DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT by Laini Taylor Book Review
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #2
Publication Date: November 6th 2012 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rating: – Exceeds Expectations |

Book Summary: In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Karou must come to terms with who and what she is, and how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, mysteries and secrets, new characters and old favorites, Days of Blood and Starlight brings the richness, color and intensity of the first book to a brand new canvas.

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor Book Review Overview:

• Immense character growth for Karou
• Fleshed out secondary characters that you can’t help but love
• Wished for more romance but the amount of lovey dovey was appropriate in terms of the plot

Like with any other sequel, I had doubts coming into DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT by Laini Taylor. The first novel of the series, DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE, had been a stunner. A wonderful blend of fantasy and romance, DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE had easily been one of my favorite reads of last year. Was the sequel going to be able to live up to my high standards? It seems that I had nothing to worry about. DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT by Laini Taylor is everything that readers have been anticipating. It will not disappoint.

Karou grows so much in the span of DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT. She is such a different character from DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE, hardened by her recent experiences. She struggles between following through her obligations and following her heart. It is so easy to empathize for Karou because you grew to love her in the first book. You understand why she has difficulty in deciding what to do.

I think that the secondary characters are such a delight in DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT by Laini Taylor. Taylor takes this time to flesh out the characters, and we see a side of them that we did not get to see in Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Furthermore, I loved the interpersonal relationships between all the different characters. Karou’s friendship with Zusana is one of my favorite elements of the book. The relationships in DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT continue to be true and genuine.

I yearned for a little more romance, but that’s mostly just me fangirly-ing over Karou and Akiva. They are a match-made in heaven (no pun intended) and it hurts me as a reader to see them apart. The amount of romance is adequate in terms of what is going on in the story. There’s not a lot of girly squealing in DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT by Laini Taylor, but I know it will just make things a lot sweeter in the later books. No matter what happens, you just know that Akiva and Karou are meant to be together.

Laini Taylor is such a talented author. The world-building continues to be richly detailed and beautifully written. She artfully weaves themes of war, loss, and betrayal in DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT. Fans of Daughter of Smoke and Bone will not be disappointed with this enchanting sequel.

Other Book Reviews:
365 Days of Reading
The Overflowing Library
The Paper Planes

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Permalink Book Review, Four Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: Laini Taylor, Book: Days of Blood and Starlight, Genre: Fantasy, Genre: Romance, Masterful World-Building, Must Buy, Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone | 1045 words

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Expected Publication Date: January 10th 2012 by Dutton Juvenile

I know I’ve only read one John Green book ever, and I’m really not the biggest nerdfighter out there, but there has just been so much excitement building up for this book. I’ve already got this one pre-ordered so I’m to receive it ANY DAY NOW.

A Rogue by Any Other Name by Sarah MacLean

What a scoundrel wants, a scoundrel gets . . .

A decade ago, the Marquess of Bourne was cast from society with nothing but his title. Now a partner in London’s most exclusive gaming hell, the cold, ruthless Bourne will do whatever it takes to regain his inheritance—including marrying perfect, proper Lady Penelope Marbury.

A broken engagement and years of disappointing courtships have left Penelope with little interest in a quiet, comfortable marriage, and a longing for something more. How lucky that her new husband has access to such unexplored pleasures.

Bourne may be a prince of London’s underworld, but he vows to keep Penelope untouched by its wickedness—a challenge indeed as the lady discovers her own desires, and her willingness to wager anything for them . . . even her heart
Expected Publication Date: February 28th 2012 by Avon

Sarah MacLean easily won me over with her Love by Numbers series. I’m excited to read more of her stuff! I hope I enjoy this series just as much.

Thumped by Megan McCafferty

It’s been thirty-five weeks since twin sisters Harmony and Melody went their separate ways. And now their story has become irresistible: twins separated at birth, each due to deliver twins…on the same day!

Married to Ram and living in Goodside, Harmony spends her time trying to fit back into the community she once believed in. But she can’t forget about Jondoe, the guy she fell for under the strangest of circumstances.

To her adoring fans, Melody has achieved everything: a major contract and a coupling with the hottest bump prospect around. But this image is costing her the one guy she really wants.

The girls’ every move is analyzed by millions of fans eagerly counting down to “Double Double Due Date.” They’re two of the most powerful teen girls on the planet, and they could do only one thing to make them even more famous:

Tell the truth.

Expected Publication Date: April 24th 2012 by Balzer + Bray

I was a bit hesitant about reading something new by Megan McCafferty but I was anxious for no reason. I love Bumped and now I eagerly await for its sequel.

The Traitor in the Tunnel by YS Lee

I Queen Victoria has a little problem: there’s a petty thief at work in Buckingham Palace. Charged with discretion, the Agency puts quickwitted Mary Quinn on the case, where she must pose as a domestic while fending off the attentions of a feckless Prince of Wales. But when the prince witnesses the murder of one of his friends in an opium den, the potential for scandal looms large. And Mary faces an even more unsettling possibility: the accused killer, a Chinese sailor imprisoned in the Tower of London, shares a name with her long-lost father. Meanwhile, engineer James Easton, Mary’s onetime paramour, is at work shoring up the sewers beneath the palace, where an unexpected tunnel seems to be very much in use. Can Mary and James trust each other (and put their simmering feelings aside) long enough to solve the mystery and protect the Royal Family? Hoist on your waders for Mary’s most personal case yet, where the stakes couldn’t be higher – and she has everything to lose.

Expected Publication Date: February 28th 2012 by Candlewick Press

I’ve already read this one but it’s one of those books that I need to have a final copy of!

Other Notable Titles

These are some that I am extremely looking forward to, but it is still early for them to have covers and/or descriptions:

1. Written with My Own Heart’s Blood (Outlander, #8) by Diana Gabaldon – You know this means that I have to do an epic reread of the entire series in 2012 but it will be SO WORTH IT. Oh my god, I am so excited just writing about it.
   
2. Shadows (Ashes, #2) by Ilsa J. Bick – Ashes left off with me wanting more. It was probably one of my favorite books this year and I can’t wait to get back into the world Bick has created!
   
3. Untitled (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #2) by Laini Taylor – Again, another series that I started and loved.
   
4. Rebel Heart (Dustlands, #2) by Moira Young – Yet another sequel that I’m on the look out for in 2012. I started so many series in 2011, and this is one of the few that I plan on continuing. More Saba and Jack please!
   
5. The Thing About the Truth by Lauren Barnholdt – Huge Barnholdt fan so I’m excited for anything that she puts out. This one has a cover, but no description yet. Whatever it’s about, I’ll probably read it regardless.
   
6. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins – Do I really need to explain this one?
   

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Permalink Memes - Author: Diana Gabaldon, Author: Ilsa J Bick, Author: John Green, Author: Laini Taylor, Author: Lauren Barnholdt, Author: Megan McCafferty, Author: Moira Young, Author: Sarah MacLean, Author: Stephanie Perkins, Author: YS Lee, Book: A Rogue by Any Other Name, Book: Isla and the Happily Ever After, Book: Rebel Heart, Book: Shadows, Book: The Fault in Our Stars, Book: The Thing About the Truth, Book: The Traitor and the Tunnel, Book: Thumped, Book: Written with My Own Heart's Blood, Series: Ashes, Series: Bumped, Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Series: Dustlands, Series: The Agency | 1489 words

DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #1
Publication Date: September 27th 2011 by Little, Brown & Company
Rating: |

Summary: Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Review Overview:

• Karou is not a helpless maiden – she’s a kick-ass character
• This is not your typical angel novel; Taylor crafts a fantastical world on top of our own with seraphim and chimaera
• Beautifully written urban fantasy that you do not want to miss

Urban fantasy? Usually not my thing. DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE? I couldn’t get enough.

I haven’t had the best experiences with angel-themed novels in YA, so I was a bit shocked that I was enjoying this book. While forbidden love plays quite a part in this novel, I think the difference is with Karou. She is such a strong person. She’s fierce and independent, but at the same time she just wants to know more about herself and where had come from. Raised by Brimstone, a chimaera, and his other monster allies, Karou has no idea about her history. She has no recollection of her parents, having raised by Brimstone all her life. But she’s not a helpless maiden unlike all the other heroines in angel novels. In fact she’s the complete opposite: she’s a master in karate and she’s pretty handy with scary knives.

I would definitely label this more as an urban fantasy rather than paranormal. There’s a war in a whole different world called Eretz between seraphim and chimaera, which are more or less angels and demons. The world-building is just phenomenal. Despite the fact that the whole novel is set on Earth, Taylor is able to weave flashbacks of the Eratz and the past quite well. However, sometimes the flashbacks felt like they interrupted the overall pace of the novel. While it was still intriguing, the flashbacks felt slower than present day and it made me itch to get back to Karou’s story. She creates a whole history between the two races that runs deeper than the story of Karou.

The magic is pretty awesome in DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE. For the most part, they appear in the tiny form of a bead called scuppies which was equivalent to a small wish like wishing an itch upon someone. Wishes appear in different denominations and the bigger the denomination, the bigger the wish that can be granted.

The romance is pretty good but it wasn’t anything to get me giddy. There’s an instant spark between Akiva and Karou but it doesn’t feel like insta-love to me. It’s curiosity and undeniable attraction. It’s like running into a really hot guy and for some reason, you can’t take your eyes away from him. The romance runs a lot deeper than insta-love and Taylor really develops it to make it realistic. That’s all I’m going to say about it, so you better read the book for yourself.

Overall, Laini Taylor’s descriptions are just strikingly vivid. I felt like I was traveling all over the world alongside Karou. I can imagine the streets of Prague. I’m not very artistic at all when it comes to traditional arts, so it was quite amazing to see behind Karou’s eyes as she describes the subjects of her drawings and sketches. The reason why I was so hooked into DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE was Taylor’s writing.

The ending wasn’t that much of a cliffhanger, but I did want more. The book itself does not read like a standalone. In fact, it felt like the beginning of a – gulp – trilogy but for the first time in a while, I was absolutely okay with that.

This is definitely a series to watch out for. DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE exceeded my expectations. If I had not picked this up at BEA, it would have been a shame. I doubt I would have picked this one up on my own.

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Permalink Book Review, Four Stars - Audience: Young Adult, Author: Laini Taylor, Book: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Genre: Fantasy, Genre: Urban Fantasy, Publisher: Little Brown & Company, Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone | 1190 words