★★★★
Summary:
By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.
Common enemy, common cause.
When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.
And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.
But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.
What power can bruise the sky?
From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.
At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?
Summary:
By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.
Common enemy, common cause.
When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.
And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.
But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.
What power can bruise the sky?
From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.
At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?
I. CAN'T. EVEN.
I have been reading this series ever since the first book, Daughter of Smoke & Bone, came out back in 2011. Now, three years later, the story I fell in love with three and a half years ago has come to a close... except that it appears there will be a spin-off series! Now, I don't think it is official (yet), but I really believe so. The ending SCREAMED it.
Now, I feel bad complaining about anything that has to do with Laini Taylor giving us more to read. I love her writing, and cannot wait to read whatever she comes up with next. However, there was something off about this last one. I am aware that I am probably the first person complaining about this, so it might not bother you, but many things that were said and done seemed like set-up for a possible spin-off instead of because they were irrelevant to the current story.
I don't want to give you the wrong idea. I mean, I did still give this book four stars, I just liked the previous two more.
Laini Taylor has not lost her magic. Her writing is all sorts of amazing, her stories all sorts of original and heart-wrenching. I love her characters. I want to know them IRL. I love the world she created, and I want to live in it. That has not changed. The background did get a bit confusing. There was a lot happening, a lot of information about the beginning of Eretz and where the portals come from and what in the world the Stelians have to do with anything.
Some people might say it got a bit overcomplicated, but I disagree. I might not be sure that I understood everything on the first read, but isn't that what makes a book great? When you read it again and you have a sudden realization you did not get the previous time?
The Daughter of Smoke & Bone Series is a must-read. I will definitely be reading it again (probably when I finally buy the hardcover versions (I have the ebooks). If you haven't got the series yet, get the actual books. The covers are so beautiful, they are definitely worth the extra money.
The story starts with a new character. Her name is Eliza and she has nightmares about, you guessed it, monsters. Except they are not regular monsters, this are so crazy scary you can't even understand. Scary enough that she had to get a pacemaker at the age of 7.
Now, Eliza is a great character. I like her, I hate her enemies, and her storyline was really interesting. However, her character felt like it came out of nowhere (set-up for the spin-off series, I am telling you), and it bothered me that she was so important. I wish she had been less important in this last book, and leave us craving more. I also felt like she was used as a tool to answer a lot of questions, and as deux de machina at the end.
When it comes to the romance, this novel is not like the first or second one. Dreams of Gods & Monsters is all about tension between Akiva and Karou. It did get a bit annoying at one point. I remember thinking "just kiss already!" I don't think I was as invested in their relationship as I had been in the previous two books. There is, however, a new romance, and I ship them so hard, but I won't spoil it for you.
Mik and Suzana were, like always, amazing. This book got really intense (no surprise there) so the comic relief they brought was perfect. They are also an example of a great couple, and the ending promised they would be even more important in the next series, so I am extremely happy.
This book, whether it was intentionally or not, made me think about the origin of religion. Although it is fantasy, I think many of the arguments are relevant IRL. It did take me a bit longer to read this book than the previous ones (still only took me less than three days, though), and I blame this for it, but I liked it. It has made me want to tackle my non-fiction TBR list sometime soon.
Laini Taylor did (again) a great job again at portraying a world at war. I could feel the characters' exhaustion, their hopes and dreams.
I can't think of one reason why you should not read the conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series. And if you haven't read any of them, go buy them right now! It was a great read.
Let me know what you thought about the books in the comments below!
I have been reading this series ever since the first book, Daughter of Smoke & Bone, came out back in 2011. Now, three years later, the story I fell in love with three and a half years ago has come to a close... except that it appears there will be a spin-off series! Now, I don't think it is official (yet), but I really believe so. The ending SCREAMED it.
Now, I feel bad complaining about anything that has to do with Laini Taylor giving us more to read. I love her writing, and cannot wait to read whatever she comes up with next. However, there was something off about this last one. I am aware that I am probably the first person complaining about this, so it might not bother you, but many things that were said and done seemed like set-up for a possible spin-off instead of because they were irrelevant to the current story.
I don't want to give you the wrong idea. I mean, I did still give this book four stars, I just liked the previous two more.
Laini Taylor has not lost her magic. Her writing is all sorts of amazing, her stories all sorts of original and heart-wrenching. I love her characters. I want to know them IRL. I love the world she created, and I want to live in it. That has not changed. The background did get a bit confusing. There was a lot happening, a lot of information about the beginning of Eretz and where the portals come from and what in the world the Stelians have to do with anything.
Some people might say it got a bit overcomplicated, but I disagree. I might not be sure that I understood everything on the first read, but isn't that what makes a book great? When you read it again and you have a sudden realization you did not get the previous time?
The Daughter of Smoke & Bone Series is a must-read. I will definitely be reading it again (probably when I finally buy the hardcover versions (I have the ebooks). If you haven't got the series yet, get the actual books. The covers are so beautiful, they are definitely worth the extra money.
The story starts with a new character. Her name is Eliza and she has nightmares about, you guessed it, monsters. Except they are not regular monsters, this are so crazy scary you can't even understand. Scary enough that she had to get a pacemaker at the age of 7.
Now, Eliza is a great character. I like her, I hate her enemies, and her storyline was really interesting. However, her character felt like it came out of nowhere (set-up for the spin-off series, I am telling you), and it bothered me that she was so important. I wish she had been less important in this last book, and leave us craving more. I also felt like she was used as a tool to answer a lot of questions, and as deux de machina at the end.
When it comes to the romance, this novel is not like the first or second one. Dreams of Gods & Monsters is all about tension between Akiva and Karou. It did get a bit annoying at one point. I remember thinking "just kiss already!" I don't think I was as invested in their relationship as I had been in the previous two books. There is, however, a new romance, and I ship them so hard, but I won't spoil it for you.
Mik and Suzana were, like always, amazing. This book got really intense (no surprise there) so the comic relief they brought was perfect. They are also an example of a great couple, and the ending promised they would be even more important in the next series, so I am extremely happy.
This book, whether it was intentionally or not, made me think about the origin of religion. Although it is fantasy, I think many of the arguments are relevant IRL. It did take me a bit longer to read this book than the previous ones (still only took me less than three days, though), and I blame this for it, but I liked it. It has made me want to tackle my non-fiction TBR list sometime soon.
Laini Taylor did (again) a great job again at portraying a world at war. I could feel the characters' exhaustion, their hopes and dreams.
I can't think of one reason why you should not read the conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series. And if you haven't read any of them, go buy them right now! It was a great read.
Let me know what you thought about the books in the comments below!