Review: Days of Blood & Starlight

Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #2) by Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Buy It From Amazon |  Goodreads
★★★★★

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?

Days of Blood & Starlight is the perfect sequel to Daughter of Smoke & Bone! Not only is it epic as sh!t (excuse my language) but it is also heartbreakingly beautiful. I simply cannot express my love for this amazing series...

Aptly named, Days of Blood & Starlight is far more dark and serious in tone than its predecessor. Not only does Karou have the fate of the Chimera resting on her shoulders as the sole ressurectionist but she also hosts an internal struggle surrounding her feelings for Akiva. There was a much larger focus on Akiva and his history in this book. I loved getting a better idea of who Akiva was and what led him to be that way. Much respect and sympathy was gained for him in this book. Finally, in Days of Blood & Starlight, Akiva became a fully fleshed out character and one of my favorites! In addition to Akiva, I absolutely fell in love with Ziri, a Kirin from Madrigal's past. He plays a HUGE role in the story and plot twist toward the end of the book. His courage, sacrifice, and integrity really shine in Days of Blood & Starlight and I cannot wait to see more of him in the next book!

I loved the addition of  new characters and storylines! The puzzle pieces start to fall together in this book as histories are revealed. It's amazing how Laini Taylor has made things interconnect. How does she think of this stuff!? Really.. it's crazy! It is no surprise that Days of Blood & Starlight far exceeded my expectations! The well placed action, intense emotion, and surprise filled plot left me dying to find out what happens next. Laini Taylor, you have done it once again!