Uncompromising entertainment. 4.5 stars. 
 This review was originally posted on my book blog. 
 Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for giving me an e-copy of this book in return for an honest review. 
 I've been quite surprised by how Nevernight appears to be dividing readers into clear "hate it/DNF'd it" vs. "loved it" camps. So, what did I think? Well, I loved it. This book is very, very good. In fact, it's "stay-awake-past-2-in-the-morning-willing-your-eyes-to-stay-open-so-you-can-finish" good. 
 So, what else do you need to know? Firstly, we are warned in the prologue that this book is going to be unflinching, uncompromising and unsentimental. And it delivers on all that and then some. Be prepared for graphic everything: language, sex and violence. However, that said, I didn't feel that any of the swearing, nastiness or sex was gratuitous or an attempt to shock (apart from when a character might have been trying to provoke another), but rather was all in keeping with plot and character development. 
 It is true that I didn't feel the story fully got into its stride until Mia gets to the Red Church, although you could hardly call her journey there uneventful. But I'd urge you to stick with the story because if you're looking for action, the later parts of the book deliver it in spades. 
 The characterisation is excellent. The main character - Mia - is pleasingly complex; every time you think you have her figured out she does something unexpected to keep us intrigued. The secondary characters are also a varied and interesting bunch. 
 Although this is a bloody, dark and ruthless story, fantasy fans will notice lots of echoes of more familiar, less X-rated tales, which I think may partly explain why this book never feels like it's pushing you away. The assassins' school is basically a far deadlier version of Hogwarts. For example, the potions master, oh I'm sorry, the "Master of Truths", actually poisons her students and waits to see if any of them are smart enough to figure out the antidote and so not die. I think we all know that Snape would have LOVED to do that!