Review - Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2) by Laini Taylor

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (25th Feb 2014) - originally published on 6th Nov 2012

Blurb:
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?

Ta-da! I loved Daughter of Smoke & Bone so much that I had to find out what happened in the next book because it was such a heart-stopping and brilliant story that I couldn’t forget. If you haven’t read Daughter of Smoke & Bone, I implore you. Please read it. Days of Blood & Starlight has such a gorgeous cover, I can’t even start by saying how haunting and fitting it is as it matches the story inside so perfectly.

Here’s what I thought of Days of Blood & Starlight. It’s an incredibly complex story that has got me emotionally invested in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy. I was already contacting my local bookstores to see if they have the final book, Dreams of Gods & Monsters, in stock. If that’s not an evident sign that I am loving this trilogy, I don’t know what is.

Days of Blood & Starlight picks up where Daughter of Smoke & Bone left off and Karou is devastated at the loss of her family, blaming herself because she fell in love with an angel. The book starts off with a bang and readers will be wondering about Karou’s whereabouts and what happened in Eretz, where the war between the seraphim and chimaera raged. In Days of Blood & Starlight, we see Karou and Akiva at different sides as their love is tested – where their loyalties lie and the repercussions of their romance on their people.

If you thought Daughter of Smoke & Bone was brutal, wait until you read Days of Blood & Starlight because you’ll find out what happened to Brimstone and the chimaera when the seraphim burned the portals. Plot-wise, Days of Blood & Starlight has a stronger, more complex storyline as the book flits from the events of Karou’s side of the story to Akiva’s in the alternating chapters. So readers will get a wider and more insightful understanding of the plot and the great climax of the book was just stunning.

Though the romance in Days of Blood & Starlight had to take the backseat, the action, suspense and vicious politics were stellar because there are new characters introduced and the other characters such as The White Wolf and the band of chimaera make a return, which adds more depth to the story. As much as I missed the romance between Karou and Akiva, I was glad that there was a character that stole my heart and made me hopeful for a love triangle. Oh, Laini Taylor! Ziri is just perfection. He’s such a strong character with an incredible will and I have so much love for him.

Laini Taylor’s writing was once again sublime: beautiful, poetic and mesmerizing. I couldn’t get enough of her writing. It blends perfectly with the story and it enthrals its readers as it's sprinkled with lyrical prose and quotes that would caress your heart. (Gasp. I do have a heart after all!) With her sublime writing and knack for crafting an evocative story, I returned to Karou and Akiva’s world with much hope and excitement for a dazzling sequel that could live up to Daughter of Smoke & Bone and I was not disappointed at all!

The ending of Days of Blood & Starlight bewildered me and I can’t come to terms with reaching the conclusion of this epic, spectacular trilogy. Right now, I do not have Dreams of Gods & Monsters with me and I am utterly shattered and lost. It is of utmost importance for me to get myself a copy. Now. I need to know what happens next. Laini Taylor has done it again. She has delivered a much-anticipated sequel to the first book of the trilogy. Days of Blood & Starlight is all kinds of awesome. It’s fantasy at its best. It’s the right blend of action, suspense, romance, betrayal and love. I can finally understand the love that these books have been getting from readers from across the globe.