Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

I have finally read the second volume in the Nevernight series!

Genre: fantasy, adult, LGBT

The synopsis

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’s suspicions about the Red Church’s true motives begin to grow

The review

First, I would like to underline a paradox here: did you notice that the summaries for these books are quite short (at least on Goodreads) compared to the size of the actual book? 🤣

Despite my mixed feelings about the first book I decided to continue with the series. And now that I knew a bit better what to expect, I quite enjoyed my reading experience!

I still loved the narrator and his/her dry humour and I am intrigued to see who is behind this voice. I still did not like the long description and the vocabulary used but I have to say that Kristoff masters the language incredibly well. And I have to say that there were fewer footnotes making my reading much more fluid.

Mia is evolving now outside the Church and I liked to see her becoming more human, particularly in her relationships with Ashley. Even if she is obviously very skilled and highly trained in killing she remains vulnerable, which makes her character more credible. We also discover a new cast of characters, all interesting and bringing something more to the story. This new cast is also making the action evolve in a new direction which is intriguing me a lot. Even if he is not a new character, one of my favourites is Mercurio and I am a bit worried for him since we all know what happens to characters we like in fantasy books.

In brief: I enjoyed this second volume a lot more compared to the first one. There is still not enough focus on Darkins and I cannot wait to discover more about their secrets. Special mention to Mister Kindly and Eclipse, which are making this book so fun!

Rating: 4/5 stars

Triggers warnings: violence, explicit description of wounds, physical torture