Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #2)

by Laini Taylor

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.
This is not that world.
Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is--and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.
In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.
While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.
But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

• ISBN10: 0316215406
• ISBN13: 9780316215404
• Publish Date: 6 November 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[herseriallife]

Review coming soon!

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 5 Stars

THIS SERIES IS SO ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! I'M SO ADDICTED!

Plus it gets my extra stamp of approval because I am obsessed with the fact that it's jam packed with a whole mix of fictional, supernatural and/or mythological creatures I love.

RTC— ONTO BOOK #3! *takes deep breath* (who am I kidding, no time for breathing! MUSTREADNOW

[Djilan]

4,5*
I'm só happy I can go straight to book 3.
This story is keeping me glued to the pages. Love it!

[writehollydavis]

This was a strong sequel that did not fall into middle book syndrome. I had a harder time immersing myself in Laini's beautiful prose and descriptions this time around, but I think it was because I listened to the audiobook and didn't read a physical copy like I did with Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I will definitely be reading Book 3 vs. listening to the audiobook because I think that's how I need to consume Laini's writing.

[Kim Deister]

Days of Blood & Starlight I truly love this series!  The characters are fantastic and the story is thoroughly engrossing.  The world of this series is a wonderful blend of the real and the imagined and they fit together seamlessly.
 
The cast of characters expands in this series and they are all beautifully developed.  But Akiva and Karou were completely at odds with one another in this book and that was hard as a shipper of that relationship.  But that only made the story that much more of an engrossing read.
 
I love that this series takes the commonly held ideas of religious mythology and what it means to be good or evil and then turns them around.  Karou and her people are chimera, what most would consider to be demons.  Akiva is an angel, but many of his kind are far from the peace-loving angels that most of us imagine.  The story is told primarily from the point of view of Karou, making you really look at how perspective changes perception.
 
At it's heart, the story is about two enemies coming together for a common goal, a common mission, a common future.  It is imaginative, exciting, and beautifully written!

[leahrosereads]

Angstier than the first one, but I really like it.

Full review to come.

[KitsuneBae]

I can't find any fault in Taylor's lyrical prose but why does this book have to be so draggy? A lot of time was spent on each of the characters' internal monologue. And the rich world building? Well, it was a double-edged sword. At some point, it was appreciated but on the other hand, it leaves no room for the imagination.

[jesstheaudiobookworm]

I thought the story itself was good, but not great. I definitely did not enjoy it as much as its predecessor, largely due to the new setting and and cast of characters. I can't even tell you the number of times I had to refer to this book's wikia page to keep characters/chimera races straight in my mind. The total plunge into the chimera world was a bit overwhelming. I did find myself liking Zirri quite a bit, though. And I really appreciate the way this author writes her female characters. They all have spunk.

This story felt so different than the first installment. It took place in a different world, with several new characters and new races of characters. I'd say I was probably confused 45% of the time during this. The point-of-view changes were too frequent and numerous and without any audible indication that a change was taking place. The physical book probably had a visual indicator whenever there was about to be a POV switch, but the audiobook had nothing. Other audiobooks have used some sort of sound effect to indicate a new POV. The lack thereof in this particular audiobook significantly hindered my ability to fully enjoy this story. Overall, I would say that if you are choosing between the physical book and the audiobook, definitely choose the physical book (unless you plan on paying excruciating attention to detail). ~The Audiobookworm

[Joséphine]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Initial thoughts: I drudged through the first half of the book before I started to enjoy Days of Blood and Starlight. It was so cumbersome to read at first, I had to force myself to keep going. As beautiful as the language was, in some ways it hampered the progression of the book, which dampened rather than enhanced my reading experience. Since I absolutely adored Daughter of Smoke and Bone though, I was determined to read the entire series. I still am determined — just that I need a break before reading Dreams of Gods and Monsters.

What I did like a lot about Days of Blood and Starlight was how ominous the tone was and the sinister subtext that propelled the plot forward, somewhat balancing the general slowness of the plot. Perhaps Days of Blood and Starlight was meant to be a book to savour the quiet before the storm. I however, might've been much happier with the book if I hadn't been stuck so much on the first 250 pages during which I wondered what even the point of the book was.

[Kelly]

Absolutely breathtaking. Loved it to the moon and back.