Review - Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Title: Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2)

Author: Laini Taylor

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis: 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?

My Thoughts:

I know that everyone says the second book was as good as the first one but not for me. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the second one quite a lot as well but it didn’t deliver the magical atmosphere of Daughter of Smoke and Bone somehow. That’s okay though because second books rarely outshine the first ones in a series and it was still a kick-ass fantasy sequel.

The setting was different and even though I missed Prague I saw why this change was necessary. We see a lot more of Eretz in this book, the world building intensifies – I even have a little map on the first pages of my copy… I love maps in books!

Along with the new scenery quite a few new characters were introduced too, some of whom will most likely play an important part in the endgame.

I wouldn’t say the majority of the sequel was overly action packed rather there was a lot of talk of strategy and politics that served to prepare us for what’s coming in the third book.

I liked the last 30 pages the most, since the story became extremely fast paced there and the ending was full of twists and turns. Even though I’m pretty bad at reading series – in finishing them to be exact – I will definitely pick up the final book, because I have to know what happens. 

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