Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone)

“Twice-daughter, my joy. Your dream is my dream, and your name is true. You are all of our hope.”

I've been looking forward to this book for what seems like a very long time. And I'm very pleased to say it did not disappoint. It wasn't perfect (I'll get into that later), but it was damn close.

The book picks up right as the Angels (led by Jael) arrive on Earth, and we're immediately introduced to a new human character named Eliza who appears to have quite the mysterious past. It seems odd to introduce someone new, and apparently major, this far into the trilogy but it does eventually pay off (somewhat....again, we'll get to that later).
As for Karou, Akiva, and all our old favorites, we actually back track a bit from where the last book left off (with the Angels and Chimaera already in the Kirin Caves), and we get to see how they eventually ended up there.

For the most part, fans of the book will get closure on their favorite characters from the previous books (well, the ones that survive). I was elated (with tears in my eyes) with where some of them end up. One of Laini Taylor's strengths is in creating characters that you fall in love with. Even ones that start off as unlikeable (Liraz) could end up being your outright favorite by the end. There were a few notable exceptions when it comes to closure though. For example, my favorite character from Book 2, Sveva doesn't appear in the book at all (I guess my hope for her and Rath ending up together will need to stay as fan-fiction).

The major storyline that was set up in book 1 and 2 (Angel/Chimaera War) is seen through to a worthy conclusion. It came a bit earlier than I expected, with nearly 20% left in the book for the resolution, but still it was quite satisfying. It was equal parts, exciting, infuriating (on purpose) and at times heartbreaking.

It's that last 20% (well, technically the last 8%) of the book where I am I not sure what to think. Spoilers to follow:

SPOILER BELOW:
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Eliza (now with the memories of her kin) informs them that the myth of the Godstars is one yet to happen....and that *gasp* THEY are the Godstars. Destined to fight off the darkness in an epic war.
The trilogy is over, but now we have this new piece of knowledge. We aren't told when this war will take place, or who will survive the battle (many are slain, one hundred survive). Though if you take the myth literally, those that survive ARE the Godstars, so maybe we do know a few of the 100 who survive (Akiva, Karou, Mik, Zuzanna, Liraz, Ziri, Rath, etc). I don't know, like I said, I don't know how I feel about this. It almost feels as if the author is setting up another book. That the Daughter of Smoke and Bone was just the warm up for the real story. Or maybe we're just meant to believe that these characters were fated to come together, and eventually save the world and succeed? The story is about how they came together...so maybe we already know the important part....
I'm just rambling...I'll stop now.

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END SPOILER

So yeah...take away that one part, and I absolutely LOVED the book. Without a doubt, it stands aside The Hunger Games, His Dark Materials, and Harry Potter as one of my favorite series of all time.

I stumbled across the first book in the series (daughter of smoke and bone) while scrolling through the store recommendations and I instantly fell in love with it when I gave it a shot. Now that I have finished reading the trilogy I have to say that book 1 is still my favorite with each book in the series being less compelling than the last. Although I wanted to be blown away by a thrilling and epic conclusion to this unique and compelling world I have to say I was left overall disappointed and wanting more.

The good: As always this books is very well written,beautiful poetic passages fill every chapter and you could be swept off your feet reciting some of it to a lover.

Eliza is a compelling and likable character with a rich back story,she wound up being my favorite character in this book.

There is a lot of rich backstory and universal beginnings that take some unexpected turns towards the end.

Zuzana as usual steals every scene she is in.

The bad: The ending feels anticlimactic and uneventful

There are a lot of unanswered questions and loose threads left undone.

There is no epic all out battle,instead we get a LOT of talking about battle plans and tactics.

The middle drags on far too long

There are many themes and plot lines that become very repetitive and are repeated far too often throughout the story.

Some cringe worthy lovey dovey dialogue that feels more at home in twilight

An extremely cliche ending ,I expected something a little different from such a dark and unique setting.

Overall: I wanted this to be the best of the bunch but I never really fell in love with this book the same way I did with the first and partially with the 2nd. Its yet another lackluster ending to a trilogy that starts off incredible (Im looking at you Grisha trilogy) So much wasted potential.

I read the first book in the series and was very happy. The second book took a rather steep dive to mediocrity and then this book, the 3rd one went into an even deeper dive if possible. It is frustratingly repetitive, using different words and POVs to say the same thing. It is loaded with inane self-questions which made the writing juvenile. It goes on and on and on! At 34% I gave up and returned it. But worst was how Karou became weak and a liar in this last installment. Why she had to hide behind Thiago felt flimsy and in stark contrast to her character in book 1. She is the resurrectionist, the only one! She had massive power. Why Ms Laini chose to make her weak and silly in this book eludes me. Both her and Eliza caring so much of what others thought of them was a let down. The story line also lost its grip.

This series is so unique and so beautiful and this conclusion delivered. The reader has been put through so much heartache and pain and with this one we finally get our answers and some happiness. This whole series has been a great ride.

Karou and Akiva. My gosh. Their story has been the sweetest mix of agony and wonder. They have traveled a long, dark, and hard road, but watching them work their way to one another was beautiful. I absolutely adore these two and they deserve all the happiness in the world. One of my very favorite couples.

And I also love the side characters. Zuzana and Mik are the best. I have such a soft spot for the wonder that is Zuzana. And Issa is another favorite of mine. Love her to bits. And Ziri. Oh how I love Ziri. And just so many more. These characters come together to create such a great cast and world.

Laini Taylor really created something special with this story and this world and I’ve loved it. My one complaint with this one that held me back from loving it as much as the first two was the end. There was just a bit too much open for my taste. Don’t worry, you get a conclusion, but there are just a few threads I would have liked to see fully wrapped up. Other than that, it was fantastic.

This series has been such a ride and I’m so glad I finally made time for it. If you’re like me and haven’t read these yet, I highly recommend you do so ASAP.

I know I'm alone when I say that Dreams of Gods & Monsters is not my favorite book. I just had a difficult time connecting to any of the characters and the story just felt like it dragged on and on forever. The story felt convoluted and Akiva and Karou's love story was torn apart by war between the seraphim and the chimera. By the time Jael's storyline wrapped up, it started to feel like the end of the The Return of the King movie where every minute felt like surely this was the end?

A new character was introduced, Eliza, and she was mystery enough for me to keep reading, but that soon faded once her secret was revealed. The constant switching of POVs was too much for hold my interest. I had hoped Razgut had more of a story, but it sort of just faded with no resolution at all. Liraz and Ziri's storyline kind of redeems this book? It's the one good bit to come out of this story while everything else was disappointingly anti-climatic. I liked the first book, Daughter of Smoke & Bone, well enough, but the two books in the trilogy after that just never regained the sense of mysticism and magic that I loved at the beginning.

Laini Taylor is a master of words and knows how to weave words beautifully in a way that sounds lyrical, so I look forward to her next works. For this trilogy, however, it just ultimately wasn't enough for me.

3.5 stars

While I enjoyed the series as a whole, I found that this book had too slow of pacing for me in the middle. I like the addition of Eliza once we found out her importance to the story. It was also nice to finally learn more about the Stelians. There are definitely a lot of important revelations that happen in this book but it seems that maybe there was too much time spent on how to deal with Jael. I'm kind of torn about the ending though. I like that Karou and Akiva finally get to be together, at least for a little while. The part I'm torn over is that there is another phase in the story that the Lain Taylor left open at the end. Based on the fact that this book had "The End", it seems that this is the end of Karou and Akiva's story. But I want to know how they will eradicate the nithilim which is where the next phase in the story was heading.

I would still recommend this series. Taylor has such an enchanting writing style that just sucks you into the world she creates and let's you envision everything as if you were actually there. I hope that she will bring us back to this world, in the future or the past. It feels like there is so much more she could tell us about Eretez, Meliz, the Chosen, the Cataclysm and the war with the Nithilim.

Dreams of God & Monsters is the last of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy and I am so sad to see it end. This has been a wild ride with a beautiful cast of characters and a thought-provoking story that held me from beginning to end. Despite the length of these books, they were all fairly quick reads because I just couldn't put them down.

This book was full of adventure and intrigue, suspense and twists, and I loved it! The mythology of this series takes humans, demons, and angels and changes your perception of them. What does it mean to be good or evil? How does one person or thing become evil? Are those thought to be evil truly bad, or is it just one's perspective? These are all questions that this book, and the series, makes you ask yourself.

I felt like this book was the most emotional of the series. It tore my heart to shreds more than once, and built it right back up. The imagery and the characters are so vivid that it was impossible not to put myself in the middle of the story with them, feeling their pain, their angst, their joy, their sadness. So delicious!

I am so disappointed. I wanted so much to love this book. The first book in the series was amazing! I flew through it and couldn't wait to start the next book. When I found the hardcovers on sale, I bought them immediately. Then I started reading Days of Blood and Starlight and I felt like I was in school reading one of those dull books they made me read. The story was so sluggish and difficult to read and I ended up skipping parts of the story to get through it. I put off ththe final book off bbecause I was scared that it too would be disappointing. On booktube, I saw that several people were not impressed with DOBS but that they loved this book, so I decided to finish it up.
Although COGM was better than the last book, it was just okay for me. Where Daughter of Smoke and Bone was lyrical and beautifully written, I felt that this book was info dump heavy. I missed the magic and the wonder and the burning to desire to know more. I actually got the audiobook in hopes that it would be easier to get through (I did that with City of Heavenly Fire and it worked), but alas, it was no better.
I made it to the end although I did, again, skip some parts of the book. I will read another book by Laini Taylor in hopes that it will be rich and beautiful like DOSB was.

I'm satisfied by the conclusion of this trilogy, but I do find it a tad underwhelming after that excellent middle volume. There's a lot of attention given to a brand-new viewpoint character of dubious importance to the plot, and some worldbuilding revelations that largely come out of nowhere and aren't really given space to breathe. The author also keeps throwing new contrivances at her central romantic couple to keep them from sharing a quiet moment together, and at a certain point that plot mechanic gets obvious and tiresome. I don't want to be too harsh, because there are some pretty great moments in this story, and I'm glad to see how the war between the seraphim and chimera finally resolves. This is a beautiful setting with characters that I've grown to love, but this final novel just didn't hit the expected heights for me.

My heart hurts in the best way. I can't believe I've reached the end of Karou's journey. What a story.

Even weeks later I can hardly find the words for how much I loved not just this book, but all the books in Karou's journey. This book broke my heart and my soul and my brain with its twists and emotional, gut-wrenching moments. I rooted for Karou and Akiva, I yelled at the pages, I read between my fingers. I was nothing short of emotionally invested in every page.

It was amazing to see in this book the seraphs and the chimaera have to work together (or at least not kill each other) long enough to take on a bigger enemy. The clashes are wonderful, both within and without, and many of the chaotic moments had my heart slamming in my chest.

What an amazing ending to an amazing series.

DNF, I could not get past the first 5% which is rehashing the ending of the last book but very slowly like how they got to the caves. It is extremely slow and I just can't get myself to finish the book. I have read two other books since starting this one and I just get so bored when I start reading it. I like the first book a lot, the second one was okay and this one just went downhill from there. I don't even have the urge to find out the ending. The only thing I am remotely interested in, is the new storyline of Eliza.

I really tried but it was so hard to get into especially since the stuff with Akiva and Karou was all stuff that had already happened in the last book but more in detail and it is sooo boring.

*Full review in my blog! *

I was very surprised that... I didn't enjoy this book, in general. I loved the first two books, but the third one was absolutely underwhelming. It's not totally bad, but it wasn't totally great either. It was just decent, but with obvious flaws that could've been easily fixed.

The plot was okay, but there was just TOO many information here and there, and it was the unnecessary ones too. I did like the turn of events in the middle of the book, but overall? At the end of the book, there were definitely some questions that were never answered. And there were times when the author could've just squeezed in the answers but didn't, and instead wrote unnecessary details. The "war" wasn't much of a war, so this book was definitely not action-packed. Instead, it focuses more on relationships, both intimate and friendly ones. So if you're not into reading developing-relationships, then you won't enjoy this book. Also, there was another plot introduced almost towards the end of the book, but it was short-lived, so...what was the use of it?

Again, another flaw is the world building. Lack of details were given to describing the world and the environment but the world building was definitely better than the second book. It still didn't have that 'magic' that the first book had though.

The characters were decent, just mostly developed from the previous book in terms of their relationships and how they handle situations. There were interesting characters like Esther. But there were also many unanswered questions about the characters, Yasri to be exact. What was the "news" she was supposed to bring? What about Zuze's and Mik's families and how they feel about them being gone all the time? What happened to Razgut? The characters weren't really focused well in this book, so that was a shame too.

The writing was definitely the most confusing one in this book out of all of them in the series. It wasn't easy to follow, and it just... Didn't register well.

Overall, the conclusion was just okay. This book could've been better though.

Well I guess I am amongst the minority once again. It kind of makes me a little sad to say that I was REALLY disappointed with this book. I was just SO bored for most of it.

We get introduced to many new characters here. Primarily Eliza. She's a grad student working at the Smithsonian who gets caught up the whole thing when the pit at the kasbah is discovered and she's taken there to examine the bodies. And while she played a pivotal role in the whole conclusion, the build up to it all, and actually pretty much every chapter about her, was actually the least interesting parts to me and the most boring. I guess that the revelation about her and what she was was actually kind of interesting though. I did so hate her enemy Morgan Toth though. My gawd, was he one of the biggest asses I have ever read about! I couldn't believe what he did with absolutely no regrets.

Zuzana and Mik were once again the absolute BEST part of the book. I really loved how well they got along with the chimeara (the fact that it was not only Virko who was always there to defend and protect them was great) and were always so much fun despite any situation. Hooray for them finally getting engaged too!

Okay, so. Jael has come to Earth with his army and all the fanfare that included to pull off their whole "angel" appearance. Despite how Razgut had promised they would be received, it didn't really happen that way. They were pretty much "held" prisoner in the Vatican. Part of which is because while the whole army was beautiful in every way they appeared, Jael hid behind a helmet and spat when he spoke. Which was also impeded by the fact that he had no idea what the humans were saying and everything, including what he said back, was all translated thru Razgut on his back. It was surprising how it was played off how skeptical the governments were over them, with only the really religious people going crazy about it. Jael wanted his weapons. Unfortunately for him only one offer ever made it to him. Honestly, who it turned out to actually be surprised me a little bit. While Jael is completely unhappy with how things are going on Earth, Karou and Akiva are doing all they can to keep their two enemy armies together. Thanks primarily to Ziri wearing the Wolf's body. It's hard on Ziri but he does enough of a great job to convince the others that he's still their general even though the whole joining armies thing is something he never would have done. It's tough going but eventually the two sides grow to trust each other enough to actually fight side by side. The final plan that this joined army comes up with to get Jael out of the human world without any weapons is actually rather simple. Too simple. It's up to Karou, Akiva, and Virko (with Zuzana and Mik) to pull it off when they leave the battle on Eretz and go to Earth for the most important part. Before heading to Rome is when they encounter Eliza and end up taking her with them. Once there, Karou, Akiva, and Virko part from Mik, Zuzana, and Eliza to do what they gotta do and then head back to Eretz. Like I said before, their part of the plan goes pretty easily and Jael takes his army back to Eretz. There literally is no climax to this story. It's like the war is simply over once they get back. With that all pretty much over, we are introduced more to the Stelians who have been following Akiva because of his power and what is happening to the sky. Akiva has been crushed by what they tell him and though he doesn't want to leave Karou, feels he has to. That is until Eliza speaks up and sheds new light on many things. She gives everybody there hope. Akiva and Karou are still pulled apart because each have their own things that must be taken care of. Months pass, the sky is healing, and Akiva is getting better at controlling his power. Then one day out of the blue Karou comes to him because her task is done until the spring and they happily fly off together to Akiva's chosen island. Yeah...that's how it ends. We get no big final battle (okay, we got the one near the middle, but we saw very little of it), no real excitement after a build up, and a let down ending. This book seemed so much more like a angst filled love story more than anything else sometimes...especially because I was really hoping for an epic conclusion to the whole story.

Angry and frustrated sums up this read. I loved book 1. It was beautiful. Book 2 started to waver. I skipped a few paragraphs, but hung in, and it was okay. Book 3? What the hell happened? The plot is all over the place. New characters appear, as though we're supposed to care about them. (Does anyone actually care about Eliza? Book 3/3 is not the place to start introducing new characters!) Akiva & Karou; there's only so many times we can go back and forth between the 'I love her/she doesn't love me/she loves the wolf/blah blah' They spend half the book just looking at each other. I managed 50% and started to really really dread picking it up again. If I have to force myself to read? That's not good. I couldn't see the story for all the flowery prose. For goodness sake; Ms Taylor, stop trying so hard and just let the story shine through. Once I started reading some of the less satisfied reviews, I realised the ending isn't even going to be worth slogging through 600 pages. No thanks. I skipped to the epilogue. Meh. What a terrible disappointment after such a fabulous start to the series.

Ok...I'm not gonna lie, this book was tough for me to get through. I finished reading book 2, Days of Blood and Startlight, on January 12, 2013. Yes, over a year ago. Needless to say with this HUGE cast of characters I was LOST! There really isn't any recap at all to speak of, just kind of throw into the story again. MAYBE I should have re-read (re-listened) to the last book but I rarely (okay never) do that. Of course since I was kind of lost it didn't help when there were SO MANY POV changes. LOL! I'd figure out what's going on then get lost again. UGH!

Anyways...I figured I'd get that out.

I've seen other reviews complete there was just too much going on in this book and I would completely agree. There were new characters that I wasn't invested in. Then as I'm not really caring for them BAM something major happens to that character and they are part of a HUGE plot point. My head is still reeling and more happens and then more. There was never any downtime at all. Poor Karou and Akiva barely had anytime together with all the mess that was happening in their lives.

My favorite thing in this book is Karou's bff, Zuzana. She never fails to make me laugh and breaks up the seriousness of the situation in the book.

I liked that Akiva and Karou had their HEA after EVERYTHING they've gone through but the journey was just TOO much I guess.

I thought this book was going to end at least twice...but then it continued and then continued and then continued. This is one of those books that I just thought was WAY TOO long. I really wanted to like this one more. :-(

Narrator Note: As I stated in the last two books in this series, Khristine Hvam is an AMAZING narrator! Her voice for Razgot is SOOOOO good I'm in aww every time I hear it. I can't wait to hear more from her.

This review can be found on my blog, Reader Rayna, as well as Goodreads.

I feel as though I've become an emotional wreck on the inside. My heart is filled with happiness after reading the third and final installment to this trilogy.

This book picks up right around where the last one let off and it was filled with nothing short of action, heartbreak, vengeance, mystery, love, and so much more.

The plot of this book encompassed so much and introduced us to a few important characters, namely Eliza, and the Stelians. Each were crucial to the story, and though I didn't figure out why until the end, I thought that their parts in it played important roles and that they were much needed and added not only to the story itself, but to the lore of the world that Laini Taylor created.

I'm not sure that I can fully do justice by explaining the plot without giving away too many spoilers, as this is the third book, so just know that there is a lot of tension between the chimaera and angels, and that Jael wants to have complete control over Eretz by not only using what powers he may have available to him there, but also from Earth. It's a crazy, twist and turn story that weaves itself in ways I wasn't expecting, telling the story from many points of view. Each part of it, though, I felt like progressed the story and didn't hinder from it.

There was a heavy focus on the romance aspect at times, but from the first book - where it was introduced and we learn of the manner of Karou and Akiva's relationship - to the second book where there was virtually no romance, it was kind of understandable why it was there as much as it was. And trust me, I'm not complaining, because there were a few scenes in particular that made me squeal in excitement for what was going on - and it wasn't between our two main heroes.

So let's talk about the characters.

Karou really bounced back from the grieving, anger driven girl in the second book to a strong individual in this book. She has her moments where she is lost or down, as there's a lot of war and death and destruction going on around her, so it's understandable. I thought that she came a long way from where she first started not knowing anything about who she is or where she came from, to accepting her fate, to making it her own and realizing the dream she wanted to see come true when she formed it with Akiva so long ago. I thought that her persona was true to who she was and that she was really a huge driving force in this book.

Akiva seemed a bit more lovesick than anything in this book, but he also had a lot going on in terms of learning about himself and his people, and his powers and the consequence of using his powers. We still got to see a warrior side of him, but I think that it was more of the strategic side than the fighting side. He, too, has come a long way, but like I said, the romance was a large driving force between him and Karou in this book - and again, I can understand why. I think that their love and relationship is beautiful and strong, and even though they may desire after one another, it's not in itself a bad thing; it's a very powerful motivator for them. I do love how their relationship is often described as two magnets either being pulled together or pushed apart, because it's true.

We got to see more chapters from Liraz's point of view, and oh. My. God. I love her. She's become one of my new favorites, especially toward the end. When we first meet her she seems like this cold, mean person, but it's the way she's brought up and how she has to stifle that part of herself that makes her that way. But as she warms up to others and slowly gets to understand them and care for them, the ice in her heart cracks and she shows that she is capable of having emotions and feelings. She's strong, though - physically, mentally, and emotionally - and I love that about her. My favorite quote that I read about her was, "She was no mere weapon as she was trained to be, but a woman in full command of her power, unbowed and unbroken, and that was a dangerous thing." Like, seriously Liraz, SLAY.

We got a lot from Ziri, too, as he was performing in secret as someone for a while, and though he tried his best to be like the one he had to portray, some of himself continued to shine through, and that was tough on him. I really enjoyed his chapters because I felt myself growing more and more attached to this kind soul. He has a sense of innocence about him that draws you in, but he's still an incredibly capable warrior and just, wow. I'm amazed at what he can do.

Also, for the record, I SO ship Liraz and Ziri. Read the book to find out why because I was giggling like a freaking schoolgirl, and omg I can't even.

Eliza was a new character introduced, and at first I was confused as to who she was and why she was important to the story to have her own perspective and chapters thrown in. As the story of her and who she was unfolded around her, though, and the circumstances for which she was put into, I realized that she is incredibly important. I just didn't know how much so until the end. I found her character to be useful, and slightly filler, but not really? I liked her, though, and I think that she's a very bright woman.

Zuzana and Mik, ah, one of my OTPs, never fail to make me smile. They go through a lot in this book with Karou and everyone else, but they always try to stay true to who they are and how they react to situations and everything. I love the dynamic that these two throw into the mix because they a) provide much needed comic relief sometimes, b) they're adorable together, and c) they each have distinct personalities that really help to show the story in a different perspective. I think that they really helped to progress the story, as well, and am so glad as to where they were at the end.

P.S. Morgan Toth is a jerk and I hope he enjoys his punishment delivered to him.
P.P.S. Razgut is also kind of manic and crazy, but he does provide us a lot of insight into who he is and what happened when he was, you know, not a crippled Fallen.
P.P.P.S. I don't like Ester. She got her just desserts.

As for the rest of the novel, well... there is honestly so much I could cover, but that would be an extremely long and spoilery post, and since this is the third book I'd rather you all read it and then see how much I loved this book and why this trilogy has become one of my favorites of all time. The writing is still exquisitely beautiful in this book with many phrases that caught my eye, and the story was all encompassing and I felt a sense of completion when I finished. I didn't think that there was any kind of cliffhanger or anything like that.

I still want more, though.

Overall, I think that this was an extremely solid final book to the trilogy. Not only was the plot large and encompassing and complete, but it allowed the characters to reach out and reach their final destinations - their potential destinations - whatever they might be. It's filled with heartbreak, romance, friendship, betrayal, second chances, lore, truths, discovery, and so much more.

I rated this 5/5 stars and highly recommend it.

My overall series rating: 5/5 stars

I FINISHED THIS TRILOGY. In three weeks, I might add. And it’s a monster. The second was the longest of the year so far at 518, and then the third (this one) was even longer at 613. BUT I did it, all in June (in compliance with my Summer of Series goal). But, yes, I did. And I’m proud. And I loved this series. So much. I hold these characters is my heart.

But let’s talk about the third one specifically: Dreams of Gods and Monsters. I really enjoyed it. Like basically everything good I’ve said in the first two books (here and here) are true here too–great pacing (not as good in this one as the others), character development, humor, things I don’t see coming. All great. But in this one, I was a little let down by the ending. Not a lot…just enough to bring it from 5 stars to 4. Let’s talk about it. Also gifs.

THE GOOD
There is so much good in this novels and this one specifically. First I just have to talk about Zuzana. In the first review, the only bad thing I had to say was I missed the secondary characters (mostly Zuzana) in the second half of the book. So I was so excited to see that in the second book, Laini Taylor had retroactively knew what I wanted and brought Zuzana in abundance. And then in third book, she was present even more. And I decided that’s she’s my favorite character. Sorry, Karou, you’re at a close second but I love Zuzana more. She’s the ultimate best friend and just hilarious.

Just look at this quote: “Laugh achieved. Maybe she couldn’t make Karou’s life–or love–less complicated, and maybe she didn’t have any helpful hints when it came it, oh, angel invasions or dangerous deceptions or armies that clearly just wanted to start killing each other, but she could do this at least. She could make her friend laugh.”

Oh my gosh, I just love her so much. Also she has what Taylor calls a “eyebrow master class,” where some lady raises a judging eyebrow at her and Zuzana demonstrates how an eyebrow raise is truly done. I tweeted about it and got retweeted by Laini Taylor herself, no big deal or anything (GUYS, I’M JOKING. THAT’S A VERY BIG DEAL).

So, yes. Zuzana. My favorite character and the ultimate best friend. She’s just so well-developed despite the fact that she’s just a secondary character. Also she and Mik are the cutest.

Second, the writing is just so beautiful. Beautiful writing = beautiful imagery. And imagery is very important in this book as the characters are so unique and everything is so visual. It’d be interesting to see this as a movie, I think. But literally her writing had me in tears at two points. I was at work both times, so when I say “in tears,” I mean my eyes welled up and I sniffled a little. If I had been home it would have been more like this:

Okay, moving on. There’s more good I could talk about, but I feel as if I’d just be reiterating what I already said in my first two reviews…so go read those.

THE ALRIGHT
There wasn’t anything bad to me in this novel, but there were a few things that I just thought were alright. Like: the pacing and the ending.

I noticed the pacing in the first two novels and I thought it was awesome. Each chapter end, part end, perspective switch seemed so deliberate and it made me just want to keep reading and reading. In this third one, I didn’t notice that as much. The first 300 pages took me four days to read (which is a long time for me)…so I just felt like it was slow-going. The second half it definitely picked up, though, and I read the last 300 pages all yesterday. So it wasn’t bad, just not as fast-paced as the first two.

And then the ending. Again, in no way was the ending bad. I closed the book with a very satisfied, happy feeling. It just seemed like Taylor built up, up, UP for a certain ending and then that ending didn’t happen. So kind of anticlimactic. But, everything worked out well and there were no holes or quick fixes to tie up the plot. It just wasn’t what I was expecting, what I felt like the first 450 pages were leading up to.

But, please, if you like fantasy at all read this series. It’s a beautiful mix of normal and fantasy, humor and tragedy, love and betrayal. It’s just so good and I need to buy it so it’s on my shelves, like, now.

The war between the chimaera and the seraphim takes a frightening final turn in Dreams of Gods and Monsters. Jael, the new seraph emperor, has brought the conflict to Earth - to implore humanity for help against the "Beasts." Now, Karou and Akiva find themselves on the same side again, and must maintain a tenuous alliance between their armies in order to defeat the enemy they share. Blood will be shed. Betrayals will unfold. Unfathomable choices will be made. And in the midst of it all, a mysterious stain bruises the sky, bringing a deep foreboding to Eretz - and a certain seraph might be its cause. Will Karou and Akiva's long-held hope for a world remade - and for a love rekindled - be enough? Or will it all be in vain?

In some ways, I'm not sure what to make of Dreams. I still love the characters, Taylor's writing is still breathtaking, and the humor is just as uproarious as before. I also like new POV character Eliza, who plays a much bigger role than being humanity's eyes to the "apocalypse." However, the literary style and frequent POV switches hindered the storytelling this time around. The first 100 pages dragged, later scenes were slow and overwritten, and some subplots seemed unnecessary. I also still can't grasp the godstars concept; it doesn't seem to affect the ending.

The parts of Dreams that did work, though, sparkled with magic. The paranoia on Earth as Jael's angel army descends, the tenderness and tension between Akiva and Karou, the quivering suspense between their allied forces and how it could break at any moment - and, most importantly, an ending that allowed my heart one final leap of joy. So, yes, I enjoyed Dreams of Gods and Monsters. Not as much as the first two books in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, but it doesn't change how grateful I am for reading - and falling madly in love with - this series.

These days, it's very rare for me to look forward to the next book in a series. This was one of those books. I loved the first two and thought there was plenty of story left in this epic tale. I still think there is, but in my view, Laini Taylor didn't find it.

As an author, I usually have a sense when things aren't going well, and I could scarcely imagine that Laini didn't have some clue about the terrible mess she was writing, but apparently, she remained oblivious to the end. I have a lot of trouble understanding that as well as the five and four-star reviews for this novel. How could anyone not see the drastic decline in story quality in the third book? One of the mysteries of this art, I suppose.

Where to begin? This series was amazing. From the first book to the last. I can't say that I like one more than the others. I am at the point where if I could read this again for the first time I would do it in a heart beat. I prolonged this book as long as possible because I wasn't ready for it to end and it ended the perfect way. It is so rare to have an ending that I 100% agree with and now all I want is to see what would happen there a few years from now. The couple's in this book are perfect pairs and some of the most hated bad guys I've ever read are too. Karou and Akivas journeys are so well written. The new characters complement the whole story perfectly and bring just what was needed to finish the story.

I felt like I missed a good bit of Days of Blood and Starlight while I was listening to it on audio. And so in an attempt to prevent that from happening with Dreams of Gods and Monsters I did two things: 1) I took notes. 2) I progressed slowly and only listened when I felt like I could really pay attention. And I still came out of Dreams of Gods and Monsters feeling a little like I missed some important parts, but not nearly to the level of Days of Blood and Starlight. I say all this to say that this is a complicated series, and while I would definitely recommend this series to lovers of fantasy, I would not really recommend the audio version. Khristine Vham does a great job with the narration. I applaud her pronunciation, and I even like the voices that she does for the characters, specifically Zuzana. It's just that there is a lot to absorb, and I think it's probably better done through actually reading it.

As I said, there's a lot that happens in this book, and it's one of the more complicated stories with pieces coming in from all angles. Coming in at 613 pages, Dreams of Gods and Monsters has a lot to wrap up and bring together. I dealt with frustrations in the beginning with story lines that felt like they didn't have anything to do with what's happened so far. And that's true to some extent, but mostly they were there to pull everything together for the ending. But it took quite a while for the events to begin to make sense. And most of the time, I just wanted to get back to Karou and Akiva.

Karou is one of those characters that has it all. She experiences almost every emotion you can think of throughout this book and especially over the entire course of the series. Zuzana is still one of my favorite best friend characters, and probably one of my favorite characters period. She brings the humor and I heart her. Akiva...poor Akiva. He's been through so much and Dreams of Gods and Monsters doesn't really give him a break either. Ziri shines in the parts that are focused on him. I was fearful of his affection towards Karou, but I didn’t have to worry. Liraz softens as a character throughout Dreams of Gods and Monsters, and I’m so glad because she was a throwaway character for me before.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters does wrap up all the loose ends so no worries about a cliffhanger. I was especially stressed out about the ending there for a while, but everything worked out in a way that I was completely okay with. This series as a whole has been an extremely enjoyable fantasy and I look forward to going back through it whenever I have a chance—maybe then more of the details will sink in. I definitely recommend Dreams of Gods and Monsters and the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series as a whole. Dreams of Gods and Monsters gets 4 stars from me. Have you read Dreams of Gods and Monsters? What did you think? Let me know!

*Having not actually read this book since I listened to the audio version, I didn't see the spelling for each character's name and may have misspelled some above. If you notice any misspellings, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!

For more book reviews, check out Somewhere Only We Know - http://sandyfarmer.blogspot.com

Dreams of God & Monsters is the last of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy and I am so sad to see it end. This has been a wild ride with a beautiful cast of characters and a thought-provoking story that held me from beginning to end. Despite the length of these books, they were all fairly quick reads because I just couldn't put them down.

This book was full of adventure and intrigue, suspense and twists, and I loved it! The mythology of this series takes humans, demons, and angels and changes your perception of them. What does it mean to be good or evil? How does one person or thing become evil? Are those thought to be evil truly bad, or is it just one's perspective? These are all questions that this book, and the series, makes you ask yourself.

I felt like this book was the most emotional of the series. It tore my heart to shreds more than once, and built it right back up. The imagery and the characters are so vivid that it was impossible not to put myself in the middle of the story with them, feeling their pain, their angst, their joy, their sadness. So delicious!

I am so disappointed. I wanted so much to love this book. The first book in the series was amazing! I flew through it and couldn't wait to start the next book. When I found the hardcovers on sale, I bought them immediately. Then I started reading Days of Blood and Starlight and I felt like I was in school reading one of those dull books they made me read. The story was so sluggish and difficult to read and I ended up skipping parts of the story to get through it. I put off ththe final book off bbecause I was scared that it too would be disappointing. On booktube, I saw that several people were not impressed with DOBS but that they loved this book, so I decided to finish it up.
Although COGM was better than the last book, it was just okay for me. Where Daughter of Smoke and Bone was lyrical and beautifully written, I felt that this book was info dump heavy. I missed the magic and the wonder and the burning to desire to know more. I actually got the audiobook in hopes that it would be easier to get through (I did that with City of Heavenly Fire and it worked), but alas, it was no better.
I made it to the end although I did, again, skip some parts of the book. I will read another book by Laini Taylor in hopes that it will be rich and beautiful like DOSB was.

I'm satisfied by the conclusion of this trilogy, but I do find it a tad underwhelming after that excellent middle volume. There's a lot of attention given to a brand-new viewpoint character of dubious importance to the plot, and some worldbuilding revelations that largely come out of nowhere and aren't really given space to breathe. The author also keeps throwing new contrivances at her central romantic couple to keep them from sharing a quiet moment together, and at a certain point that plot mechanic gets obvious and tiresome. I don't want to be too harsh, because there are some pretty great moments in this story, and I'm glad to see how the war between the seraphim and chimera finally resolves. This is a beautiful setting with characters that I've grown to love, but this final novel just didn't hit the expected heights for me.

My heart hurts in the best way. I can't believe I've reached the end of Karou's journey. What a story.

Even weeks later I can hardly find the words for how much I loved not just this book, but all the books in Karou's journey. This book broke my heart and my soul and my brain with its twists and emotional, gut-wrenching moments. I rooted for Karou and Akiva, I yelled at the pages, I read between my fingers. I was nothing short of emotionally invested in every page.

It was amazing to see in this book the seraphs and the chimaera have to work together (or at least not kill each other) long enough to take on a bigger enemy. The clashes are wonderful, both within and without, and many of the chaotic moments had my heart slamming in my chest.

What an amazing ending to an amazing series.

DNF, I could not get past the first 5% which is rehashing the ending of the last book but very slowly like how they got to the caves. It is extremely slow and I just can't get myself to finish the book. I have read two other books since starting this one and I just get so bored when I start reading it. I like the first book a lot, the second one was okay and this one just went downhill from there. I don't even have the urge to find out the ending. The only thing I am remotely interested in, is the new storyline of Eliza.

I really tried but it was so hard to get into especially since the stuff with Akiva and Karou was all stuff that had already happened in the last book but more in detail and it is sooo boring.

*Full review in my blog! *

I was very surprised that... I didn't enjoy this book, in general. I loved the first two books, but the third one was absolutely underwhelming. It's not totally bad, but it wasn't totally great either. It was just decent, but with obvious flaws that could've been easily fixed.

The plot was okay, but there was just TOO many information here and there, and it was the unnecessary ones too. I did like the turn of events in the middle of the book, but overall? At the end of the book, there were definitely some questions that were never answered. And there were times when the author could've just squeezed in the answers but didn't, and instead wrote unnecessary details. The "war" wasn't much of a war, so this book was definitely not action-packed. Instead, it focuses more on relationships, both intimate and friendly ones. So if you're not into reading developing-relationships, then you won't enjoy this book. Also, there was another plot introduced almost towards the end of the book, but it was short-lived, so...what was the use of it?

Again, another flaw is the world building. Lack of details were given to describing the world and the environment but the world building was definitely better than the second book. It still didn't have that 'magic' that the first book had though.

The characters were decent, just mostly developed from the previous book in terms of their relationships and how they handle situations. There were interesting characters like Esther. But there were also many unanswered questions about the characters, Yasri to be exact. What was the "news" she was supposed to bring? What about Zuze's and Mik's families and how they feel about them being gone all the time? What happened to Razgut? The characters weren't really focused well in this book, so that was a shame too.

The writing was definitely the most confusing one in this book out of all of them in the series. It wasn't easy to follow, and it just... Didn't register well.

Overall, the conclusion was just okay. This book could've been better though.

Well I guess I am amongst the minority once again. It kind of makes me a little sad to say that I was REALLY disappointed with this book. I was just SO bored for most of it.

We get introduced to many new characters here. Primarily Eliza. She's a grad student working at the Smithsonian who gets caught up the whole thing when the pit at the kasbah is discovered and she's taken there to examine the bodies. And while she played a pivotal role in the whole conclusion, the build up to it all, and actually pretty much every chapter about her, was actually the least interesting parts to me and the most boring. I guess that the revelation about her and what she was was actually kind of interesting though. I did so hate her enemy Morgan Toth though. My gawd, was he one of the biggest asses I have ever read about! I couldn't believe what he did with absolutely no regrets.

Zuzana and Mik were once again the absolute BEST part of the book. I really loved how well they got along with the chimeara (the fact that it was not only Virko who was always there to defend and protect them was great) and were always so much fun despite any situation. Hooray for them finally getting engaged too!

Okay, so. Jael has come to Earth with his army and all the fanfare that included to pull off their whole "angel" appearance. Despite how Razgut had promised they would be received, it didn't really happen that way. They were pretty much "held" prisoner in the Vatican. Part of which is because while the whole army was beautiful in every way they appeared, Jael hid behind a helmet and spat when he spoke. Which was also impeded by the fact that he had no idea what the humans were saying and everything, including what he said back, was all translated thru Razgut on his back. It was surprising how it was played off how skeptical the governments were over them, with only the really religious people going crazy about it. Jael wanted his weapons. Unfortunately for him only one offer ever made it to him. Honestly, who it turned out to actually be surprised me a little bit. While Jael is completely unhappy with how things are going on Earth, Karou and Akiva are doing all they can to keep their two enemy armies together. Thanks primarily to Ziri wearing the Wolf's body. It's hard on Ziri but he does enough of a great job to convince the others that he's still their general even though the whole joining armies thing is something he never would have done. It's tough going but eventually the two sides grow to trust each other enough to actually fight side by side. The final plan that this joined army comes up with to get Jael out of the human world without any weapons is actually rather simple. Too simple. It's up to Karou, Akiva, and Virko (with Zuzana and Mik) to pull it off when they leave the battle on Eretz and go to Earth for the most important part. Before heading to Rome is when they encounter Eliza and end up taking her with them. Once there, Karou, Akiva, and Virko part from Mik, Zuzana, and Eliza to do what they gotta do and then head back to Eretz. Like I said before, their part of the plan goes pretty easily and Jael takes his army back to Eretz. There literally is no climax to this story. It's like the war is simply over once they get back. With that all pretty much over, we are introduced more to the Stelians who have been following Akiva because of his power and what is happening to the sky. Akiva has been crushed by what they tell him and though he doesn't want to leave Karou, feels he has to. That is until Eliza speaks up and sheds new light on many things. She gives everybody there hope. Akiva and Karou are still pulled apart because each have their own things that must be taken care of. Months pass, the sky is healing, and Akiva is getting better at controlling his power. Then one day out of the blue Karou comes to him because her task is done until the spring and they happily fly off together to Akiva's chosen island. Yeah...that's how it ends. We get no big final battle (okay, we got the one near the middle, but we saw very little of it), no real excitement after a build up, and a let down ending. This book seemed so much more like a angst filled love story more than anything else sometimes...especially because I was really hoping for an epic conclusion to the whole story.

Angry and frustrated sums up this read. I loved book 1. It was beautiful. Book 2 started to waver. I skipped a few paragraphs, but hung in, and it was okay. Book 3? What the hell happened? The plot is all over the place. New characters appear, as though we're supposed to care about them. (Does anyone actually care about Eliza? Book 3/3 is not the place to start introducing new characters!) Akiva & Karou; there's only so many times we can go back and forth between the 'I love her/she doesn't love me/she loves the wolf/blah blah' They spend half the book just looking at each other. I managed 50% and started to really really dread picking it up again. If I have to force myself to read? That's not good. I couldn't see the story for all the flowery prose. For goodness sake; Ms Taylor, stop trying so hard and just let the story shine through. Once I started reading some of the less satisfied reviews, I realised the ending isn't even going to be worth slogging through 600 pages. No thanks. I skipped to the epilogue. Meh. What a terrible disappointment after such a fabulous start to the series.

Ok...I'm not gonna lie, this book was tough for me to get through. I finished reading book 2, Days of Blood and Startlight, on January 12, 2013. Yes, over a year ago. Needless to say with this HUGE cast of characters I was LOST! There really isn't any recap at all to speak of, just kind of throw into the story again. MAYBE I should have re-read (re-listened) to the last book but I rarely (okay never) do that. Of course since I was kind of lost it didn't help when there were SO MANY POV changes. LOL! I'd figure out what's going on then get lost again. UGH!

Anyways...I figured I'd get that out.

I've seen other reviews complete there was just too much going on in this book and I would completely agree. There were new characters that I wasn't invested in. Then as I'm not really caring for them BAM something major happens to that character and they are part of a HUGE plot point. My head is still reeling and more happens and then more. There was never any downtime at all. Poor Karou and Akiva barely had anytime together with all the mess that was happening in their lives.

My favorite thing in this book is Karou's bff, Zuzana. She never fails to make me laugh and breaks up the seriousness of the situation in the book.

I liked that Akiva and Karou had their HEA after EVERYTHING they've gone through but the journey was just TOO much I guess.

I thought this book was going to end at least twice...but then it continued and then continued and then continued. This is one of those books that I just thought was WAY TOO long. I really wanted to like this one more. :-(

Narrator Note: As I stated in the last two books in this series, Khristine Hvam is an AMAZING narrator! Her voice for Razgot is SOOOOO good I'm in aww every time I hear it. I can't wait to hear more from her.

This review can be found on my blog, Reader Rayna, as well as Goodreads.

I feel as though I've become an emotional wreck on the inside. My heart is filled with happiness after reading the third and final installment to this trilogy.

This book picks up right around where the last one let off and it was filled with nothing short of action, heartbreak, vengeance, mystery, love, and so much more.

The plot of this book encompassed so much and introduced us to a few important characters, namely Eliza, and the Stelians. Each were crucial to the story, and though I didn't figure out why until the end, I thought that their parts in it played important roles and that they were much needed and added not only to the story itself, but to the lore of the world that Laini Taylor created.

I'm not sure that I can fully do justice by explaining the plot without giving away too many spoilers, as this is the third book, so just know that there is a lot of tension between the chimaera and angels, and that Jael wants to have complete control over Eretz by not only using what powers he may have available to him there, but also from Earth. It's a crazy, twist and turn story that weaves itself in ways I wasn't expecting, telling the story from many points of view. Each part of it, though, I felt like progressed the story and didn't hinder from it.

There was a heavy focus on the romance aspect at times, but from the first book - where it was introduced and we learn of the manner of Karou and Akiva's relationship - to the second book where there was virtually no romance, it was kind of understandable why it was there as much as it was. And trust me, I'm not complaining, because there were a few scenes in particular that made me squeal in excitement for what was going on - and it wasn't between our two main heroes.

So let's talk about the characters.

Karou really bounced back from the grieving, anger driven girl in the second book to a strong individual in this book. She has her moments where she is lost or down, as there's a lot of war and death and destruction going on around her, so it's understandable. I thought that she came a long way from where she first started not knowing anything about who she is or where she came from, to accepting her fate, to making it her own and realizing the dream she wanted to see come true when she formed it with Akiva so long ago. I thought that her persona was true to who she was and that she was really a huge driving force in this book.

Akiva seemed a bit more lovesick than anything in this book, but he also had a lot going on in terms of learning about himself and his people, and his powers and the consequence of using his powers. We still got to see a warrior side of him, but I think that it was more of the strategic side than the fighting side. He, too, has come a long way, but like I said, the romance was a large driving force between him and Karou in this book - and again, I can understand why. I think that their love and relationship is beautiful and strong, and even though they may desire after one another, it's not in itself a bad thing; it's a very powerful motivator for them. I do love how their relationship is often described as two magnets either being pulled together or pushed apart, because it's true.

We got to see more chapters from Liraz's point of view, and oh. My. God. I love her. She's become one of my new favorites, especially toward the end. When we first meet her she seems like this cold, mean person, but it's the way she's brought up and how she has to stifle that part of herself that makes her that way. But as she warms up to others and slowly gets to understand them and care for them, the ice in her heart cracks and she shows that she is capable of having emotions and feelings. She's strong, though - physically, mentally, and emotionally - and I love that about her. My favorite quote that I read about her was, "She was no mere weapon as she was trained to be, but a woman in full command of her power, unbowed and unbroken, and that was a dangerous thing." Like, seriously Liraz, SLAY.

We got a lot from Ziri, too, as he was performing in secret as someone for a while, and though he tried his best to be like the one he had to portray, some of himself continued to shine through, and that was tough on him. I really enjoyed his chapters because I felt myself growing more and more attached to this kind soul. He has a sense of innocence about him that draws you in, but he's still an incredibly capable warrior and just, wow. I'm amazed at what he can do.

Also, for the record, I SO ship Liraz and Ziri. Read the book to find out why because I was giggling like a freaking schoolgirl, and omg I can't even.

Eliza was a new character introduced, and at first I was confused as to who she was and why she was important to the story to have her own perspective and chapters thrown in. As the story of her and who she was unfolded around her, though, and the circumstances for which she was put into, I realized that she is incredibly important. I just didn't know how much so until the end. I found her character to be useful, and slightly filler, but not really? I liked her, though, and I think that she's a very bright woman.

Zuzana and Mik, ah, one of my OTPs, never fail to make me smile. They go through a lot in this book with Karou and everyone else, but they always try to stay true to who they are and how they react to situations and everything. I love the dynamic that these two throw into the mix because they a) provide much needed comic relief sometimes, b) they're adorable together, and c) they each have distinct personalities that really help to show the story in a different perspective. I think that they really helped to progress the story, as well, and am so glad as to where they were at the end.

P.S. Morgan Toth is a jerk and I hope he enjoys his punishment delivered to him.
P.P.S. Razgut is also kind of manic and crazy, but he does provide us a lot of insight into who he is and what happened when he was, you know, not a crippled Fallen.
P.P.P.S. I don't like Ester. She got her just desserts.

As for the rest of the novel, well... there is honestly so much I could cover, but that would be an extremely long and spoilery post, and since this is the third book I'd rather you all read it and then see how much I loved this book and why this trilogy has become one of my favorites of all time. The writing is still exquisitely beautiful in this book with many phrases that caught my eye, and the story was all encompassing and I felt a sense of completion when I finished. I didn't think that there was any kind of cliffhanger or anything like that.

I still want more, though.

Overall, I think that this was an extremely solid final book to the trilogy. Not only was the plot large and encompassing and complete, but it allowed the characters to reach out and reach their final destinations - their potential destinations - whatever they might be. It's filled with heartbreak, romance, friendship, betrayal, second chances, lore, truths, discovery, and so much more.

I rated this 5/5 stars and highly recommend it.

My overall series rating: 5/5 stars

I FINISHED THIS TRILOGY. In three weeks, I might add. And it’s a monster. The second was the longest of the year so far at 518, and then the third (this one) was even longer at 613. BUT I did it, all in June (in compliance with my Summer of Series goal). But, yes, I did. And I’m proud. And I loved this series. So much. I hold these characters is my heart.

But let’s talk about the third one specifically: Dreams of Gods and Monsters. I really enjoyed it. Like basically everything good I’ve said in the first two books (here and here) are true here too–great pacing (not as good in this one as the others), character development, humor, things I don’t see coming. All great. But in this one, I was a little let down by the ending. Not a lot…just enough to bring it from 5 stars to 4. Let’s talk about it. Also gifs.

THE GOOD
There is so much good in this novels and this one specifically. First I just have to talk about Zuzana. In the first review, the only bad thing I had to say was I missed the secondary characters (mostly Zuzana) in the second half of the book. So I was so excited to see that in the second book, Laini Taylor had retroactively knew what I wanted and brought Zuzana in abundance. And then in third book, she was present even more. And I decided that’s she’s my favorite character. Sorry, Karou, you’re at a close second but I love Zuzana more. She’s the ultimate best friend and just hilarious.

Just look at this quote: “Laugh achieved. Maybe she couldn’t make Karou’s life–or love–less complicated, and maybe she didn’t have any helpful hints when it came it, oh, angel invasions or dangerous deceptions or armies that clearly just wanted to start killing each other, but she could do this at least. She could make her friend laugh.”

Oh my gosh, I just love her so much. Also she has what Taylor calls a “eyebrow master class,” where some lady raises a judging eyebrow at her and Zuzana demonstrates how an eyebrow raise is truly done. I tweeted about it and got retweeted by Laini Taylor herself, no big deal or anything (GUYS, I’M JOKING. THAT’S A VERY BIG DEAL).

So, yes. Zuzana. My favorite character and the ultimate best friend. She’s just so well-developed despite the fact that she’s just a secondary character. Also she and Mik are the cutest.

Second, the writing is just so beautiful. Beautiful writing = beautiful imagery. And imagery is very important in this book as the characters are so unique and everything is so visual. It’d be interesting to see this as a movie, I think. But literally her writing had me in tears at two points. I was at work both times, so when I say “in tears,” I mean my eyes welled up and I sniffled a little. If I had been home it would have been more like this:

Okay, moving on. There’s more good I could talk about, but I feel as if I’d just be reiterating what I already said in my first two reviews…so go read those.

THE ALRIGHT
There wasn’t anything bad to me in this novel, but there were a few things that I just thought were alright. Like: the pacing and the ending.

I noticed the pacing in the first two novels and I thought it was awesome. Each chapter end, part end, perspective switch seemed so deliberate and it made me just want to keep reading and reading. In this third one, I didn’t notice that as much. The first 300 pages took me four days to read (which is a long time for me)…so I just felt like it was slow-going. The second half it definitely picked up, though, and I read the last 300 pages all yesterday. So it wasn’t bad, just not as fast-paced as the first two.

And then the ending. Again, in no way was the ending bad. I closed the book with a very satisfied, happy feeling. It just seemed like Taylor built up, up, UP for a certain ending and then that ending didn’t happen. So kind of anticlimactic. But, everything worked out well and there were no holes or quick fixes to tie up the plot. It just wasn’t what I was expecting, what I felt like the first 450 pages were leading up to.

But, please, if you like fantasy at all read this series. It’s a beautiful mix of normal and fantasy, humor and tragedy, love and betrayal. It’s just so good and I need to buy it so it’s on my shelves, like, now.

The war between the chimaera and the seraphim takes a frightening final turn in Dreams of Gods and Monsters. Jael, the new seraph emperor, has brought the conflict to Earth - to implore humanity for help against the "Beasts." Now, Karou and Akiva find themselves on the same side again, and must maintain a tenuous alliance between their armies in order to defeat the enemy they share. Blood will be shed. Betrayals will unfold. Unfathomable choices will be made. And in the midst of it all, a mysterious stain bruises the sky, bringing a deep foreboding to Eretz - and a certain seraph might be its cause. Will Karou and Akiva's long-held hope for a world remade - and for a love rekindled - be enough? Or will it all be in vain?

In some ways, I'm not sure what to make of Dreams. I still love the characters, Taylor's writing is still breathtaking, and the humor is just as uproarious as before. I also like new POV character Eliza, who plays a much bigger role than being humanity's eyes to the "apocalypse." However, the literary style and frequent POV switches hindered the storytelling this time around. The first 100 pages dragged, later scenes were slow and overwritten, and some subplots seemed unnecessary. I also still can't grasp the godstars concept; it doesn't seem to affect the ending.

The parts of Dreams that did work, though, sparkled with magic. The paranoia on Earth as Jael's angel army descends, the tenderness and tension between Akiva and Karou, the quivering suspense between their allied forces and how it could break at any moment - and, most importantly, an ending that allowed my heart one final leap of joy. So, yes, I enjoyed Dreams of Gods and Monsters. Not as much as the first two books in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, but it doesn't change how grateful I am for reading - and falling madly in love with - this series.

These days, it's very rare for me to look forward to the next book in a series. This was one of those books. I loved the first two and thought there was plenty of story left in this epic tale. I still think there is, but in my view, Laini Taylor didn't find it.

As an author, I usually have a sense when things aren't going well, and I could scarcely imagine that Laini didn't have some clue about the terrible mess she was writing, but apparently, she remained oblivious to the end. I have a lot of trouble understanding that as well as the five and four-star reviews for this novel. How could anyone not see the drastic decline in story quality in the third book? One of the mysteries of this art, I suppose.

Where to begin? This series was amazing. From the first book to the last. I can't say that I like one more than the others. I am at the point where if I could read this again for the first time I would do it in a heart beat. I prolonged this book as long as possible because I wasn't ready for it to end and it ended the perfect way. It is so rare to have an ending that I 100% agree with and now all I want is to see what would happen there a few years from now. The couple's in this book are perfect pairs and some of the most hated bad guys I've ever read are too. Karou and Akivas journeys are so well written. The new characters complement the whole story perfectly and bring just what was needed to finish the story.

I felt like I missed a good bit of Days of Blood and Starlight while I was listening to it on audio. And so in an attempt to prevent that from happening with Dreams of Gods and Monsters I did two things: 1) I took notes. 2) I progressed slowly and only listened when I felt like I could really pay attention. And I still came out of Dreams of Gods and Monsters feeling a little like I missed some important parts, but not nearly to the level of Days of Blood and Starlight. I say all this to say that this is a complicated series, and while I would definitely recommend this series to lovers of fantasy, I would not really recommend the audio version. Khristine Vham does a great job with the narration. I applaud her pronunciation, and I even like the voices that she does for the characters, specifically Zuzana. It's just that there is a lot to absorb, and I think it's probably better done through actually reading it.

As I said, there's a lot that happens in this book, and it's one of the more complicated stories with pieces coming in from all angles. Coming in at 613 pages, Dreams of Gods and Monsters has a lot to wrap up and bring together. I dealt with frustrations in the beginning with story lines that felt like they didn't have anything to do with what's happened so far. And that's true to some extent, but mostly they were there to pull everything together for the ending. But it took quite a while for the events to begin to make sense. And most of the time, I just wanted to get back to Karou and Akiva.

Karou is one of those characters that has it all. She experiences almost every emotion you can think of throughout this book and especially over the entire course of the series. Zuzana is still one of my favorite best friend characters, and probably one of my favorite characters period. She brings the humor and I heart her. Akiva...poor Akiva. He's been through so much and Dreams of Gods and Monsters doesn't really give him a break either. Ziri shines in the parts that are focused on him. I was fearful of his affection towards Karou, but I didn’t have to worry. Liraz softens as a character throughout Dreams of Gods and Monsters, and I’m so glad because she was a throwaway character for me before.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters does wrap up all the loose ends so no worries about a cliffhanger. I was especially stressed out about the ending there for a while, but everything worked out in a way that I was completely okay with. This series as a whole has been an extremely enjoyable fantasy and I look forward to going back through it whenever I have a chance—maybe then more of the details will sink in. I definitely recommend Dreams of Gods and Monsters and the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series as a whole. Dreams of Gods and Monsters gets 4 stars from me. Have you read Dreams of Gods and Monsters? What did you think? Let me know!

*Having not actually read this book since I listened to the audio version, I didn't see the spelling for each character's name and may have misspelled some above. If you notice any misspellings, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!

For more book reviews, check out Somewhere Only We Know - http://sandyfarmer.blogspot.com

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil pressed their hands to their hearts and started the apocalypse.

So, sometime ago I reviewed Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and a few weeks ago I reviewed Days of Blood and Starlight. So I might as well complete the trilogy and write the review of Dreams of Gods and Monsters, shouldn’t I?

Well, uh…I didn’t like it as much as I liked the first two.

Now, don’t get me wrong, Dreams of Gods and Monsters was still a really good book, but I had problems with it. You would have this perfect, epic chapter where you just want to know more, and, whoopie, the POV would switch. To a character that had only introduced in this book, that, honestly, I cared little to nothing about.

Karou and Akiva are in caves with two opposing armies who don’t trust each other, both baring marks of war on their hands. On the Chimaera’s side, it’s the hamsas, which cause the Seraph sickness. On the Seraph’s side, it’s the tally marks tattooed over their hands, their wrists, their arms; each black mark signifying one more life lost on the Chimaera side. Karou is in charge of making sure the Chimaera don’t murder the Seraph. Akiva is in charge of the same on the other side.

Meanwhile, Ziri still walks in a body that doesn’t feel like his own, a body that disgusts him every time he sees his reflection. He still believes in Karou, yes, but at the same time, he’s so tired of war.

Zuzana and Mik continue to be awesome, and it’s really no surprise that everyone loves them. Even Akiva’s sister, who would never admit that she actually likes the two pesky little humans.

Speaking of Akiva’s sister, Liraz doesn’t trust the Chimaera. She barely even trusts herself. She blames herself for the loss of her brother, and, the longer she stays around the Chimaera, the more she feels disgusted by the tally marks on her hands. And she can’t help but like Ziri a little too much, even though she should view him as the enemy.

The writing remains beautiful, as always. There are quotes like this: “Once upon a time, there was only darkness. And there were monsters vast as worlds who swam in it.”

And this: “How could you tell if your instincts were just hope in disguise, and if your hope was really desperation parading as possibility?”

And also this, because you have to love Zuzana: “All of this cuteness, it was one of nature’s great bait and switches, because… that wasn’t all there was to Zuzana Nováková. Not even a little bit. Deciding to take her on was akin to a fish deciding idly to gobble up that pretty light bobbing in the shadows and then–OH GOD THE TEETH THE HORROR!–meeting the anglerfish on the other side.”

So, while I had a few problems with this book, I still enjoyed it quite a lot.

I finished this book a few weeks ago but I've had to sit on the review. That's because for the past few years whenever someone asks me what my favorite book is (always an impossible question) I end up answering "Daughter of Smoke and Bone". I ordered this book as soon as it was released, was dying to read it--and still couldn't force myself to sit down with it because that meant the end of a trilogy I've been holding close to my heart. Something that influences my own writing, as well as showing me the kind of book that I'd die to work with as an editor. Eventually, lovingly, and fearful that I'd be spoiled (something I would never, ever recover from) I opened Dreams of Gods and Monsters.

It was perfect and yet nothing like I'd expected. Laini Taylor is always fantastic about crafting a story where the reader is certain they knew what will happen and then adding an extra twist, whether it be a setback or an entirely new villain. The books, for all their fantasy and chaos, are realistic in that most of these characters are not entirely good or evil, there is no single 'bad guy', and a lot of these people and chimera and angels just want the chance to live. This epic finale to a war that has raged for thousands of years will leave you crying.

I would have liked to have seen more of Karou and Akiva together . . . but, yes, they were in the middle of a war, and unlike most YA trilogies where protagonists find love in the midst of war, this angel and chimera actually pay more attention to saving thousands of lives than focusing on their relationship. But a few shared glances across a fire or secret invisible meetings can go a long way and get my heart beating a little faster over my favorite couple, ever. They're just so sweet with each other, despite the past and occasional fighting.

There were some new characters, as well as old ones who were given more pages, that I came to adore. Like a new romantic pairing that was almost as heart-wrenchingly wonderful and sad and glorious as Karou and Akiva (possibly just as great and beautiful for me to love forever). Add on the characters I absolutely love to hate and this was a showdown that had me on the edge of my seat. I think I read through this in two days, hundreds of pages at a time because once I started I had to know what was going to happen. Had to know that everything would be alright.

The ending was perfect. Nothing like what I'd hoped for and yet it lends itself perfectly to me picturing how things might be for that universe a year or five or ten in the future, where the surviving characters might be and what new problems might arise. There was a little openness to the ending that had me hopeful that more would be announced, but I think that this is the end. As painful as that thought is, I'm okay with that. I can love and reread Karou and Akiva and all the rest. Whatever Laini Taylor reads next, I'm reading it. This author sets a bar that no other has passed for me.

Dreams of Gods & Monsters is the final book in Laini Taylor's gorgeous Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy and I have absolutely no excuse for taking two-and-a-half years to finish this series. Except that perhaps I knew somewhere in my cold, black heart that I would be disappointed by this ending to the series. Which isn't, in fact, an ending to the story.

So there's the characters that you love, an the angstbucket that is the entire story to date. And then Laini Taylor adds a few more characters you're gonna love, and subplot AND a side plot because why not. I felt pulled in so many directions, I actually cared less about Karou and Akiva than almost everyone else in this book.

And there are some heart-tweaking sacrifices. And then some undoing of those sacrifices, because apparently The Doctor was in Eretz that day.

And while I appreciate happy endings, one of the things I adore Laini Taylor for is yanking my heart through my tear ducts. So when she plays take-backsies, I kind of wonder what happened to one of my favorite authors. And then when she introduces pretty much the plot for another trilogy in the final chapters of this trilogy-ending book, I felt like there was some marketing and sales pandering.

And THEN, worst of all guys, she did the Lord of the Rings never-ending ending.
(also known as the Battlestar Galactica never-ending ending).
So I basically finished this novel out of sheer spite, but it was difficult and awkward and I didn't understand why it was such a slog compared to the first two.

I recommend it to anyone who needs to know how the series ends, and doesn't have the same plot tics that I do. It's not a BAD novel, I just had higher expectations than I perhaps should have.

Goodreads / the store

By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?
Travel Companion:

If we traveled with the main character Karou, she would be
The Artist

She would read stunning artwork. Her art would be internationally known. She would also move and never stay in one place. Her art would represent the world and the suffering within.
We would meet her working on some street art in Prague. We would go over and talk to her. She would be evasive and would leave. We would follow her. (Like the stalkers we are.) She would go into her favorite cafe, a weird place with coffins for tables. We would pay for her meal and strike up a conversation with her about art and everything else under the sun. We would mention our travels, and she would be interested. We would invite her to join us on our adventures. She would join us because she would want to see the world with other people.

If we traveled with the main character Akiva, he would be:
The Leader

He would be the one in the front, charging towards the enemy. He would fight with everything he had. He would never resort to violence, though. He would resolve things peacefully.
We would meet him leading a protest. He would be breaking up a fight. We would start talking about rights and dreams. We would understand his dreams and want to make his visions comes true. We would ask him to come with us to bring peace to the world. Akiva would join because he would see hope in our cause.

If we traveled with the main character Eliza, she would be:
The Secretive Friend

She would be kind and warm. She would be funny and jovial. But she would be hiding things. Certain things she said would be odd. Her actions might be different than her words. We would be able to tell that she had secrets. We would never push it, though. We would let her have her space.
We would meet Eliza in a library, working on research. We would take her hand and toss her into an adventure. (I mean...research is boring.) She would be reluctant at first. She would finally accept the adventure when she gazes at the sunrise from the mountains because it would remind her of the fiery wings of her kin.

Karou (I keep misspelling her name, so bear with me) was pretty awesome as always. She had her magical flying powers as well as her creative thinking. Her creative thinking helped her create some amazing battle strategies. Or…ways to escape a full-on war. She played peace maker in this book. A medium between the seraphim and the chimaera. As well as translator to Zuzana and Mik.
This book had less of her, though. I wanted to see her side of things. I didn’t mind it when Akiva took center stage in this book. Karou was mostly the lover in this book. The girl who thirsted for the boy's touch. That annoyed me. She was an awesome character. She was brave and powerful. She was her own person. She didn't have to be somebody's lover. She could be her own character. Truth be told, I wouldn't mind Karou having her own book that was entirely about her. (But the reality of the matter is that Karou is part of a package. It's either Karou and Akiva or no Karou at all.) What I’m saying is that she didn’t need to be just The Lover in this book. She could have been Just Karou, and everything would have been great.

Akiva was great. He was the main actor on the stage this time. We got to see Akiva work his magical mojo in this book.

Akiva was a great character. He had motivations behind his actions. Sure, he did a lot for Karou, but he also did some things for himself. His decision with the Stelians? That was entirely him. It showed that Akiva could do things without Karou. He loved being with her, but that doesn’t mean he needed Karou 24/7.
His magic was awesome. He could disappear and summon large flocks of birds. (That's actually from Days of Blood and Starlight, but let's not dive into specifics, okay?) He used his wounds to his advantage. It gave him access to his magic. And sirithar? That was so cool. Being able to access that massive amount of power was a huge advantage for him. He could had the ability to do so much more with sirithar. And he did. Akiva was given this power, and he used it wisely.

And we were introduced to Eliza. She was this quirky character who had a burning hatred of Morgan Toth (but it was understandable.) She was a researcher who lived in America. She had a shady past.
I didn't know her purpose in the beginning when we were introduced to this girl. I was confused. Who is she? What's her importance? Gimme Akiva and Karou! I thought. She
wasn't given a huge part in the majority of the book. She was the sort of character I would write off as a side character with not much of a purpose. It was only when she started spouting nonsense in Seraphic that I understood. All in all, I didn't particularly like her. The ending spotlighted her, but it didn't show her in an appealing light. I know Laini Taylor tried to make her seem nice by making Zuzana the People Hater enjoy being in her company, but I just couldn't like Eliza.
BUT. I understood her hatred of Morgan Toth. He was evil. I wanted to strangle him. He was a terrible person. My anger boiled underneath my skin when I read what he did.

He sent out those messages? And unveiled Eliza's secret? Excuse me? You had no right to do that. It’s her secret to tell. I condemn you! Shame on you! He was a terrible person.

I have to praise the neek-neek Zuzana and her faithful violinist Mik here. They were pretty amazing. They were just humans, but they charmed the pants off the chimaera. They were charismatic and humorous. I loved their romance. (They were amazing together. And what great chemistry!)
Zuzana was fierce. She was a perfect example of a fierce female. She was a true neek-neek. She was witty and quick to a retort. She would snap at you. And Mik brought out the best in her. He calmed her down. He made her laugh. He was the water; she was the fire. They were great on their own, but they made a better pair when together.

Read More at: http://http://booksinmysuitcase.blogspot.hk/2015/07/review-dreams-of-gods-monsters-by-laini.html

I don’t know how I can write a cohesive review for this book. I picked up this one immediately after I finished the second book, no waiting a year between books. Yay! I was on an emotional rollercoaster the entire time waiting to see what would happen.

Kaoru, with the surviving chimaera, have forged a tentative alliance with Akiva and his group of Misbegottens after the events of the last book. They’re planning their attack on Jael while making sure that each of their sides do not kill one another. I’m not sure what more I can say about this book without giving away more of the plot. Just know that there’s a cycle of hope and disappointment, success and failures, tons of deaths, betrayals, angst, and agonizing heartbreak.

I haven’t felt so emotionally drained finishing a series since I read Lumatere Chronicles last year. I just couldn’t put the book down. I also loved that Laini Taylor gave us other characters to love and cheer for other than just Karou and Akiva, with Karou’s friend Zuzana and Akiva’s sister. There’re also new characters in the book, such as Eliza, and new plots in addition to the war between angel and chimaera. This book just had so much going on and not a page was wasted!

Lastly, Laini Taylor’s writing is beautiful, if you don’t already know. Nothing more to say about that.

If you’re already read the first and second book, nothing should hold you back from reading this one.

Review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide

** This is a SPOILER-FREE review of Dreams of Gods and Monsters but beware that if you haven’t read the first two books in this series yet, there may be some spoilers for those! **

This was by far the hardest book of this series for me to read — that’ snot necessarily a bad thing, although it may sound like one, but I really felt like I needed to give it my full attention and unfortunately as of lately, I just haven’t had the time or mental clarity. If you’re a fan of Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, I’m sure you’re aware how deep, how detailed, and how complex this series is. It’s not one to be taken lightly and really does require the perfect mood and proper amount of time so when I tell you that it took me a month and a half to finish it, that’s a good and a bad thing all at the same time.

I read the first two books no problem. I actually streamed pretty quickly through DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE and tried to take my time and really let myself soak in DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT. But DREAMS OF GODS AND MONSTERS was a different story. Yes, I decided to really slow myself down and make sure I was really taking it all in, but there were actual weeks where I completely ignored it because I just didn’t have the motivation to pick up such a daunting book. I was overwhelmed by the amount of pages and the time I knew I’d need to read it. Was that the book’s fault? Well, no, but the sheer size of it really did factor in to my reading plans and with time being a pressing issue lately, it was a bit frustrating to me when things felt a little too drawn out.

Laini Taylor’s writing has been beautiful from the start, but DREAMS OF GODS AND MONSTERS was the first book where I felt like the gorgeous, lyric-type prose was getting a bit too drawn out. I usually enjoy the way a plot point is revealed and then we back-track to see how it all evolved, but in some places it felt unnecessary and I was frustrated that I felt like I was reading a whole chapter here or there that didn’t feel entirely necessary to the development of plot or characters. I could chalk that up to my personal impatience or just my experience with reading… I think it was actually a little bit of both.

The introduction of Eliza’s character was not entirely unwelcomed but I wasn’t a fan that she was thrown in as a new main character with POV chapters and everything. I really did like how she fit into the story and it was very exciting to see all of those pieces click together but… I didn’t really enjoy her chapters much at all. The book kicks off with one of Eliza’s chapters and that was actually a really exciting one. I was so excited to see the book start with a bang and I was anxious to get to know more about Eliza, but the more I got to know about her, the less I liked. I didn’t hate her, but I think I would have liked to see her as more of a secondary character because I felt like I lost so much of the focus of Karou and Akiva as well as secondary characters from the previous books (Ziri, Liraz, Mik, Zuze) who were starting to grow into more of a main focus. I think it was too much for me to meet a brand-new character who had such a strong presence in the book, taking over chapters, and also having a strong personality. I wanted to spend so much more time with characters I already knew instead of a brand-new one who wasn’t that important to me and who I wasn’t connecting with.

I really did enjoy the book — I always appreciate how beautiful the writing is and how the books really make me focus on what I’m reading. Everything is so wonderfully detailed, thoroughly thought out, and sort of paradoxically magically realistic. I’m so glad that things were pretty well wrapped up at the end of the book and it was sort of one big sigh of relief to see how everything ended. To be honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending and I felt like some things ended up being glossed over. For example, Eliza’s entire part in the book is explained and then seemingly dropped to make room for Karou & Akiva, which usually I don’t mind since I’m more excited for Karou/Akiva plot, but I felt like I was finally getting answers and then they happened but I didn’t get any detail.

All in all, I did enjoy DREAMS OF GODS AND MONSTERS a lot, but it seemed like this was the book I had the most issues with out of the series. Some things had been weighing on me since the beginning but it was new love and not a big issue to me. Some things didn’t really seem to appear until the last book and I was at a point where I wasn’t in the mood for things to be drawn out. It was a stunning conclusion but I was left just a bit unsatisfied, to be perfectly frank. Maybe it’s just that it still feels unreal that the series is over! Maybe I’m just hoping that Laini Taylor writes more in this universe… (oh please, oh please!!) but I don’t think I was quite prepared for this series to end!

Dreams of Gods and Monster is the last book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy and it is a worthy ending for it. It might have affected me emotionally more than other people due to personal circumstances, but it is a book full of wonderful epic writing, tension and our very beloved characters and a few new ones.

As with any final book review I will do my very best to keep it as spoiler free as possible but there might be some spoilers for the other two books in the trilogy.

After the quite cliffhangery ending of Days of Blood & Starlight we are facing quite dangerous odds, from enemies within and without and if the stakes weren't high enough, we're introduced to some new characters which was a bit surprising. Who are these people and why are we getting to know about them only now? How are they gonna be relevant to the story?

The story is told through various different POVs and although some weren't as central to the bigger picture, they all gave us some insight or other, and they all started or took part of the action and moved the plot along.

Through Morgan and Eliza we see how people on Earth and the bulk of humanity react to the arrival of the angels, and we also get much more than I would have expected at first, even if I suspected something big was afoot. Nope, THAT I was not expecting! And that's all I will say about them, anything else would risk spoilers cause once I start talking about what a weasel Morgan was but how in the end it was the starting point of something for the best... I might end up spoiling something!

Akiva and Karou are still finding their footings as new allies, and it's painfully amazing seeing them work through the differences of their races and search for that hope of a better world for everyone and a chance at love and a future for themselves. My heart was hurting with every interaction, full of hope, joy, sadness, mourning... A bit of everything really!

Zuzana and Mik have to be my favourite characters in this series. Being human they might lack the magic and the powers to make big contributions, but trust me, they are not useless at all! Not only they provide a bit of comic relief, but they also provide a different perspective and a different support for Karou. These books wouldn't be as wonderful as they are without the rabid faery and the violin boy!

Liraz and Ziri are two secondary characters that really come into their own in this book, and that take charge of themselves and their lives. Not only that, they are instrumental in the changes and battles to be fought and in the outcome of not only the battles but also the whole course of the war!

The world building has always been extraordinary in these books, but now it takes on a bigger dimension. Magic and science mix in an epic way and show us that knowledge lost can be utterly dangerous and that Earth and Eretz are not the only places out there, and that the portals are more dangerous than we knew.

The ending is more open than I had expected but it is a perfect ending. Full of hope and beginnings and middles and with a lot of not exactly dull moments to image. It left me bawling like there was no tomorrow, but it was just perfect. Very much deserved 5 stars for this final book, and all the stars to the whole trilogy. Thank you, Laini Taylor, for these wondrous books!

There will be spoilers form books 1 and 2 in this review so if you haven't read those books don't read this review.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters picks up with a new character a human named Eliza who gives us a human point of view of Jael's coming to earth.Then you switch right back to where book 2 left off and it tells you how the armies made an alliance and set up camp in the kirin caves.What follows is a multiple world wind adventure quest to save both Earth and Eretz for Jael and his army.

Karou is my favorite kind of heroine strong,smart,unique,devoted and willing to anything for the people she loves but vulnerable at time.Karou's struggle to help her people but still being in love with Akiva the man who destroyed most of her people and killed her adopted father Brimstone is heartbreaking.I love how Laini was able to merge the characters of Karou and Madrigal together yet without losing on character to the other.

I love Akiva.*swoon*How he is willing to do anything for the girl he loves.I love how the author didn't make Akiva a "bad boy"and more a wounded tortured hero.I have a great respect for Akiva as he is willing to take responsibility for his mistakes and wants to atone for them.

No Love Triangle here and I am happy for it.I love a good love triangle but not in every book I read.It seems like to many authors just use them because they are the in thing sense Twilight.Every time Karou and Akiva are in the same scene it sizzles with passion and longing.I love them as a couple.

Liraz's character makes the most growth in this book and watching her grow is one of my favorite parts of the book.I connected with her character in a way I never thought I would.With Hazael gone Liraz doesn't have him to hide behind and that is a good thing.Eliza the human scientist with a mysterious past is just a very sympathetic character plus she becomes someone so important to the story and I was surprised how much of the story was told form her Point of View.

I grew to love Ziri more then ever with his choice to pretend to be the White Wolf to save his people.Noble sweet kind Ziri pretending to be the cold cruel wolf.What a horrible thing for a good soul to have to act like a evil one.Mik and Zuzana are back and as adorable and loveable as ever.I love learning more about the Stelians and how important they are.I have been chomping at the bit to meet the people who sent someone a fruit basket telling them they don't have time for war maybe later.I love the ending and felt it was perfect for the series.Like all last books in series to me the ending is bittersweet.I will miss Karou,Akiva,and all the other characters but Laini gave the characters the ending they needed.Reading Laini's writing is like reading beautiful poetry and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

star rating:5 stars

Genre:Young Adult Fantasy

Will I reread:YES.

Nicole The Reading Reading

I’ve been anticipating the release of Dreams of Gods and Monsters since I finished Days of Blood and Starlight. I adore this series and I admit am guilty of trying to get all my friends and family to read it. One of the things I like most – not including Laini Taylor’s gorgeous writing style and fantastic characters – is that I never know what to expect next.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters picks up where the previous book left us. Jael’s army has come to Rome and revealed to the humans that angels exist. Karou and Akiva are trying to lead their people – Chimera and Angels – to victory whilst at the same time being reminded of their past relationship at every turn. New characters with their own mysterious secrets bring drama to the story leading in a climax I never saw coming. And throughout it all – Zuze and Mik are there doing heroic deeds and adding a touch of their own personal sparkle to Chimera and Angels alike.

Karou is trying to do what she thinks is right. Right for the Kirin she was born as. Right for the human world she adopted during her second life. And right for Brimstone – the father figure she loved and respected as though he was her own blood. But at times it seems like an impossible mission. It’s a delicate balance not letting her romantic feelings towards Akiva unsettle her position with the Chimera. Their stolen moments together were beautiful to read and I loved how Ms. Taylor grew the tension between them. I also loved how this book is a collision of their pasts and presents. Karou returning to the caves she was originally born in but also having her “grandmother” assist her and her friends. Akiva’s magic and its origins combining with his love for Karou as well as having to lead the army against his uncle. It’s a family affair – and it might sound like a disaster but Ms. Taylor makes it work so well together.

New characters are introduced and whilst their motivations and relevance are not always apparent, they are integrated brilliantly into this novel. Eliza Jones, a twenty-four year old who has been running from her past for years. Now a research fellow and doctoral student, Eliza thought she could live her life her way. She’s not going to let her nightmares of monsters – or her horrible co-worker – take the freedom she fought so hard for. Eliza is one of those characters that I enjoyed reading about because despite her past, she now lives in a world ruled by science and rules. But the horrors she witnesses and things she experiences are things she just can’t explain. Whilst it may not be initially clear her role in the the battle between Angels and Chimera, Eliza is a great addition to the series.

I adore Zuze and Mik and I was delighted that they featured so prevalently in this book. They are adorable and bring out the best in each other – but also in others too. It’s hard not to be caught up in their infectious enthusiasm and love of life. But we also get to see a deeper side to the pair. A war is not without its casualties and both Zuze and Mik get forced to face the reality to the fanciful world they stumbled into. Brave, faithful and intelligent – we get to see the best this pair have to offer and I would love to do samurai-monster training with them and become as dangerous as Zuze is feisty.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters is an amazing conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. All of the characters have grown so much and continue to do so throughout this book. The plot is both unique and thrilling. I never knew what to expect but the twists and turns felt right and authentic to the characters and the worlds in which they live. I will continue to recommend this series to everyone I know and will rush out and read anything else Laini Taylor decides to write.

Favourite Quotes:

And that was why she was angry. Because they weren’t giving her a reason to be angry. Feelings. Were. Stupid.

We are the beginning, he heard inside his heard, and it felt like prayer. We have always been. This time, let it be more than a beginning.

“You are a conniving, deceitful hussy. I stand in awe.”
“You’re sitting.”
“I sit in awe.”

Zuzana sensed a t-shirt design coming on. Be a Samurai because you never know what’s behind the freaking sky.

What an unforgettable series - in SUCH a good way - and what a finale!

Beautifully written, this book reminded me why I love Laini's storytelling so much ... why her books are magical and lyrical and enjoyable in equal measure. Her worlds are vast, breathtaking; her characters and dialogue so very good. As this final book in the series unspooled, I was utterly captivated - to know that it was all coming to an end (sob) ... and yet, it's all coming to an end (YES!) Read slower ... no, read faster!

This final book is worth reading for the quality of the prose alone, but then we have: the ongoing love story of Karou and her Akiva; the oh-so-sweet-with-spikes-on Zuzana, and her violin boy; then the emotional story of Ziri and Thiago, the changes transforming Liraz, the Kirin caves, the mystery of the battle at the portal; and oh, who are these new characters - and what is the story behind *them*? Oh ... and OH!!

If you've already read Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Days of Blood and Starlight, why on *earth* would you forgo this treat, the bringing together of all the threads and all the lives and all the worlds, into this magical, perfect ending? :)

Dreams of Gods & Monsters is the final installment in Laini Taylor's The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy. Laini Taylor is one of my favorite storytellers of all time. She makes art out of words and it is beautiful. She has such talent for building characters, worlds, and relationships on the page and her writing just sucks you in and won't let you go. I LOVED the first two books in this trilogy, but sadly I didn't love this one quite as much. I still liked it...a lot...but I was looking forward to the mental hallelujah chorus that proceeds amazing fiction but it just didn't come for me personally. I wanted Karou and Akiva! But new characters, plots, and complexities were added that took my attention away from them too many times. Also, I think it had to do with the varying perspectives in which the events were told, the way new characters and events were introduced, and how complicated the existing and new plot(s) became. There's no way this is the end to these characters' stories. Ms. Taylor put way too much work into developing new characters and plots in this final installment to just end them all here. SPINOFF- possibly plural! Pretty please?

The things I loved were 1.Karou and Akiva's romantic tension! Even though it was a little over the top, at least Karou and Akiva were the focal point during those parts! For a while I thought (view spoiler) 2.The lovely Zuzana and Mik (love, love those two-just can't get enough!!!) 3.And such a surprise: (view spoiler). Eliza and her gang just didn't make it to my favorite's list. I think it had to do with my complete confusion with why she had a parallel story in the first place...but it did make sense later on in the story. Anyway, this can't be the last we see of these folks, and any novellas, books, etc. that are written will make it to the top of my book pile!

My favorite quote:
“Be a Samurai. Because you just never know what's behind the freaking sky.”

The journey that began with DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE and continued with DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT is over. I am a sad yet very happy person. I feel like I was part of the journey, from that moment when I first read that an angel and a devil fell in love, to those bittersweet words of the last page of DREAMS OF GODS AND MONSTERS. Karou, the blue haired girl with a perilous destiny, and Akiva, an angel with amazing power, are preparing for war. Their mission does not come without irony: they're leading enemy armies against a threat which has the cunning to destroy worlds. It's a battle for the ages and one which could change everything.

**THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN MILD SPOILERS**

Since this novel is more broad in scope, multiple points of view are given. It's a little disorienting at first, especially for those who want to see more of Karou. She's put more on the back burner. This is such a disappointment because the story should essentially be about her. We do get to experience more of Akiva's thoughts, as well as Zuzana, who is the best best friend in literary existence. There is also the introduction of a new character named Eliza, who is more than she seems. Anyone who read DAYS knows of the White Wolf. All I will say is that the White Wolf is a force to be reckoned with in this book.

The language is gorgeous and the world building is breathtaking. Locations in Eretz--the home world of the angels and the chimaera--are described in lush detail. Places on Earth--Morocco, Rome, and even the National Museum of Natural History--are given life. There is a strong sense of friendship, duty, honor, and love in the writing, which is what makes the series so compelling. However, I noticed there were some elements which were jarring, Maybe it's due to the broadness of the book, but I had a part time picturing some of the things which happened near the end. I had to re-read these passages several times before the information would stick.

Those expecting a slash-and-jab battle will be sorely disappointed. But this introduces an element which makes you ask, "Is there something more?" It feels like there should be more. I think you're supposed to make your own ending, which is head-smashingly sad. I want closure.

I tip my hat to Laini Taylor for creating this world, these characters, and the girl who introduced it to us. This is a series I will hold close to my heart. If you have not ventured in to this world, please do.

“Once upon a time,an angel and a devil
pressed their hands to their hearts
…and started the apocalypse.”

Where do you even begin with a book like DREAMS OF GODS & MONSTERS? It was a utterly fantastic conclusion and a nearly perfect book. I liked the other two books but this finale just cemented the series into my shelf of all time favorites.

Characters, characters, characters. Probably one of the best things about this series (among so many others) are the characters. The huge variety of characters, not only differing in appearances, but also personalities, motives, and dreams. Each one has so much depth, and they all add a little something extra to the story.

In addition to all the familiar faces, there are some new characters introduced as well. I like when series do this because it keeps things fresh and Taylor has yet to write a character that wasn’t made from unicorn blood and rainbows (meaning: awesome).

And I think these quotes say everything I could about the writing. It’s probably the best I’ve ever read in any young adult book. Beautiful, without being too complex and hard to understand.

And boy, is there darkness. Everything is at stake and no one is safe. That’s why I was on the edge the entire time I was reading this-you really have no idea what could happen and we already know Taylor doesn’t pull any punches in her writing. Even with everything, I’m still very satisfied with the ending, although there is opportunity to see more from this world. *crosses fingers*

A great conclusion.

I have fallen in love with Karou, Zuzana and Mik. They have to be some of my favorite book characters ever. I was so excited to get my hands on the final book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, Dreams of Gods and Monsters. When I went to pick it up at the library I almost fell over. The book is huge! It is like Harry Potter huge with smaller text! Uff-da!

Likes:

I never really liked Karou and Akiva in the first two books, but this one I could really finally see them being together.

The changes to the story were interesting, I liked how Eliza was added to the story. It was a good way to see the human and other reality perspective.

I was happy with the way the series ended. I wasn’t really why the whole Akiva situation needed to happen, but it worked out fine. I almost wonder if it gave her an edge to write a spin-off series or something.

It was need seeing Brimestone’s hopes come to life in this book. I really wish there was more Brimstone, but at least his legacy shines through Karou and Issa.

Gripes:

I listened to the first two books and I really felt like I connected with the book a lot better with the audio version. Sometimes with the written version I felt like it was so jumpy. It sometimes felt like Laini was speaking with a train of conciseness, so I think I related better to that having someone read it to me rather than reading the book. I almost wish I would have done the audio version instead.

There was not enough Zuzana and Mik! I was so sad that Zuzana really took a back seat and this book really was lacking the original spunk and wit that I loved in the first two books in the series.

My initial response was "perfect."

Upon Further Reflection, well... not so perfect. Or maybe too perfect? Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, immensely, it just didn't quite live up to what I expected. I'm having trouble articulating exactly what it was about this that has left me less than entirely satisfied, but I'll give it a shot.

After the incredible pathos and struggle of the first two books, the denouement here seemed (despite the page count) almost rushed. Much of Big Important Conflict that was set up was resolved with "told, not shown" levels of difficulty. And then... and then New Understandings of the Nature of Things.

It wasn't that I disliked the bits toward the end. It was that it felt like our characters, our merry band of players, suddenly had all the set dressing changed out from behind them and everyone kinda just shrugged.

Maybe I'm just being picky, but the world(s) had been well-built and well-established, and while technically making things MORE complex and dangerous and adventure-requiring, the direction the story went, for me, robbed our characters of the chance to really *win* their hard-fought battles.

ALL of that said, it was still a fantastic and gripping read, and I will continue to recommend the series. (Hence the 4-star review.) Parts were beautiful and lovely and made me cry, and I am glad for the characters, if slightly dissatisfied for the readers.

In my years of reading, I have discovered that writing comes with a power; some authors abuse it; some are unsure of what to do with it; and some, like Laini Taylor use it to it's fullest.

I don't have much to say about Dreams of Gods and Monsters except that I kind of hate that I loved it so much. So many different emotions passed through me while I read, and my heart leapt every time Karou and Akiva were together.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters was both a conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy as well as introduction to what comes after a series finishes, what is left to the reader's imagination. I will never forget the journey I went through with Karou and Akiva, and their world will not be forgotten. Laini Taylor concluded the trilogy in he most perfect way possible and still let a door open for what ifs. I will definitely be looking out for Laini Taylor in the future.

3.5 stars. I was totally and completely engaged by Laini Taylor's first book in this series, Daughter of Smoke & Bone. I read it several times and found such wonder in the characters and the plot, despite fantasy not being my favorite genre. I dutifully read the second book in the trilogy, Days of Blood & Starlight, and was a little less enthralled (why would the author take such pains to separate her two interesting protagonists, the chimera Karou and the angel Akiva, who clearly need to be together?!). She separated them to give her plot the impetus it needed to propel through the third and final book, Dreams and Gods & Monsters.

While this book moves along at a fairly good clip, parts of it began to feel repetitive to me -- the cruelty of Jael, the forced separation of Karou and Akiva, the happy sarcasm of Zuzana and Mik. These all felt a little contrived and caused the plot to sink under its own weight.

I wanted this third and final novel to soar, just like the first one did. And, parts of it did. But other parts of the novel were difficult to get through and stirred a sense of boredom. In addition, I can hardly believe the is YA fiction as it is very graphic in its depiction of violence and cruelty.

I'm glad I read it...I just wish I was more satisfied with the outcome.

This was my least favorite book in this series. I wanted to love it so bad, but it just fell short. The only people that kept me going with this book were Zuzana and Mik.

The first thing is I think this book was just a little too long. I’ve listened to this trilogy, and really enjoyed the first two books. They seemed to just fly by. This one felt like it was never going to end. And there was so much new information being given to us in this one. By now, the threads should be tied up, but we were given more questions. I didn’t know if maybe this wasn’t going to be the last one, or not. My other complaint is the addition of new characters. Some of the new characters ended up being vital to the plot, but I wish we had met them sooner.

I love Zuz nd Mik even more after reading this book. They seriously go through hell and back, and manage to stay strong. I also think they are what kept the story going along. I needed more of them in the end. I know it sounds like I hated this book, and it’s not that. I just felt like it was a little too much for a last book.

This Book I can only give 3 Stars. Agreeing with the other reviews, this was not nearly as strong as the other books. It's lazy writing when I'm constantly told how beautiful the characters are and how much they're in love. I get it already, but there was enough of a plot to keep me going. I didn't mind the introduction of new characters, but they did seem a little rushed. And although her writing can be beautiful and poetic at times for some reason this book seemed to drag because of it.

I'm noticing the last book in a trilogy seems to be the hardest to write. Mockingjay and Aligent were huge disappointments. This isn't as horrible, but what the other books were building towards was extremely anti-climatic. When Karou says "It had all been too easy" I laughed... and said "Yes, yes it was." The book does seem to redeem itself a bit by the end, but it wasn't enough for me to feel like this was a solid book series. The end didn't feel finalized. There's still more story to tell so perhaps we'll get another 3 books like what the Mortal Instruments did. And that would be awesome. To review the entire series I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

This lush, complex conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy is set mostly in the high fantasy realm where Karou and Akiva cut the deals and make the sacrifices required to rewrite the histories of their own species. There are unknown players on the sidelines that factor in, and add a mystery feel to this epic fantasy story. Then there is the human realm, where a woman named Eliza is having memory problems, and locked somewhere deep in her brain is yet another mystery. What is fantastic about this book is the depth of emotion that the characters go through as they struggle to rise above historical grievances to fight for the greater good. It takes a special kind of leader to accomplish this, and Karou must do this surreptitiously through Akiva and the disguised Ziki. Given their resources and circumstances I could not envision a scenario in which things could end well, but factor in the serendipity of fate and allies can come from the strangest places. And where fate is fickle, everything comes down to choice. It wasn't enough for Karou and Akiva to have a vision for a different world, but they had to choose to act on that vision...accepting all the terrible risks that come with possible failure. On top of that, every individual fighting with them had to agree to those choices...and risks. Truly an epic, world-expanding saga.

Ehh. Too many new plot threads were introduced in the final book of the trilogy, making the book feel bloated and distancing the reader from the most compelling element: the characters. The whole cataclysmic plot line seemed cobbled together at the last minute. Similar to in Days of Blood and Starlight, the charm and romance of Karou & Akiva, Prague, Brimstone, and the mystical chimera that I fell in love with in Daughter of Smoke and Bone were lost. The original book was no doubt YA, but it had the essence of a timeless fable. This book feels more immature than that, with prose that intermittently grows too purple and never-ending "I just really wish I could kiss Akiva" moments that grow stale.

Spoiler:
Also, that Ziri/Liraz romance felt shoe-horned in, it was way too tidy.

As you can see if you check all the reviews I have posted, I don't often give 5 stars and am honest in my opinion, to the dismay of many. I feel I have paid for the privilege, and although it may be difficult to swallow, I think I say things that others might not but which the writer needs to hear. Be that as it may, Akiva, Karou and company are my current all time favourites. By far. I was so apprehensive that Laini was going to blow it in the last instalment (sad), that I almost did not want to read it. And a few times during the over 600 wonderful pages (more, more!!) I almost put it down.

But it was so wonderful! Thank the godstars that Ms Taylor understands the fundamental sacred contract between the writer (creator) and reader (subject) - no matter what hardships the characters have to endure there MUST be a HAPPY ENDING. So so many writers don't get this, and they will fail, fail, fail.

There were a few things that puzzled me, but which I will probably pick up on the next read through (and the next, and the next...:-)) like are the Stelians vampires? What's with the blood and teeth?? And is Karou going to have a monster baby because she's human? As if any off-spring of Akiva could be..... :-)

Laini, you deserve awards and accolades and fame and fortune. You deserve it. Really. 10 stars. Know that you have provided joy to many people. True.

Here's hoping you can continue to give us fabulous stories such as this for many years to come.

If they make a movie if this, and they should, please cast that beautiful guy from the Spanish Lays add as Akiva. I don't know anyone else pretty enough!!! The casting always ruins it you know.

*SPOILERS* My main issue with this book is the big twist at the end. The twist being that the war we've been following for basically the first two books and three-quarters of the third was essentially pointless. But what was really peculiar was that this book is allegedly the end of this series...and yet, it was completely open-ended. Taylor introduces this big twist at the end that makes all the suffering of the characters seem like sort of a moot point, puts Akiva and Karou back together, and then is like, "well, there's this big thing coming....THE END." It's weird. It would make sense if the story were going to continue (and if it does, you can disregard this review), but as it stands, it's a strange finale.

I had some other minor issues with the book, but the weird ending really overshadows all of that. Unlike the other books, this one seems hastily put together and not quite as carefully rendered. I hope the series continues so that the ending can be justified, rather than just seeming abrupt and odd.

Now that is how you conclude a trilogy. Too often authors build up and build up only to let down, but Taylor did no such thing here. The ending is satisfying while remaining open-ended. The story of Akiva and Karou goes on, but the portion of it Taylor had to tell is over. I love when a series ends like this. It can always feel harsh when coming to the end to have the lives of characters you've come to care about abruptly ended, not by their death but by the simple ending of a story. Much better, in my mind, to know that life will go on for them and to have hints of what that life might be, even if we will never see it written on a page.

As with the rest of the series, Taylor's writing is engaging in part because the language she uses is evocative and often beautiful, and the characters are so very likable--at least the characters we're supposed to like are. The story feels true of young love while remaining focused on larger conflicts and deeper troubles. And to top it all off, Taylor adds some rich history to flesh out the series and provide some striking context for all that has come before.

I enjoyed this series and this concluding volume a great deal.

What do you get if you cross Paradise Lost with Romeo and Juliet?

Laini Taylor's "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" trilogy, a story that centres on an epic war between angels and demons with a pair of star-crossed lovers caught in the middle. Only the angels and demons aren't exactly what you'd expect. In the world of Eretz, "angels" are winged humanoids known as seraphim and "demons" are half-human, half-animal hybrids known as chimaera. Their conflict has been going on for centuries - and has finally spilled over into our world.

When this third and final instalment begins, the world's population is riveted on live footage of thousands of angels sweeping through the skies and descending upon Vatican City. Riots, vigils, baptisms, suicides and mass panic commence. In the midst of all this chaos, a young university student named Eliza Jones cannot help but feel that something is very wrong with the overly staged nature of the angels' meeting with the Pope. From childhood she's been plagued with terrifying nightmares, and after a government-ordered trip to Morocco with her professor reveals a startling find, she realizes she's somehow linked to all these incredible events.

In Eretz, our protagonists Karou and Akiva are facing the greatest challenge of their lives: trying to forge an alliance between refugee chimera and renegade angels so that they might fight as a unified army against the seraphim invasion. Their desperate hope is that by stopping Jael, the commander of the seraphim forces, they'll somehow be able to find a way to end the war and create a life together.

At this point, it seems redundant to outline either Karou or Akiva's story-arcs. Their complicated history has been built-up over the course of two books, and you can't simply jump into this final instalment before first reading its predecessors: Daughter of Smoke & Bone and Days of Blood & Starlight. Suffice to quote the epigram at the start of the story: "once upon a time, an angel and a devil pressed their hands to their hearts and started the apocalypse" and you can easily infer the rest.

Although the odds seem impossible for Karou and Akiva, they have a secret weapon. Despite the superior numbers of seraphim, the chimaera have the ability to transfers souls from one body to another - and at the end of the previous book, the greatest chimaera general of all, the cruel and violent White Wolf Thiago, had his dead body reanimated with the soul of their most trusted ally: a young chimaera called Ziri. It's only by Ziri impersonating Thiago that they have a chance of convincing the rest of the chimaera that an alliance with Akiva's Misbegotten Legion (named so because of their status as the illegitimate offspring of the seraphim emperor) is possible.

As the culmination of the trilogy, "Dreams of Gods and Monsters" finishes most of what it set out to do. The story very much revolves around two major conflicts: the war between seraphim/chimaera and the love story of Karou and Akiva. Only by resolving the former can the latter have a chance at happiness, and Taylor deals with each plot in equal measure throughout the book's considerable length.

MINOR SPOILERS BELOW

I think most readers will be satisfied with the conclusion that "Dreams of Gods and Monsters" offers, though some minor characters remain unaccounted for and there's a sense of "ending fatigue" in the book's final stretch. In an odd choice, the resolution of the seraphim/chimaera war is wrapped up surprisingly early (just over three quarters of the way through the book) leaving the reader with a lengthy wrap-up of the book's third subplot which involves a mysterious team of angels hunting Akiva for reasons that have something to do with the intense magic that he can summon. It's a little out of left-field and introduces a brand new conflict in the last segment of the book that feels a little incidental.

END OF SPOILERS

But one of the joys of Laini Taylor's writing is her poetic-prose, and her seemingly effortless ability to spin an elegant turn of phrase. In describing the wings of the angels she reports that "every feather was its own lick of fire" and that the after-effects of a nightmare were "still perched on her shoulder like a carrion bird". Amusing chapter headings include "The Longest Five Minutes in History" and "Cake for Later", and Zuzana's continuous banter provides a certain amount of levity in the midst of the story's darkest moments.

So I'm sad to see this trilogy end as I've enjoyed it immensely. It's beautifully written, with plenty of great characters and incredible world-building, epic in scope and rich in creativity. What I find most telling is the fact that on finishing this book, my first impulse was to go right back to the start of the trilogy and read it all over again, enjoying it anew with the power of hindsight and watching all the disparate threads come together over the course of the three complete novels. The "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" trilogy is definitely an achievement, and I look forward to whatever Laini Taylor does next.

Others have (and will) provide evidence-based synopses/critiques/pros-cons. I'm going with my gut response:

--Author had a list of plot/sub-plot arcs and checked them off as she tied things up
--Author had a list of character pairings and checked them off as they became openly legitimate couples
--Author wanted the protags (and readers) to suffer just a wee bit more to get to the ultimately satisfying ending
--Author wanted to leave a bit of an open ending re: Godstars/fulfilling of Godstar prophecy in the event she felt like starting another series with fresh POVs

Like so many others, I looked forward to the arrival of this book with bated breath. I wanted to bask in the sunlit poetry of Taylor's prose. Yet even the writing was merely 4 stars--too many cutesy end-of-the-chapter-narrator-comments that pretty much lay to rest any surprises (don't worry, there aren't that many).

Don't get me wrong--4 stars is great, even fantastic, for most writers. But Taylor is a solid 5-star author, and I suppose I just expected a little more.

5 stars for tying up loose ends, deduct 1 star for execution.

What you're in for: Longing. Hopefulness and shattered hearts. Magic. Angels and chimaera. Slow-moving plot. War. Death. Surprises.

The Writing: Beautiful, gorgeous, magical, lyrical. I could go on and on. It's the words she chooses and the way she strings them together to create sentences that makes her writing so enjoyable to read.

The Ending: I liked how it ended. It was an epic ending of sorts. There was quite a bit left after the war was over, but that's because there was still a lot left to discover about the world and the characters. I thought the Epilogue was way too long and kind of unnecessary (in some ways).

Am I glad I read it? Well, of course. Anything written by Laini Taylor is worth reading. I found this book was a bit on the lengthy side and tended to drag on at times. It could've been shorter. I disliked the fact that we didn't really get to see much of the war because of the circumstances of the main characters. I felt like the war ended abruptly too. All of a sudden it was over and the story was moving on. But it was a good ending to the series.

The third and final book in this trilogy was bigger than the first two. Taylor introduces more characters, more world-building, more intrigue, while continuing the epic love story of Karou and Akiva. The story centers on Karou and Akiva bringing together the chimaera and seraphim to stop the Apocalypse on the planets of Earth and Eretz, but when Taylor wraps up that plot line, the book isn't over. She could have wrapped up the story nice and neatly. Instead, she goes bigger and beyond the chimaera and seraphim to the bigger forces of light and dark at work in the world. I found her decision to leave threads of the story untied interesting, and I wonder if one day she will continue this bigger story arc. Overall, I loved the book and series. Taylor's writing is breathtakingly good.

Jael has come to earth for weapons that might bring even greater destruction to Erez and start a war against the Siphrims. To have the slightest hope to fulfill their dreams about peace in Erez Karou and Akiva must combine their armies that have fought against each other for as long as they remember. The two armies will have to set aside their differences and work together if they want to have any chance at defeating Jael.
But there is more that they will have to worry about:
What is happening to the sky? What are the Stelians really up to? And how does a young woman from earth fit in to this all?

I really liked this book. It was exciting, fun, unpredictable and had just the right amount of romance for me. The Daughter of smoke and bone trilogy is now one of my favourite trilogys, because somtimes the last book in a trilogy is very disappointing and kind of ruins the whole trilogy but Dreams of gods and monsters is not one of those last books, I thought it was a satisfying ending to this trilogy.

I read the first two books in this series a while back and really enjoyed them. The world building, story and characters are just so creative, I was eager to read the final installment. This book did not disappoint. This book was a very intense journey filled with tragedy, heartbreak, suspense and love. If I had to choose one word to describe this entire book, it really would be intense. Laini Taylor is an amazing writer and storyteller and I'm very glad I've read these books. This book has a vast array of characters, twists, and enough action to keep you completely interested and hooked in the story. I experienced a lot of emotion in this book, happiness, fear, anticipation, horror, sadness. Really, it was a phenomenal story and I hope to re-read the series again.

The exquisite words of Laini Taylor, a detailed and unpredictable plot, with layer upon layer of depth along with complex and extraordinary characters all combine to make an exceptional story, one that I will carry with me always.
@crushingcinders

This was good. Oh so very good. It didn't disappoint in any way, shape or form. There's something about Laini Taylor's writing that is captivating. You just get immersed in her world and characters so completely. This is world-building at its very best and character driven plot at the top of its game. I've never read anything like this series and honestly hope I never will so it maintains it's unique mystery. All of the characters in these books are gems. Not perfect by any means but full of vitality. They're life in all of its facets, its highest heights and lowest depths and every shade of grey in between. I wish I could go back and read it all again with fresh eyes and experience it all over. I wish for a bit more of this world and this writing but sometimes it's just not to be. I'll just have to be thankful for the enjoyment I received from this series from start to finish.

Overall I enjoyed this series. But this book was my least favorite. The endless pages of flowery explanations got tiring. They often lost my attention. Sometimes they would go on for so long I'd forget what was being expounded upon.

Overall, I felt this book was 10% plot, 90% needless fluff that was put in just for the sake of lengthening the book. Meaning that very little actually happened considering the amount of pages.

That said, I found the ending completely lacking. It was not explained well, while being over explained. I don't know how else to say it. She spent, again, pages and pages on the explanation without actually giving one. Or if it was given, with the godstars, I didn't accurately follow. I fond that extremely disappointing.

I hugely enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy. If you're reading this review, I bet you did too, and I bet nothing I could say could put you off buying it. I absolutely couldn't wait to read it, and on the whole, this final book doesn't disappoint.

All the old characters make a return, along with some interesting new ones, and both the war-focussed and the romantic plotlines are satisfyingly resolved. This is an extremely long book (I read it on my kindle, but the hardcopy must be around 600 pages), but between the intriguing plot, engaging characters, and strong writing style, it never dragged - though I found it to be slightly less of a page-turner than the previous instalment.

This series has always trod a strange line between YA paranormal romance/urban fantasy, and the sort of full-blown high fantasy that George R Martin would be proud of.For me, the first book fell more into the former category, especially towards the end, while the second book prioritised war and history over forbidden love. This instalment falls somewhere in-between, combining scenes of relatively normal life on earth with full-scale battles in another world.

I enjoy both of those genres, but I prefer this series when it focusses on the latter, and gives the reader strange creatures and conspiracies in other worlds rather than concentrating on the romance between an angel and a (more or less) human girl. For some reason, the relationship between Karou and Akiva doesn't do much for me. He doesn't capture my imagination, and they never seem to have much chemistry. Things were better in Book Two, when there was real tension and distance between them and I started to warm to their story, but here, the author seemed to be manufacturing reasons to keep them apart, and it didn't really capture my imagination. It's odd, because the relationship between the two supporting characters, Mik and Zuzana, is always both touching and funny, and a new cross-species love affair that sprung up in this book really touched me too.

The more fantastical side of things continued to be very well done. We get more history, more folklore and more of the ongoing war between chimera and angels, along with lots of internal conflicts within the two sides. We finally get to see the Stelians, a different race of angels with a totally different culture and history and different powers. There are all sorts of revelations and drama. With the new ruler of the angels "off-screen" for 95% of the time and the White Wolf dead, it sometimes felt like we were lacking an immediately loathable villain. The latter really made the second book for me, so though I couldn't regret his well-deserved death, I did miss his effect on the plot. That said, Ziri's attempts to portray him to keep the army under control and the internal struggles it causes him were some of the highlights of the book. Generally, I really couldn't fault the fantasy side of things.

From reading some other reviews, I suspect I'm in a minority here, but one of my very favourite aspects was the completely new plot involving a genetics PHD student who has terrifying, literally heart-stopping dreams about the end of the world, in which the apocalypse is her fault, and who is hiding some initially undisclosed secret about herself and her family. The "what on earth is going on here" aspect of this reminded me of the sense of mystery I loved so much in the first book, when you didn't know why Karou was collecting teeth for monsters. And when the answers were finally revealed, the backstory and revelations it led to were amazing.

Overall, not quite a perfect book, due mainly to the sometimes lacklustre romance, but a really fantastic one all the same, and absolutely worth a read. A fitting end to a great series.

3.5 Stars.

I love this series so much, but this final installment was a bit of a disappointment. I felt like there was so much going on and so many new characters, and it just felt like too much. I really liked Eliza, but I found her chapters distracting for a while. I also thought all of the Stelian stuff got kind of confusing and took away from the conflicts that I was really interested in.
I also probably would've liked the book more with more Mik and Zuzana and Liraz and Issa, because I've never been all the invested in Akiva and Karou's relationship, and I like the secondary characters a lot more than either of the protagonists.
I think I just felt like this book could have used some serious editing to make everything a bit more crisp and connected.

It is always bittersweet finishing a series that you fell in love with. Book 1 was amazing and I liked book too. I wasn't sure what was going to happen in this book. Most of the story is satisfying but I am not sure how I feel about the end. The author introduces a whole new layer to the story right at the end. It wasn't resolved and I'm not sure we really needed it. Leaving Akiva and Karou to rebuild Eretz seems like enough of a project to me. I feel like they had earned their peace (and blanket ;). I wish the story had spent more time with the two of them. They have been the heart and soul of the series. I like using multiple POV's but at a certain point I was just hoping we would skip some of the people and go back Karou/ Akiva or the people surrounding them. Especially the amount of time spent on Eliza which for majority you had no clue the point.

Ten stars. Need I say more? Look, I have to admit that after not loving Days of Blood and Starlight as much as I did the first book (still, I gave it four stars, but…), I was kind of scared that I’d lost my passion for this series. Oho, how emphatically I was proven wrong, and thank the godstars! Laini Taylor, I don’t know HOW this woman is so good at weaving together such lyrical and eloquent writing with the quirky and casually humorous scenes this book is full of. This book is everything I could have hoped for in a series ending and MORE. I don’t even know what else to SAY because every time I think about it I just go incoherent with all the FEELINGS squeezing my heart! (Which is why I opted for the mini review this time.) OH MAN. I love this fricking book.

[...]

Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy

Titles: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Dreams of Gods and Monsters

Author: Laini Taylor

Label: Realistic Fantasy

Published in: Dreams of Gods and Monsters was published in April 2014.

The world that Laini Taylor builds in this series is very complex and very thorough. Much like The Hunger Games series, each book in the trilogy represents a different stage in the overall conflict: Daughter of Smoke and Bone introduces readers to Karou, an art student in Prague who lives with a family of chimaera (creatures made up of different animal parts, like, for example, a gryphon). She helps collect teeth for Brimstone, her chimaera father, but has no idea why he needs them. When she meets and falls in love with the angel Akiva, she discovers that she is part of a thousand-year war between angels and chimaera in the parallel world of Eretz. Days of Blood and Starlight deals with the aftermath of war and the process of organizing a rebellion. Karou, in discovering her past self, realizes that Akiva has betrayed her and her family. While Karou works, she deals with her desolation and slowly recovers, reacquainting her past self with her current self. Dreams of Gods and Monsters begins with a rebellion and ends by bursting the entire story wide open. Karou and Akiva discover a backstory to the backstory they thought they had figured out. The war between angels and chimaera, no longer contained in Eretz, collides with human history on Earth. Karou and Akiva achieve their main goal, to end war and tyranny, only to discover an even bigger threat to their newly acquired peace.

As anyone can see from the plot overview, Laini Taylor has created a layered world inhabited by well-rounded characters. But rarely do I encounter an author who can build complex worlds and characters while maintaining a hilarious narrative voice. She tells her story like an epic legend through beautiful, dream-like prose but also keeps everyone sane with hilarious dialogue. Taylor's blend of epic description and humorous reality-checks is effective because she understands when to reveal a crucial piece of plot and when to take a step back and note the ridiculousness of a situation. As Karou and her best friend Zuzana watch the angel and chimaera armies attempt to form an alliance and share their food rations, Zuzana remarks:

You know what would be good now?" Zuzana whispered, when the sounds of spoons on plates had mostly quieted. "Chocolate. Never attempt an alliance without chocolate.

With that statement, it's impossible not to smile in one of the most tense situations of the series. Taylor balances these quips with abundant richness of description: she develops both her characters and her world with care, treating the color of a tree's leaves with the same curious reverence as a soldier's fatigue. She describes one of Karou's "aha!" moments with lyricism:

Her heart started to pound. An idea was taking shape. She didn't give voice to it, but let its traceries unfurl, following them and searching for defects, anticipating what the arguments would be against it. Could it be this simple?

Taylor offers the perfect blend of quirky humor and sad beauty. The only other author I know who is able to manage such a balance is Tamora Pierce with her Tortall series.

Taylor boasts a solid cast of characters too. The main couple, Karou and Akiva, are definitely an OTP (One True Pairing). Their forbidden relationship, centered around a period of happiness surrounded by grief and loss, is strangely attractive. But the supporting characters make this series especially well-rounded: Karou's best friend Zuzana is a tiny, feisty puppeteer, master of the eyebrow arch. She is the reason for every uncontrollable bout of laughter I had while reading:

Zuzana Nováková was a pretty girl. She'd often been compared to a doll, or to a fairy, not just because of her slight stature but also her fine, small face...Deciding to take her on was akin to a fish deciding idly to gobble up that pretty light bobbing in the shadows and then-- OH GOD THE TEETH THE HORROR!-- meeting the anglerfish on the other side. Zuzana didn't eat people. She withered them."

Other memorable characters: Akiva's sister Liraz is an uncrackable warrior with so many chimaera death tallies on her hands that her arms look like black sleeves. The White Wolf, leader of the chimaera rebellion, is full of plying charm and an unnerving love of killing. Again, I could go on.

Taylor's handling of the crossover between Eretz and Earth, between fiery angels, demon-like chimaera and humans, is also applaud-worthy. She takes a very basic human belief, and asks us to re-evaluate it: Angels are good, and demons are bad, right? Then who do we support when the war between the two invades our daily lives on Earth? Should Liraz be punished because of the chimaera she's killed or be honored? Should Karou's surrogate father Brimstone die because he has scary horns? Taylor reminds us that all of our preconceptions started from a whisper, a rumor, a story. This idea that basic human beliefs are all relative appears much more in Dreams of Gods and Monsters. As Taylor rewrites Eretz's history and consequently Earth's history, the feeling that "nothing makes sense anymore" is just present enough to tip the reader off balance.

Of course, whenever an author tries to bend time and space and history, there is always a chance that the story arc will spiral out of control. Halfway through the final book, I started worrying about how Taylor was going to tie everything together. Using her third book to expand the backstory and character roster was risky. Just look at George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones series--HBO might finish it before he does! As I mentioned, Taylor ends her story a bit unconventionally:

It was not a happy ending, but a happy middle-- at last, after so many fraught beginnings.

Most of the time, ending with a beginning just leaves fans totally pissed off. But Taylor wraps up her initial plot neatly and leaves us with the knowledge of a satisfying future ordeal. Because she reassures readers that each character has a renewed purpose, we are content to end in this intersection. After all, if you survive reading all three books, you've also survived a war, a rebellion, and a prophecy with these characters. So when Taylor asks us to let these beloved fictional people go, we trust in their ability to attack the endless future possibilities. It's An End, not The End.

If Taylor ever decides to write a fourth book, I'm 100% positive that she'll create an epic journey filled with renewed vigor. She has set up more than enough material to explore. But if she doesn't, that's fine too. Though I'm accustomed to getting my happy endings like everybody else is, I sit here wholly satisfied and deeply touched.

Rating: 9 - so crazy good that if the plot, characters, and world were real I would just run away and join them

The last book in this series was a little more convoluted than the first two, and we got a brand new, very important character (Eliza) who seemed to come out of nowhere. It took a while for Taylor to bring all the threads together and make it clear where the story was going, but the payoff was worth it. This installment got 4/5 Stars from me.

I LOVED the first and 2nd book and had such high expectations of the 3rd. Honestly it started off really good for me but then I'd say 3/4 in I was getting so frustrated with pointless chapters and characters that could of been left out?! I felt myself speed reading through just so I could find out how it finally ended. I have to say I honestly skipped the last 10 chapters and went to the epilogue, which I have never done before. I had quite a few unanswered questions, main one is how do the Beast and Angels even communicate, it was clear that they speak completely different languages? So how did Liraz and Ziri even speak to one another and how did they all battle in war together???
Overall I really feel like this drug on and could have been 200 pages less and the whole Eliza character should have been left out, I did not like that addition to the series.

This book was very much like the last book with its similar situations and additions of unnecessary characters. These last two books could have easily been condensed into one book, and would probably have been more satisfying. There were hints at another mystery subplot through the story, but it doesn't come completely out in the open until the very end, and by that time, I was just ready for it to be over. I hate to say that. I really do. feel this loyalty to Karou and Akiva, but I wasn't able to enjoy them much at all within this last book. All the other different characters and happenings swallowed them up. I missed the Akiva and Karou of book one.

DNF 18%

I really intended on reading this book - front to cover, even though the previous installment prepared me that this one is heavier on the Fantasy side than I would prefer. I'm not even sure if that's the problem really I just couldn't find my interest in the plot. I felt lost. Everything moves SO damn slowly I just wanted for something to HAPPEN and nothing actually did. I should say that maybe 18% into a book isn't a lot, yet considering the length of this novel, I'd say more than 100 pages into a book something SHOULD happen.

I can't and won't review this book. There is nothing that actually happened that I can write about. The invasion on earth - very little is known at this point (there is a new side plot with a human woman telling it from her POV), Akiva and Karou are trying to work together but it's hard from all accounts to make it happen. That's it. No real progression in anything really.

So sadly I'm concluding this series in a bit of a sour note. I think it's me, not the book. I just don't find the interest I used to find in slow progressing Fantasy novels. It used to be my go-to genre years and years ago, but I guess I'm looking for different things now. I would still HIGHLY recommend it to ones who are into the genre. It's very well written and the characters are very relate-able. I want to say that they feel very "human" but it's feel kinda stupid when some of them aren't ACTUALLY human ;)

Tags: Fantasy, Young Adult

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This book was disappointing. It lost it's way from the previous books. This was completely devoid of the charm that was present in the other books. Too much time was spent on characters who weren't interesting and in the end were rather inconsequential. The ending was satisfying although not perfect, which is fine because it seems more realistic. However the ending was perfect for everyone except for the two people who I wanted to have a perfect ending. Not nearly enough time was devoted to Akiva and Karou. It felt like they were shoved into the background for this installment, which was a shame since they were the heart and soul of the series

I picked up this book the very day it became available and was done with it 3 days later, and as soon as i was done, i simply turned to page one and started again.
I did this because the first time i read it on a tidal wave of emotion, the buildup from books 1&2 was strong enough to make me forget that 'hey, it's just a book'. Laini Taylor has a way of making you connect with the characters, to make you care about what happens to them, and to make even me (the cynic who rolls her eyes at happy endings), wish that they could have a happily ever after.
This book is epic in a way that even the second one doesn't reach, however, the one thing i can say as a criticism is that it made me wish for the simplicity of book one (mostly on the character's behalf).
Halfway through it, when she has built up hope in you that everything might actually work out, she destroys it, and then it is a tidal wave after tidal wave of victories and disappointments, she brings you to a new high, and then crushes you, again and again.
I loved that, the emotional carnage of it, and the desperate plea that was like a mantra in my head "No. No. No. Please no." which would turn into a wave of pleasure on the next page "Yes! Yes! Yes! Thank you, godstars!"
And when it does end, the simplicity of a shred of peace makes you put the book down and sigh, "Well...ok."
And now I'll be waiting to see if she ever decides to finish what she hinted at, or will she leave that to my (and all her readers') imagination.
Thank you again, Ms. Taylor, I have immensely enjoyed this trip.

(I'm looking at you, Mockingjay!)

Laini Taylor has created characters that we absolutely adore and this continues in book 3. And it's not just Karou and Akiva that we love...it's all the other characters around them that we adore as well. I am so sad that this series is over and I no longer get to live in this beautiful, magical, AMAZING world that Taylor has created. I laughed, I cried, there may have been some swooning involved as well....

Please write more, Ms. Taylor!!! I would love to see a whole book devoted to SPOILER ALERT AVERT YOUR EYES the relationship between Liraz and you-know-who. Pretty please?

this is a great trilogy and Taylor is an exquisite writer and someone to continue to watch. That said, this last book while obviously wrapping so much up, left me slightly cold. The woman knows how to write sexual tension like nobody, and after following the story of Akiva and Karou for these three book, (SPOILER ALERT AHEAD) I was hoping for some kind of pay off. It was the one ultimate tease in a book that seemed to take you right to edge,and then she said, 'Nah, can't do that now, sorry'. Otherwise the writing is dense and the mythology so involved it really transcends it's genre and is a terrific book for adults as well.

Did I say this series was amazing? I loved everything - the writing, the imagery, each POV character, all the different threads...

The final book introduces more threads, more characters, but everything comes together so wonderfully. I didn't think it possible, but the third book expanded the world even more as it brought every single shiny piece together into a mosaic. There were tears in my eyes as I read the last line. Because the line was so beautiful and because the series was *long sigh* over.

But it's not over because this is the sort of story you keep thinking of and replaying in your head and in your heart for a long time after.

I have to tell you these books are awesome! I have been not so patiently waiting for the last and final book and it finally arrived!

I am not going to give an spoilers away, just know that she did a great job of wrapping everything up. There is no such thing as happily ever after but she left them all in the happiest place possible in their current state. You get so many answers to your questions from all the other books and then maybe a few other questions? I think she introduced one new plot at the end to leave it open to another book or books. It had some finality to it just in case she doesn't decide to write it but I think that was left slightly open on purpose.

I listened to this book straight through, which is probably a little unhealthy. I loved it, as I did the rest of the series, but I'm not going to do a full review because there are a few things I just haven't processed yet (I'm looking at you, last two hours). I will say that these stories have given me chills, literally, like no other books I've read. The narration is flawless, or possibly some fictional word that surpasses it. Khristine Hvam is going on my all-time favorites narrator list.

If you haven't read Daughter of Smoke & Bone, do it now.

3-1/2 but rounding down for the store because this book was so darn frustrating much of the time. It all ended well but gosh it was painful to read about all the hurdles the characters had to mount. I am still in awe at the mind of Laini Taylor. She is definitely one of the most creative writers and excels at painting a picture in the reader's mind. I loved her characters again and her new settings. And I was really happy it wasn't all a battle book like #2 was. I'll gladly read more by this author.

I was sad for the saga to end... But at the same time I almost hope to dare to wonder if the way in which it ends leaves the door open for there to be more at some point. A spin off perchance? I love these characters and do not want to leave this fantastical world in which they live, dream, create, and so much more. Please, don't let it be over just yet... I have so much more I need to know!

This was such an incredible series, Laini Taylor gave us this beautifully written series. Such well written characters. So much was going on, I was worried how this book was going to end but, like on pg. 612 " It was not a happy ending, but a happy middle-at last, after so many fraught beginnings." Loved it. Loved Karou and Akiva, they suffered so much, separately and together. So many of the characters grew in this book. An incredible and beautiful series!!! :)

To be honest, I found this book to be rather long and a bit confusing. I kept trying to figure out who Eliza was. Had she been introduced in a previous book and I forgot about her? The whole Eliza and the Stelians parts were a bit confusing and rambley seeming. I did enjoy the parts with Mik and Zuzana and of course Akiva and Karou and there were some other fun twists too. Decent ending to a good trilogy.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters is a great series ender, save for that epilogue that I’m torn on. There were so many different emotions running through me as I read on to find out what happens to Karou, to Akiva, to this entire cast of characters I’ve grown to love (or hate, in the case of villains). It was exhilarating and terrifying, and altogether, one of the most intense reading experiences I’ve had in ages.

What a phenomenal end to the trilogy. You want to rush through it so you know what happens but then you also want to take your time to appreciate Laini Taylor's beautiful prose, storytelling skills and delightful imagination. She develops the existing story of the battle for the worlds and adds new and intriguing plotlines and characters that expand it even further into a fantastic story. This series is not to missed and I eagerly await what she does next!

I enjoy the writing style of this author. Her descriptions take you where you can see the characters and relate to them. The world she creates is enough believable and enough fantasy to keep it entertaining and enthralling. The whole series was good. I recommend for those who like fantasy with angels and demons mixed with interdimensional travel.

Science fiction, paranormal, magic are favorite genres. With trepidation I also found myself immersed in a love story that was as sumptuous as chocolate cake! This is one of my favorite YA series for ALL ages. Neek-neek!

I absolutely loved book 1! Book 2 was also good but not as amazing. Book 3 I found myself terribly bored and thinking of what else I could be reading instead. I tried so hard to finish it and at 60% I gave up. I read the epilogue and moved on. Too bad cuz I really loved book 1. My reading time is precious so I had to make a choice.....

This book was great the author is very imaginative I must say her ideas were creative and original and I enjoyed the book. at first Eliza's parts in the story mostly bored me until her story intertwined with Karou. Not sure if this is the last book or not because it the story seemed to conclude but there also seemed like there will be more to the story. I look forward to the next book if there is one.

Where should I begin? Oh to be as eloquent as Ms. Taylor! The series had me completely enthralled. This book in particular had me breathless and my heart pounding so many times I sometimes had to put the book down and take a breath. An absolute must read. This is going into my collection to be read again as I am sure I missed stuff in my haste to see what transpired nex.

Jesus, this trilogy. oh my goodness!!

Mad props to Ms. Laini Taylor because holy crap this trilogy! No words.

The characters - AMAZING!
The world - AMAZING!
The plot/conflicts/everything about this book down to the commas and periods - AMAZING!

Geez... I loved this book.

Loved this series! This final book wasn't what I expected, in a good way, and I really enjoyed it. The ending was a bit unconventional and left it on an uncertain note (but not necessarily a cliffhanger), but it worked. Overall, I found the series unique, well developed, and well written, and I hope to read more from Laini Taylor in the future!

I've loved this series start to finish. Gorgeous writing, fantastic settings, memorable characters. My only beef with this book is there was one too many storylines crammed into it. I won't write in a spoiler here, but I wish it had focused entirely on the original characters and had kept the universe more tightly contained (pardon my pun). Otherwise, it was a beautiful read.

The first book in this trilogy was the best! It was so good, a great story line and fantastic world, very different from the regular fantasy worlds of hobbits, dwarves and dragons. So I eagerly awaited the second book's release, which was not so good. But this, the third and final book of the trilogy was better than the second, still no where near as good as the first book, but a decent read. Definitely read the first book! Push through the second and conclude with the third, which goes into more (mostly vague) detail about the back story of this world and it's inhabitants.

I really enjoyed this trilogy and will miss the characters. What a great story. I listened to the audiobooks and I loved Suzanna and Mick a lot. They were such fun characters. This one is well worth the time.

I truly enjoyed this series of books. I remember wondering what I had got myself into as I started the first book, and it's been 'anxiously wait for the next book' ever since. Love the characters. Love the unique storyline. Love the pace and flow of the story. But the minus one star is that this ending begs another book for completion! I cannot believe this is the resolution and ending! There must be another!

The whole Eliza story is completely unnecessary. I get that it is important for the ending but I feel that even the story with the Stellans is unnecessary. It's like she tried to cram a fourth book on the third. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first. I hat how these trilogies always start amazing then get worse.

No disappointing or controversial series ending here - This book was fabulous! Full of Taylor's trademark poetic writing, all of our favorite characters along with a few new faces, a full spectrum of emotion, conflict, twists and turns and revelations, I found this to be a brilliant and utterly satisfying conclusion to this remarkable tale. LOVED IT!

I'm not great at reviewing books but I am good at knowing when I absolutely LOVE a book and I LOVED this book. I read this last one much more slowly than the first two in the trilogy because I didn't want to leave this universe that Laini had created, and when I did finish it, I had tears in my eyes and just sat with the book for close to an hour because it was such a magnificent ending.
Don't even think twice about buying this. I can't imagine anyone not being blown away by it. Can't wait to see what she writes next!

An amazing end to a fantastic trilogy. A happy middle was achieved. This book is very well written. The series is targeted at young adult but the themes and characters are so well formed adults can enjoy them just as well. The end is heart wrenching in the best possible way. Read this trilogy. You will not be disappointed.

This is probably one of the best written and the best 3rd book in a trilogy that I've ever read. Laini Taylor outdid herself on this one. There definitely wasn't any rushing to get it to print. I loved it! It's a must read if you've read the previous two. And how this book gets less than 5 stars I have no idea. Brilliant!

This was a very decent conclusion to an enjoyable trilogy. My only real complaint was that it seemed too long. There was a good deal of "world-building" that might have been better suited for one of the earlier books. It felt just a bit like the author was having to create a backstory that would justify the conclusion. I would still recommend this trilogy to teens who enjoy fantasy.

Throughout this series, Laini Taylor has been able to do what so many have not - create a series where each book resolves important story arcs without feeling like things were short-changed Yet, each book has also left open the possibilities of a future for the reader to imagine. The depth of the worlds she created in this series is impressive and her skill in weaving details and parallel timelines is deeply satisfying.

When I read the first two books in the trilogy; Taylor's writing became the reason I got up every morning. It is that way again. Ever hear of the girl who married the Eiffel tower? Well there is somthing serious going on here between me and these books. If Jinnis and wishes were real, I believe Laini Taylor could make a great living as a go between wish consultant; lest we cheat ourselves from even a small lack of imagination. Taylor makes that word shimmer like new.

Although this was a good book, the introduction of new characters and new storylines really detracted from the major events. Also, the tension between Karou and Akiva was getting a bit frustrating. Otherwise, good conclusion to a great trilogy!

I had hoped for a bit more than a romance novel set in a war. I guess you would call this a romance/war story/sci fi novel. I especially enjoyed the characterization, and the world building was wonderful. I felt that the author lost the plot by book three however and was just wrapping up loose plot lines. Still a very good read.

I loved the first book, liked the second book and only sort of liked this book. it was just so long and convoluted. I typically read a book very quickly and don't get distracted. This book, I kept putting down and forgetting I was reading it. It just did not always capture my attention.

In this third book of the trilogy, all questions are answered. However, it takes over 600 pages to reach the answers. Looooong boooook. It was ok. Not my choice. Unless you are into all the flying angels and demons stuff I would pass....

In the end, the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series is more like Twilight than Harry Potter, but Dreams of Gods & Monsters was a satisfactory ending to a fine series. (And there is room for a sequel series!)

This is a wonderful series for a beach read. Just plan on slathering on the sunscreen because you won't want to put the books down. I usually don't like to read series but this world was unique and truly different.

couldn't put this book down but I would have liked to read more about what happened to the main characters feel like the author could write another book. Would be nice to hear more about the happy ending after so much misery.

I LOVED it. It was a magnificent end to the trilogy and didn't disappoint in the least. The book kept me up from when it was released (12 am ) to the wee hours of the morning until I was done with it. I simply couldn't put it down. It was beautifully written (as expected ) and even more perfectly paced.
I simply LOVED it!! Can't wait to read whatever Laini Taylor writes next.

A fantastic series! Taylor weaves a delicious and satisfying narrative that I couldn't put down. In fact, I checked out the text version AND the audio version so I was able to get MORE DoSaB while not neglecting daily tasks. Will buy the series in print to have I my library.

This book is so fantastic.
I can't get over how talented the author is. Laini Taylor's imagination and her unique style shone through this series, and especially this book. The covers were always beautiful, but the story inside is incomparable. This book; this entire series, was just awe-inspiring. Everything was so amazingly written and the plot was so intricately woven together.... I am mind-blown. This book was just perfect.

I'm deeply in love with this series and this ending was completely satisfying and wonderful. This final book rounds out everything so perfectly that I'm tempted to read them all again just to enjoy the imagery as a single block all at once. You will not be disappointed if you've enjoyed the others.

Enjoyed two first books but third is very weak. Ending is the most important part in any book and author, obviously, did not know how to finish the story. All over the place, luck of story logic, and loose threads. God out of machine, etc. Bad editing.

I really enjoyed the first two books, abut a can not say that about the third one. The series is about the war between the angels and the chimera.Akiva and Karou are trying to bring peace between their races,and that is what the story should have revolved around. The story goes two far off track with plots twist that make no sense. Considering the caliber of writing in the first two books, i had very high hopes for the the last one. I would not waste my money,( or promotional credit) on this book a second time.

This book was so amzing I can't even find words to describe it. I have loved this series from the very begining, and this conclusion lived up to the splendor of the others. Laini Taylor you have blown my mind and mangled my heart yet again.

couldn't put this book down but I would have liked to read more about what happened to the main characters feel like the author could write another book. Would be nice to hear more about the happy ending after so much misery.

I LOVED it. It was a magnificent end to the trilogy and didn't disappoint in the least. The book kept me up from when it was released (12 am ) to the wee hours of the morning until I was done with it. I simply couldn't put it down. It was beautifully written (as expected ) and even more perfectly paced.
I simply LOVED it!! Can't wait to read whatever Laini Taylor writes next.

A fantastic series! Taylor weaves a delicious and satisfying narrative that I couldn't put down. In fact, I checked out the text version AND the audio version so I was able to get MORE DoSaB while not neglecting daily tasks. Will buy the series in print to have I my library.

This book is so fantastic.
I can't get over how talented the author is. Laini Taylor's imagination and her unique style shone through this series, and especially this book. The covers were always beautiful, but the story inside is incomparable. This book; this entire series, was just awe-inspiring. Everything was so amazingly written and the plot was so intricately woven together.... I am mind-blown. This book was just perfect.

I'm deeply in love with this series and this ending was completely satisfying and wonderful. This final book rounds out everything so perfectly that I'm tempted to read them all again just to enjoy the imagery as a single block all at once. You will not be disappointed if you've enjoyed the others.

Enjoyed two first books but third is very weak. Ending is the most important part in any book and author, obviously, did not know how to finish the story. All over the place, luck of story logic, and loose threads. God out of machine, etc. Bad editing.

I really enjoyed the first two books, abut a can not say that about the third one. The series is about the war between the angels and the chimera.Akiva and Karou are trying to bring peace between their races,and that is what the story should have revolved around. The story goes two far off track with plots twist that make no sense. Considering the caliber of writing in the first two books, i had very high hopes for the the last one. I would not waste my money,( or promotional credit) on this book a second time.

This book was so amzing I can't even find words to describe it. I have loved this series from the very begining, and this conclusion lived up to the splendor of the others. Laini Taylor you have blown my mind and mangled my heart yet again.