The dark dawn

The final installment in Nevernight trilogy. Mia is running with her brother and Jonnen after creating Chaos in Godsgrave (killed fake Scaeva and Duomo). She finally manages to kill Scaeva and she also dies.

At the end of last book, Ash was saved by Tric from the Red Church assassin but they managed to take Mercurio, Mia's teacher. When they meet up with Mia, She is shocked as one can imagine, what with her ex bed partner coming back from dead and Scaeva not really dead and also Scaeva being her father. On top of that, Tric tells her that her mission is to bring back Night. She to collect all the darkins and restore Moon, the Night's Sun. (My personal note: The way this stiry of the sun, moon and the night is told is really brilliant!) While she doesn't believe it at first, she would by the end.

They (Mia, Jonnen, Ash and Tric) are on a journey to revive Mercurio from the Red Church. Mia literally caught Jonnen, her long lost brother when fake Scaeva throws her at her face. Jonnen is a nine year old who respects his father and hates Mia for killing him. Throughout the boat journey they fight with the Lady of Seas and Storms and the Lady of fire who are trying to kill Mia so that she never restores their mother, the Night (who they hate).

In the Red Church, Mercurio, the librarian Aelius and the twin sorcerers Adonai and Marielle scheme to help Mia when she eventually comes to help rescue Mercurio. They find the books of NeverNight and Godsgrave in the library of the lost and they know that Mia dies at the end of this story. However, unable to find the third book they are unable to help her. In the meanwhile, Drusilla (the Lady Blade, the bitch queen) finds the books tells her co-blades and organises a search for book three which she ultimately ends up finding. Now aware of the plan, she schemes with the other teachers and Scaeva to kill Mia when she enters the Red Church.

Mia gathers her old Gladiatti who she saved in the last book to help her with the quest. They meet up with Naev at Last hope and start traveling through the desert to the Red Church. When they arrive at the Church, they arrive with a bang which the Red Church was not expecting. From then it is a blood bath in which all die except Scaeva and Spiderkiller, the poison master. Spiderkiller being the coniving assassin that she is poisons all the wine in the Church and gets rid of the antidote before fleeing. This kills Ash.

Heartbroken from the loss of Ash, Mia travels to restore the moon. She meets Cleo, the mother of all darkins battles with her and manages to restore Moon. Then she comes back to Godsgrave with all her powers and kills Scaeva in a very what I assume to be a cinematic battle. Ash also comes back from dead just like Tric, to help Mia. But Mia is dead from the battle but the Moon brings her back and they live happily ever after.

Notable characters:

  • Mia: Protagonist

  • Ashlinn: Mia's partner.

  • Mister Kindly: Not-cat, familiar, A conscious shadow

  • Tric: Former dead dude who came back and saved Ashlinn's and Mia's ass

  • Mercurio: Mia's teacher prior to Red Church and now Bishop for Red CHurch, ends up getting kidnapped by them.

  • Solis, Aalea, Mouser, Spiderkiller: Red Church professors with murder specialisation, now all dead

  • Duomo, Scaeva, Remus: Government heads who Mia killed for revenge.

  • Jonnen: Mia's brother lost at the age of 1, also a Darkin

  • Sidonius, BladeSinger, etc: Fellow Gladiatti from Remus Collegium.

  • Cloud: Ship's captain who aids Mia. Very funny guy. His actual name starts with a B.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Why I like this book?

  • Mia, Tric and Ash: nicely done love triangle

  • Mia and Jonnen: The blossoming of their relationship from hate to love.

  • How Jonnen was kept as a nine year old? If you know, you know.

  • The schemings. There is a huge plot twist I cannot reveal.

  • The Story of the Day and Night.

Why I don't like this book?

  • The last two battles happen so close to each other, I did not have patience. I knew Scaeva was going to die, so I skimmed th e part.

  • The battle with Cleo was anticlimatic. She just died.

  • Jonnen is a darkin and he reamins alive. The story was that Mia must assimilate all of the Moon to restore him. I am a bit confused. I mean if he can stay alive, then it did not make sense taht Mia had to die in the first place.

  • Very convenient happy ending.