Review: Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff

Title: Darkdawn

Author: Jay Kristoff

Series: The Nevernight Chronicle #3

Genre: Fantasy/Adult

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Publication Date: September 3rd, 2019

Edition: Kindle Edition, 512 pages

Source: Library

Purchase: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | BAM

Synopsis:

  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?

Mild spoilers for past books.

Review:

So, I am slightly a wreck. I have no idea how people who read this series as they were coming out managed to wait between books. I borrowed all three from the library, so there was a small wait, but not the year+ between books. And I really love how the author made fun of his own writing and took shots at himself. It gave me many moments to laugh at.

This book was quite the rollercoaster.

 I loved the dynamic between Mia and Jonnen, and them growing close, him coming to terms with being lied to his whole life and that the man who raised him isn't the man he thought he was.

I still don't know how I feel about Mia and Ash being together. I think since I read them so close together I'm still not quite over Tric's death in book one. Not enough time to heal. But I am glad that Ash was given a bit more of a redemption arch in this book. 

I really loved the plot of this book. I don't know what would be considered a spoiler for people. Book one was kind of Magic School setting, book two was Gladiators, this book was more search and rescue and a bit of treasure hunting. I loved everybody's growth, especially Mia's. 

I was never sure where this book was headed, what the next big twist was going to be, or who was going to die next. Speaking of deaths, there are two that shocked me, but only one of those made me sad. The other was just really unexpected.

The climax of the book was insane, and I need to go buy these books so I can re-read them and annotate them and re-read my favorite scenes over and over.

The ending was what I would call bittersweet. I still kind of don't know how to feel about it. I would love to have more books set in this world. The magic system is really unique and interesting.