5 perfect stars 
 Let me tell you... this turned out to be one of my favorite reads of 2016! 
 Nevernight AKA Hogwarts meets GRRM 
 was exactly what I love most about fantasy - dark, gritty and imaginative world, intrigue and plots and murders, a slow burn romance, a sense of constant danger for the characters, witty and sarcastic dialogue, morally grey main characters and so on. 
 There were complaints in some reviews about slow beginning and footnotes, but I loved that. I loved how the footnotes made me laugh and learn more about the world, and I loved reading about Mia's early life. 
 We meet Mia Corvere, a young girl set on vengeance for her murdered family. She plans to become a member of an elite group of assassins in order to be able to defeat her scheming and powerful oponents. She makes enemies and allies both in an out of school and her only companion in whom she trusts is a shadow cat named Mr Kindly. 
 I need to emphasize that even though the characters are young and a part of the story is set is a "school", this is not YA! 
 The school in question is a secret academy for assassins and Kristoff doesn't shy away from violence, gory murder scenes, lots of swearing and (very well done) sex scenes. 
 The writing was beautiful and Kristoff has not only pulled off writing about a morally questionable character, he actually made us actively root for her, even when her actions were far from ok. 
 One of the things that I highly appreciated in this book were the relationships between the characters. The fatherly, yet tough relationship between Mia and her tutor, the friendship with Ash and Carlotta, merciless competition with Jessamine, the tough approach of the professors at the academy and the twisted challenges. And most importantly, Tric. 
 I can't begin to explain how much I loved Tric and their slowly developing relationship. This scarred boy with a tragic past broke my heart and I wish nothing more than a happy ending for him. 
 The rich writing style, incredible&complex characters and dark world mixed with competitive atmosphere in the "murder school" reminds me of Hogwarts if written by George R.R. Martin, and I couldn't wish for a better combination!