Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Description:

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?

Review:

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

4 out of 5

While The Daughter of Smoke & Bone was about Karou and Akiva, and was told from their points of view, Days of Blood & Starlight is about the communities that Karou and Akiva have.  It is told from multiple POVs (Svee the Dama, Ziri the Kirin, Akiva, Karou, several angels, and few humans, and a few more).  This is honestly a lot to keep up with.  But fear not, I will let you know that this is a good book.

The Characters:

Karou:

She seems to be suffering from survivor’s guilt – from both of her lives.  And the situation that she has put herself into is not helping with that fact. 

I honestly missed the Karou from the first book.  This Karou is depressed, naïve, and easily manipulated.  That is not the Karou that I thought was strong, determined and bright woman. 

Akiva

He has changed so much from the first book.  Yes, he still bears the wounds of what has happened, and he still bears the regret for what he has done, BUT he has decided to change how he is and what he does.  Talk about rising from the ashes.

I love how we got to know him better in this book.  This is definitely more his book than Karou’s. 

Ziri

He is the sweetest character that we have met.  He is still “pure” (meaning he hasn’t been resurrected) and he still holds onto his crush towards Karou, which is really cute. 

He is bright, and willing to make the sacrifices necessary to save his people and save his friends.

Overall:

What the bloody hell?  No one is who they seem.  Disguises, deception, revolts, secret assassinations, and world invasions, all this plotting is sure to keep you wondering “What the heck?”  It was crazy enough that I had to keep guessing who was who and what was going on.

Let me warn you, this is a much darker book.  Death is overly prevalent and this is not so much a fairy tale as a horror story. 

But aside from that, this book is still a wonderful story. I am patiently waiting for book3 to come along.  I really did enjoy this, and I recommend this book for a good read.

Happy Reading!

Cana