bloggers – Dee’s Reading Tree

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dark dawn by jay kristoff — Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff

Author: Jay Kristoff

Published: September 3, 2019

Publisher: Thomas Dune Books

Series: The Nevernight Chronicles, #3

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

A ruthless young assassin’s journey for revenge comes to a stunning end in the conclusion of this acclaimed epic fantasy trilogy.

The Republic of Itreya is in chaos. Mia Corvere has assassinated Cardinal Duomo and rumors of Consul Scaeva’s death ripple through the street of Godsgrave like wildfire. But buried beneath those same streets, deep in the ancient city’s bones, lies a secret that will change the Republic forever.

Mia and her brother Jonnen must journey through the depths of the ancient metropolis. Their quest will take them through the Godsgrave underdark, across the Sea of Swords, back to the library of the Quiet Mountain and the poisoned blades of Mia’s old mentors, and at last the fabled Crown of the Moon. There, Mia will at last discover the origins of the darkin, and learn the destiny that lies in store for her and her world. But with the three suns now in descent, and Truedark on the horizon, will she survive?

Fear was Can’t. Fear was Won’t. But fear wasn’t ever a choice. To never fear was to never hope. Never love. Never live…Part of having is the fear of losing. Part of creating is the fear of it breaking. Part of beginning is the fear of your ending. Fear is never a choice… But letting it rule you is.”
Darkdawn

My Mini Book Review:

I’m doing a mini book review on this because there is no way I can put ALL my thoughts about this series into coherent sentences. How do I review a series like this one? These books made me cry tears of happiness, of sadness, frustration, and despair. In short, they made me feel everything a good series should.

I did pick Darkdawn up a couple of times to read it in September, but I ended up putting it down twice. First, I did not expect the religious aspect of the books to take center stage in the story, and that is always a turn-off for me. Second, I read so many dark books in September that I felt like I needed some happiness in my life. I finally got my hands on the audio version (the narrator Holter Graham does an amazing job), and this helped me get through it. Once I got through most of the setting up part, I could not stop listening.

I loved all the characters in these books. I fell in love with all their stories and I was proud of their growth throughout. I came to respect Mia and her strength and perseverance, and how she was set on revenge, but not willing to cross certain moral lines. I liked the side stories, the humor, the colorful cursing, and yes even the footnotes. I’m sad that this series has come to an end, and I cannot wait to see what Kristoff comes up with next. If you are a fan of dark Fantasy, read these!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Nevernight by Jay Kristoff — My bookstagram

Author: Jay Kristoff

Publication Date: August 9, 2016

Series: The Nevernight Chronicle #1

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Pages: 429 pages

Audiobook narrator: Holter Graham

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

Review:

I cannot believe it took me this long to start reading this series. The final book is actually coming out September 3, so now I’m left scrambling to finish the second one, but I’m glad I finally did. Nevernight was a mix of two of my favorite series: Harry Potter and Throne of Glass. It includes an enchanted library, scary monsters, ghosts, cats, dark magic, and assassins to name a few similarities. Just be warned that Kristoff does not hold back on the gory details or the sexual ones, so this should be for mature audiences only.

Beauty you’re born with, but brains you earn.”
Mia’s mom

The characters were well developed. One of my favorite things about this story was that Kristoff gives enough back story on all of them to justify their motives. There are some lovable characters, and some you love to hate. I always get attached to the animals in all the books, and my favorite was Mr. Kindly the cat. Mia was a likeable, strong, female character, and even though she had power, she was not obnoxious and full of herself (unlike Cealena from Throne of Glass). Mia actually reminded me a lot of Harry Potter, albeit a snarkier much much darker female version.

The books we love, they love us back. And just as we mark our places in the pages, those pages leave their marks on us.”
Chronicler

The pacing of the story was well done, it was action packed enough to keep me glued to the pages, but also it explained all the new lingo, words, and terms used in this new world. The story would switch seamlessly from the past to the present by using italics to differentiate the time frames. Kristoff also included little side stories in order to explain certain terms or remarks that were used, some of these small stories were hilarious and entertaining. The plot was fast paced with some twists and unexpected turns thrown in.

My only issue was with the audiobook version of this book. The narrator was a male, and the main character was a female which made it very awkward to listen to. He was a great narrator, but it’s always really weird for me to hear a male narrator doing a female’s voice, and with Mia being a main character he had to do it a LOT. I found that I enjoyed reading the digital book copy of this book much more, and I could add my own imagined voice for Mia instead.

Overall, this book was amazing! I would recommend this book to all mature Fantasy readers. I’m currently reading Godsgrave, the second book in this series, and I’m really enjoying it. Darkdawn, the third book, will be released next week.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

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Darkdawn

Nevernight Review