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jessknelson1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mgrace17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ipsita's review against another edition
5.0
FINALLY, I FINISHED IT!!!
and oh gods! I've no words to say... to describe...
Completely and utterly speechless.
THIS. WAS. PURE. MAGIC.
I want to fall on my knees and sob and better yet thank Laini for creating THIS.
I'LL BE FOREVER FAN OF YOURS.
I loved. LOVED AND LIVED THIS BOOK. Muse of Nightmares. I've been waiting for so long, for answers, to get my mind in peace for the unknown still clogged it.
And I couldn't be more happier and content than this.
I'm in AWE
But wait....
Was it the end (?)
the end (or is it?)
Cause, Gods! I hope not. I'll never get enough of Laini's perfectness and magic and her words that create such, and nothing; nothing can ever come close to this.
Then it was all over. Or maybe it wasn’t.
and oh gods! I've no words to say... to describe...
Completely and utterly speechless.
THIS. WAS. PURE. MAGIC.
I want to fall on my knees and sob and better yet thank Laini for creating THIS.
I'LL BE FOREVER FAN OF YOURS.
I loved. LOVED AND LIVED THIS BOOK. Muse of Nightmares. I've been waiting for so long, for answers, to get my mind in peace for the unknown still clogged it.
And I couldn't be more happier and content than this.
I'm in AWE
But wait....
Was it the end (?)
the end (or is it?)
Cause, Gods! I hope not. I'll never get enough of Laini's perfectness and magic and her words that create such, and nothing; nothing can ever come close to this.
Then it was all over. Or maybe it wasn’t.
wophy's review against another edition
4.0
Me ha gustado mucho, muy bonito, aunque me parece un poco precipitado, un ritmo mucho más acelerado que el primero, pasan más cosas pero me parece un poco con calzador algunas cosas. Me dan ganas de releerme Hija de Humo y Hueso
ethias's review against another edition
1.0
Absolutely, completely, utterly nothing happens in the first ~60% of this book. It was literally just the very flat characters talking over and over and over again about the same thing, and when it wasn’t that it was awkward teen cringey flirting/intimacy scenes.
Things finally started happening in the last ~40% and there were definitely some parts I liked but they were interspersed with things I really didn’t like.
Eril Fane and Azareen should have stayed dead, or at least had some sort of long term effects from REPEATEDLY DYING.
Ruby and Feral had absolutely NO role in this book, I had hoped they would be more than annoying childish lust filled teens on the sidelines this time around but definitely not. Their weird off/on childish relationship continues to be weird all the way to the end with no developments whatsoever.
Thyon had growth but MAN was it fast, he went from reluctant to even speak to the “lowborn” people to kind of being romantically interested in one who is a man that basically exists to make jokes in both books (we have also been told that same sex relationships are taboo in his cultural background as well, so that should have been a bigger deal to him) SO fast. I think it should have taken longer or involved more soul searching for him to make that kind of leap.
At the end Minya is just… there? She’s supposed to be such a force the entire novel and then she’s drugged and then she’s just kind of nothing at the end.
Lazlo was basically just a crying mess wanting to touch Sarai this entire book. He had no character. Everything that made him interesting in the first book (well… the first half of the first book) is gone. He’s literally just a boy walking around, thinking about Sarai’s boobs, and crying about Sarai. He might as well have been a broom propped against the wall for all the effect he had on the story of this book.
Speaking of Sarai, what was even the point of her dying actually? She just acts the same, and basically nothing changed other than Minya almost releasing her soul a couple times. The author tries to assert that Sarai can’t have new experiences anymore but that is shown to not be true several times.
TWICE, in this one book, with only two antagonists, is the problem solved because the antagonist was asleep. Are you serious? Ridiculous. Once was frankly bad enough, and then it happened again. I get that our main character goes into dreams but come on.
The saving grace of this entire thing for me was Nova and Kora, I wish we had more of their story. I also really enjoyed the ideas in the world building with cuts between worlds, I really wish that all the time spent on weird cringey romance and talk of cake had been put into this instead.
I’m completely frustrated with the fact that absolutely no progress whatsoever was made on finding a way to make Sarai a not-ghost by the end of the book. Or at least progress toward finding a way to make her a bit more stable and not reliant on Minya’s abilities and will. So much time, so many pages, so many conversations, so many thoughts in this book spent on this problem and NOTHING.
I guess I should use this series as proof that I simply do not like YA. This was amazing, engaging, unique world building that was utterly under-utilized and basically just used as a backdrop to some teenagers kissing each other’s nipples and wishing they had cake.
Things finally started happening in the last ~40% and there were definitely some parts I liked but they were interspersed with things I really didn’t like.
Eril Fane and Azareen should have stayed dead, or at least had some sort of long term effects from REPEATEDLY DYING.
Ruby and Feral had absolutely NO role in this book, I had hoped they would be more than annoying childish lust filled teens on the sidelines this time around but definitely not. Their weird off/on childish relationship continues to be weird all the way to the end with no developments whatsoever.
Thyon had growth but MAN was it fast, he went from reluctant to even speak to the “lowborn” people to kind of being romantically interested in one who is a man that basically exists to make jokes in both books (we have also been told that same sex relationships are taboo in his cultural background as well, so that should have been a bigger deal to him) SO fast. I think it should have taken longer or involved more soul searching for him to make that kind of leap.
At the end Minya is just… there? She’s supposed to be such a force the entire novel and then she’s drugged and then she’s just kind of nothing at the end.
Lazlo was basically just a crying mess wanting to touch Sarai this entire book. He had no character. Everything that made him interesting in the first book (well… the first half of the first book) is gone. He’s literally just a boy walking around, thinking about Sarai’s boobs, and crying about Sarai. He might as well have been a broom propped against the wall for all the effect he had on the story of this book.
Speaking of Sarai, what was even the point of her dying actually? She just acts the same, and basically nothing changed other than Minya almost releasing her soul a couple times. The author tries to assert that Sarai can’t have new experiences anymore but that is shown to not be true several times.
TWICE, in this one book, with only two antagonists, is the problem solved because the antagonist was asleep. Are you serious? Ridiculous. Once was frankly bad enough, and then it happened again. I get that our main character goes into dreams but come on.
The saving grace of this entire thing for me was Nova and Kora, I wish we had more of their story. I also really enjoyed the ideas in the world building with cuts between worlds, I really wish that all the time spent on weird cringey romance and talk of cake had been put into this instead.
I’m completely frustrated with the fact that absolutely no progress whatsoever was made on finding a way to make Sarai a not-ghost by the end of the book. Or at least progress toward finding a way to make her a bit more stable and not reliant on Minya’s abilities and will. So much time, so many pages, so many conversations, so many thoughts in this book spent on this problem and NOTHING.
I guess I should use this series as proof that I simply do not like YA. This was amazing, engaging, unique world building that was utterly under-utilized and basically just used as a backdrop to some teenagers kissing each other’s nipples and wishing they had cake.
rebelliousflare's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/ 5 stars
"Muse of Dreams" and "Muse of Wonders" are definitely two beautiful ways to describe this book. Although it got dark in some places and bleak in others, I can wholeheartedly say that Laini Taylor had created and crafted my favorite book. Strange is my favorite of this duology but my god this story will stick with me forever. I love Lazlo and Sarai (sidenote... CAN I HAVE A LAZLO???? CAN I HAVE A SARAI IN MY LIFE?!) and the characters all felt they fit here. So, so, soooo much better than Daughter of Smoke and Bone (that trilogy fills me with hate- fitting this duo fills me with love and happiness).
One thing I want to thank Laini for is her commitment to crafting a story that isn't about killing to win. I own the gorgeous Litjoy editions and in them come many annotations peppered throughout the novels. In them, Laini repeatedly talks about how she wanted to challenge and make a story that went against typical norms. That in creating a villain, the heroes inevitably would have to "kill" them. But in this duo? That was proven false and I think for the better. There was no true right or wrong- only reactions and a chain of misery, pain, and guilt compounded by generations of cruel gods. What Laini did in rewriting a story that funneled itself into healing and understanding is something I liked a lot. Yes, in many fantasy books you want and dare I say need to kill the villain. You relish it!
But here? It would have taken away from the story. Because here, the story involves generations of hurt and humanity that leaves readers seeing both sides. And for once, I wanted everyone to heal- or at least... to listen and grief properly to begin healing. And in a way, they did. Nova and Kora wherever they ended up I think ultimately got that. Eril-Fane and Azareen could and boy was it beautiful.
My only (small) complaint would be minor stuff like expanding on Mesaret/ the Mesarthim. Let's be honest... they were vile and cruel but damn if Laini didn't intrigue me about their race and world before they came into Zeru's. Also Ruby and Feral felt... kind awkward and left behind in favor of everyone else. I would have liked more character development and some communication on their relationship (complicated though it is).
Minya shined brilliantly in this book alongside Lazlo x Sarai. Hell most of the cast did! Thyon... ehhhhhh I guess he's ok? Don't see why him and Ruza suddenly got paired together but hey, whatever. Least he got the stick out of his ass!
Thank you Laini for this duology and the themes and most importantly, for Lazlo and Sarai. I loved them the most dearly and love their dreams, journey, and hope that maybe one day, Sarai will meet Karou and gain her body again. <3
"Muse of Dreams" and "Muse of Wonders" are definitely two beautiful ways to describe this book. Although it got dark in some places and bleak in others, I can wholeheartedly say that Laini Taylor had created and crafted my favorite book. Strange is my favorite of this duology but my god this story will stick with me forever. I love Lazlo and Sarai (sidenote... CAN I HAVE A LAZLO???? CAN I HAVE A SARAI IN MY LIFE?!) and the characters all felt they fit here. So, so, soooo much better than Daughter of Smoke and Bone (that trilogy fills me with hate- fitting this duo fills me with love and happiness).
One thing I want to thank Laini for is her commitment to crafting a story that isn't about killing to win. I own the gorgeous Litjoy editions and in them come many annotations peppered throughout the novels. In them, Laini repeatedly talks about how she wanted to challenge and make a story that went against typical norms. That in creating a villain, the heroes inevitably would have to "kill" them. But in this duo? That was proven false and I think for the better. There was no true right or wrong- only reactions and a chain of misery, pain, and guilt compounded by generations of cruel gods. What Laini did in rewriting a story that funneled itself into healing and understanding is something I liked a lot. Yes, in many fantasy books you want and dare I say need to kill the villain. You relish it!
But here? It would have taken away from the story. Because here, the story involves generations of hurt and humanity that leaves readers seeing both sides. And for once, I wanted everyone to heal- or at least... to listen and grief properly to begin healing. And in a way, they did. Nova and Kora wherever they ended up I think ultimately got that. Eril-Fane and Azareen could and boy was it beautiful.
My only (small) complaint would be minor stuff like expanding on Mesaret/ the Mesarthim. Let's be honest... they were vile and cruel but damn if Laini didn't intrigue me about their race and world before they came into Zeru's. Also Ruby and Feral felt... kind awkward and left behind in favor of everyone else. I would have liked more character development and some communication on their relationship (complicated though it is).
Minya shined brilliantly in this book alongside Lazlo x Sarai. Hell most of the cast did! Thyon... ehhhhhh I guess he's ok? Don't see why him and Ruza suddenly got paired together but hey, whatever. Least he got the stick out of his ass!
Thank you Laini for this duology and the themes and most importantly, for Lazlo and Sarai. I loved them the most dearly and love their dreams, journey, and hope that maybe one day, Sarai will meet Karou and gain her body again. <3
laney623's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Really picked up at about the 60% mark. I just love Taylor’s writing style. She balances amazing world-building with poetic story structure.
gellinasreads's review against another edition
5.0
If you're going to read this series or if you read it and liked it then be sure to read The Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor if you haven't yet.
haneysolo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25