Source: eLibrary
Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Magic
Length: 15 hours and 25 minutes
Narrator: Khristine Hvam
Author's Blog | Twitter
Buy it: Amazon | Kindle | B&N | Book Depo
Description:
Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.My Rating:
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?
I didn't do a wrap-up post for 2013 listing my favorite books of the year but if I had, this would be top three if not number one. The last book in this trilogy is the book I look forward to the most in 2014 but I think when this series is over, I will cry.
Now that Karou knows the truth of her past and remembers her history, she seeks to atone for what see sees as her betrayal to her people. She takes over where Brimstone left off with a some interesting results. But she's an outcast that's trying to punish herself for love. She misses those who loved her most. When she feels at her lowest, two of her greatest friends enter, making her life better and shedding light to what has been really going on. Meanwhile Akiva returns to his world to continue where he left off. However, he too is heartbroken and having a difficult time fitting back in. As more lives are lost both Karou and Akiva wonder about the future of their world.
On the story...
First, this series is awesome and if you haven't read the first book in this series, stop right now and go get it. This is a must read series!!! Like Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I felt like I could see the action, could feel every emotion, and everything else in between. The world building is so vivid and the characters have such depth. With that being said, there is nothing I can write in this review that can share how awesome this book and this series is. I wanted Karou to let go of her guild but could completely understand where it came from. The plot progresses nicely and at the end takes a detour that I wasn't expecting. I also loved Akiva in this one. When it became obvious that Karou and Akiva's stories would be separate for most if not all of the book, I started to get a bit down but the entrance of Zuzana, Mik, and Ziri made it oh so much better. This is a pretty dark read but Zuzana and Mik certainly lighten it up. The world building is amazing and one of my favorite parts of this series.
On the narrator...
Everything was perfect. EVERY.THING! This is a book that I would recommend on audio BUT you might still want to purchase the book so it's up to you on that one.
Overall...
This is a great sequel. It follows up beautifully to Daughter of Smoke and Bone and I can't wait for the final installment.
