characters- especially Tric. My goodness, I loved how detailed and yes, brutal, it all was. And brutal this book was- there was LOTS of gore, violence and blood. So much blood in fact there was an actual pool of it.

The story itself was so detailed and not predictable in the slightest. The pacing varied some with the start being a tad slower than the ending. I found that the build up and world building were so worth it in the end but those that are eager for a faster paced story might find their interest lagging. Kristoff added footnotes that were so clever and added little, insignificant at times, details about the world and society. I found them such a great touch.

As I mentioned above this book was geared to an older audience. There are sex scenes that are rather detailed so I’d put this in the adult fantasy category myself. I think my favorite aspect of this book was that nothing felt unused- the details and little bits we learned along the way all sort of tied in to really immerse me into this world. It became real to me. I got very emotionally wrapped up in the characters and I honestly got a bit rattled at a couple of scenes. I was also surprised by various things that occurred as well.

Final Thoughts
Nevernight was an intense book that build such a realistic world and characters I was completely immersed. Kristoff had the ability to shock me and really created a novel with incredible depth. I can’t wait to find out what happens in the sequel. With the mature content, detailed descriptions, violence and length this book reads like an adult book so YA fans be aware of this.
Sometimes you stumble across a book, and, for whatever reason, your expectations are low. Could be the harlequin mask on the cover, could be a previous series by the same author you were wholly uninterested in, could be a billion different things that individually are insignificant, but cumulatively . . . You turn up you nose.

O, gentlefriends . . . Do not do unto yourselves the same disservice I almost did unto mine.

NEVERNIGHT by Jay Kristoff is . . . exquisite.

I almost didn't read it. Indeed, the release date sneaked up on me, tapped me on the shoulder, and waved hello on Monday afternoon, and I joked to friend that I should at least update my status on Goodreads and pretend to be reading it . . . Six hours later, it was ten pm, and I was 40% in.

The first chapter was baffling. Told from two seemingly different perspectives, it chronicles two very different firsts, but uses almost the exact same words. I was internally shouting, "WTF is this?!" but I was curious enough see where it led, and the further I got, the closer the two scenarios spun toward completion, and then it was over, and I understood . . .

In Jabberwocky , Lewis Carroll turned the English language on its head. He used nonsense words that were dicipherable because of his expert manipulation of sentence structure and other, real words, that made the meanings of his imaginary words obvious.

For the first time since I really understood and appreciated what Carroll had done, I felt the same kind of glee as I read about a girl losing her virginity and a girl taking her first life. One experience held the potential for the creation of new life, the other bringing an irrevocable end to life, and yet . . . He used . . . The same words.

*mind blown*

Riddikulus writing skills aside, the story was also fantastic.

What's my #1 complaint about assassins in YA fiction?

You You may have mentioned something about reluctant assassins a time or three.

Me Damn right.

You Not a problem here?

Me *laughs maniacally*

"People often shit themselves when they die.
Their muscles slack and their souls flutter free and everything else just…slips out. For all their audience’s love of death, the playwrights seldom mention it. When the hero breathes his last in the heroine’s arms, they call no attention to the stain leaking across his tights, or how the stink makes her eyes water as she leans in for her farewell kiss.
I mention this by way of warning, O, my gentlefriends, that your narrator shares no such restraint."

Duly noted, Mr. Narrator, sir.

And lest you be scared off by visions of graphic and violent death . . . I won't lie, that is part of this story. But only part

"She’s dead herself, now—words both the wicked and the just would give an eyeteeth smile to hear. A republic in ashes behind her. A city of bridges and bones laid at the bottom of the sea by her hand. And yet I’m sure she’d still find a way to kill me if she knew I put these words to paper. Open me up and leave me for the hungry Dark. But I think someone should at least try to separate her from the lies told about her. Through her. By her.
Someone who knew her true.
A girl some called Pale Daughter. Or Kingmaker. Or Crow. But most often, nothing at all. A killer of killers, whose tally of endings only the goddess and I truly know. And was she famous or infamous for it at the end? All this death? I confess I could never see the difference. But then, I’ve never seen things the way you have.
Never truly lived in the world you call your own.
Nor did she, really.
I think that’s why I loved her."

*goosebumps*

Mia Covere's tale reminded me a bit of Arya Stark's a girl whose family is destroyed by politics and hands grasping at power, stumbles into a follower of a most murderous god(dess), and becomes his apprentice. But Mia is more than just a girl . . . She's a girl with a shadow dark enough for two.

You WTF does that mean?

Me READ THE BOOK.

And how many Guardians of the Galaxy fans do we have? B/c the coolest part of that movie was the black market space station that was the HEAD OF A CELESTIAL BEING, am I right?

Well, Mia grew up in Godsgrave, which just might be where the rest of the body fell . . . Okay, it's probably a different being entirely, but the concept is the same, it's friggin' awesome

To the north, the Ribs rose hundreds of feet into the ruddy heavens, tiny windows staring out from apartments carved within the ancient bone. Canals ran out from the hollow Spine . . .

My only words of caution are that, if you haven't already cottoned on, there is SEX in this YA novel, which isn't as uncommon as it used to be, but isn't yet unremarkable. And I'm not talking fade-to-black, acknowledgment of sexual congress, I'm talking burn-your-ears, think-interesting thoughts-about-the-hands-that-penned-them sex scenes.

FYI.

Kristoff calls Mia an assassin who is to death what a maestro is to a symphony. I felt the same way about Kristoff's manipulation of words and language. Whether Mia slipped into a room like a knife between the ribs or we met a man whose face was more scar than face, this reader felt like she was being spun and tossed by a master. Solus might by the Guardian of Songs, but Jay Kristoff made me dance to the music of his story in ways I've rarely been moved. O so ridiculously highly recommended.