Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon's secret temple and dreamed of a world that was like a jewel-box without a jewel - a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness.
This was not that world.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone Series:
Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Night of Cake and Puppets (Novella)
Days of Blood and Starlight
Dreams of Gods and Monsters
Visit Laini Taylor's website or the Daughter of Smoke and Bone website for more information
Review:
I absolutely adored Daughter of Smoke and Bone, in fact it's still one of my favourite YA novels, but I kept putting off reading the sequel. I think I was worried that it wouldn't live up to my incredibly high expectations and I couldn't stand the thought of being disappointed. Since the trilogy is now complete I decided it was about time I put my fear to one side so after re-reading DoSaB I FINALLY picked up Days of Blood and Starlight and now I can't understand what I was worried about. Laini Taylor has managed to follow up with another fantastic instalment to the series and I'm just so relieved that I already have the next book to hand so I don't have to wait to find out how everything ends.
What can I say about this book that would ever do it justice? I just don't think I have the words to describe how wonderful this series is. Laini Taylor's writing is beautiful, it's so incredibly descriptive and she immediately pulls you into this amazing world she has created that is full of wondrous creatures and characters you're bound to fall head over heels for. She manages to put me through the wringer emotionally with every single story she writes and I love her for it.
I adore both Karou and Akiva, they've both made mistakes and neither of them is perfect but that just makes them all the more real to me. I feel their pain, I feel their triumphs and most of all I feel the love they have for each other and how completely and utterly hopeless it seems when they know they can never be together. They were born enemies and the paths they have chosen are tearing them in opposite directions but no matter what they've done to achieve their goals they have the same ultimate objective. They both dream of peace between the angels and the chimera but with so many evil atrocities committed by both sides they can't see a way to make their dream reality.
This story is much darker than the first, Karou and Akiva both have difficult decisions to make and they have to live with the consequences of their actions. They are put under an incredible amount of pressure to do the right thing by their people and that causes resentment and anger to build between them. I have to admit I missed seeing Karou and Akiva together in this story, I so desperately wanted them to be able to forgive each other for the mistakes they've made but I can understand why they had to be apart for much of the story. I have high hopes that we might see them come together to take a stand in the final book but I guess I'll just have to read it to find out for sure. One thing I did really enjoy was seeing how hard Zuzana and Mik fought to help Karou, I loved them in the first book but I think they were even more important in this one and it was nice to see that Karou has such supportive human friends alongside her chimera ones. I also loved Akiva's siblings Liraz and Hazael and enjoyed learning more about the angel's hierarchy and goals.
I don't want to talk about the plot of Days of Blood and Starlight so I've kept this review deliberately vague. I'd much rather people were able to discover the story for themselves by reading the series. These books are right up there with the best, they're beautifully written modern classics and I want to put copies of the books into everyone's hands and force them to read them!
Source: Received from Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an honest review
Other Reviews:
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Hardback / Paperback / Kindle:
Hmm… I've been sitting on this one for a bit, perhaps I should give it a second go.
ReplyDeleteI do love this series Erica :o) I'm planning on reading the final book very soon, I've been waiting on Ange because we were supposed to buddy read it but she seems to have vanished :o(
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