Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke & Bone)

Loved the first book, loved the second book, and can't wait to read the finale. This book is a definite contrast to the first... diving deep into the torn emotions of loss, love, hate, and betrayal after betrayal for several of the characters. This story definitely answers a lot of questions from the first, and has a lot of unexpected twists and turns... a definite page turner. A much more sad and emotional read, but it does finally still leave you with hope.. hope, the end and central theme in this part of the series. Hope for the next and final part of this tragic lost and forbidden love story in worlds of war. A highly recommended read

Includes mild spoilers.

Laini Taylor's prose is as lovely as ever and it is the only saving grace of this angsty, dark sequel to the Daughter of Smoke and Bone. In this installment, I found Karou weak, self-pitying, short-sighted and, worst of all-boring. She takes very little action to take control of her life, never fully questions her circumstances and treats Akiva (the only person truly on her side) horribly. I found myself more engrossed in the world of the actual chimera and their struggle to preserve their many races than Karou's guilt-ridden self-loathing.

I also found that the author had "borrowed" quite a few concepts, descriptions and even entire scenes from Robin Hobb's "Liveship Trilogy." This definitely rubbed me the wrong way as I greatly admire Ms. Hobb's vivid imagination and unique way of storytelling. Examples: Ziri's fight with the Seraphim echoes Captain Kennit's fight with assassins in the Ship of Magic almost word for word and Karou's symbolic view of destiny is a little too similar to the first conversation between Althea and Amber. The author even recycles character's magical abilities from her own "Silksinger" (Akiva's talent to command birds is the SAME as Hirik's ability to call forth the insects.)Therefore: 2 stars.

For those who enjoy richly imagined fantasy settings, epic adventure and eloquent discourse of destiny vs. one's true calling, I would recommend Robin Hobb's "The Lifeship Trilogy" or her "Tawny Man Trilogy."