Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #2) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Feb 05, 2012 D.G. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: awesome-narration, favorites, reviewed, audiobook, fantasy

If the first book was light and hope, Days of Blood and Starlight is pain and sorrow, grief and despair, darkness and death, guilt and a heartbreak so vast that sometimes it would overwhelm me in an agony that was almost physical. This is not an easy book to read and it couldn’t have been easy to write. It’s the best portrayal of war I’ve been in YA because even though it’s fantasy, it’s very real. This is not sanitized violence like in video games; there is blood, hurt and revulsion, with soldi If the first book was light and hope, Days of Blood and Starlight is pain and sorrow, grief and despair, darkness and death, guilt and a heartbreak so vast that sometimes it would overwhelm me in an agony that was almost physical. This is not an easy book to read and it couldn’t have been easy to write. It’s the best portrayal of war I’ve been in YA because even though it’s fantasy, it’s very real. This is not sanitized violence like in video games; there is blood, hurt and revulsion, with soldiers in both sides wondering if there will ever be an end in sight while their leaders plot atrocities in the name of victory.

I had to take this book in a small doses because I really didn’t see how things could improve. It seems that the destiny of these people was to kill each other until the end of time and frankly if that’s what I wanted to see, I would have watched the news. But then a tendril of hope emerged in the story, frail and almost invisible, which grew in strength as more and more characters realized that there must be another way:

These weren’t her folk but…they were. And maybe that meant that anyone could be anyone’s, which was a sort of nice thing to think with the world falling apart.

Mercy breeds mercy as slaughter breeds slaughter. We can’t expect the world to be better than we make it.

The growth in both characters was a thing to behold. At the beginning of this book, both Karou and Akiva are broken and by the end, they still are. They haven’t come to terms with the past but they are not paralyzed by the scope of their guilt. By degrees, they realize that they cannot change what happened but they can change the future, that their dream is still possible even if it’s not in the form they dreamed it. I don’t know if there’s any future for them but the surprising developments of the story tell me there will be a future for their people.

Don’t be afraid that the book is all darkness. We are saved from a thoroughly depressing read by Zuzana and Mick, which are, hands down, the best secondary couple in YA, EVER! They were the lightness, the laugh, the music and the love that both characters and readers desperately needed. Neither the Chimera nor the Angels have ever lived in peace but Zuzana and Mick are their example that a bright future is possible.

The book was by no means perfect. The narrative was slowed down by changes in POV and long winded thoughts in the middle of action scenes. Sometimes I felt like screaming…get over it already! I really hope that Ms. Taylor curbs this tendency because this time it just affected the pacing of the story, any more could tip her narrative from imaginative and descriptive to self important and maudlin.

Overall, this was a wonderful book and I’m already counting the days until I can see how it all ends.

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Feb 23, 2015 Sue rated it liked it

Shelves: series, library, young-adult, audio-books, magical

So, the middle book in the trilogy. Lots of story-building to move the story from book one to book three. The characters change and develop, the seraphim and chimaera are still battling, and there's lots of devastation. It was interesting to see how the story arc built to the final chapters which set the stage for the big finale. I must admit I was surprised at the final denouement, but looking back, the author left clues. I just didn't put the pieces together. It ends with a big reveal that mad ...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Kate rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mini-books, unlock-that-gridlock

This isn't going to be a long review because I don't think I can read it without majorly spoiling it.

This one keeps you guessing. Who is good? Who is bad? Is there a good and a bad or is that only an illusion? Can you forgive someone who does the unforgivable? How do you move on with your life when the one you trusted and loved the most destroyed the everything else you loved... everyone else you love? Can you ever forgive that person?

Karou deals with all of that and more in Days of Blood & Star ...more

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May 09, 2013 Melissa Wehunt rated it really liked it

A great book 2 for the series. As with most second books its a bit more mellow of a read, but Taylor does a great job of developing characters (especially her super awesome secondary characters)and setting up for book 3. Which, by the way, I'm super excited to come out. I won't bother to write a synopsis since thousands of other people will do that for me...so I'll just list my cheers and jeers.

Cheers!
1. Great characters. Even secondary characters are awesome. Hooray for more Zusana! Not to men ...more

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Dec 22, 2013 Barbara ★ rated it really liked it

Shelves: zzz1-punctuation-in-title, read-2015, young-adult, paranormal-demons, paranormal-angels, paranormal-magic, x-set-in-africa, x-set-in-africa-morocco, zzz-cover-body-part

Daughter of Smoke & Bone was exciting and interesting from the first chapter. DOB&S starts very slowly and it seems as if Karou has had a total metamorphose into a stranger. It focuses more on the war between angels and monsters (chimaera). The angels have basically eradicated the chimaera and are really just hunting down the stragglers. Of course the chimaera are fighting tooth and nail (pun intended). Karou is caught in the middle of the monsters while Akiva is caught in the middle of the ange ...more

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Mar 01, 2015 Marla rated it liked it

Shelves: series, magic, fantasy, war, paranormal, audiobook, girl-power, demons, angels, zz-2015

Such a slow book and not enough romance. So 2 stars for the first half of book and 4 stars for the last quarter. Just nothing really happened in the first half of the book. Sigh. But obviously the ending kept me on the edge of my seat.

Likes:
* Ziri, Madrigal's Kirin friend in his original body
* Tall incompetant "Break Blades" guards
(view spoiler) ...more

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Dec 15, 2011 Suzanne rated it liked it

Shelves: dhasg-reading-challenge, october-2014-rrrc-pick-it-for-me, read-in-2015

This book was ok, but I got kind of bored about half way through. Too much intrigue, not enough action? I don't know...I powered through it though. This book would make a better graphic novel than an actual novel. Or a movie like Dark Crystal or Labyrinth. ...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Amy Hayes rated it liked it

Shelves: currently-reading-audio-book, amy-s-big-book-challenge-2105

Good, but not as good as book 1. The story dragged on in places and I'm not a fan of the violent war scenes. Still love Karou, Akiva, zuzana, isa, so loved the parts where they were involved. Looking forward to book 3! ...more

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