A few very small nitpicks (view spoiler)[I don't really get how the Voivodeship works? I get it's really just a framework for Carys and Max to f4.75/5
A few very small nitpicks (view spoiler)[I don't really get how the Voivodeship works? I get it's really just a framework for Carys and Max to fight against but it makes no sense to me? A utopia where everyone moves every three years? Who moves the belongings all the time? No one can be in a couple until they're in their late 30s? And no one challenged that before the third generation of the utopia? Anyway..... (hide spoiler)] but this is a clever, engaging, emotion-filled novel. It's thoughtful and creative in how it approaches the love story between Max and Carys... I loved it.
Coherent thoughts to follow in 2017 closer to the release date, but this was a late addition to all my best-of lists for 2016!...more
That. Was. Awesome. I am still reeling and feeling many things hours after finishing. What a great finish for a series that only improved as it went oThat. Was. Awesome. I am still reeling and feeling many things hours after finishing. What a great finish for a series that only improved as it went on....more
I loved this series. It is consistent and inventive and likes to turn expected fantasy tropes on their head (view spoiler)[I will never forget the "leI loved this series. It is consistent and inventive and likes to turn expected fantasy tropes on their head (view spoiler)[I will never forget the "lets kill the goddess and we will be saved!" plot twist. Brilliant and unexpected ploy to spin that trope (hide spoiler)].
The main characters include a teenage girl rogue banker who wants to end war through economics and bank loans, a widowed and badass former baroness who now spies and plots while marching with armies, and a mercenary captain who's killed kings, controls the last dragon in existence, and is waiting for his second to rise up and steal the company.
The main villain is spoiled, self-indulgent manchild who invaded several countries because a woman rejected him. Because he was laughed at, or felt confused. Basically...he's an MRA in a fantasy world and he is CHILLING in his echoes of real humanity.
Also, it is one of the few series with no sexual abuse on the page. A fantasy series with no rape is so refreshing. Every book has been good - three four stars, sole three star - with the series last being its best and highest rated....more
4.25ish but this was pretty much all that I wanted and was scared to hope for in a sequel to Beware the Wild. It was gothic, eerie, atmospheric, the s4.25ish but this was pretty much all that I wanted and was scared to hope for in a sequel to Beware the Wild. It was gothic, eerie, atmospheric, the supernatural elements tied in naturally, the characters were diverse and inclusive, and the plot was tied to the first novel's but was not dependent upon it for understanding or advancement of this second story.
Just your basic teenage girl Rambo/MacGyver, fighting the battle of Thermopylae against mercenaries and mind-eating legged, fanged snakebeasts, in spaJust your basic teenage girl Rambo/MacGyver, fighting the battle of Thermopylae against mercenaries and mind-eating legged, fanged snakebeasts, in space, with the world's worst soundtrack playing. Yep.
Bloodthirsty, dark, and unrelentingly brutal, Nevernight is Jay Kristoff's newest fantasy offering and it is every bit as good as the steampunkish Lotus War series before it. Also like the Lotus War trilogy, this is a book that can bridge both YA and adult fantasy readerships, though the themes, action and characters feel more geared towards an adult audience. It's a blood-soaked revenge story and Mia Covere is a protagonist to remember.
This is a darkly imaginative book; death and destruction begin the book and set the unchanging tone from there. Kristoff has always leaned towards the grimdark side of the spectrum with his fantasy and he again skirts that edge here. There is a bit of humor (sardonic, sarcastic, cynical, dry) and hope to be found for Mia and Co. That's not to say that Nevernight pulls its punches because the exact opposite is the truth; no character is safe from betrayal, pain, or death. The stakes are high and Kristoff shows that in multiple harsh ways.
The beginning of Mia's story is a bit rough and admittedly the main reason it's not getting a full-five star rating here. Normally this is an author more than adept at scene-jumping and crafting cross POVs, but the start of Nevernight is very confusing and off-putting for less patient readers. I can see what the author is trying to do with how he opened the book and the point its trying got make re: sex and violence, but it's so jumbled that it loses any impact.
Thankfully the muddled execution that launches the story fades out after those scenes. Kristoff's storytelling style has always been unique and engaging in manner and the unnamed narrator of Mia's life is another great example. The footnotes may not amuse every reader but I loved the added bits of history, lore, and worldbuilding. It's another layer to the story that Kristoff is so slowly unraveling; though this is an entire "plot" in one book, there's obviously a much larger game at play being revealed in bits and pieces. It's intriguing and creative.
Also.. that sly mention of "Montoya's dual-hand forms." I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE, KRISTOFF....more
This was such a great, lovely read. It felt like a more fantasy-ish version of The Night Circus written by Laini Taylor with Indian mythology. It4.5/5
This was such a great, lovely read. It felt like a more fantasy-ish version of The Night Circus written by Laini Taylor with Indian mythology. It was almost perfect ((view spoiler)[I thought the end a tad rushed and a bit of an easy resolution (hide spoiler)]), and the writing is gorgeous. Would also recommend to fans of Cruel Beauty.
Best novel of the 50 I have read so this year. A stunning sequel that does not disappoint fans of the first, and one adds on the exisiting world, defiBest novel of the 50 I have read so this year. A stunning sequel that does not disappoint fans of the first, and one adds on the exisiting world, defines the characters more, and creates a taut plotline to tie it all together....more
Jessie Leigh
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Books:
best-of-2016
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