A review by surelylune
Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

an enjoyable book that was most certainly From A Male Author. the constant footnotes, while characterful and containing interesting worldbuilding, eventually became an utter chore to deal with. additionally, the sex scenes in this book were gratuitous and uninteresting, outside of the opening. my friends made fun of me for enjoying it, but i think the pairing of mias first sexual encounter and her first kill is interesting and sets up a potentially interesting "coming of age" plot for a young woman with a very fucked up moral compass. the prose was fun as well, the lingo used by the characters has a fun and unique style, and the action and violence is descriptive in a way that feels visceral but not bogged down in its own gore. there are reminders every now and then of the brutal bloody details that keep the image kristoff wants in your mind firmly there but not in a way that draws your attention away from the actual actions taking place.
additionally, some details concerning how the church the protagonist trains for operates is interesting, but - and i have no qualms about spoiling this - giving the main character a boob job and making her prettier is just kinda. gratuitous and annoying in a way that enhances nothing and by making it so any character can look almost any way they want, it detracts from a potentially more interesting system where assassins have very specific specialisations. im having trouble articulating the specific issue i have with this but the best way to summarise it is by restating: Male Fantasy Author.
additionally, the betrayal in the last 50 or so pages was very obvious to see coming. not so much that it was obvious ash and osrik were going to betray the church, but more that it was obvious that a betrayal of some kind was going to take place - the narrative up to that point made the ending feel predictable, if still well executed.
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