Nevernight by Jay Kristoff is an adult fantasy novel that follows Mia Corvere on her quest to train to be an assassin and kill the men who destroyed her family when she was a child. The world of Nevernight is one with three suns that almost never set and Mia has powers over shadows which will aid in her quest to kill those who harmed her and her family.
The story is told to the reader through a narrator who is never named but does tell us Mia’s fate on the first page and goes on to describe her journey to become a feared assassin. The first chapter starts out comparing Mia’s first time having sex to her first kill which sets the tone for how dark this book will get.
The first hundred pages or so are slow as we, the readers, are learning about Mia, her past, and her journey to the Red Church but once we get to the Red Church the pace picks up. Most of the story is Mia learning to be an assassin and who her life is going to change. However, there is a killer among the students of the Red Church who is killing other students and Mia might be in danger. The best thing is Mia as a character even with her being overwhelmingly smug, and Tric. Mia and Tric’s relationship is one of the strongest aspects of the story overall.
One of the biggest criticism that Nevernight get is Jay Kristoff’s use of footnotes throughout the story. The footnotes don’t have to be read to understand the story all they do is add more to the world building by informing the reader more about the world, society, and religious aspects of this fantasy world. However, I feel like they add to the experience and don’t have an issue with them. I will admit that as a trained historian I’ve read many historical books that for research purposes you have to read the footnotes or endnotes (which are the same thing but one is at the end of the book requiring you to flip back and fourth). Endnotes are the bane of my existence so I much prefer footnotes.
Nevernight is a wonderful dark adult fantasy that would be great for anyone interested in assassins or dark fantasy in general.
Owl Crate is a young adult book subscription box where every month you receive one new hardcover book and an assortment of bookish goodies connected to the monthly theme. Some of these items are very practical and some are better suited as decor or for a pin/builtin board. March’s theme is Music of the Night.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgerstern is a adult literary fiction and fantasy novel that follows two main protagonists, Ceila and Marco, who are competing against one another at a magical circus and try not to fall in love.
The first book I read was The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era by Gareth Russell. This book uses the lives and history of six first class passengers on Titanic to illustrate how society and the world worked in the era of Titanic and how the sinking is often seen as wake up call for the changes that are coming. Well researched and written but some parts were a little boring since I went into the book thinking it would be more about Titanic than the society that built her. However, still a good book and one I would recommend for those who have researched Titanic before.
The second book I read in February was the Sailor Moon manga Eternal Edition vol. 1. I have started to collect these editions of the series and I’m reading each volume as I get it. Sailor Moon is one of my favorite manga and anime series so I loved reading it again. My only criticism in this first volume is at time that story seem almost too fast paced. As a reader you don’t get a lot of time with each new character before another one is introduced but given where I know the series goes its not that big of an issue.
The last book I read was The Little Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff. So I say I “read” this but really I watched a YouTube video where the story was read and the pictures where shone. I read it this way because the book is very hard to obtain copies of and I didn’t know I existed before. This is a little kids picture book that simplifies the story of Stormdancer the first book in the Lotus Wars series by Jay Kristoff. Its very cute and I would love to own a copy one day.
For different books FaeCrate do Hangover Recovery kits for the book hangover you will have after finishing the book. They never had a chance to do one for The Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Mass so in conjunction with the anniversary edition of the first book they did a mini recover kit call Thorns and All.
I won an advanced copy of this book through Goodreads.
The first book I read was Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. This book is the nonfiction account of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes who scammed thousands of people with the idea that her technology and company was revolutionizing blood testing. A well written book about an int resting topic however, sometimes that writing got a little technical about science and how it was supposed to work so those sections were a little boring.
Grave Peril by Jim Butcher is the third book in the Dresden Files series. The series really picks up in this book and finds it footing. There is more information given about the world and how magic and the supernatural mix with the modern world. The story focuses on a ghost/demon who is trying to get revenge on Harry Dresden for defeating him several months ago. This plot is also connected to Harry’s godmother, a fairy, who he has made deals with in the past and the courts of the vampires. Jim Butcher’s writing gets much better in this book. I loved the new characters that are introduced and the higher stakes that the characters are involved in.
The last book I read in January was A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. A Night to Remember is one of the most famous accounts of the sinking of the Titanic. Using information from multiple sources Walter Lord puts the reader in the shoes of someone on the ship which is very powerful. This is a great book for anyone interested in the Titanic or the history of books written about the sinking.
Night Owl Reviews 