Darkdawn

In the highly anticipated conclusion to the “Nevernight” trilogy, assassin Mia Corvere escapes the arena with her newly discovered younger brother reluctantly in tow. She discovers that a mortal enemy is still alive and that she must rescue her mentor from captivity in the Red Church’s Quiet Mountain stronghold. Mia has a destiny to fulfill, revenge to take, and a plethora of enemies to murder violently. Running afoul of vengeful gods, pirates, and her former assassin colleagues in her quest, she discovers bonds of both blood and chosen family in some surprisingly heartfelt scenes. Kristoff’s (Godsgrave) action sequences are well done, although Mia’s shadow magic and use of animal passengers leads to some one-sided encounters. The metacommentary is a bit much, but humorous footnotes provide wry asides and additional info about this well-imagined realm.