Rate: 4/5
Medium: Audiobook
Overview (No Spoilers):
Typically, when you finish the first book of the series, the next installment picks right up in a predictable fashion, with most of the characters and plot having already been developed. It is almost automatic to sit back and see how the next segment of the story will unfold. Kristoff blatantly and delightfully ignores this formulaic approach and has quite the adventure in store for both the reader and our vengeful little assassin.
In all seriousness, when I first picked up Godsgrave, I was approximately one chapter in before I immediately stopped to verify I’d actually started the next book in the series. The significant leap in time, when coupled with critical pieces of information being withheld, left the reader eagerly playing catch up. Once it was established I was thankfully on book two, I settled in for the ride, reveling in the slow reveal of how Mia’s present situation aligns with the blood bath we had left her in Nevernight.
The characters were almost wholly new in Godsgrave, though this small cast was able to be more developed based on Mia’s isolated path. Compared to the cutthroat nature of Nevernight, I found myself much more attached to the supporting characters in Godsgrave, much as Mia did. I distinctly felt distraught at various fighting scenes, even more so when the outcome seemed nigh impossible.
My biggest issue with Mia carried over in Godsgrave, though to be fair, my complaint seems genuine to her driven personality. Mia’s single handed focus on revenge restricts her to her tunnel vision and creates unexpected blind spots throughout the story. Warning, a bit of a spoiler: In Godsgrave, a shadow entity miraculously saves her when it appeared her luck had finally run out. Despite the enigma giving Mia strange advice, Mia hardly pondered the mystery the rest of the book, with the shadow barely crossing her mind. In contrast, I couldn’t stop pondering the mystery. Just baffling.
One of my favorite parts of Godsgrave continued to be the shadow pets. The banter was just the lightness that such a dark read needed.
The unexpected start was the least of Kristoff’s tricks as the ending was brilliant and held so many twists and turns that just when I would be confident he had played all his cards, I would be proven wrong yet again with another surprise on the following page.
Overall, after such a wonderful sequel, especially with THAT cliffhanger , I can’t wait to find out what Kristoff has in store for Mia and the rest of the series.
Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):
- Mia’s brother also is a Darkin! Does it run in the family or just because they both went through such dark times.
- It was interesting to see how different Eclipse is. What will the fourth shadow be like?
- Mia’s father is Julius Scaeva! Why would he have had her killed but keep her son. Was it because of the age? Also I did not predict he had a body double!
- My heart was so sad that Mia had killed her friends with the excuse of her revenge. I was so thankful there was a twist I hadn’t anticipated. The deaths all seemed so real I didn’t see another way out.
- The depth added to the story was significant with Mia’s parent’s flaws revealed.
- What is Tris? How was he the shadow man and why has he not revealed himself to Mia? It bothered me that Mia hardly thought about the shadow.
- Can Mia save Mercurio? What will her brother think now knowing the truth?
- How could Mia forgive Ashlyn?
- How will the larger world react to the chaos that Mia wrought at the last match?
- There was strange tension and lack of patience between Mia and Mr. Kindly. How will this continue to evolve?
The Critiquing Chemist 