Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Never Flinch, Never Fear, Never Forget.

Before I left my last job I took some books with me. Now before anyone asks I have every intention of returning them and the reasons I took them are very honorable I promise. I had purchased a few different titles for the students before I left. I always aim to read a good selection of any of the books I order to check what section of the library they'd go in and to help with recommending them. I set myself a ridiculously ambitious pile to read through and I didn't quite manage to finish them before my last day. However, I did not want them to just go straight on the library shelves without being read especially as they did not hire someone new to replace me. One of these such books was Nevernight by Jay Kristoff.  Obviously with my love of fantasy I was bound to want to read this one anyway so it was a treat to be able to have the copy.  I am so glad I didn't just let this go out on the shelves as personally it is certainly not a young adult read.

With this all said now onto the review. The story is set in a place where the sun rarely sets and it is nevernight most of the time. This is where Mia, hellbent on revenge ives, but unlike most of the citizens she lives in the shadows, in fact she is one and the same. She has command over them, can cloak herself in them and is followed where ever she goes by the not-cat Mister Kindly.  Having witnessed her father's death and her mother and brothers incarceration Mia is to determined to punish those who took them from her. The only way is to go to the Red Church and learn to be a true killer.   

For me the fact it is rarely night actually plays little role in the story. I was more intrigued by Mia's abilities. Unfortunately I found the first half of the book painstakingly slow. I wanted more from the shadows that surrounded Mia. I got my wish in the second half that is for sure. I felt the pace increased and the book demanded to be read. If the high octane aspects of the second half could have appeared more in the first I don't think I would have been as glacial in my reading. Another thing that clearly caused me to slow was the footnotes. Now I must admit I am not one for lengthy lessons of worlds, rules and histories in a fantasy story. I like it when the writer can bring you into the world believably without having to give you a history lesson. However for me if you don't think it is relevant enough to put in the actual content then the footnote seems unnecessary in a fiction story. Personally even if some of them were funny on the whole I found the a hindrance not a help.  

I can see why this story has been so popular. Mia and her quest are engaging and enigmatic and the power she posses is bone-chillingly lethal. Getting to see that power more in the second half is truly nail biting stuff. I didn't feel a great connection to other characters but on many occasions I was caught out by completely unexpected twists the story took. I think I am still a bit confused by the final chapter and that has left me wondering what will happen in the next installments.  

Weird and wonderful - I imagine fans of Neil Gaiman will love