Review: Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone) by Laini Taylor

Title: Days of Blood and Starlight
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Book #: 2
Pages: 399
Reading Level: YA
Book Rating: .5
Goodreads Rating: 4.39
Published: Oct. 31st, 2006

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?

Taschima's POV:

This was a bad ass book. An amazing sequel that doesn't suffer from being the "in between" title. After Daughter of Smoke and Bone it had some big shoes to fill, and it delivered! It's different from DMB but still great, with its focus less on the love story (and at the same time more) and more on the never ending war between the Seraphim and the Chimaera.

"You know how at the end of Romeo and Juliet, Juliet wakes up in the crypt and Rome's already dead? He thought she was dead so he killed himself right next to her? Well, imagine if she woke up and he was still alive, but he had killed her whole family. And burned her city. And killed and enslaved her people."

That would make for a way more interesting story, don't you agree? This is what Days of Blood and Starlight is all about. Only make Romeo an avenging Angel and Juliet an ex Beast. And yes, it is a way more interesting story.

The story is so gritty, and fantastically bloody. Daughter of Smoke and Bone (did I mention this was one of my favorite books last year?) was beautifully written and so interesting. Days of Blood and Starlight only builds up on that. But only with a more grave atmosphere. It's all about the war between the Seraphim and the Chimaera, about having a broken heart, about pain and suffering and everything that pretty much would break your soul. To say it's a sad story is an understatement. But it is also so, so good.

Akiva... boy you really stepped on it. After what he did I don't even know how Karou could ever forgive him. Their story, well, it isn't pretty and it ain't easy. I just can't bring myself to hate Akiva. Sorry, can't and won't do it. I loved how Laini wrote it though. Karou doesn't automatically fall into Akiva's hands, and Akiva is so clinically depressed it makes me a little depressed. They are apart for about the entire story and when they do come together it isn't in ecstatic love but in very different circumstances. It really lets you see who they are apart, who Madrigal is, and who Akiva was before Madrigal died.

One of the things that did bother me though was the constant POV switching. Holy shit, I am not kidding. At one point I think there were like 5 different POVs, and sure the book is written in 3rd person POV but it still annoying. I would really get into a character's story and then next chapter it would suddenly switch. On the positive side the different POVs did contribute an extra thing to the story though. There was also a new character introduced into the story that might just make your knees melt. Might even be competition for Akiva (no 3 way love story, just in your heads).

I can't wait for the third book!! Supposedly it's coming out 2014?!? That's ridiculous! It makes me furiously depressed. The ending of this book was epic. The way Laini Taylor broke away from the normal "keep the monster out of sight" plotline... it was just what the series needed to reach that next step and become Epic.

Final Verdict: Read it!! So awesome!