Days of Blood & Starlight

By: Laini Taylor

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

An art student and monster's apprentice must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people in this riveting sequel to the mesmerizing, acclaimed book Daughter of Smoke & Bone by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor—now with a gorgeous new package!

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?

©2012 Laini Taylor (P)2012 Hachette Audio

Totally different from book 1

Any additional comments?

I rated the first book 5 stars all around but I took away one star all around for book 2 for the following reasons:

Book 1 was so intriguing, fascinating, exciting, and mysterious. It made me want to be Karou... what a fascinating and mysterious life she had! But then at the end you find out she's not actually Karou, but Madrigal, and that is when the fun mystery that has been so built up all comes crashing down- never to be picked back up again.

In book 2, I was mourning the loss of the exciting, young life of Karou as the whole tone of the story shifted and became dark, anguished, heavy and dry. The whole feel of book 1 that captivated me was gone and I missed it and it was never coming back. In addition to that, the mysterious characters- such as Brimstone, who I so longed to discover more of- were all dead!

The beautiful imagery that painted book 1 so lovely and made you want to be there was missing from this book. Left mostly to my own imagination, Eretz was vast and empty, without much detail by the way of landscape.

The story was really heavy and angsty, which got on my nerves. In my review of book 1, I had said I was relieved it wasn't full of angst, but book 2 more than made up for that with plenty of angst. However, once I accepted that this was now a new and different story with a totally different feel, I was able to enjoy the book for what it was, especially for the way it ended.

Finally, the reason I removed a star for the narrator is because she read this book in a strangely continuous manner. What I mean by that is the story frequently changes locations or perspectives from Madrigal to Karou to other characters, but the narrator transitions from one scene to another completely seamlessly, without even a pause, so if you aren't paying close attention, you may lose track of where you are.

Like I said, I was still able to enjoy and appreciate this book, but be prepared for a dramatic change to everything you loved about book 1.

Hvam is an awesome narrator. I really enjoyed it.

Love the 1st book, 2nd one was ok, kept it interesting enough to want to see what happens in the next book.

A Hurricane of the Greatest Kind

An Amazing story that opens up a world and a breath of new characters. Will be sharing with friends!!

My granddaughter got me hooked!

These books are amazing. Laini Taylor knows how to paint with words and Kristine Hvam's performance brings everything to life.

Found a new series

I love when I find a new series that has a couple of books under its belt until I get to the last book. Especially if it was as good as this one was, I hate to get left waiting for the next book only to find out it wont come out till next year, oh well. This was still a great story and the narrator was also very good. I loved the characters, the depth and demensions to the story lines. I will note that even though the leading lady is only 18 it does seem like she is wise beyond her years right from the get go. So much torment and torn between worlds what is one to do. This is a credit well spent

Laini Taylor just surpassed Hemingway as my fav!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, best descriptive series I have ever read.

What other book might you compare Days of Blood & Starlight to and why?

It is top of my list, hands down. Laini can come live itch my family if she ever needed

Which character – as performed by Khristine Hvam – was your favorite?

Hvam's performance was spectacular and moving!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I both laughed and cried several times each.

Impossibly better than Daughter Of Smoke And Bone

I didn't think this book could get any better than the first book, I can happily say I was proved wrong. It was amazing!! The characters, their world, the plot line, they all really flesh out in this book. Enjoyable from the first word, until the very last. I can not wait until the third book is released!

Perfect combination!

If you could sum up Days of Blood & Starlight in three words, what would they be?

Compelling, dark, epic.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Karou - a fascinating combination of weakness and strength.

Have you listened to any of Khristine Hvam’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes. She's versatile and affecting. This sequel to the other book "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" that she also narrated is wonderful.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

It's quoted in the book itself often enough: "A devil and an angel fell in love. Things did not go well."

Excellent, could not stop listening!

Would you listen to Days of Blood & Starlight again? Why?

Yes, this is series that transports you to another world. Every character was expertly brought to life!

What did you like best about this story?

The author really made you care about each character however briefly they involved.

Which scene was your favorite?

Zuzana and Mic come to the casbah....sweet, endearing, funny!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

laughing, crying, anxious....can't wait for the next in the series! She always leaves you wanting more!

Much Darker, but Even Better

I'm really enjoying this series. This book was much darker, less about the romance between Karou and Akiva and more about the the battle between their people. Karou's friends Zuzana and Mik adds some lightness to the story, but overall this is a pretty apocalyptic read. The added complexity made it a little harder to follow in audio form (although the narration is great), but I really liked the depth of the story and am interested to see how everything will be resolved in Dreams of Gods & Monsters.