Nevernight

«All great blades have names. It’s just how it’s done.” “Bollocks.” Mercurio took back the dagger, held it up between them. “Naming your blade is the sort of faff reserved for heroes, girl. Men who have songs sung about them, histories spun for them, brats named after them. It’s the shadow road for you and me. And you dance it right, no one will ever know your name, let alone the pig-sticker in your belt. “You’ll be a rumor. A whisper. The thought that wakes the bastards of this world sweating in the nevernight. The last thing you will ever be in this world, girl, is someone’s hero.” Mercurio handed back the blade. “But you will be a girl heroes fear.» THIS BOOK WAS AMAAAAAAAAAZING!!!! Seriously, this is the best book of the year. I still can`t get over it and start another book, and I`ve finished it a month ago! It just blew my mind, and all I could say right after finishing it was like: IUEJGHITEIWRFJERFKJRKFJAMAAAAAAAZINGIRGHRUIEIFHRUFWOOOONDERFULIUHREGUFRHEIGEEEEEEEEENIOUS!!!!!!! Jay Kristoff wrote a masterpiece. Finally we have a badass girl-assassin (and I`m not counting S. J. Maas assassin, because she was a total fail, IMHO), with a great sense of humor, dark powers, mouth of a sailor and a talent for killing. ATTENTION: this is not a YA book. It`s totally NA, with dirty words, bloodshed and sex scenes. People drop here like flies. My ship went down without even starting! *bawls* The prose took my breath away from the very first page. Jay Kristoff knows how to deal with words. It was an intricate job, an even though I wasn`t very interested in the plot for the first couple of chapters, I couldn`t stop reading, because I was mesmerized by his writing skills. The worldbuilding was a bit heavy for me, because it was very detailed and I couldn`t keep in mind all the information that was given in the first chapters. I really liked the footnotes – it was a fresh idea, and tbh they are more of a joke, than convenient information that will help you understand the world of Nevernight, so you can totally look past them if you want to. So, it all started on the day when Mia`s father was hanged. «Never flinch.” A cold whisper in her ear. “Never fear. And never, ever forget.” The girl nodded slow. Exhaled the hope inside. And she’d watched her father die.» The girl saw how her father was killed and later how her mother and brother were taken away to prison. Mia was nearly killed by the same people, but she managed to escape. It was then when she discovered the ability to manipulate shadows and met a new friend - Mr Kindly - the cat out of shadows who became her faithful companion and ally. Determined to avenge her family, the girl aims to become the best assassin of the country, and for this she needs to get to the Red Church – a school for killers. The school is really like Hogwarts, but they don`t teach magic. Although, they have their Severus Snape;) Once Mia got to school, I couldn’t tear myself away from reading. Each chapter was carefully thought out and full of events, beginning with lessons on becoming a murderer and ending with communication between other students. Everything was perfectly balanced: the plot, the characters and the worldbuilding. This book is so full of humor, I couldn`t stop laughing! Just thinking about the horse Bastard or sarcastic jokes of Mr. Kindly, who never missed an opportunity to tease his mistress, makes me smile. And Tric ... I won`t even start with him. I can only say that there was not a single dull character (I mean the main characters), who didn`t have his rightful place in this story. All students had a reason to become killers. Everyone sought retribution. Anyway, I can serenade this book till the end of the world, because it exceeded all my expectations. From now on, Jay Kristoff`s books are a must-read for me. I'll be counting days before the sequel.