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Wednesday 25 March 2020

Book Review: Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

Last Updated: 14 October 2021

Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff cover

Conquer your fear, conquer the world.

Mia Corvere, destroyer of empires, has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church ministry do not believe she has earned it.

Her position is precarious, and she's still no closer to exacting revenge for the brutal death of her family. But after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia begins to suspect the motives of the Red Church itself.

When it is announced that Consul Scaeva and Cardinal Duomo will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave, Mia defies the Church and sells herself into slavery for a chance to fulfil the promise she made on the day she lost everything.

Upon the sands of the arena, Mia finds new allies, bitter rivals, and more questions about her strange affinity for the shadows. But as conspiracies unfold, secrets are revealed and the body count rises within the collegium walls, Mia will be forced to choose between her loyalties and her revenge.


Godsgrave is the second book in The Nevernight Chronicle series. I read Nevernight, the first of the series, last year and it ended up being one of my favourite books of the year - in fact, it made it into my top five of 2019! You can read my review of Nevernight here.

If you haven't read this series yet, be warned that both Nevernight and Godsgrave will leave you on the edge of your seat with their incredible cliff-hanger endings. With that in mind, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of Godsgrave so I could continue reading about Mia's adventures and exploits. And luckily, Godsgrave certainly didn't disappoint.

I found this book to be a little slower paced to start with than its predecessor, yet the pace definitely picked up - along with the action - about midway through the novel. Reading about Mia's death-defying escapades in the collegium was gripping and exciting, providing a surprising change of scenery to her study within the Red Church.

The cast of characters expands alongside Mia's horizons in this book, most notably to include her new friends - and rivals - at the collegium. Each of the gladiatii she encounters is an interesting, well-developed character, and together, the rag-tag bunch of slaves make for an entertaining group.

As ever, the author's world-building and suspense are masterful within this book; Jay Kristoff really is one of the most outstanding contemporary fantasy authors. Each page is alive with description and rich imagery and after a while, it's not hard to find yourself completely immersed in the story and Mia's world.

Godsgrave is another five-star read for me and I'm going straight into reading Darkdawn, the third and final book in the series! Wish me luck, for I'm sure there will be plenty of surprises along the way...

Rating: 5 stars

Godsgrave is available to buy now.

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Have you read this series? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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