Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

Second in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy

ALL THE STARS 5 stars!

This book picks up quickly after DoS&B. Karou has found something that starts the cataclysm to the war in Eretz and its finality. She’s found the White Wolf and she is now the Resurrectionist. She’s torn up by Akiva’s betrayal and has no clue what the future may bring. She’s Hope for the chimaera race, but she doesn’t feel like the future of Eretz is very bright. Akiva fights with Misbegotten and within this battle he decides to finally do the one thing he knew was supposed to do his whole life, but people have other plans and nothing turns out the way anybody planned. I absolutely loved this book. It was just so perfect and stunning and breathtaking. I loved every minute of it. It’s been a few years since I read Daughter of Smoke and Bone and bought this one on a whim. I knew the trilogy was finishing and I thought it was the perfect time to conclude it. I’m so glad I bought this one. It was absolutely perfect. You’re gonna hear that a lot because this book is just that perfect. 


I don’t know what to say without spoiling anything. For readers who loved DoS&B, the sequel is very different. There are multiple POVs and several different plot points and storylines. I loved them all. This book opens up with Zuzana being her normal mischievous self and it was so funny and lighthearted. The opening made me think that this one would be light. I was so wrong. This book is dark. Incredibly dark. Bonechilling, sweaty palms, what’s-gonna-happen-next-I’m-scared dark. The opening for the war is brutal and it’s hard to pick a side. Should the chimaera win or the seraphim? I honestly think both races balanced each other out. They were both brutal but also both showed sides of light. In my opinion, this book shows that in a war there is no winner. Only losers. Everyone suffers a lost and each race is impacted with loss.


The main female character is Karou. Karou is one of my all-time favorite heroines. She can annoy me to no end sometimes. I was practically doing this in my head the whole time

But Karou has a sort of spark in her that gave me hope for the chimaera and for her love with Akiva and just hope for a better Eretz. I think this is the hardest part of Karou’s journey. Deciding what to do with her job as a resurrectionist and whether she should forgive Akiva. (This doesn’t come until around page 300 when they start interacting. Every fangirls worst nightmare!) Basically Karou has it tough, but I never stopped rooting for her.
 

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 9.5

The main male character is AKIVA!!! I love Akiva. He is perfection. He’s made mistakes, but everyone in this trilogy has and Akiva really does pay for them and he feels horrible for his choices. I love Akiva and he was so strong in this novel. His POV with Liraz and Hazael were some of my favorites.


Madrigal and Akiva from a the moon temple scene.♥


Swoon Worthy Scale: 10

The Villain- The White Wolf, Jael, Joram, and Razgut. Each with a hidden agenda but all such fantastic villains. My hate for the White Wolf (Thiago) burns so deep. He was a monster and I hated him with a burning passion. Jael and Joram both brothers and the reason the war is still going on. One brother nastier than the other and it all leads to the apocalypse (maybe). I consider Razgut to be a villain (especially since I read the DoG&M). He has a horrible agenda and he would destroy anything with a blink of an eye.


Villain Scale: 10

There is such a wonderful cast of characters. The main characters are great, but the glue and what makes me root for this novel are the side characters and they are all so wonderful. Zuzuna and Mik are hands down one of my favorite POVs to encounter in this entire trilogy. Zuzana was funny and witty and Mik was always the chivalrous one. They are also one of my favorite couples that aren’t the main couple in a novel that I’ve ever encountered. Ziri, sweet lucky Ziri. He plays such a wonderful role in this novel and the upcoming one. My love for Ziri is fierce. He’s sweet, humble, and a true warrior on the battlefield and when it comes to what’s right and wrong. Liraz and Hazael, Akiva’s brother and sister. Liraz is very cold and this novel had me hating her, but by the end she was slowly winning me over. Hazael is also a joy in the Misbegotten. He was funny and seriously don’t click this if you haven’t read the novel HUGE spoiler (view spoiler) There was also a very brief character introduction of Sveva and Rath. Sveva is a Dama and she was a chimaera slave and encountered the chimaera warriors in a brutal takedown of seraphim and Rath helped her and her hurt sister escape. I really liked Rath and his possible storyline. He showed a lot of promise. Let’s not forget the chimaera in the sandcastle. I love the chimaera. No matter how crazy or brutal they are, they are one of my favorite paranormal race to ever be introduced to. Issa! That's all I say. ;)
 





Character Scale: 10





I heard that Daughter of Smoke & Bone was optioned for a movie and if it happens I will be so excited, but I can’t help but wonder if the movie is successful how they’ll create Eretz. Or if they’ll keep the brutality of The White Wolf. Seriously he is hardcore and even Jael with that horrifying treatment toward Ziri. I can’t help but think that these scenes are a little too brutal for an audience, but then again I would be so excited to have a seat in the movie theatre to see it! One of my favorite things about this book is Taylor’s writing. She is a goddess. Her writing screams perfection and is just so beautiful. She can make you feel all kinds of emotions in a brief period off pages and chapters. I loved it! Here is a sample of her writing from one of my favorite chapters. Chapter 19:
"One upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living---one without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies or children ripped from their mothers’ arms to take their turn in the killing and dying.
Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon’s secret temple and dreamed of a world that was like a jewel box without a jewel--- a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness.
***
This was not that world.”
Seriously, read this trilogy and if you haven’t finished it yet. DO IT! It’s seriously amazing and it’s one of my favorite trilogies ever!


Cover Thoughts: This is my favorite cover of the trilogy and one of my favorite covers ever. It’s so gorgeous and beautiful. Plus it’s perfect for book selfies.