Mercy, she had discovered, made mad alchemy: a drop of it could dilute a lake of hate.
Days of Blood & Starlight
by Laini Taylor
Genre: YA Fantasy
About: Karou is building a monster army. Her people have lost the war but rebellion is brewing and they're taking the fight back to the angels. Only the angels want a new war with their own people. War is everywhere. Akiva can't escape it or undo the damage he's set in motion. As worse and worse comes to pass, it seems impossible Karou will ever forgive him, or he himself.
The Good
The characters get a lot of space in this novel to process everything that's been going on. And it's needed. Karou has lost everything right at the moment she regained her memories - and while that totally could seem like a soap opera, it really doesn't. Her loss, her regrets, her shame, they all feel very real. The scenes of war, too, have such vivid detail that goes beyond the bloody battles. There is blood, but Laini Taylor makes me care about the victims of war. Sveta was a great new POV for this, as were some of the soldier POVs we get.
The balance between bleakness and hope is played very well throughout; with every character there is a pull towards someone or something they love that makes you in turn love them and want them to emerge out of this world of war. And it is a world of war. There is so much conflict in this novel and it builds and builds to an epic climax. Truly. The bombardment of New Things to Worry About is amazing and beautifully done as the twists don't come out of left field but somehow both shock and make total sense at the same time. Twists that come about from consequences.
The Bad
I do enjoy Zuzana and Mik's characters, and appreciate reading the author's note that bringing them into the story helped remove some of the otherwise too devastating bleakness. However, their romance with the treasure hunt and the three tasks before he can propose, or even their ease with the not-human-or-even-of-this-world soldiers, was a lot of things that didn't appeal to me personally. I could imagine the story without them and still have enjoyed it (especially as I think it would have led to Issa being revived sooner and I really love her). Zuzana often just feels like a character Laini Taylor loved too much to not include her but I don't think she was needed, not in this book at least. Goes without saying that I would never say any of this to Zuzana's face. I don't have a death wish.
The Somewhat Iffy
I don't know maybe there were plot holes or pace issues but there was so much going on that I honestly can't think of anything that took me out of the story. I'm sure it isn't perfect but this is my third re-read of the trilogy and I still get blown away by the twists and I love the transformation the characters go through. Monsters made by teeth killing angels with bird magic. I am down for all of it.
Overall
This series is still so exciting to me. The writing is beautiful, the plot blows up to a seriously epic scale, but it's the characters that pull me into the story. Their memories, their desires, their actions, it all matters because Laini Taylor makes me believe in her characters.
Comments