Review DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT by LAINI TAYLOR @lbkids @LainiTaylor

Book Description

Release Date: November 6, 2012 | Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.
This is not that world.

Art student and monster’s apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is–and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

About the Author

Laini Taylor is the author of five novels: the forthcoming Days of Blood & Starlight, Daughter of Smoke & Bone, the Dreamdark books Blackbringer and Silksinger, and the National Book Award finalist Lips Touch: Three Times. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, illustrator Jim Di Bartolo, and their daughter, Clementine. Her website is www.lainitaylor.com.

SOURCE: NETGALLEY

MY THOUGHTS

ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

** slight spoilers if you haven’t read the first **

So the story picks up right where Daughter of Smoke and Bones left off, her family is dead, war is imminent and Karou now realizes she loved the enemy and that her idea that she could change the world for better comes crashing around her. While I missed the circular storytelling of the first book, the story continues in a very strong fashion, building on the tension between Karou and Akiva while using flashbacks to explain the true history of the two and their connection as well as the truth between the worlds of Chimera and Angels.

Zuzana is desperately trying to contact Karou and thinks she is dead. She goes on with her life and tries to email Karou with lots of wit and determination, it is not until several chapters, that she get a vague email in return from Karou telling Zuze that she is safe and in the land of starlight and sand. Zuzana figures out the clues and goes on a search to save Karou. She finds her and the story continues. Gosh, I love Zuzana, especially when the pair reference Monty Python. So as Karou is forced to work with the man who killed her as a Chimera, she finds even more strength to put things right.

Much like Romeo and Juliette, you think the story ends in Karou’s death and if you read the first, you know she is reincarnated as a human. She still retains some of her Chimera magic and that small fact plays an important role in this installment. There is a lot of genocide, war, battles, death, more death, more battles and hope….a lot of hope, just like Karou‘s name. The story also gives more detail about Akiva and his side of the story, which is almost as heartbreaking as Karou‘s. There are lots of new characters introduced, some that are truly evil incarnate. Sigh, now I must wait another year for the next one.