My heart was literally in my throat during these scenes, which become increasingly tense and violent as the story goes along. This is one blood-soaked and violent story, as you might imagine, as many of the best scenes are set in the arena where the gladiatii are pitted against each other and fight to the death. The biggest surprise for me was discovering just how much I loved reading about the gladiatii, or gladiators. As always, accompanied by her faithful shadow cat Mister Kindly, and the shadow wolf named Eclipse who she acquired at the end of Nevernight, Mia navigates an increasingly dangerous landscape, full of friends and foes alike. Along the way, Mia encounters a host of fellow slaves and fighters, but who she can trust and who is out to stab her in the back is a mystery. Killing the two men who were responsible for her family’s death is, and she will stop at nothing until that goal is realized. Mia is determined to become the best of the best and eventually make it to the biggest battle of all, the magni in Godsgrave, where the winner will earn his freedom.īut freedom isn’t her ultimate goal. Set some time after the end of Nevernight, Mia is now a literal slave (and I won’t spoil things by telling you how she ends up that way) and has been sold into a family of gladiatii, the best warriors in the land who compete against each other in terrible, bloody battles. This time the Roman influences are very clear, as the story involves Mia-still on her path of vengeance-concocting an elaborate and dangerous scheme in order to position herself just right in order to fulfill her goals.

Kristoff wisely leads his characters away from the setting of Nevernight, the Red Church where Mia gained status as a Blade in the first book. It’s all part of the fun-and agonizing emotional rollercoaster ride-of reading a Jay Kristoff novel.Īs far as “second in a series books” go, Godsgrave held its own and then some. So that thing that you can’t believe he did? Well, maybe he did and maybe he didn’t. But Kristoff is also known for his twists. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years of reading this author, it’s that Kristoff is famous for doing the unexpected and “going there” when you hope-in your heart of hearts-that he’s actually bluffing. There were several times while reading Godsgravethat I had to stop reading and ask myself, “Did Jay Kristoff really just do that?” And the answer is, yes, he did. Small, unavoidable spoilers for Nevernight, if you haven’t read it yet. The nitty-gritty: A bloody good, bloody brilliant sequel in Kristoff’s ode to the Roman Empire. Published by Thomas Dunne Books on September 5 2017

This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Godsgrave jay kristoff