First Impression Friday – Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

Welcome to another First Impression Friday. In case this is your first time, here’s the rundown:

• Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions
and predict what you’ll think by the end.
• Did you think you’d love and ended up hating it? Or did you think
you’d hate it and wound up loving it? Or were you exactly right?
• Link back to Storeys of Stories so I can enjoy reading all the
First Impression Fridays out there!

Assassin Mia Corvere has found her place among the Blades of Our Lady of Blessed Murder, but many in the Red Church ministry think she’s far from earned it. Plying her bloody trade in a backwater of the Republic, she’s no closer to ending Consul Scaeva and Cardinal Duomo, or avenging her familia. And after a deadly confrontation with an old enemy, Mia begins to suspect the motives of the Red Church itself.

When it’s announced that Scaeva and Duomo will be making a rare public appearance at the conclusion of the grand games in Godsgrave, Mia defies the Church and sells herself to a gladiatorial collegium for a chance to finally end them. Upon the sands of the arena, Mia finds new allies, bitter rivals, and more questions about her strange affinity for the shadows. But as conspiracies unfold within the collegium walls, and the body count rises, Mia will be forced to choose between loyalty and revenge, and uncover a secret that could change the very face of her world.

Let’s talk about Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff.

Confession time. I’m over halfway done. So this is way past what I would normally consider to be a “first impression.” BUT I DON’T CARE! I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK!!

It’s SO good. I’ve said that about a lot of books, but based on how I feel this time, I’m not sure I ever meant it before. I was a big fan of the first book, but even that doesn’t seem to compare. There’s so much of what made the first one amazing and still so much to make it original. The action is intense, emotions are high and so are the stakes. I’m even enjoying the footnotes this time around, which were a point of contention for me in the first book.

Time to go stab read more. Bye!

My Prediction: 5 MILLION stars

Fun fact about this post: Buddy reading this with Taylor from Nerd Narration, who buddy read Nevernight with me as well.