Days of Blood & Starlight

January 8, 2014 Book Review 1

Days of Blood & Starlight

Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: Nov. 6, 2012
Pages: 513
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone
Source: Purchased

Note: May contain spoilers for book one. But seriously, WHY HAVEN’T YOU READ IT YET! 

About the Book: 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? (goodreads)

My Thoughts: Okay, I swear I wrote a review for this one when it came out. I must have been so awestruck that I only thought I wrote it. Now that I’ve re-read it, I can’t NOT share my love for it!!!

I think my review of Daughter of Smoke & Bone may be one of the longest and most gushing reviews I’ve ever written. And I didn’t even talk about all the things I loved! I could do the same with Days of Blood & Starlight! The story, the writing, it’s all just so amazing!

Taylor’s writing is incredibly compelling and evocative. Even though I was re-reading Days of Blood & Starlight I was once again blown away by it. The word choice, the story structure, the shifts in perception… everything works together to perfection. I started out highlighting sentences and passages that I particularly liked but gave up. It seemed I was highlighting more than I wasn’t! 

And the characters! Not just Karou and Akiva… everyone! Zuzanna is the friend I want at my back. I love the humor and loyalty she brings to Karou’s life. And Zuzanna and Mik? So perfect together. Thiago, the white wolf, makes my skin crawl just thinking about him and I can’t think of Ziri without wanting to hug him. They all just seem so real to me (and that’s saying something since most of them are either angels or chimaera!) 

In Days of Blood & Starlight worlds are colliding in more ways than one. It seems the characters are stuck in an endless cycle of vengeance and retaliation. Yet beauty, tenderness, and love are juxtaposed with this violence, betrayal and anger. And most importantly, hope. My heart just went through so much while reading this… even when I knew what was going to happen!

I can’t say enough good things about this book and Laini Taylor’s writing in general. I will buy anything she writes forever and ever, amen! 

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