Bloody, Insane, Dark, Perfect // REVIEW: Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff |A Thousand Words A Million Books || A Young Adult Book Blog

Title: Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle #2)
Author: Jay Kristoff
Publication Date: September 7th 2017
Publisher: Harper Voyager UK
Part of a Series?: Yes, Book 2 on 3 of The Nevernight Chronicle
I Got A Copy Through: Harper Collins India (THANK YOU!)
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Blurb Description: A ruthless young assassin continues her journey for revenge in this new epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff.
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.
Set in the world of Nevernight, which Publishers Weekly called “absorbing in its complexity and bold in its bloodiness,” Godsgrave will continue to thrill and satisfy fantasy fans everywhere.

Jay Kristoff is an EVIL MASTERMIND that manages to warp my perceptions of what great books are every time I dive into another one of his masterpieces. BASICALLY, GODSGRAVE AND THIS ENTIRE SERIES WAS BRILLIANT AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF AFTER THAT CLIFF HANGER OF AN ENDING.

I’ve been holding on to my review copy of Godsgrave (Thank you Harper India!) for a while now because I was waiting for the perfect time to put myself through ALL THE INSANITY that makes up The Nevernight Chronicles.

Godsgrave, the second book in this trilogy, was INTENSE, even MORE #StabStabStab than the first book (is that even possible?) and really showed you the Republic of Itreya in a brutal, harsh light. There was so much Roman culture like Gladiators and the very republic itself and IT WAS ONE OF THE BEST WORKS OF (BLOOD FILLED) LITERATURE I’VE EVER READ.

MY THOUGHTS:

1. If you’ve read Nevernight, or even my review of Nevernight, you’ll know that the world and the book had a slow start, and it took a while for me to really get into the series. Once I did, though, Nevernight was one of my few five star reads of last year and Godsgrave found it’s wat on my most anticipated list!

2. Godsgrave rivalled Nevernight when it came to pacing, the book throwing you into the fast paced deep end from the very first chapter. The pace and with it, the bloodshed, gore and dark humour worked perfectly in co-ordination with each other and it resulted in this EVIL, STABBY MASTERPIECE.

3. THE CLIFF HANGER ENDING AT THE END OF GODSGRAVE WAS 32 DIFFERENT KINDS OF INSANE. Do you know how normal plot twists have only one major reveal at the end that makes your jaw drop? Godsgrave had FOUR reveals, at the very least. I sped read my way through the last few chapters and then flipped backwards and read it all again because THE ENDING WAS STUNNING AND TWISTED AND I LOVED IT AND ALSO NEED BOOK THREE.

4. I loved how much more of the Republic we saw in Godsgrave. It really highlighted the problem of slavery that Iterya was built upon, the few rich feeding off the many, gladiatii and everything else.

5. I also loved that this book was SO INCLUSIVE, and despite the fact that the Republic is a less than ideal place to live in, it was still completely accepting of absolutely anyone on the LGBT spectrum because it was the NORM in this world.

6. I CANNOT EVEN EXPLAIN HOW THE STORY, THE WORLD, MIA, MISTER KINDLY AND ECLIPSE EVOLVED IN THIS BOOK BECAUSE EVEN SAYING A SINGLE THING IS SPOILING IT, BUT IT WAS ALL SO SO BRILLIANT. I loved reading each and every of the 400+ pages in this book because it kept your undivided attention throughout.

7. I SIMPLY MUST MENTION ALL THE SASS IN THIS BOOK because it made a laugh, snort and FALL IN LOVE. Yes for ominous shadow creatures that eat fear and spill sass like there’s no tomorrow.

If you can’t already tell, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED Godsgrave. Jay Kristoff somehow managed to OUTDO himself with the book and I am so in awe of every book he writes. 5 Blood Encrusted Stars.

Jay Kristoff is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of THE NEVERNIGHT CHRONICLE, THE ILLUMINAE FILES and THE LOTUS WAR. He is the winner of four Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, nominee for the David Gemmell Morningstar and Legend awards, named multiple times in the Kirkus and Amazon Best Teen Books list and published in over thirty countries, most of which he has never visited. He is as surprised about all of this as you are. He is 6’7 and has approximately 13030 days to live. He abides in Melbourne with his secret agent kung-fu assassin wife, and the world’s laziest Jack Russell.

He does not believe in happy endings.