Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff
Publication date: September 3rd, 2019
Synopsis
A ruthless young assassin’s journey for revenge comes to a stunning end in the conclusion of this acclaimed epic fantasy trilogy.
The Republic of Itreya is in chaos. Mia Corvere has assassinated Cardinal Duomo and rumors of Consul Scaeva’s death ripple through the street of Godsgrave like wildfire. But buried beneath those same streets, deep in the ancient city’s bones, lies a secret that will change the Republic forever.
Mia and her brother Jonnen must journey through the depths of the ancient metropolis. Their quest will take them through the Godsgrave underdark, across the Sea of Swords, back to the library of the Quiet Mountain and the poisoned blades of Mia’s old mentors, and at last the fabled Crown of the Moon. There, Mia will at last discover the origins of the darkin, and learn the destiny that lies in store for her and her world. But with the three suns now in descent, and Truedark on the horizon, will she survive?
New York Times and internationally bestselling author Jay Kristoff’s writing has been praised by critics and readers alike and has won many awards, including five Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, and David Gemmell Morningstar and Legend awards.
My Review
Oh man this series. It really got me. I put of both reading this book and writing this review because I was afraid to come to the end of (probably) one of my all-time favorite series and have to process those emotions by writing about it.
Was this my favorite book in the series? No. Do I think it was a satisfying ending? 100% yes.
This book answers all of the burning questions that I had while reading the first two books in this series. Backstory? Full of it. Loose ends? Who are they!
If you’ve already read the first two books in the series, there should be no need of me urging you to pick this one up as soon as possible. Based on how Godsgrave ended, you will be undoubtedly s h o o k and scrambling for answers wherever possible. Luckily, this book is worth reading, and I recommend you stop reading this review right now and just go freaking pick it up riGHT NOW!
If you have not read this series before, why the FREAK not!? Please just get Nevernight from your local bookstore, the library, amazon, wherever. Once you start you will not be able to stop. If you’re into dark fantasy with a dash of smut and murder, this series is what your dreams are made of.
If, like me, you have finished this book/series and need to see your feelings/opinions reflected in someone else’s review, well read on ahead because I’m going to be talking a whole lot of nonsense below.
A bunch of things I liked in no particular order:
I loved Mia’s difficult relationship with her brother, Jonnen. He does not trust her. He actually actively hates her in the beginning, but over the course of the book they are able to put aside their differences and become real siblings. It is so so cute. This book includes the perfect amount of touching family moments to make you forget exactly what this book is truly about until something bloody and horrible happens to any of your favorite characters. Amazing.
Mercurio and the books. Oh, boy. I feel like this meta authorship situation is definitely not going to be for everyone, but I LOVED it. The idea of Jay Kristoff just sitting there writing this book and criticizing himself via Mercurio was delicious and had me cackling. The way he used the books within the book to twist the plot was nothing short of genius. I was so confused, but in the best possible way. The reveal was both frustrating and delightful.
I feel like people are either loyal to Mia/Tric or Mia/Ash, but I sit somewhere in the middle and feel more like “why not both?” lol I’m happy with how things played how in the romance department and I don’t think I would change anything.
The writing/narrator is both annoying and exactly what makes this book/series so special. I love a good sarcastic asshole and that’s exactly who this narrator is. I feel like this style is exactly what turns people off to this series, but in my opinion, it only works with it. The mix of the dark plot with the ruthless characters offset with this snarky narrator is the perfect balance of horror and comedy and I wish all books were like this. (Okay, maybe not all, but more at least.)
I feel like I don’t want to take too much about the plot here just in case you didn’t heed my earlier warning about reading the book before this review, so I will keep if vague.
I loved the backstory of who Mia is and why Mia is and how that plays into the larger plot of the book. I feel like I’ll appreciate it even more on a second read when I’m not speed reading to get to the end (lol)
I loved the Red Church scene and how that all played out. Although some may say otherwise, I too wish to be a librarian in an infinite library with larger book worms (ha) roaming around everywhere.
I don’t really have anything else to say. I love this series so much and I’m sad to see it end. (Any possibility of a companion series?? ehh??????)
*Thank you to Edelweiss and St. Martin’s Press for this review copy!
