"Days of Blood and Starlight" by Laini Taylor

 

 

SUMMARY :

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 BOOK :
Published by:  Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages:  544
Genre:  Fantasy
Author:  Laini Taylor
Series:  Daughter of Smoke and Bones #2
Author's website is www.lainitaylor.com
Purchase this book:  Barnes & Noble  and  Amazon



ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Laini Taylor is the New York Times bestselling author of 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.


An Award-Winning Trailer for "Days of Blood & Starlight"

 

 

THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :

Not having read the "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" all the way through puts me at a disadvantage to review this sequel.  I decided to try it, however, because I had heard such accolades about Laini Taylor and her writing style.  I have to tell you this book was a mixed bag for me. 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed her world-building and her prose in places.  Although the density of her lovely prose was just overwhelming at times and diminished her story.  I wanted more about the angelic beings to be described and thought I'd probably missed out on that in the first book.

 

Her main characters were engaging and beautifully created so that they held my attention throughout.

Absolutely a book of strong characters, but I don't think the story befits them.  It's a book of beautiful descriptions of places and magical things, but I don't think the story itself is particularly moving.  Probably because I'm not much on demons and battles...and the love story got lost for me.

 

I suspect this is a great sequel to those young readers who loved "Daughter of Smoke and Bones," however. It had all the makings of being that kind of book.  So, if you're one who would like to start a new series, I would say go for this one, but start from the beginning.  It's gotten rave reviews from those who are familiar with the series.

 

I would give it a 4 stars for one who hasn't read the first book, but who finds magical prose and angelic beings interesting. And, I do like the way Ms Taylor writes. Laini leaves a cliff hanger at the end that portends the third book in the series for all her many fans.

 

4 stars                             Deborah/TheBookishDame