{REVIEW} DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT (DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE #2) by LAINI TAYLOR

Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 11/6/12
Format: eARC
Pages: 528
Source: Received from publisher for review.

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.
 

 

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil held a wishbone between them.

 

And its snap split the world in two. "

**This review does NOT have spoilers for Days of Blood and Starlight**

Oh boy, can Laini Taylor write a book. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is undoubtedly one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. The world she built, the characters she created, and her phenomenal words pulled me in and made me fall in love. There was never a doubt in my mind that I would love this sequel, though I admit, Days of Blood and Starlight did begin a bit slowly for me.

I'm not exactly sure why I had a problem falling into this book. The writing was certainly perfect. Maybe, it's because I was the biggest fan of Karou and Akiva together, happy, and seeing them at odds, though understandable, was hard for me. Another problem for me was the expanded cast of characters. I would be content to only focus on Karou, Akiva, and Zuzana (shout-out for one of the best characters, ever!) forever and ever. But since there is a divide, and Karou and Akiva are separated, there were many other characters brought into the fold. So I spent much of the first portion of DoB&S speed-reading, looking for the shift that kicked things into high gear.

Once the story gets rolling, Days of Blood and Starlight is phenomenal. We have Akiva and Karou, working separately, towards the same agenda: peace. Poor Akiva is resigned and heart-broken. Poor Karou is resolved and heart-broken. The sense of impending chaos, doom, and conflict builds at a brilliantly consistent pace until the very end. An end that leaves us with a promise of a better future?

Oh my. I am thisclose to completely losing my composure and fan-girling spoilers all over the place. So I will stop. Right here. Days of Blood and Starlight is gorgeous, exciting, and imaginative. But if you've read Daughter of Smoke and Bone, you already know that.



Favorite Quote:

  "You dreamed of a different way, Akiva, too. You, the pair of you, you had the capacity not to hate. The audacity to love. Do you know what a gift that is?"  (eARC, 66%)


  "What had she done, really, but fall in love and dream of peace?"  (eARC, 75%)


  "We dreamed together of the world remade, she kept thinking. It had been the most beautiful dream, and could only have arisen as it did: born of mercy and nurtured in love. And she couldn't think of the future, and peace, without remembering Akiva's hand to her heart and hers to his. 'We are the beginning,' she had said then, in the temple, and everything had seemed possible with his heart beating under her hand."  (eARC, 94%)


  "Good-bye. The word hurt. Good-bye was the last thing Akiva ever wanted to tell Karou. He thought of their first night together, how at the Warlord's ball and later at the temple they had whispered "hello" to one another, again and again like a shared secret. It had been on his lips the first time he kissed her. That was what he would say to her if he could have what he wanted."  (eARC, 95%)

You can purchase Days of Blood & Starlight at:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series

(click on cover to read my review)

TEASER TUESDAY - DAYS OF BLOOD AND STARLIGHT

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

·Grab your current read
·Open to a random page
·Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
·Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.


Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 11/6/12

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.
 

My Teaser ~

  " 'They're dead, Karou. It's too late. They're all dead.'
     Those were the words that had destroyed Karou's happiness one month ago in Marrakesh. Just minutes before, she and Akiva had held her wishbone between them and snapped it, and her life as Madrigal - all the memories that Brimstone had taken away for safekeeping - had come rushing back. She could feel the heat of the block she'd laid her head on as the executioner raised his blade, and she could hear Akiva's scream - a thing ripped from his soul - as if its echo had been trapped in the wishbone, too."     (eARC, 9%)

I love that this book goes to the past and fills in the missing details from DoS&B. You can read my full review here.

You can purchase Days of Blood & Starlight at:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY

Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

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.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone was declared a "must read" by Entertainment Weekly, was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon.com, and The New York Times called it "a breath-catching romantic fantasy." ~From GoodReads

Why I'm Waiting ~ Daughter of Smoke and Bone is one of the most imaginative, well-written books I've ever read. I can't wait to find out what happens next.


Expected publication: November 6th 2012 by Little, Brown & Company

Review - Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor



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 otherwordly 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?

(From GoodReads)

My Review

Have you heard all the gushing and raving about Daughter of Smoke and Bone? Silly me. Of course you have. Well then, have you looked at the book's rating on GoodReads? Currently, there are 644 ratings and 370 reviews. Which is kinda crazy considering it's not even "released" until September 27. Daughter of Smoke and Bone has a Star-rating of 4.52. That's an incredible number.  And to that I say, Believe it. Believe the hype, people, because this book is beyond incredible.

My head is still spinning. I have too many things to say about Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I'll start with the characters. Karou. She is a dream protagonist. Wry, smart, talented, loyal, brave... She's so lovable. I wanted to tuck the little bird under my wing. The girl is all you want in a heroine and more.

Her best friend Zuzana is a tiny, ferocious, funny and wonderful friend. A powerhouse of a character. Always to be relied on for a quick comment, she consistently made me laugh. None more than when she meets Akiva.

Akiva..... That's pretty much the general response you'll get from those who've read the book. Indescribably beautiful, a warrior, battle-scarred, broken. He's no monster, but has no discernible traces of humanity. Until he and Karou cross paths. Akiva is the ultimate book hero.

And yeah, it's trivial and shallow of me, but I like a good visual. I don't know why, and I'll bet this isn't who Laini Taylor had in mind when she wrote the book, but I kept envisioning Kal Drogo, aka Jason Mamoa.

Okay. He's not exactly how Akiva is described. But, all readers have their own interpretation of  characters. And here's mine. If you read Daughter of Smoke and Bone, you might see where I get this idea of Akiva. Just let me have my fantasy!

Man candy aside, Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a masterpiece! Laini Taylor is an artist in every sense. I've never read a book quite like this. Here's how I described it last night on Twitter: "This book is about magic, and love, and war, and hope, and family. Part fantasy, part love story, and all genius. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is poetic and beautiful beyond belief." I actually kissed it passionately when I finished. For realz.

This is my must-must-read book. If you haven't purchased Daughter of Smoke and Bone yet, do yourself a favor. Go get it. You will not regret one moment spent in the intricate, elaborate world Laini Taylor created.

Favorite Quote: Really? Too many to list. But here's a couple.

"Karou was, simply, lovely. Creamy and leggy, with long azure hair and the eyes of a silent movie  
 star, she moved like a poem and smiled like a sphinx." 

 

 

"What people saw was a tall young man, beautiful - truly, breath-stealingly beautiful, in a way one

  rarely beholds in real life - who moved among them with a predatory grace, seeming no more

  mindful of them if they were statuary in a garden of gods."

The Trailer

Hardcover, US, 420 pages

Expected publication: September 27th 2011 by Little, Brown & Company

You can find Daughter of Smoke and Bone at:

GoodReads  | Barnes & Noble  |  Amazon  |  Book Depository

* Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a book I won in a giveaway.*

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along, just do as following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others!

Make sure to share the title and the author so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR piles.

This week's Teaser is from



Daughter of Smoke and Bone
by Laini Taylor

I'm posting my review of this book tomorrow, but it has so many lovely quotes. I just had to share!

Here's my Teaser:

"And then Karou's ex-boyfriend was standing before her class, beautiful as heartbreak, naked as the David. And on his chest, right over his heart, was a new tattoo.
It was an elaborate cursive K."

Seriously. This book has an insane amount of beautiful quotes.
And guess what? It's out today! Do yourselves a favor. Get. It.

Hardcover, US, 420 pages

Expected publication: September 27th 2011 by Little, Brown & Company

You can find Daughter of Smoke and Bone at:

GoodReads | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Book Depository

Be sure and share your Teasers (or links) with me! 

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.


This week we're waiting on...




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?
(From GoodReads)

Why we're waiting: Daughter of Smoke and Bone sounds completely out there, and completely awesome! I loved new concepts and can't wait to give this book a go.

What are you waiting on? Leave a link so we can check it out.