#CBR11 Book 32: "Muse of Nightmares" by Laini Taylor

Page count: 514 pages
Audio book length: 15 hrs 54 mins
Rating: 5 stars

Spoiler warning! While I'm going to try very hard not to spoil THIS book in my review, this is the second book in a duology, and it will be impossible for me to write about the book without spoiling events and plot for book 1, Strange the Dreamer. Both books are absolutely wonderful, so you should absolutely check them out, if you haven't already.

But seriously, there will be plot spoilers for book one in the coming paragraphs, so go away if you're not caught up:

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice--save the woman he loves, or everyone else?--while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she's capable of.

As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel's near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this gorgeous sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer.

Strange the Dreamer was one of my favourite books of 2017, and the mind of Laini Taylor is like no other when it comes to conjuring up fantastical and unbelievable new worlds and ideas. The first book ended on a hell of a cliffhanger, and after we'd come to root for the tender romance between Lazlo and Sarai, it seemed their happy ending would be ruined forever, just as Lazlo also discovered that everything he had believed about himself was a lie.

I genuinely had no idea where the story was going to go in this book, and really don't want to go into details, as the experience of having the story gradually revealed to you is so much better. While I read the first book on my e-reader, I chose to get the audio version of Muse of Nightmares once I discovered that it's narrated by Steve West, whose voice work I really enjoy. He's also excellent with various accents, which helps a lot.

We discover that a lot of the established truths revealed in the first book are in fact something completely different. In what some might consider a mild spoiler, I can say that what seemed like a straight fantasy story in the first book, is revealed to have distinct science fiction elements in this second part. I'll say no more than that.

While there is a lot of darkness, pain and sadness in this second part, there is also hope, friendship, love, the chance at forgiveness and chances of a better future, at least for the characters who make it until the end of the narrative.

I don't know what Laini Taylor is working on next, but based on these two books, I'll be pre-ordering her next book as soon as there's a release date.

Judging a book by its cover: In much the same design style as the previous cover, this has a primary colour and a beautiful image (which is significant for the contents of the story) traced over it. The red is almost angry, and could play into the various feelings of anger, fear, grief and rage that different characters feel over the course of the story. I liked the previous, peaceful blue cover better, but they make a nice matched set.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR9 Book 77: "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Page count: 532 pages
Rating: 5 stars

From Goodreads:
The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around - and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever. 

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god?And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries - including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed?And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

I am reluctant to give more information about this book than the blurb already reveals, because as several other reviewers have pointed out before me, this book is a wonderfully immersive reading experience and the less you know about the details of the plot, the more lovely surprises there are for you along the way.

Anyone who's read anything by Laini Taylor before (and if you haven't, go check out Daughter of Smoke and Bone immediately. Don't worry, this review will wait) will know that she has a very rich prose, and is excellent at world building. She describes settings, experiences and characters so vividly and her books tend to completely engross me. This is absolutely the case here. She's also very good about writing complex individuals, there is very little black and white in her characterisation. Everyone is flawed in some way. Rarely is someone entirely good or wholly evil, but they are always interesting to read about.

The reader is taken into the story through the eyes of Lazlo Strange, an orphan who becomes a librarian and spends all his free time finding information about a mythical lost city. He vividly remembers the city having a different name at one point, but one memorable day in his childhood, it was as if it was stolen out of his mind, being replaced by the word 'Weep'. By the time he grows up, he almost doubts that there ever was a different name to it, but he still dreams. Lazlo is clever and humble, and a very good person. He will selflessly help others, even when it might lead to others exploiting his hard work and presenting it as their own. He is finally rewarded for his hard work when an exotic delegation comes to the library where he works.

There are so many other fascinating characters in this story as well, and so many different settings to explore over the course of the book. There are mysteries to be solved, and dreams that may or may not come true, and hints of romance, but also great loss and tragedy. It's also important to note that this book is NOT self-contained and ends on a heck of a cliff-hanger. There is as of yet no publication date for the sequel (I think this will happily only be a duology, so once you have the next book in your hot little hands, you'll get to read the end to the story), and if you hate unresolved endings and waiting for months or maybe years between books, maybe hold off until The Muse of Nightmares is released.


Judging a book by its cover: Both covers for this book are very pretty, but the edition I read had this, the UK cover, with the beautiful dark blue background and the stylised moth in the centre of the cover. I like that the faint patterns in the blue could be stars, or maybe tracings of a map, it's not entirely clear. Since the colour blue and moths are both very significant in the book, this cover seems wholly appropriate and the deep blue just soothes my soul.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

#CBR6 Book 37: "Dreams of Gods and Monsters" by Laini Taylor

Page count: 624 pages
Rating: 4.5 stars

This is the third and concluding volume in a trilogy. I'm not sure I can actually review it without spoiling some of the previous books, so if you haven't read them, skip this for now. Do check out the previous two books, though, as they are YA fantasy at its best. Book 1, Daughter of Smoke and Bone is reviewed here, and book 2, Days of Blood and Starlight is here. I can also heartily recommend the companion novella Night of Cake and Puppets for those who have read the first two books, but possibly not discovered this delightful interlude giving us the first date of Zuzanna and her Violin Boy.

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil pressed their hands to their hearts and started the apocalypse."

The last book, which was surprisingly dark and grim all the way through, considering how whimsical, mysterious and quite light the first book was. It certainly ended in a pretty dark and foreboding place, and the beginning of book three doesn't exactly promise puppies, kittens, sweetness and rainbows. Karou and Akiva have proposed an alliance between the remaining chimaera and the Misbegotten seraphs against Jael and his Dominion, and now they need to get both sides, enemies for millennia, to agree and accept. The fate of humanity and probably both their races is at stake. How can such an alliance be achieved, without bloodshed on either side? Even if they do succeed in forging a tentative detente, they are badly outnumbered against Jael's forces.

On Earth, the world is in uproar upon the arrival of angels. How is Eliza, a young grad student, plagued by horrible nightmares, connected with the visitors? Is it all an elaborate hoax? Who are the angels and what do they want? Why does their spokesman have such a strangely disfigured shadow?

Karou and Akiva are not aware that there are other challenges facing them as well. There is a mysterious and deadly young seraph queen hunting for Akiva, and the sky itself is starting to bruise. Will they ever live to see the fulfilment of their long ago dream, and is there any hope that with the fragile stalemate they are attempting to forge, they might also find a way to forgive each other?

I had massive expectations for this book, not helped in the slightest by Jen K's Cannonball review of the book. It was originally due for publication in 2013, but I'm glad the publishers gave Laini Taylor more time to complete the book, as concluding her trilogy was a monumental task. I'm so glad and relieved to say that it surpassed even my hopes. The book starts in a dark place, with the characters facing nearly impossible odds. Taylor alternates the story between Earth, our beloved protagonists in Eretz and other places in Eretz where its clear that seriously bad things are afoot. What in the world is powerful enough to bruise the sky? The sense of doom is so overpowering. I kept reading while nearly holding my breath, putting the book down every so often and reading something else, because if I didn't keep reading, bad things couldn't happen to the characters I loved. Of course, I wasn't able to stay away for long, reading on desperate to see what would happen next, and what incredible twists and turns Taylor would take the story in next.

There are new characters introduced here, and while it can seem frustrating to read about them at first, all the pieces fall into place in the end, in a beautiful jigsaw puzzle. The readers are finally allowed to discover how the portals between worlds occurred in the first place, and it makes the whole trilogy if possible even more tragic and poignant. I'm in awe of Taylor's writing, how she manages to keep the reader on edge, balancing the light and the dark, the funny with the sad, interspersing the heavy sense of doom with glimpses of hope and promises of redemption. There are no simple answers here. The characters feel real, with feelings, motivations and emotions. I cared deeply for them, and can't wait to go back and re-read the trilogy as a whole, seeing Taylor's ambitious fantasy vision played out in full.

Crossposted on Cannonball Read.

CBR4 Book 98: "Days of Blood and Starlight" by Laini Taylor

Page count: 528 pages
Rating: 4 stars
Date begun: November 6th, 2012
Date finished: November 8th, 2012

This is the second book in a trilogy, and it will contain spoilers for The Daughter of Smoke and Bone. So if you haven't read that book, skip this review, and come back when you've read both books. The review will be here when you're done, I promise.

Everyone still here, any spoilers are your own responsibility. In the previous book, Karou, teenage blue-haired artist of mysterious origins and raised by monstrous creatures, met a strikingly beautiful angel who tried to kill her on their first encounter, and then they fell in love. Akiva, the angel in question, had a history with Karou, although neither of them realised it at first. Once Akiva discovered Karou's true identity, and revealed it to her, their future together was pretty much doomed.

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone was a mystery story of star-crossed lovers, and ended on a hell of a cliffhanger. Days of Blood and Starlight can be summed up as: What if Juliet woke up in the crypt after   her days asleep, and discovered that Romeo had not killed himself when he believed her dead, but instead gone on a revenge rampage, killing her closest family, destroyed her city, and aided in the attempted genocide and enslavement of her entire people? Because that's pretty much where Karou is now. How do you forgive the man you love after something like that? How do you, if you're Akiva, ever make amends?

This book is not a love story, it's a story about defiance, and rebellion, warfare, heartbreak, disillusionment and angst. There are some brighter episodes, mainly provided by Mik and Suzanna, Karou's human friends who are adorable and hopeful and optimistic to the point of silliness, really. Even when confronted with the dangerous and painful reality of Karou's new life, Suzanna stays so perky I wanted to shake her.

Karou's existence is one of loneliness, pain and regret, working herself to near exhaustion to help what is left of the Chimera rebel against the tyrannous Seraphim. Akiva, reunited with his siblings in an elite Seraphim army unit, believes Karou to be dead (again) and knows that the things he was brought up to believe are all lies. Both races have endured a millennium of hate and warfare, and there is no end in sight. With Karou, he once dared to dream of something different, and better, but their dreams are all ashes, partially because of his own actions.

It's a huge departure from the tone and feel of the first book, and a brave thing to do with a young adult book. The vast amount of dystopian young adult fiction out there shows that Taylor isn't the only one to see that teens can take their fair share of bleakness, death and angst. While this book was bleak, I was pretty much as gripped by the story as I was by the first book, and I'm deeply impressed that Taylor explores the very real consequences of Akiva's seemingly unforgivable actions. With the trend of former villainous characters turned heroes begun with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (exactly how many people did Angelus  and Spike really kill in their years as evil vampires, and how quick was Buffy to forgive and forget all that), it's nice to see someone taking a different approach. He may have been the love of her life, but can (and should) Karou forgive the horrific things that Akiva did out of grief and rage, believing her dead forever?

It's understandable that Karou has been changed by the revelations in the previous book, but I was still sad to see her literally a cowed shadow of her former self. She is a little bit to quick to take things on surface value, and not question the situation around her, just because she feels guilty and partially responsible for the attack on the attack on the Chimera capital. Karou in Daughter of Smoke and Bone was strong, independent, brave and defiant, not so much in this book. I did like the introduction of new characters, both on the chimera and angel side of things. Akiva's siblings were an especially good addition.

Something completely different than I was expecting, but still very well written, and very engrossing, I'm now very curious to see what Taylor is planning for the final volume of her trilogy. Having written two such very different books in the series so far, and with the events set up towards the end of this story, no matter what happens, it's going to be interesting. I'm honestly not sure if she intends for all this to have a happy ending, and I have trouble seeing exactly how she'd achieve it, but I'm certain that come next year, I'll be eagerly anticipating the next book.

CBR3 Book 86: "Daugther of Smoke and Bone" by Laini Taylor (Read-a-thon 2011)

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Page count: 422 pages
Rating: 5 stars
Date begun: October 23rd, 2011
Date finished: October 23rd, 2011

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well."

These are the opening words of A Daughter of Smoke and Bone and from the various rave reviews I'd read from the book, I thought I had some idea what to expect from the book. I didn't. Yes, this book is paranormal fantasy, and it's certainly partly geared towards a young adult audience, but it absolutely isn't Twilight or The Vampire Diaries or Vampire Academy or Wicked Lovely or any number of other successful romantic fantasy novels for teens. It's so much more, and I'm not even sure I can do it justice in a review - but I'll try.

17-year-old Karou is an orphan, living in Prague and attending an art college. Her friends know that she's secretive, and exotic, with her bright blue hair and tattoos, and they enjoy the wonderful creatures she draws on her ever-present sketchpad and the fanciful stories she tells about the places she supposedly visits in her spare time. They don't know that all her stories are true. When not being an art student, Karou runs errands for Brimstone, the seemingly monstrous creature who raised her, together with a host of other chimaera, half humanoid, half beast beings who have always been there for her, but refuse to tell her where she's actually from. Brimstone trades teeth from humans and every sort of animal known to man for wishes that can grant pretty much anything if they're big enough, and Karou has been all over the globe (the magic door in Brimstone's shop can take her anywhere) fetching everything from elephant tusks to snake fangs for him.

Lately, when she's off on her errands, she's noticed burned handprints over the doorways she uses to get back to Brimstone. She also has an encounter with a beautiful, but terrible angel, who tries to kill her when he realizes that she works for Brimstone. Desperate to figure out what is going on, Karou tries to spy on Brimstone when he walks through another door in his chambers, and she discovers a whole other world, but before she really gets a chance to explore, Brimstone catches her and throws her out. Before she has time to go back and beg his forgiveness, one of the tiny creatures who works for him, ends up at her window, dying of burns. The doorway to Brimstone's is on fire, and Karou is cut off from the only family she has ever known. When she encounters Akiva, the vengeful angel again, she no longer knows what to think, but it seems he might hold the answers to who she really is, and what has happened to her loved ones.

There is a love story in A Daughter of Smoke and Bone, where mortal enemies are inexplicably drawn to one another, and the romance was enough to take my breath away. There is also masterful storytelling and Laini Taylor does an amazing job with the world building. It helps that Prague, the initial location for the book, is a magical place even before you introduce paranormal elements. This was the last book I read during my Read-a-thon, and you'd think I'd be tired after reading for most of a weekend, but I couldn't put the book down.

Karou is a wonderful protagonist, mysterious, independent, inquisitive, strong and brave, yet also clearly a 17-year-old, who's not always nice, but can use the small wishes she gets in Brimstone's shop for petty things, like giving a girl she's jealous of a constant mono-brow, or giving her ex-boyfriend an itch in a really inconvenient place while he's nude modelling. She also uses her wishes for silly, frivolous things like turning her hair permanently blue, or removing tattoos she got on impulse. She's searching for the truth about her origins, not really happy when Brimstone and his associates keep them from her. However, when she finally does discover the truth about who she is, and where she came from, she understands why they kept the truth from her.

I don't want to say much more about the plot, because there are several twists and turns that should be not be spoiled. Readers should be aware that the story is by no means complete, and it ends on a big and emotionally gutting cliff hanger, which when I first put the book down made me like parts of it less. However, nearly a month after finishing the book, I'm still thinking about it all the time, and wanting desperately to find out what happens next. So I'm just going to recommend the book to as many people as I know, making sure they also read the book, and can share the painful wait for the next installment with me.

Finishing the Read-a-thon: Hour fifteen/twenty four

So, in total I've read for fifteen out of the last twenty four hours. I completed three whole books, and little over a quarter of the fourth one. It felt really wonderful to dedicate so much of my time to reading, and if time permits, I will absolutely be doing this again next year. Now I just need to knuckle down and review the books I read, as well as the other three I have back logged. I may wait until I've finished Daughter of Smoke and Bone though, which is hella compelling. I must admit, discovering Raych's blog has certainly enriched my life in terms of reading. Two of the books I read in this challenge, I picked up because she reviewed them and loved them. Through her blog I also found out about the Read-a-thon, so it's all good.

You should all check out her blog, she's funny and writes in a wonderful stream of consciousness way (which you'd think I'd hate, since I can't stand Modernist writing) and I'm in awe of her ability to stay up and read, especially considering she's pregnant.

Books read in the last hour and a half of Read-a-thon: 129
Pages read in total in the last 24 hours: 1332 (Wow, I'm impressed with myself)
Books completed: 3, all of them good!
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Unclaimed by Courtney Milan

Books partially completed: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (possibly the best of the lot)