Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke & Bone Book #2)
By Laini Taylor
Genre: YA Fantasy

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?

General Thoughts: I liked this second book in the series a lot more than the first. My biggest fault with the first book was that it took half the book for me to figure out what the motivation was for Karou. Now I knew, and it really did have influence on all her decisions. Akiva had his own goals too and stuck to them. It made the story more enticing for me. I will give this warning, there is a fairly intense and graphic scene towards the end I would watch out for if you’re a younger reader.

Plot: Not bad. Karou had her goals and there were some major obstacles thrown in the way which always makes it more interesting. I wish there was a tad more urgency when it came to accomplishing their goals, more a the-world-is-depending-on-us kind of vibe, but I was definitely more intrigued by this book than the second.

Characters: We gained a few more point of view characters, which I don’t mind. Though Zuzana and Mik got a little annoying. To me they were that couple that seems perfect and is always so cutesy and jokesy with each other that it makes me want to vomit in my mouth a little bit because you know no couple is ever that perfect. I enjoyed meeting new seraphim and chimaera. I thought the new characters added an interesting dynamic to the story.

Pace: Again, better than the first but still not where I want it to be. I almost wonder if there was too much introspection from the characters and that caused too long of breaks from the action and slowed things down.

World/Setting: Way more interesting in my opinion to see glimpses into this other world. Could have done with a little more building, but a firm improvement on the first book if you ask me.

The Jist:

What I Liked: Introduction of new characters; Karou and Akiva having firm goals both are working towards.

What I Didn’t Like: Slowish pace still; too many breaks between action; cheesy/annoying dialogue between Zuz and Mik.

Would I Recommend It? Sure, why not. Not my favorite but not my least. I admit it slightly redeemed the first book.

My Rating: 3.5/5 Lunas
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