Review – The Court of Nightfall (The Nightfall Chronicles, Book 1) by Karpov Kinrade (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Length: 494 pages
Publisher: Daring Books
Release Date: December 14, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1939559326
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Nightfall Chronicles
Source: Gift for Xmas
Rating: 4/5 stars

“You think you know what is right and what is wrong? Then tell me if this man should die. He is my enemy. He is to be my end.

He is the one I love.

I have spent my life in shades of grey. I have died and returned to a world of color. I have fought an Angel and lived. I have kissed the Prince of Ravens. I have faced the Lord of Night and made him kneel. I was accepted into the Four Orders, and I created the fifth. I freed the Shadow of Rome. I sat upon the Twilight Throne.

The man asks for my surrender. He asks for peace. He is too late. The girl he knew is gone, and death is in her place. I am Nightfall, and this is my story. You think you know it?

Think again.”

This is the first book in the Nightfall Chronicles, which is a trilogy. This was a well done fantasy/post-apocalyptic type of novel. It reminds a lot of The Hunger Games trilogy and of Pierce Brown’s Red Rising series.

In this case it was a war between Nephilim and humans that wiped out a large portion of both populations and resulted in a sort of caste system that rules humanity now. Additionally the Nephilim and those that are half Nephilim and half human are treated as slaves.

There is some excellent world-building here and I really enjoyed the first half of the book where we read about Scarlett’s childhood and history. The second half of the book was very similar to some other series I have read (heroine gets training in secret, joins a rebellion, and tries to infiltrate the enemy headquarters) and I didn’t enjoy it as much as the beginning.

In the end it’s a well done book. However, I wasn’t dying to read more about these characters by the time I finished the book.

Overall I enjoyed the book. There is some good world building here and the character development in the beginning of the book is very well done. The second half of the book ventured into territory that was a lot more traditional YA dystopia in nature and I didn’t enjoy that part quite as much. Right now I am not sure if I will read the rest of the series or not. It’s not a bad book but I didn’t find the 2nd part of the story to be all that engaging.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge
– Paranormal Reading Challenge
– YA Reading Challenge