Days of Blood and Starlight

Karou finally has all the answers she has been looking for. She knows who she is, what she is and is now living with the consequences of that knowledge. Heart heavy with guilt and feeling she owes a debt that can never be repaid, Karou has led what's left of her people to a hidden desert fortress so she can carry on with Brimstone's work. Survival alone is not a very good life. How do you end an unending war?

Days of Blood and Starlight is vastly different than the first book. Gone is the magical light heartedness and mystery as we were being first introduced to Karou and her family. This was a very dark book. Dealing with how an endless war affects people doesn't make for a happy story. The author did a very good job of presenting the show more horrors of war without being gratuitous. It makes for a slower paced, and in places, more difficult read, but was well worth it.

Karou ends up being dragged through the wringer, physically and emotionally. The effects of unending war are felt by everyone, with tons of resentment and blame to go around. Even as the chimera's only hope for survival, Karou is constantly treated like crap, which ends up being a pretty important plot point once we discover why this is so extreme. Also gone is the love story for which I'm extremely grateful. How could someone be expected to forgive and love a person who murdered her family and nearly wiped out her species? I'm glad Taylor treated this realistically instead of carrying on with the insta-love trope.

The story continues with wonderful world building. I loved seeing more of Eretz, as it was mostly left to our imaginations in the first book. We're also given an insight into Seraphim society and wow is that twisted. I'm happy to say that we have pretty solid hints that a second seraph society is not like this at all, which carries on the theme of hope that is one of the foundations of this series.

Zuzana and Mik are back and bring a much needed lightness to the story, a little levity to help us through the darkness. Karou is lucky to have them as friends.

The story leaves us with one hell of a set up for book three. I'm looking forward to it! show less

I LOVED Daughter of Smoke and Bone. However, in the time between its publication and this sequel, I got into a bunch of other series and only just returned to it. I regret waiting so long!

Days of Blood and Starlight suffers somewhat from “middle book syndrome” in that the plot slows way down so the heroine can wallow in guilt for a while. A long while, unfortunately. This didn’t keep me from plowing through it in less than 2 days, though. Karou is a fascinating protagonist, particularly now that she knows she was/is Madrigal. The first book ended on a cliffhanger with Karou **SPOILER ALERT** learning of the complete destruction of the Chimaera stronghold, Loramendi. She feels responsible since she helped Akiva escape, never mind show more that it was Thiago who told him the secret of resurrection. The book opens with her working as the new resurrectionist for Thiago, whose team were not in Loramendi when the Seraphs razed it. She is reviled and alone, and now fully understands the literal pain of Brimstone’s mission.

Part of the reason the book was still so good, despite the wallowing, was the expanded worldbuilding. The book alternates between Karou and the revenants in a hideout on Earth and what is happening to Chimaera on Eretz. The Seraphs are hunting down and killing or enslaving them. Akiva (also wallowing in guilt about Loramendi) is part of such a squad but is actively working against them to save what few he can. When he reveals the truth to his brother and sister, they join in his cause. This leads to some interesting revelations about Akiva, his magic, and the mysterious Stelians – Seraphs who left the Empire. All of this kept me turning the pages well into the night.

The book really picks up once Karou’s human friend Zuzana and her boyfriend Mik track her down. They help bring her out of her despondency and give her new purpose. Meanwhile, the fallen angel Razgut has sparked a conspiracy in the Empire that will have dire consequences for Eretz...and Earth.

Overall, this was a very entertaining read and I started the final book immediately upon finishing it. Highly recommended! show less

I got within 60 pages of finishing this book when I decided enough was enough. Up 'til that point, the writing (quite lovely) and the characters (well-rounded and unique) were keeping me going...but then the plot shifted into its climax, and I realized that all the stupid decisions of all those characters were going to come home to roost in the worst possible ways.

It's rare that a book leaves me furious, but this one definitely accomplished it. How on earth can you justify a plot that depends on not one of its protagonists being capable of strategy? Especially when said plot is supposed to revolve around war?

Maybe your protagonists aren't supposed to be too great at strategy...but if they aren't, they really ought to be intelligent show more enough to consult people who are. Otherwise, you're left with a bunch of idiots stumbling around weeping and gnashing their teeth over their war-torn country even as they're accidentally getting everyone killed.

I'm sure there are readers out there who also can't think their way out of a paper bag, but I'm not one of them. And while it was infuriating to see the protagonists make one misstep after another, I at least hoped that when it came down to the denouement, there would be a hint of character development or, hell, just some luck, and I wouldn't be left reading page after page of gratuitous gore and death and loss as everything these fools had been working toward crumbled to ash before their eyes.

I even tried to keep going, thinking surely it must get better. Nope. Just more gore and more death and more loss...setting up, I'm sure, for the sequel! With another doubtless infuriating plot. And characters I just can't bring myself to stay invested in. (And if you had any idea some of the middling-to-awful series of books I've managed to stick with, you'd know just how sad that statement is.)

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go console myself with Tolstoy. show less

REVIEW ALSO ON: http://bibliomantics.com/2012/12/03/bibliomantic-book-club-days-of-blood-starlig...

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil held a wishbone between them. And its snap split the world in two.”

Initial thoughts: OH MY GOD! Or rather, OH MY LAINI TAYLOR! This is how you write a sequel.

Taylor’s writing is still as crisp as in Daughter of Smoke & Bone, her characters just as inventive and the situations they find themselves in just as gripping. You cannot even begin to understand the pleasure I had reading this series- especially after muddling through another young adult sequel right before this that was extremely disappointing. The whole thing reads like a new-age fairytale and I loved every second of it. LOVED!

I show more apologize in advance that the only coherent thoughts I can seem to make are in caps lock or include exclamation points.

The great thing about this sequel is the entire world is in on the action. Karou is filmed on the bridge (see: Smoke & Bone) fighting angels and now the whole world knows that magic is real- or thinks there are some pretty impressive illusionists out there. The supernatural exists and “the Girl on the Bridge” is a worldwide celebrity. She also later becomes known as “The Tooth Phantom” and “the face of the Apocalypse” for various other reasons. If only we could all be Karou, the girl with the peacock blue hair. Just because. Because I want to be able to fly so bad! Also: immortality.

Zuzana continues to be the best secondary character, she’s a blend of fun and adorableness. Fundorable if you will. In the opening of the novel, she and Karou exchange emails (complete with Monty Python references that actually work – I’m looking at you GRRM) from @rabidfairy@shakestinyfist.net. How does this domain name not already exist? Snatch that up Laini! Anyway, these two have the cutest friendship ever, especially when Zuzana tells Karou about a day she had with boyfriend Mik saying, “It was the best day of my life. Until the one when you come back.” FUNDORABLE!

Of course Akiva is given his page time, and he has his own adventures (which I grew to appreciate eventually), but it is Karou’s story which held most of my attention. Possibly because the political intrigue is turned down. Still there, but not as intricate as the world of the angels. Without giving too much away, I will say that Karou is forced to deal with the fact that the ex-love of her life killed her whole family and as a result is helping to restore the chimaera race.

If you loved the portion of the last book that dealt with Karou’s back story in Eretz, then you will love each time you get to a Karou section of Blood & Starlight. Taylor takes the excitement of that part of Smoke & Bone and adds in even more world building. Although with more pain and bloodshed and less splendid parties that involve dusting yourself in sugar. show less

This book is almost everything I wanted it to be. It is beautiful, lyrical, the characters extravagant and colourful in my mind. I love Zuzanna and Mik, Karou too of course. Akivi is beautiful in his fiery glory. But it is a book filled with pain and hurt too. I read it slowly, savouring every word, but it was still over too fast, and now I have to wait... maybe a year, to find out what will happen next.

It does have some flaws - as most books do. As the middle of a trilogy, it suffers a little from "middle book syndrome" in that we are definitely building up to something big, something epic and the ending is filled with expectation, sorrow and longing (for the third volume). And, well, the other thing - which I barely see as a flaw but show more which may not be appreciated by some people, I shall not mention here. It would be rude of me, given that I have the privilege of an advance copy and for the rest of you, expectation must be rising high. I shall not risk spoilers.

Another wonderfully rich example of story-telling from an author whose skill at prose puts my own meagre skills to shame. If I could write half as well as Laini Taylor, I would be consider myself blessed.

Thank you so much Hachette for my advance copy! show less

Last night I finished reading Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor, the sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone and I wasn't really sure how to being writing about it. Laini Taylor is definitely one of my new favorite writers and I really look forward to reading whatever else she writes. She is a master storyteller and a true wordsmith. When I was younger I was a book snob and would only read modern literature and while I still am partial to this genre and have also grown quite fond of young adult fantasy (especially urban fantasy) over the years. The problem is that so much of it sucks and it takes some sifting through the crap to find the gems. Ever since Harry Potter and Twilight became wildly popular I feel like everybody and show more their brother are writing young adult fantasy fiction to try to capitalize on this popularity and so much of it is bland, predictable drivel, so it is really exciting to me to discover a talent like Taylor and I wholeheartedly thank my hairdresser, who knows her fantasy fiction, for the recommendation.

"Mercy, she had discovered, made mad alchemy: a drop of it could dilute a lake of hate."

Following the core-shaking ending to Daughter of Smoke and Bone I felt that Days of Blood and Starlight had a bit of a slow start, but I read them back-to-back and probably wouldn't have felt that way if I'd read them when they were published with the requisite time in between. I'm really afraid to write more about it because I don't want to ruin the story for anyone else who might want to read it, but I will say that some great new characters are introduced that become as equally beloved as Karou, Akiva, Zuzana, and Mik. Also, Taylor obliterates everything the reader thinks might happen and many times I felt these characters I had grown to love were in impossible situations and then Taylor spins the tale in such a way that I thought there may be hope after all. And it didn't feel forced or unbelievable and I find that really refreshing, especially in this tired and overwrought genre. And hope is really the point of this story. Taylor has challenged what it means to be an enemy and crafted characters who dare to hope for something better in the face of impossible odds.

"Because it was not Akiva beside her. Of course it wasn't, and what ran through Karou's mind in that instant was bitterness, a double pang: one for when she thought it was him. And one for when she realized it wasn't."

I am so excited that Karou is a strong, independent character. A lot of books in this genre have a love story angle that is all consuming for the girl in the book and it comes to define her. I find this really annoying personally, but I also don't think it is the best message for the target demographic. I was really excited about the Hunger Games trilogy because I thought Katniss was finally going to be the heroine I have been looking for and I definitely enjoyed reading those books, but in the end I was left feeling deflated, defeated, and uninspired. Maybe the ending of the Hunger Games is realistic. How can one person deal with so much heartbreak and not be crushed and broken? And I sometimes like reading things that feel like tragedy, but the ending of that story just felt wrong. So far, Karou is the perfect heroine. She is strong and determined, but doubts herself at times. She is flawed and relatable and I found myself identifying with her and rooting for her even though I have, obviously, never been in her position. She is a real girl with the weight of two worlds on her shoulders. So, I am super excited to see where this story will go in the last installment and even with all the plot twists and turns, Taylor has not left me feeling dissatisfied yet. I read the acknowledgements at the end of this one, which I never do, because I wasn't ready for it to be over. I read that the final book isn't due out until sometime in 2014 and while I will be waiting impatiently, I am glad Taylor is taking the time she needs to do justice to the ending.

"The grief left her face, resignation settling her features into an unnatural calm. Akiva understood that she was ready to die."

While I am loving these books I will say that stories with battles and armor and fight scenes are really not my bag and all. In fact, I am usually immediately turned off by stories with these plot elements, so I want to tell you that if you feel the same way don't let it prevent you from reading these books. The battle scenes are beautifully crafted and integral to the storyline. Also, since I am only a visitor to the fantasy genre, I oftentimes have trouble wrapping my head around the pronunciation of the names of people, places, and things in these books. Characters and cities are often named using a fantastical language and don't seem to roll off the tongue and, speaking for myself, it can take some getting used to. This book takes it a step further by having characters additionally named in Czech and the constant use of unfamiliar (to me) weaponry. There is a fight scene in the beginning and one character was using a poleax. My brain kept wanting to pronounce this Po-lee-ax, which makes no sense and was very distracting. Turns out it is pronounced Po-laks or Pole-axe depending on the source. "Po-laks" feels distinctly European, while "Pole-axe", feels more natural to my native American South tongue. A poleax is a short-handled spiked axe with a blade on one side. Now we all can say we know a little something about medieval weaponry. Also, am I the only one who thinks "medieval" is a hard word to spell? My brain slows down to a crawl every time I have to type it...which is becoming surprisingly often.

Finally, I have an affinity for space, which I will tell you all about in my upcoming Star Wars post (you can hardly contain your excitement, am I right?) and on that digression I will leave you with my favorite passage from this book:

"She pictured the moon's racing swerve around the world, and the world's hurtling course around the sun, and the glitter of the stars in their arcs---but...no. That was illusion, too, just as the rising and setting of the sun was a trick. It was the world that moved, not the stars, not the sun. The sky moved, panning across that vastness as it rolled through space, hurtling end over end, and that hurtling was what kept her pinned here. One of billions." -Laini Taylor

http://theunstrungharpist.blogspot.com/2013/03/what-i-read-days-of-blood-and-sta... show less

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

I feel like I shouldn’t like this book as much as I do. And don’t get me wrong, plenty of flaws, but I’ll be back for the next book. This was most of the way to a 4 star for me, but I did round down after something in the book happened (more, later)

In the first book, Karou and Akiva find each other and fall in love. We discover that Akiva comes from a race in another dimension known as “seraphim” who resemble angels and are at war with another race known as “chimaera” who look like monsters (or devils). Karou is a reincarnated chimaera soul (in a human body) whose memories have been restored. She and Akiva (of course) show more fell in love in her previous body. They envision a world of peace for their people, but that’s not happening anytime soon. A big ol’ giant battle happens at the end, everything is sundered, Karou’s people and family are all but dead, thanks to Akiva, who, you know was just following orders.

This second book is much, much darker than the first, and it has to be. In the first Karou was a happy art student living in Prague. In the second, she’s with the chimaera, trying to keep her people from annihilation by restoring bodies to the souls of those slain the great war. Plot stuff happens, but not a lot. It’s just dark, and hard, and miserable.

Akiva and Karou are struggling, on their own for pretty much the whole book, to stay alive, keep out of trouble, and still help the causes they feel they must. Their relationship is strained, since Akiva did kill Karou’s entire family, and I’m not sure what kind of shell-shocked PTSD justification can be given for Karou still loving Akiva after he deliberately kills her entire family and most of her people.

This felt like a middle novel, I’m a little afraid that the last in the trilogy will end rather typically (together, wars won, things happening like they’d like them to), but for a YA book, I really have enjoyed this series.

My rating is docked a point, because there is an assault on Karou that seriously needs a trigger warning and I had a very hard time getting through. I almost stopped at that point, and I don’t think it added anything to the story. Or maybe it did. I just didn’t like it.

And narrator for the audiobook? A-freakin-mazing. show less