Review - Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

 

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?


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In a world linked to ours through portals, an endless war rages between the seraphim and the chimaera. Although thanks to Akiva, the chimaera are dead, the fight continues as Karou has taken over Brimstone’s role as a resurrectionist, determined to avenge her people. Devastated at Akiva’s betrayal, she works to rebuild the army – but is forced to ally herself with her own murderer, Thiago, who killed her in her previous body as Madrigal. Thanks to him, her fellow chimaera see her as a traitor and an angel-lover, and on the other side, Akiva is having similar problems, and is also struggling with his conscience. He longs for a way to end the fighting, but after his and Madrigal’s/Karou’s dream of a different kind of world ended in tragedy, is there any hope left?

This book is very different in tone to Daughter of Smoke and Bone, although the writing style is as beautiful as ever. Once again, Laini Taylor has left me speechless. There’s no attempt to hide the brutality of the conflict, and we get to see both sides through different characters’ eyes. I loved the inclusion of Karou’s zany human best friend Zuzana and her boyfriend Mik, as their chapters add lighter moments to what would otherwise be a rather bleak tale. As before, the world-building is stunning, and the angels and the chimaera are both sketched in intricate detail.

I thought this book started out a little slow, but soon developed into an exciting story with plenty of surprises and heart-wrenching moments. A must-read for fans of Daughter of Smoke and Bone with a jaw-dropping cliffhanger of an ending! I need the third book now!

Rating: ****1/2*