Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Days of Blood & Starlight

One line from this book sums up the entire story quite well: "They are creatures grasping at life with stained hands."
I adored the themes and plot in this book. Our protags are not perfect good people despite their intentions. They are so deeply flawed, their insecurities being prayed on by the people they are supposed to support and follow. Karou's journey back to self-acceptance was beautiful, Akiva desperate to make up for the mistakes he made when he didn't know the full story. They both struggled to connect with each other even as their view points converged again. I can't wait to see where they go from here. Even the side characters shone so brightly. Liraz and Kiri both nearly had me in tears. Rebellions are bloody, no one makes it out unscathed.
My only complaint was how the pace slowed to a crawl through the middle, but when it picked back up boy did things start coming.

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This triology continues to subvert my expectations. This book was really grim but written so well and had me completely shocked at some points! However, it also felt slow and frustrating for the first half. The last quarter was an absolute gut punch (in a good way!)

Following book 1, it was helpful to deepen our understanding of the central tension between the two sides locked in war. I also appreciated getting to know Karou and Akiva and sitting in the discomfort of guilt, regret, and grief while enriching the story behind Eretz.

I am slightly reserving judgment on the whole triology but rating this book a 4 in isolation. It's super well written, the worldbuilding is still compelling but there does seem to be a missing ingredient here... I want to articulate what is making it somewhat less compelling but I'm not sure I can. Maybe it was the way the romance was presented in Book 1? In any event, excited to see how things resolve in Book 3.

Edited to add: f**k it, we ride 😎 5 stars because the series is crazy good overall.

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