Review: Days of Blood and Starlight

Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2), by Laini Taylor. The Goodreads summary:

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?

You guys. I loved this book. A lot. And that was totally unexpected. I mean, I liked the first book, “Daughter of Smoke and Bone,” well enough. Enough to want to read the next in the series, at least. But I mean, it took me two years to get around to actually reading “Days of Blood and Starlight,” if that tells you anything. And I almost never like the second book in YA trilogies. But this one . . . this one I adored.

It was just so dang good, you know? In the first book I learned that Laini Taylor has a way with words that never ceases to amaze, but in this book I learned she has a way of creating characters that I really care about. Because I cared about so many of the characters. Karou and Akiva, yes, but also Ziri, Hazael, Liraz, Zuzana, Mik, and so many others. And you know you’ve found a talented author when they make you care about the secondary characters as much as the primary ones.

I think another reason I liked this book more than the first was that I knew what to expect. In the first book, I thought that it was just going to be about Karou and Akiva and angels and romance, and then BAM it hit me with all the Madrigal and chimera stuff and I wasn’t quite sure what to think. But this book starts firmly with both angels and chimera, and there weren’t the long flashbacks to distract from what’s happening in the present.

Because SO much is happening in the present. The fate of Eretz and the human world are both hanging in the balance, for pete’s sake, as is the existence of the chimera, and I just wanted Karou and Akiva to, you know, survive first of all, and then to succeed in their plans. And to actually talk to each other, because while I understand Karou’s mixed feelings about Akiva, at the same time I just wanted them to hurry up and reconcile so they could start making out. Because those two have got some great chemistry going on. For reals.

Overall, I adored this second book. It's pretty dark, but the characters were amazing, the world building was solid, and it left me really glad that I only have to wait until April for the third book. I think while I’m waiting I’ll go back and reread the first book, because I need some more of these characters to tide me over.

Rating: 4.5 / 5