Godsgrave (murder and amazing bi rep, what more could I want?) — Jay Kristoff

August 9, 2019

23264671

TITLE: Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle, #2)
AUTHOR: Jay Kristoff
GENRE: Fantasy
AGE RANGE: Adult

SYNOPSIS:
Assassin Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church ministry think she’s far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she’s no closer to ending Consul Scaeva and Cardinal Duomo, or avenging her familia. And after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia begins to suspect the motives of the Red Church itself.

When it’s announced that Scaeva and Duomo 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 them. 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 loyalty and revenge, and uncover a secret that could change the very face of her world.

goodreadsbutton

| book 1 |

If Vengeance has a mother, her name is Patience.

I don’t even know how to start this review. I think I could honestly just write several paragraphs of assorted expletives and shocked/devastated/adoring/amused/enraged/amazed emojis, and it would get the same point across, really. This book is everything I hoped it would be and so much more, and I don’t know how I’ll ever recover from the traumatizing glory that is this series.

The storm begs no forgiveness of the drowned.

Mia Corvere. My sweet, angry, wounded little Crow. I love her so much, on so many different levels and for endless reasons, and she put me through hell in this installment, but I enjoyed every moment of it. Every move she makes is so calculated and brilliant, and I could honestly spend thousands of pages just watching the wheels in her head turn. My heart broke a million times over for her during these chapters, and it’s brutal to know that this book was probably nothing compared to what the finale will bring.

“You can keep the glory. I’m just here for the blood.”

And the story and pacing in this one! Many trilogies assuredly suffer from the infamous “Middle Book Syndrome”, but this is not one of them. If I thought I was on the edge of my seat during Nevernight, that was nothing. Once Godsgrave gets rolling, it brings with it such a whirlwind of action and bloodshed and ruin, you positively can’t look away. Despite a terrible reading slump delaying me during the first 20% or so of this book, I think I flew through the last 80% in a few days because it was all I could think about and I found myself reaching for more in every possible free moment I had.

“Our scars are just gifts from our enemies… Reminding us they weren’t good enough to kill us.”

And finally, the romance in this one. If you don’t know anything about it, I won’t be the one to spoil you, but what a roller coaster. I was spoiled for this particular pairing ages ago, and went into this book wondering how on earth I could possibly root for these characters together, but by the time it came to fruition, I was just as invested as everyone told me I’d be. And Mia’s queer rep and questioning? It was everything, watching her slowly piece together why she found herself so fascinated with other women. As another bisexual woman who didn’t admit it to myself out until my late teens (hello, Mia, I see you ♥), her journey and realization resonated so soundly with me, I might have even shed a few happy tears. (Thank you, Jay, for telling the story of so many queer ladies like me and Mia, and telling it so damn well.)

“That’s Fear talking. Never listen to him. Fear is a coward.”

There’s so much more I want to say, but it would all just be redundant at this point, friends. Let me just say that as far as I’m concerned, this is one of the greatest series ever written, and I can’t imagine ever losing the feeling of utter amazement at how beautifully crafted this story, these characters, and this world is. I want to dive right into Darkdawn, and when that’s over, I want to start the whole series over — again, and again, and again.

5stars

graphicssignature


twitter | bookstagram | facebook | goodreads

 

More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Just a horror aficionado/geek girl trying to juggle motherhood, reading, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

5 Comments

Say hello! ♥

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.