Sean Gursky reviewed Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff (The Nevernight Chronicle, #2)
Review of 'Godsgrave: Book Two of the Nevernight Chronicle' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I know this much. Some answers are learned. But the important ones are earned.
From the beginning I had a sense this book was going to be superior to its predecessor. I am not typically a fan of a story giving you some excitement and backing up a few weeks or months, but it worked here.
Being able to tell the past story with the chapter intros (in italics) followed by the present timeline offered plenty to enjoy and see how the two story lines would connect. I found this use of the chapter lead-ins to be more effective than what was in Nevernight #1.
There's no softer pillow than a clear conscience.
Unfortunately what still stood out and bothered me this go around was the dependency on footnotes. This eluded my commentary before but in Nevernight #2 they continued to exist. I find myself skipping them because I …
I know this much. Some answers are learned. But the important ones are earned.
From the beginning I had a sense this book was going to be superior to its predecessor. I am not typically a fan of a story giving you some excitement and backing up a few weeks or months, but it worked here.
Being able to tell the past story with the chapter intros (in italics) followed by the present timeline offered plenty to enjoy and see how the two story lines would connect. I found this use of the chapter lead-ins to be more effective than what was in Nevernight #1.
There's no softer pillow than a clear conscience.
Unfortunately what still stood out and bothered me this go around was the dependency on footnotes. This eluded my commentary before but in Nevernight #2 they continued to exist. I find myself skipping them because I can't remember what word or incident they were associated with. I appreciate not burdening the story with additional commentary or background but if it's important enough to tell then it should be explained.
"I could scarce believe it. I think I expected some ruse. Some plot or play or last-minute reprieve."
"Play?" Mia shook her head, bewildered. "Why is everyone still acting like this is a fucking game?"
While reading Nevernight #2 I found myself reminiscing about Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard series and how much fun it was to read about the characters getting in to trouble as much as getting out of it. Mia found herself in quite the schemes and plots in this book. As it started to play out I tried to guess where it would lead, sometimes correctly, but always found myself pleasantly entertained (with a few surprises) throughout.
Eager to jump in to the final book and see how this concludes!
