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

So much better than I expected

The first book was alright. A slow start but with a decent finish, so I had to get book two. Throughout this book I appreciated the author’s talents more and more. Looking very forward to the next book, and eventually reading (or listening to) all her other works as well.

WOW! So beautiful....I cried!

What did you love best about Days of Blood & Starlight?

I loved it ALL! It was beautifully written, beautifully narrated...most of it was quite tragic, but described in such poetic words....just WOW!

Who was your favorite character and why?

there are many, But I do love Karou....she strives for a better world, and with such young hope and brutal strength....you can not help but love her...I wanted to reach into the book and take her in my arms and just tell her that it would be ok,,,,but will it?

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked many, or loved to be specific, but I think when she teaches her friends to become invisible was one of my faves....

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

SOOOOOOOO MANY! But the ending, the last hour or so, made me weep,,,

Any additional comments?

Laini Taylor is so talented, she writes with such an open heart,,,I can not wait for the next book!! OMG! WOW! Tears......such a beautifully tragic tale...I will read it again....

I love this book!!

I can not wait to listen to the next book!! This series is sooooo good!!!!

Kept me totally engaged!

I really loved this book. Ready for the next one! I can only imagine how awesome it will be!

So Amazing!

OMG!! This book is written so well! I loved the story and I got sucked into the characters lives and loves... This is truly a beautiful and inspiring book! I can't wait to read the next book.

Blurred Lines

The 2nd book in Laini Taylor's series is a bit slower in pace than the first for the story line. This is the usual middle book or set up book feel for the upcoming events. It has allowed the main characters to self reflect (a LOT of it) and wallow a bit before deciding on the next action to take place. The world building kept me interested now that we are seeing more sides/politics within the Chimaera and the Seraphs and landscapes. I enjoy the rest you are given from hard choices and the blurred right and wrong sides with the Zuzana and Mik scenes. I can't wait to see what large changes Eretz and Earth as we know it are about to go through with Akiva and Karou in the center of it all.

Great further exploration of a wonderful world

First of all, may I just say isn’t this the most gorgeous cover art? I’m not certain who created them, but all three covers (four if you include the novella) in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series are simply stunning.

Days of Blood and Starlight is the second in Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy which is a contemporary fantasy based on the themes of Romeo and Juliet. We have the star-crossed lovers from different and opposing sides, faked death, boyfriend goes off the rails. This second instalment is based on the premise of “what if Juliet woke up from her fake death and found, not that Romeo had taken his own life, but that he’d killed all her family and friends?”

What I liked

The world. The world that Taylor has created is wonderfully rich and detailed. I loved reading about the chimaera and seraphim. We learn more about their world in this book.

The themes. The idea of star-crossed lovers is a timeless one. There is a reason that Romeo and Juliet is a classic, and Taylor has done a great job of interpreting that into modern fantasy. Add into this the theme of war and peace and you have a wonderful framework for a story.

The characters. It is very easy to become invested in Karou and Akiva and root for them. They are likeable, engaging and you feel for their plight. The supporting characters are also great. Zuzana and Mik add some much-needed levity to the story.

The writing style. Taylor’s writing style is poetic and lyrical and is beautiful to read. Go check it out.

The audio narration. Once again, Khristine Hvam did a wonderful job - I particularly enjoyed her interpretation of Zuze and Mik. I really should check out the Zuzana/Mik short story Night of Cake and Puppets also narrated by Hvam.

What I didn’t like

It has to be said, I didn’t enjoy Days of Blood and Starlight as much as Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I found it a little too… depressing. After the events of Daughter of Smoke and Bone neither of our protagonists are in a good place emotionally and when you add to that the escalation of the war between the chimaera and the seraphim it doesn’t make fun reading. Thank goodness for Zuze and Mik!

Because of this, I gave Days of Blood and Starlight three and a half stars out of five.

more victories needed

The narrator is incredibly talented, she manages to make all the characters real and unique.

You MUST read this book!!

Amazing series! It’s the best epic series I’ve read since The Girl of Fire and Thorns. I’m hooked - right on to the next in this kick-butt series!

EPIC!

Any additional comments?

I had read some reviews that made me think the finale would be lukewarm. Not having read anything by this author before, I wasn't sure. The second installment was so excellent I thought it would be hard to top. But I have to say...I was very satisfied with this one! Narrator, once again, adding all kinds of joy to the listening experience. So many threads and details to be accounted for - and the author totally accomplished that. Adding in something new, but accounted for as some of the backstory had been alluded to previously. Epic ending...can't say too much because I don't want to spoil it...but heart-wrenching and beautiful in the poetic way Karou and Akiva always seem to deliver. This was fantastic. Definitely a new author to follow and an unforgettable story that completely took hold of my heart. EPIC!