Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Literary Meanderings 
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 **Contains spoilers for Daughter of Smoke & Bone--book one in the series.** 
 Days of Blood & Starlight picks up about 48 hours after the final events of it's predecessor. 
 "Once upon a time, an angel and a devil held a wishbone between them... 
 And its snap split the world in two." 
 With her entire family dead and her once-beloved Akiva to blame for it, a broken Karou is now in the service of the White Wolf--the chimaera who, years ago, ended her life as Madrigal with a vicious death sentence. Together, they are rebuilding the chimaera army with vengeance and decimation in mind. The angels must not only die, but suffer as well. 
 So, in the deserts of Morocco, Karou uses the skills she learned from Brimstone to make monsters, while the White Wolf dictates every move she makes. 
 Meanwhile, Akiva believes Karou to be dead. Along with his siblings, Hazael and Liraz, he serves his father and master, the emperor. Intent on wiping out the remainder of the chimaera race, the angels patrol Eretz with deadly force. No chimaera is safe--that is, unless Akiva has anything to do with it. In a meager attempt to undo some of the past, Akiva takes it upon himself to save as many chimaera as he can. 
 This world of hate and bloodshed isn't what Akiva and Madrigal once dreamed of. 
 "Mercy breeds mercy as slaughter breeds slaughter. We can't expect the world to be better than we make it." 
 And Akiva is determined to do what must be done to make it a better place, chimaera by chimaera. 
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 Yes, you read that correctly--only four stars. I hated to do it, but I had to. The reason for this is that the first half of the book was a bit sluggish for me in the way of repetition. It was suffering a bit of middle-book-syndrome. It was just seraphim attack chimaera, chimaera attack seraphim - wash, rinse, repeat. Granted, it was broken up by scenes with Zuzana and Mik, some new villains & chimaera, along with glimpses of Akiva and Karou in their respective stages of grief, but it was still a little it boredom-inducing for me. 
 Until it wasn't. 
 *BEWARE OF SPOILERS!* 
 When things finally pick up, they really pick up. Akiva and Karou finally come face to face and it is just as intense and emotional as I'd hoped for! Once this moment came, everything took off in a whirlwind. These characters grow immensely in this story. We watch as Karou and Akiva each go from broken souls to becoming the figureheads of a revolution; from being defeated to being determined. They transform right there on the pages, before your eyes. Laini Taylor doesn't just write it, she makes you feel it. 
 As with Daughter of Smoke & Bone, this book came with Taylor's enchanting & descriptive writing. In this aspect, this book completely surpassed all expectations I had when going into it. This author has an innate ability to paint a world with her words; to portray what she sees in her mind's eye with perfect clarity. It truly astounds and amazes me. With all the new characters and the onslaught of new information we are given, this story could've easily been too much of an info-dump, but Taylor hands each piece of the tale out in perfect succession from multiple POVs. 
 The story is intricately woven, with no plot-holes to be found. In this book, we get to see more of the world we were introduced to in the first installment. We learn more of Eretz, more of all the different races of chimaera--along with their different mannerisms, and more of Karou's life as Madrigal. In this book, we see more of a darkness than with the first book. There's a lot of anger and sorrow going around, as well as blame and guilt. There is little romance to be seen in this installment, and I think it was a smart thing to do. Had it been there to the all-encompassing extent of the first book, it would have lessened the intensity of the war between the two races. It would've made this necessary piece of the plot much less serious. Days of Blood & Starlight is startlingly impressive in it's complexity. I applaud Taylor for her truly amazing writing skills. 
 Fear not, though, because in this book we do see glimpses of a reconciliation between Akiva and Karou. All is not lost, yet. There is always hope, and that is the biggest message to take from this book. No matter how bleak the future may seem, there is always something you can do to change it. This book is a journey, side by side, with our characters; a journey through darkness and depravity, to light and hope. 
 Overall, this book indeed blew me away. The characters are engaging. The world is painted in a clear, true picture. The plot is perfectly woven. The story takes an expectedly dark turn which is impressive in it's uniqueness. This author is daring and stands outside the box. Her words are portraits and the emotions within this story are tangible. I cried, I laughed, I was angry, and I was hopeful. This book is about growth, change, forgiveness, and hope. It is packed with action, plot twists, and revelations. There's even a bit of humor, a hint of romance, and a whole lot of rebellion. It was an amazing follow-up to Daughter of Smoke & Bone. The ending is a bit on the cliffhanger side, but it sure as hell left me salivating for the final book! All in all, this story is one you need to read. I recommend it to everyone. It's beauty and it's tragedy. It's intensity and it's emotion. It's growth and it's love. It's salvation and it's life. It's everything you could ever want in a story. 
 "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 a 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." 
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 Book source: Personal collection 
 Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette Book Group