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Days Of Blood And Starlight by Laini Taylor
The Blurb On The Back:
Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living – one without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies or children ripped from their mothers’ arms to take their turn in the killing and dying. Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon’s secret temple and dreamed of a world that was like a jewel-box without a jewel – a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness.
This was not that world.
It’s several weeks since SMOKE AND BONE TRILOGY. Having scoured the ruins of Loramendi, Akiva’s convinced that Karou’s dead and has rejoined Hazael and Liraz as their emperor commands them to push on into chimaera lands, killing, destroying and selling survivors into slavery. Sickened by their actions, Akiva begins to think of the dreams that he and Karou once had of a better life and long for a different future.
But Karou still lives and has brought Thiago and a small band of rebels to a remote Moroccan town. While she doesn’t trust the White Wolf, she’s agreed to serve as their resurrectionist to atone for her part in their people’s downfall. Reviled and isolated, she’s worn out by the efforts of resurrectionist magic and begins to question Thiago’s intentions for their people. When Zuzana and Mik track her down, she’s delighted to have her friends with her until she realises that Thiago will use them to make her do as he wants. Somehow she must find a way of neutralising Thiago just as Akiva discovers that she’s alive …
The second in Laini Taylor’s SMOKE AND BONE TRILOGY is another beautifully written novel with incredible imagery and displaying a stunning imagination. However, Karou and Akiva’s denseness about obvious things really irritated me and felt like padding and as with the first book, there isn’t a huge amount of plot here. The quality of the writing meant that this wasn’t obvious until I finished it and while it did disappoint me, I will read the final book.
Akiva and Karou’s failure to realise that they’re being manipulated dragged on far too long for me and felt like padding. Also irritating was Zuzana and Mik’s failure to realise that the chimaera may be dangerous. However, I liked the fact that Akiva and Karou don’t share any real page time in this book because I’m not a big romance fan, although the misunderstandings that get set up seemed like a lazy way of introducing more tension to an already fraught relationship.
The descriptions of the chimaera and seraphs are great, as is the set up of Akiva’s mother and her mysterious people. A major character death is well handled and I particularly liked a scene involving a break in to the emperor’s bedroom.
All in all, it’s another solid read and I look forward to reading the trilogy’s conclusion.
The Verdict:
The second in Laini Taylor’s SMOKE AND BONE TRILOGY is another beautifully written novel with incredible imagery and displaying a stunning imagination. However, Karou and Akiva’s denseness about obvious things really irritated me and felt like padding and as with the first book, there isn’t a huge amount of plot here. The quality of the writing meant that this wasn’t obvious until I finished it and while it did disappoint me, I will read the final book.
Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living – one without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies or children ripped from their mothers’ arms to take their turn in the killing and dying. Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon’s secret temple and dreamed of a world that was like a jewel-box without a jewel – a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness.
This was not that world.
It’s several weeks since SMOKE AND BONE TRILOGY. Having scoured the ruins of Loramendi, Akiva’s convinced that Karou’s dead and has rejoined Hazael and Liraz as their emperor commands them to push on into chimaera lands, killing, destroying and selling survivors into slavery. Sickened by their actions, Akiva begins to think of the dreams that he and Karou once had of a better life and long for a different future.
But Karou still lives and has brought Thiago and a small band of rebels to a remote Moroccan town. While she doesn’t trust the White Wolf, she’s agreed to serve as their resurrectionist to atone for her part in their people’s downfall. Reviled and isolated, she’s worn out by the efforts of resurrectionist magic and begins to question Thiago’s intentions for their people. When Zuzana and Mik track her down, she’s delighted to have her friends with her until she realises that Thiago will use them to make her do as he wants. Somehow she must find a way of neutralising Thiago just as Akiva discovers that she’s alive …
The second in Laini Taylor’s SMOKE AND BONE TRILOGY is another beautifully written novel with incredible imagery and displaying a stunning imagination. However, Karou and Akiva’s denseness about obvious things really irritated me and felt like padding and as with the first book, there isn’t a huge amount of plot here. The quality of the writing meant that this wasn’t obvious until I finished it and while it did disappoint me, I will read the final book.
Akiva and Karou’s failure to realise that they’re being manipulated dragged on far too long for me and felt like padding. Also irritating was Zuzana and Mik’s failure to realise that the chimaera may be dangerous. However, I liked the fact that Akiva and Karou don’t share any real page time in this book because I’m not a big romance fan, although the misunderstandings that get set up seemed like a lazy way of introducing more tension to an already fraught relationship.
The descriptions of the chimaera and seraphs are great, as is the set up of Akiva’s mother and her mysterious people. A major character death is well handled and I particularly liked a scene involving a break in to the emperor’s bedroom.
All in all, it’s another solid read and I look forward to reading the trilogy’s conclusion.
The Verdict:
The second in Laini Taylor’s SMOKE AND BONE TRILOGY is another beautifully written novel with incredible imagery and displaying a stunning imagination. However, Karou and Akiva’s denseness about obvious things really irritated me and felt like padding and as with the first book, there isn’t a huge amount of plot here. The quality of the writing meant that this wasn’t obvious until I finished it and while it did disappoint me, I will read the final book.