Book Blog - DAYS OF BLOOD & STARLIGHT

I, like many, eagerly awaited Laini Taylor’s DAYS OF BLOOD & STARLIGHT, the sequel to her amazing DAUGHTER OF SMOKE & BONE. From her website:

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is--and what she is. But with this knowledge comes anoher truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.
 In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.
 While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope. But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

And it was well worth the wait. While not my usual book, Taylor's contortion of the angel vs. demon saga in SMOKE & BONE hooked me. And then her witty, flawed characters kept me there. In BLOOD & STARLIGHT, Taylor succeeds in deepening her world, enriching her already complex cast, and leaving the reader flipping page after twisty-page. And get this, BLOOD & STARLIGHT is a NY Times Bestseller...guess I'm not the only one who pre-ordered a copy!

And even better (for some of us), there’s not nearly as much teenage girl swooning in this installment of the trilogy and a lot more of the action-packed fighting and great mystery -- which is what kept me enthralled in SMOKE & BONE. Now, I'm eager for the next novel!