Review: Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
Title: Days of Blood & StarlightAuthor: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Publication Date: November 6, 2012
Pages: 513
Format/Source: Hardback/Purchased
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
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? (Cover and synopsis from Goodreads)
Sophomore Slump? Nah!
So I don’t know about all of you, but I think I loved Days of Blood & Starlight even more than Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Maybe it’s because I love action and twists and turns in books, and Days definitely had a lot more action, with some fantastic twists at the end. And so much death! I wrote in my notes, “I know there’s a war going on, but it’s getting all Deathly Hallows up in here!” But that’s realistic for a war, so I was actually pretty happy about it.
Or maybe I loved this one more because there was more of Zuzana. Because seriously, Zuzana is now one of my favorite literary characters of all time. She is just so fantastic and I love that she had an even bigger part in this book than in the first one. I would love to read a spin-off series just about Zuzana and Mik.
Either way, I just really loved Days of Blood & Starlight, and it has solidified my love for Laini Taylor. I really enjoyed Daughter, and I was interested to read Days, but I wasn’t fangirling about the first book like so many other bloggers. Well, now I guess I’ll have to change my status. Taylor is just such a superb writer, and I love the cliffhanger chapter endings and the multiple story lines that just keep you so engaged. I can’t wait to read more from her!
Bonus Points…
Laini Taylor gets bonus points for the following:
- The map of Eretz on the first few pages. I’m not sure if this was actually Taylor’s decision or the publishing company or what, but books with maps totally get like 50,000 bonus points from me.
- A Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference. 10,000 points.
- Zuzana. 1 bazillion points for Zuzana.
5 huge stars. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series! And if you were like me and liked Daughter of Smoke & Bone but didn’t love it, go ahead and give this one a chance–you may end up liking it more!
My review of Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
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Jessie Marie
March 14, 2013 at 10:16 am*shyly puts hand up in the air* You mean bloggers like me fangirling about this book? Haha, I maybe got a little bit carried away for my excitement.
I love your bonus points system – understandable, fair and reasonable. Although, I think Zuzana earns so many more points than that. Her character is who I want to be when I grow up.
Taylor's cliffhanger chapter endings are bittersweet as far as I'm concerned. Eventually, my brain is too exhausted and wants to sleep. And then she drops literary bombs and I'm awake again, reading feverishly. It's a vicious cycle – and book three will only be more intense!
Great review, great lines, just… great. : )
Andrea @ The Overstuffed Bookcase
March 14, 2013 at 1:01 pmThanks! And you're right–1 million points just isn't enough. I'm going to have to amend that. ;)
Brandi Kosiner
March 14, 2013 at 6:37 pmI haven't read the first yet, but have heard such great things that I know that I need to. It is great to know that this is an awesome 2nd book.
Brandi @ Blkosiner’s Book Blog
Sarah Elizabeth
March 14, 2013 at 8:24 pmI haven't read a bad review for this book yet. I'm seriously considering re-reading book 1 to see if it makes any more sense a second time, with a view to reading this afterwards! Glad you enjoyed it :)
fakesteph
March 15, 2013 at 6:49 pmI'm so glad to hear that this one is even better than the first. I'm dyyyying to read it!
Katja Weinert
March 16, 2013 at 10:49 amI think I liked book one and two equally – which is to say I adored them! So good :) Great review, Andrea
Maycee Greene
July 7, 2013 at 3:20 amWas such a good book just as good if not better than Daughter of smoke and bone . Couldnt put it down until id finished it then wished i had more to read great book :)
Maycee Greene (LinkHelpers)