Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff |

Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle #2)

Author: Jay Kristoff

Genre: YA, Fantasy

Publisher: Harper Voyager UK

Publication Date: September 7th 2017

Format: Hardcover (453 pages)

Goodreads: Author Book

Synopsis:

Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church hierarchy think she’s far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she’s no closer to ending the men who destroyed her familia; in fact, she’s told directly that Consul Scaeva is off limits. But after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia suspicions about the Red Church’s true motives begin to grow.

When it’s announced that Scaeva will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave, Mia defies the Church and sells herself to a gladiatorial collegium for a chance to finally end him. Upon the sands of the arena, Mia finds new allies, bitter rivals, and more questions about her strange affinity for the shadows. But as conspiracies unfold within the collegium walls, and the body count rises, Mia will be forced to choose between love and revenge, and uncover a secret that could change the very face of her world.

My Rating: ★★★★★

Well this book is BLOODY marvellous, I mean, it’s literally bloody and also marvellous.

Whilst there are no spoilers in this review, if you are yet to read Nevernight please go and do that immediately. You will not regret it, these books are incredible. Although, dear friend, if you are repulsed by murder, gore, explicit sexual scenes and bad language, maybe this series would be best avoided. If all of those things interest you, then what are you waiting for?

Godsgrave was easily one of my most highly anticipated books of 2017 after falling head over heels in love with Nevernight last year. When this book arrived on my door step I could easily have combusted with excitement and anticipation (luckily I didn’t!). The cover itself is absolutely stunning and the insides were even more wonderful than I had anticipated!

Luckily for me (and surely many others), Kristoff starts Godsgrave with a recap of the many characters we came to love and loathe in Nevernight. So much happened in that first book that it was great to have this recap and I really appreciated it. I was able to ease myself back into this fantastic world by reminding myself where all the characters were left at the end of book 1. So if you are hoping to go into Godsgrave without rereading Nevernight then do not fear, all will be well.

As I discovered when reading Nevernight last year, Kristoff really does not mess around with easing us in at the beginning of these books. By the end of chapter one I had read an explicit sex scene and a gory, bloody murder at the hands of my favourite assassin. I was squealing with excitement as it all came rushing back to me why I loved the first book so, so much.

From beginning to end Godsgrave is full of action, revenge and lust. Mia is on a mission to bring down those who killed her family and nothing will get in her way. Mia is as badass, sassy and unforgiving as ever whilst still managing to be deeply caring and emotional behind her mask. She made huge leaps and bounds of character development in this book and we see even more of her many layers being peeled back as she kills her way to the top after selling herself off as a slave.

There are so many twists, turns and huge revelations in this book that I found myself spending a lot of time cursing aloud to myself, which was very Mia-esque of me! The darkness and deception of those around Mia just amps up her thirst for bloody revenge even further and brings into question her trust of all those around her. Even right up to the end there were enormous twists that I didn’t see coming and left me with my jaw hanging wide open. I do not know how I will wait another year for the next book!!!

Mia Corvere is easily one of my favourite badass leading ladies. I know I certainly wouldn’t mess with her. She is absolutely unforgiving in her manner and will fight until the end of her days to avenge her family and get her revenge upon those who took them away from her. I’m a sucker for a flawed character and Mia is the Queen of flawed characters. But this book showed so much more of her character and her emotional, loving side and that really choked me up. There are some very touching, emotionally charged moments in this book and I loved what that added to her character.

As well as an incredible main character, we also have a whole host of complex and layered secondary characters. As well as some old faces, we are introduced to a whole new cast of characters in Godsgrave. Some of these I grew to love, like little Maggot and Furian, others I was more wary of after being swept into Mia’s circle of distrust.

The settings of this book are so gorgeous and the descriptions so vivid and this really brought them to life for me. There is a selection of gorgeous maps at the front of the book and I loved taking some time to look over them and study the world that Mia lives in. Having grown accustomed to the writing style in Nevernight, I never found some of the more floury wording a problem in this book and loved jumping back into the story. The footnotes are still there to glean extra information about the world, but you could just as easily not read them if you preferred not to.

Something that I did not expect but completely LOVED was that there is an f/f relationship in this book and it was a relationship that I didn’t see coming at the very beginning of the novel but I am SO glad it did. I am totally behind shipping this couple and it was also refreshing to see that the explicit sexual scenes we had grown accustomed to in Nevernight did not shy away from an f/f romance either.

Godsgrave is everything I loved about Nevernight but dialled up a notch. It is bloody, murderous and sexy. It is dark and unforgiving, full of revenge and lust. Mia Corvere is a fucking badass. Incredible!

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Voyager and Jay Kristoff for my advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.