Book Review- Godsgrave
Hello readers! Today I'm doing a blog post for another book I finished in the N.E.W.T.s Read a thon.
This book I got to do a group read with the following lovely ladies:
Jen from Jen.Bookishgalaxies
Bedelya from clockwork.bookdragon
and Claire from thebookishcurmudgeon
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| Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff |
♥♥♥♥♥
Title: Godsgrave
Author: Jay Kristoff
Published: 2017
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult, Rated R for sure
Plot:♥♥♥♥♥
Characters:♥♥♥♥♥
World Building:♥♥♥♥♥
Flow:♥♥♥♥♥
Synopsis:
A ruthless young assassin continues her journey for revenge in this new epic fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Jay Kristoff.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Review*:
First and foremost, because I feel like this may be a question or something that other readers find important, this is very much a rated R book. There is sex, there is a lot of blood, and there is some creative cursing.
Now for the actual story, Kristoff did an amazing job with this second book in the series.It picks off a few months after the ending of Nevernight and the carnage left behind by Ashlinn. Similarly to Nevernight, we start the first few chapters by having two parallel stories. One is of Mia at a masquerade and the other is her as a slave. Right, I said slave. And by the end of one of these stories, it becomes extremely clear why Mia has sold herself, into slavery. I always greatly appreciate the visuals that Jay brings to his writing both through his words and how they are presented.
As far as the romance in this book, I thought it was much better than in Nevernight. I didn't care for Mia and Tric as a couple, mostly because I felt like having them together would handicap Mia's potential for murder. Mia and Ashlin however, I feel like that this couple fuels that fire. Ashlinn has a hate for the church, Scaeva, and Duomo along with Mia. The feelings between the two girls also feel more authentic, having a history and overcoming their trust. I would have liked a little more fleshed out before Mia claimed she loved Ashlinn. I also understand why it would be omitted, since it would focus too much on the relationship on the two girls instead of stab-stab-stab.
We saw very little of the Red Church throughout this book. I didn't care for a lot of the instructors in the church so I didn't mind. The absence however was very daunting in a way. Towards the last few chapters you knew they were going to fuck this up for Mia in some way or another because there is no possible way she couldn't be famous enough for somebody to not recognize her. I'm expecting a lot more of the Church in Darkdawn though, and Mia to be working against them as vengeance for the role they played in her family's destruction.
My favorite aspect of this part of Mia's journey is how much she grows. She started off as a small girl looking for vengeance for her family and discovers that maybe everything wasn't as it seemed, this republic really is fucked, and that learning who to trust is harder than you think. She deals with this all so elegantly as well. For instance, hearing Wavewalker's story of how he became a slave. Mia learned that no good deed goes unpunished and that nothing in the republic is fair. In the end, she kills the people responsible for how fucked her government is and murders the domini that hold the chains to these people. She became the personification of justice for those that had been wronged unfairly and it was amazing.
Overall, I think Godsgrave was so much better than Nevernight. I am extremely excited for Darkdawn and to see how Mia's story ends. It's always hard to predict what will happen in Jay's books but the following are what I hope happens.
As far as the romance in this book, I thought it was much better than in Nevernight. I didn't care for Mia and Tric as a couple, mostly because I felt like having them together would handicap Mia's potential for murder. Mia and Ashlin however, I feel like that this couple fuels that fire. Ashlinn has a hate for the church, Scaeva, and Duomo along with Mia. The feelings between the two girls also feel more authentic, having a history and overcoming their trust. I would have liked a little more fleshed out before Mia claimed she loved Ashlinn. I also understand why it would be omitted, since it would focus too much on the relationship on the two girls instead of stab-stab-stab.
We saw very little of the Red Church throughout this book. I didn't care for a lot of the instructors in the church so I didn't mind. The absence however was very daunting in a way. Towards the last few chapters you knew they were going to fuck this up for Mia in some way or another because there is no possible way she couldn't be famous enough for somebody to not recognize her. I'm expecting a lot more of the Church in Darkdawn though, and Mia to be working against them as vengeance for the role they played in her family's destruction.
My favorite aspect of this part of Mia's journey is how much she grows. She started off as a small girl looking for vengeance for her family and discovers that maybe everything wasn't as it seemed, this republic really is fucked, and that learning who to trust is harder than you think. She deals with this all so elegantly as well. For instance, hearing Wavewalker's story of how he became a slave. Mia learned that no good deed goes unpunished and that nothing in the republic is fair. In the end, she kills the people responsible for how fucked her government is and murders the domini that hold the chains to these people. She became the personification of justice for those that had been wronged unfairly and it was amazing.
Overall, I think Godsgrave was so much better than Nevernight. I am extremely excited for Darkdawn and to see how Mia's story ends. It's always hard to predict what will happen in Jay's books but the following are what I hope happens.
- Mia actually kills Scaeva.
- Mia vs. the Red Church
- We get more information on the Dark Mother, which in turn gives us more information on darkin, crown of the moon, Jonnen, etc. (Hello, Tric being a passenger?)
- I hope we get more Sid & Bladesinger being awesome and helping Mia.
- Mercurio better live, damnit.
Let me know what you guys thought in the comments below. This review was harder than I expected it to be, especially with all the reflection throughout.
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