Review: Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
“A dream dirty and bruised is better than no dream at all.”
The Basics
Title: Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2)
Author: Laini Taylor
Published: 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company — Hachette Book Group
Pages: 513
Format: Hardcover
Genres: Fiction — Fantasy, Urban fantasy, Paranormal, Young adult, Young adult fantasy, Fantasy romance, Paranormal romance
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Book Synopsis
Having discovered her true identity and learned of Akiva’s misdeeds, Karou has left him and returned to Eretz to uncover the fate of her people. There, she teams up with an unlikely ally to help rebuild the chimaera army and fight back against the seraphim. Meanwhile, Akiva has returned home and now finds himself a cog in the seraphims’ war machine, but after learning of the army’s plans for chimaera civilians, he decides to set out on a different path. He may have lost Karou, but he hasn’t lost the hope that they once shared for peace.
My Review & Overall Thoughts
TLDR: An okay book – not as exciting as the first book in the series but still worth reading.
Days of Blood and Starlight is a bit of a letdown after Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Is it a bad book? No, but it lacks the pizazz of its predecessor.
The book is fairly slow going, with the pace not picking up until the second half. The first half, which consists of a buildup to the reveal of where Karou is and what she’s doing, is tedious. While reading the book, I became bored of the alternating Akiva and Zuzana points of view that revolved around each wondering where Karou could be. I honestly considered shelving the book, because I had grown sick of the drawn-out reveal with regard to Karou’s whereabouts.
Another irksome aspect of this book is the ever-changing point of view. Unlike Daughter of Smoke and Bone, the points of view are not limited to those of Karou and Akiva. Oh no, there are a multitude of points of view, including those of some very peripheral characters. This frequent shift in perspective gave me a bit of whiplash, as we were constantly jumping from one character’s story to another.
Days of Blood and Starlight also differs from its predecessor in that Akiva and Karou barely share any scenes, which given the ending of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, is not surprising. Still, the dynamic between Karou and Akiva was one of my favorite parts of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, so it was a bit disappointing that the two did not interact much in this book.
The good
Once things picked up, Days of Blood and Starlight became an enjoyable read. It is a very original story and features complex, multi-faceted characters who grow over the course of the book.
Perhaps the most praiseworthy aspect of this book, however, is Taylor’s writing. Not only is she skilled at describing people and places in such a way that they come to life, but her writing, in and of itself, is lyrical and masterful.
Overall
Days of Blood and Starlight falls short of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but it is still more entertaining than not. I am curious enough to see how everything will unfold that I will continue the series by reading the next and final book, Dreams of Gods and Monsters.
Have you read Days of Blood and Starlight? If so, let me know what you thought of it in the comments section below!
