Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
(Daughter of Smoke and bone #2)
Release Date: November 6, 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 517
Source: Bought
Buy this book: Amazon

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

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 another 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?

The bar was set very high for the sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone because of how incredible that book was. It was imaginative in a way I had never read before and in short it blew my socks off. I was hopeful that the second would rise to the challenge and at the least meet expectations and at the best exceed them.

And the wait was definitely worth it because this sequel met the challenge and surpassed all my hopes and expectations. There is such richness and depth to Laini's writing it is absolutely a feast for the mind to read one of her work.

Karou is back and trying to navigate this deadly new world that she has inherited. Without giving any spoilers away I will say that the action, suspense and world building just gets better in the second book. There are surprise twists and turns that will have you fearful to turn the next page. But as always the author handles her characters with such care and delicacy that they feel like real people immediately. Suzanna and Mik go on a dangerous journey that is as interesting as the daily trials of our main character. Overall this book was incredible in it's world building, plotting and character development. 

The smallest details were not too small and that's the real gift of an author like Laini. She can make even the mundane everyday things sound so magical and interesting with her words. I enjoyed this book immensely and if you haven't read this series get going on it right away. You won't be disappointed!!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Release Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 417
Source: Bought
Buy this book: Amazon

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Around the world, black hand prints 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 grows 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?

This book was huge breath of fresh air. It came with a lot of recommendations and I am not surprised now that I've become one of the lucky of have read it. Laini Taylor is a master storyteller wielding the pen so artfully that it is heartbreaking. There are many scenes of such beauty, layered upon one another it had my head spinning in a good way. To say that i enjoyed this book would be the understatement of the century, I LOVED it!!

Blue haired protagonist Karou is a multifaceted character with an air of mystery around her that she herself does not understand. You embark on her personal journey with her and at once you are invested and sucked into her world. There is something special about her. She knows it and so does the reader and so begins the excitement to figure out the answers to the questions that surround her. Why does she collect teeth? What are they for? All the answers come to a shocking end that had me running to the store for the second book.

Location, location, location! Exotic locals such as Prague, Marrakech and many others are a huge part of the delight of the book. As an avid traveler this was a fun part of the book for me. You travel without having traveled. So vividly were these places described that I felt as though I had walked the streets myself.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone was such a beautiful book I could not get enough of it. Those who have not read it should really give it a try. You will not disappointed.

BOOK TRAILER: DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE

I have to say I have not yet read "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" but I now cannot wait to get my hands on a copy. Why you say? Well for one I read the premise of the book and was intrigued and secondly and most importantly I have heard raging/glowing reviews for it. I thought to myself "Okay. Will read later." I then stored the information away in my head and hadn't thought about it for a couple of months. Then I came upon this series of trailers illustrating the book. Now I have to say it is right at the top of my list of books to get. They are beautiful and I wanted to share them with you. Enjoy!

*note: there are 5 parts/trailers