Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

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?

Reviewed by jesstheaudiobookworm on

4 of 5 stars

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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

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 15 December, 2015: Finished reading
  • 15 December, 2015: Reviewed