The second novel in Kristoff's Nevernight Chronicles series.
GODSGRAVE is an excellent continuation of Mia Corvere's story, begun in NEVERNIGHT. In this novel, Mia is stuck in a backwater region, still hoping to get a chance to kill those who destroyed her familia. Even though she's told they're off-limits, she leaps at a chance to get close to them. Only, in order to do so, she must join the "Venatus Magni", a gladiatorial competition - something that will take a lot of effort, and certainly not be without its own perils.

Another fast-paced, well-told fantasy action/adventure story. If you're already familiar with Kristoff's work, then you'll know what you're in for. If you haven't, give NEVERNIGHT a read.

I can't in good conscious continue to support this author. As my option of the author will undoubtedly colour my reading of the book, I have given an "average" rating instead of the lower one I would probably end up with.

One of the best books I have ever read. Jay Kristoff is an absolute magician with words and has left me utterly speechless at the end of this book. I am shocked and in awe!

Jay Kristoff is a master in manipulating reader emotions. This book will probably make you cry at least once (even if it's just in anger or frustration!). Mia Corvere remains one of my favourite-ever characters. She's unapologetically herself and never comprises her integrity. I loved the setting of the gladiatii games in this book, especially the new characters we're introduced to. As always, the only thing you can expect is the unexpected. Be warned that this ends on a huge cliffhanger so make sure you have Darkdawn at hand.

Thank you to Harper Voyager for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I also have an audible copy of this book. I listened to about 60-70% of this book and also read some of my netgalley copy. After I finished Nevernight I knew I had to jump straight into Godsgrave.

Well, I got to the end of this book and I wanted to hunt Jay down and force him to tell me what happens next. Haha okay, maybe not that extreme I am no stalker but seriously Jay! How could you end it like that! How am I supposed to wait until Stabtember to get all the answers I need. Like really need.

Okay well once I got over that initial reaction and really thought about it I felt exactly the same! Jay, you really test me!! I had such a book hangover I couldn't start a new book!

This was much easier to get into than Nevernight. Whether that is because I was more invested or because there was more indication when the story changed timelines I'm not sure.

Mia was as kick-ass as ever in this story. I love Mia. I love her sarcastic, witty remarks. I love her companions too. I love how they are such opposites yet they provide exactly what Mia needs.

I loved The Gladiatii. This was a whole new world. Mia thought the Red Church was brutal until she entered this world. There are some really great characters in this bunch. My favourites were Maggot and Sidonius. Both were such different but interesting characters. They both had backgrounds that you can't imagine having to face.

Jay was as brutal as ever in this book so don't get too attached to anyone. You are likely to get your heart broken into pieces.

I am both looking forward to and dreading Darkdawn. We know that Mia will die in Darkdawn. I don't think Jay is lying about this and quite frankly I don't think I am ready. On the flipside, I NEED to know what happens next. Oh, Jay, you have really put me between a rock and a hard place!

What a fabulous read - I really really enjoyed Mia Corvere's gladiatii outing this time - This one's a lot more grimmer but the breakneck pacing that never lets up really till that sweeping climax and the surreal twists in the tale more than make up for that heavy tone of the book.

I cannot wait for the conclusion now - gentlefriends, please make that fast.

One of the best fantasy series out there today. It's beautifully written, bloody and utterly fantastic. I can't even put into words how much I love this series. Follow up from Nevernight, installment 2 is just as brutal, wickedly delicious, includes a steaming hot f/f ship, more murders, more twists. And one of the most stunning shock endings I've seen in a long time. Bring on book 3!

This review contains spoilers for Nevernight.



There is always a danger in reading sequels to book you love.  Will they be as good? Will the dreaded Second Book Syndrome strike?  You never know until you give the book a try. For me, I figured there was no way Godsgrave could hold a candle to Nevernight, one of my favourite books of the year.  The school narrative was gone, Mia has become a full-fledged Blade, and all her friends were dead or traitors (don’t you just hate it when that happens?).  But once again, I was completely, utterly wrong. Godsgrave is just as good as Nevernight, despite a huge shift in the story.

I really don’t want to say too much about this book because the twists! The turns!  Godsgrave is absolutely insane in the best way possible.  I’m going to be purposefully vague and say nothing of value in this review because I really think you should go in blind.  I didn’t even bother to read the summary of Godsgrave before diving in, and that provided the best reading experience possible.

Despite Mia’s departure from the classroom, I still found myself completely engrossed in her story.  Her time as a gladiatii is a spectacular roller coaster, and the secondary story line is just so thrilling.  I continue to adore Mia and her murderous, stabby ways. This book features some old favourites, as well as new characters to fill the void left behind by Mia’s murdered schoolmates.  Mia and her companions, new and old, will not disappoint.

Stop reading this review now and pick up Godsgrave. I couldn’t recommend these books more highly, and I cannot wait for Darkdawn in  September 2019 -- particularly after the cliffhanger ending.

Another excellent book from Jay Kristoff. Brilliantly written with spectacular characters, outstanding world building and scene detail.

This was difficult to rate. I really disliked book 1, and because I hadn't finished it found Godsgrave a bit hard to follow at times. It was, however, much better written, so if I take anything from this it's that I most definitely will give the first book another go in order to fully appreciate this one.

First of all, I'm all about the cover. I mean...WOW! A traditionally drawn wolf with a crow sitting on the hilt of a sword and all of this backed up by a big-ass blue moon? Come on!
Okay, time for the actual review.
Assassins, families, honor...you've got the whole package here that promises to deliver a lot of drama and unforgiving violence. The main character Mia (like you didn't know that already) is somewhat competent about her new place among the Murder House (the actual name of the order you already know and I won't be wasting this space to spell it out) but the fact that she hasn't yet been able to avenge her family nags at her more than the odd motives of the Red Church itself.

You've read the blurb, everyone who reviewed this book has thrown it in your face, so just go and get a copy. It's good, man. Really good. It stands on par with Gail Z. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, George R.R. Martin - I can do this the whole day.

P.S. You might want to brush up on Kristoff's previous novel before jumping feet first into the second installment. Just a thought to those who often wake up a bit late...such as myself.

Godsgrave is the second book of the Nevernight trilogy, following the escapades of a young female assassin named Mia. Be warned that while this may "appear" to be a YA book, it most certainly is not. There are many adult scenes (including sex and mass bloodshed), but OH MY WORD it is wonderful! It is a rare treat as an adult reader to become so entranced by mythical worlds as Jay Kristoff manages to achieve in his Nevernight world-building. I could not put this down, and wish there were more hours in the day so I could have finished sooner, just so I could begin again! I simply cannot wait for the third and final instalment.

Second novels can be difficult things, particularly the middle novel of a trilogy, which can never provide the resolution the reader is seeking. So, how do you follow up a smash like Nevernight? Jay Kristoff's Godsgrave (review copy from Harper Voyager) takes Mia Corvere away from assassin school to pursue her mission of revenge against the people who unseated her father and executed him.

Godsgrave picked up after the cataclysmic event of the first novel - the Red Church is diminished, with many of its top echelons dead and its branch offices destroyed. Now a fully fledged assassin, Mia is plying her trade, killing the great and the good to order, when she spots an opportunity to progress her revenge. But it is one that may mean she must breach some of the most fundamental tenets of the Red Church, and will take her down a path that involves working with former enemies.

Mia Corvere engineers her way into gladiator school to earn a place at the biggest tournament of the year. If she wins, she will have the opportunity to target her father's killers. But it is a life or death gamble - the survival rates from being a gladiator are low, and Mia rapidly finds out that her Red Church training will only take her so far.

In Godsgrave Mia's single-minded focus on revenge begins to come under some pressure. Time as a gladiator slave forces her to grow a social conscience about social and economic inequality. But it also forces her to learn about the value of community and companionship, as she grows closer to her fellow gladiators. There is not quite the same competitive culture that she experienced during her assassin training.

This greater social conscience adds depth to the novel, but takes away some of the sparkle of the first book. Add that to some of those difficult middle novel issues, and Godsgrave doesn't quite reach the peaks of Nevernight, but it's still a great read.

Goodreads rating: 4*

Awesome as usual, the vivid world continues! Kristoff builds a hugely entertaining story even though sometimes I had to put it down cause I was a bit lost

What. A. Book. It really has it all - fast-paced action, intricate world-building, love interest(s), devious politics and brilliant characters. Mia is a completely gripping and bad-ass protagonist, and she continues to grow and develop in this sequel.

Mia's getting closer to avenging the death of her family, but that just means that things are hotting up - in every sense of the word. Can she trust back-on-the-scene Ashlinn Jarnheim after her actions in Nevernight, or will Mia's heart and head continue to pull her in opposite directions? And what about Mister Kindly and Eclipse - is Mia just a tool for their own agenda, or do they actually care about her wellbeing?

Godsgrave was bloodthirsty, sexy and gritty - and do I want more! I was a little worried that the gladiator element would be a repeat of Nevernight's elimination by competing in the Church (like so many books in this genre do, repeating the same trope in every book of the series), but it had a completely different flavour to it, so while the premise was the same, the events in no way felt like a re-run.

Mr Kristoff, you have absolutely knocked this book out the park, and I am dying for the next one!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. We continue following Mia after the end of the previous book and her path is full of twists and turns that I didn't see coming (and sometimes neither does Mia) there's a huge cliffhanger and I definitely cannot wait for the next one. It's certainly not a light read but it is fun and action packed and bloody with political intrigue and great characters. It is everything a good story should be.

"the storm begs no forgiveness of the drowned"

* * * *
4 / 5

I finished Nevernight, a thoroughly enjoyable read though by no means perfect, and eagerly went straight on to read Godsgrave. Unfortunately, it was a Kindle copy so the footnotes that I loved in the first book became an annoyance in the second (seriously, get a physical copy, so much more worth it), but mostly what threw me was the plot direction that the synopsis was suggesting: Mia has just trained to become a fully fledged assassin, and all of a sudden we are getting gladiators! Colosseums! A new romance! What the heck! It sounded weird and it was weird, but it actually worked surprisingly well.

"they hung there a moment; two girls, barely touching, all the world around them holding its breath"

I loved Mia. She's hilarious but also more complex. The swearing has been cranked up another notch and it was executed perfectly. Mia has picked up another shadow familiar, Eclipse the wolf, to join feline Mister Kindly, and obviously the two get on like a house on fire; they're so cat/dog together and it's done really well. The banter in this book is absolutely flowing. But more seriously, Mia is awe-inspiring and semi-believable in her weaponry skills, her morals her developed, she is more brutal and more honest to who she is. I admire Kristoff for writing an intricate and compelling character who sometimes does genuinely terrible things and puts herself before others. Godsgrave also introduces a new romance, one I sort of saw coming (or at least was hoping for) in Nevernight, and I thought it was done pretty well: reasonably slow burn, a bit of drama, but it definitely didn't overshadow or suffocate the plot. Bravo!

"And for a tiny moment, she ceased being Mia Corvere, the orphaned girl, the darkin assassin, the embodiment of vengeance. She held her arms wide, dripping red onto the sand, and listened to the crowd roar in response. And just for a breath, she forgot what she had been

Knowing only what she'd become. Gladiatii"

The plot itself is also amazing. I've loved the idea of gladiators and colosseums ever since watching Gladiator about fifteen times in my GCSE Latin class (obviously the reality of gladiator fighting is horrible and inhumane, but it makes for a great writing setting). Mia, for reasons I will leave for you to discover (which I also thought weren't really great or made a lot of sense, but what ho), leaves the Red Church to trek across deserts to get herself enslaved so she can join a gladiator group. Initially, I was a touch disappointed; we spend a whole book waiting for Mia to become a real assassin and the moment she does and I want to experience some Assassin's Creed style mission, she bails? But I loved the whole plot from the awesome and inventive arena fights to the new loyalties and friendships forged and broken. There are, I think, less new characters to get attached to but this is made up for by the appearance of some old favourites like Ashlin and Mercurio.

"... What's the map of?"
"It provides detailed directions to the Empire of None of Your Fucking Concern"

However, no sooner had I cracked the metaphorical spine of Godsgrave did I encounter the thing I hated the most: the time skips are back, and Atlas isn't happy about it. Particularly because the slow and suspenseful reveal isn't necessary in this book as it might have been in Nevernight, since what happens is revealed in the synopsis! Then there's the fact that despite loving the plot, nothing really happens in the grand scheme of things; at the end of Nevernight we are teased with the bit about the Moon, and near the start of Godsgrave we get this cool scene with a graveyard, but then the whole shebang is left hanging whilst Mia galavants about being badass (no complaints). This entire arc is only brought up again in the last few pages to deliver a heller cliffhanger, which only really manages to be surprising because by this point you've entirely forgotten about the whole Moon debacle. Neither is there much advancement on the whole "what it means to be a Darkin" front.

"if Vengeance has a mother, her name is Patience"

Overall, Godsgrave was a fantastic sequel. The writing is beautiful and dramatic and dark, the plot is awesome and bloody, and Mia is a marvel. Yes, there's a few things that meant this book didn't quite make the elusive five stars, but it was still a riveting page-turner.

This sequel to Nevernight continues the adventures of Mia Corvere and her shadowy companions. Look, if you liked the first book, and I very much did, you're going to love this one. It's Nevernight turned up to 11. More violence, more sex, more betrayal, more sarcasm... this is now one of my favourite ongoing fantasy series, and I can't wait for the third volume!

This is the second instalment in the Nevernight series. I had zero hesitations that this was going to be another 5 star read and am so glad that I was proved correct in that assumption.

This is the continuation of the story of Mia Corvere. She has completed her training with the other Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder and yet is no closer to avenging her family's deaths by kindly returning the favour to those who murdered them. On discovering those whose demise she has promised are actually under the protection of those she, herself, serves, Mia must decide where her loyalties truly lie. Is it with those she has fought with and under? Is it with the girl who betrayed her, but she still can't seem to forget? Or is it just with herself and her demon shadow companions, drinking her fear and journeying with her down the increasingly dark path her life has taken?

Jay Kristoff is such a master story-teller. His writing is so sublimely beautiful, his world so unique and complex, and his characters so vividly created that I find myself transfixed by his creations from the very first page. There is a reason he became one of my five favourite authors, after I read Nevernight, and Godsgrave confirmed his eternal place there. I hold these books as the epitome of how I aspire to write, myself, and I will forever look upon him as an individual absolutely killing his craft!

This, just like Nevernight, is such a cleverly set out novel. The timeline is forever shifting, which heightens the suspense and withholds the unveiling of vital secrets that aid the reader in learning the truths behind this novel's journey. This is a book that grasps you! Never letting go until it its ready to bombard you with its closely-held mysteries. And this it does in quick succession, over the course of the last ten percent of the book. The entire thing had a pacing that encouraged the reader to turn the pages and forego sleep in order to obtain all that was withheld. But when this finally happened I was stuck in an open-mouthed stance for minutes a time, unable to turn pages or even comprehend how I didn't grasp these subtly-placed secrets sooner.

If I seem to have waxed lyrical about the positives of this novel and seemed to avoid the mention of any negatives, that is because I could fine none. This is completely faultless prose and writing this review makes me eager to dive back into this world, again-and-again, until the release of the unavoidable heartbreak that is sure to come with the final instalment to this epic trilogy.

This. Book.

It basically took all the things I loved about book #1 multiplied them tenfold, added all the things that were missing from book #1 and then handed them to me wrapped in a phenomenal story!

I love a sequel that takes everything you learned in book #1 and then just fully pulls the rug out from under your feet. It's the perfect way to shake things up and to move away from the difficulties a first book often presents. I adored the storyline of this book. It was everything I have ever wanted and I have no idea how Kristoff might top it in later books.

Mia is an amazing character as always and only becomes more relatable through the romance plot in this book (I can't say because spoilers but if you have read it just comment 'I KNOW' because it's so amazing). However, it is the addition of new characters that I truly appreciated. Mr Kindly suddenly has to deal with another companion in Mia's shadow and it's the perfect balance of humour and grit. But the companions Mia meets in relation to the games are equally complex and well rounded as her, it's so well fleshed out I feel like you could have an entire spin-off novella about any one of these characters.

If the gore in Nevernight was what put you off, I would maybe avoid this book. It's almost certainly more gory than it's predecessor. I personally feel that it fits with the tone of the book, that certain irreverence it has fits with a lack of censoring violence. But I can see some people not liking that so consider yourselves fair warned.

This is one of my most anticipated reads of 2017 and it certainly didn't let me down. Well done Jay, now I just have to start pacing the room waiting for Obsidio to come in the post!

My rating: 5/5 stars

As I say, I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley but also purchased it for myself. All opinions are my own.