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A review by saritaroth
Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
5.0
Favorite Quote Of The Book - "It is grotesque to imagine that killing and mutilation and terror could ever deliver to us a life worth living. They will bring what they always have: more killing, more mutilation, more terror."
This book continues Karou's story. She has essentially been kidnapped by the chimaera army and is being forced to resurrect horrific monsters who will do battle against the angel army in the war. This is a very confusing time for Karou as she is in essence creating monsters who will be fighting against her one true love, Akiva, a member of the seraphim army. She is playing a hand in perpetuating his seemingly inevitable destruction.
At first, I was disappointed by the story. Akiva and Karou rarely appeared together in the same scenes. The author basically told the stories of them as individuals and what they were going through in their separate lives rather than what they were forced to endure as a couple. Then, with Akiva temporarily out of the picture and with the chimaera Ziri's appearance, I saw the potential for a new love interest on the horizon. I know the idea of star-crossed lovers may be appealing to some readers and I must admit it generally intrigues me as well. In this instance, however, Ziri's love for and devotion toward Karou is palpable and heart-wrenching and it keeps me riveted to the story. I do usually root for the underdog and, in this case, Ziri is the epitome of an underdog, considering Karou seems to have no interest in him and is still pining for Akiva. Not to mention that, if Karou and Ziri got together, there would be fewer obstacles keeping them apart, since they are both chimaera. (Well, Karou is chimaera-adjacent; her chimaera soul formerly known as Madrigal has been resurrected in Karou's human form . . . but close enough.) Now keep in mind I said "fewer obstacles"; there is still one big obstacle standing in the way of Ziri's and Karou's. I just don't want to spoil the ending for those of you interested in reading the book. And, despite the promising relationship between Ziri and Karou, the roadblocks in Karou's and Akiva's relationship do keep us reading after all. And that's what it's all about!
This book continues Karou's story. She has essentially been kidnapped by the chimaera army and is being forced to resurrect horrific monsters who will do battle against the angel army in the war. This is a very confusing time for Karou as she is in essence creating monsters who will be fighting against her one true love, Akiva, a member of the seraphim army. She is playing a hand in perpetuating his seemingly inevitable destruction.
At first, I was disappointed by the story. Akiva and Karou rarely appeared together in the same scenes. The author basically told the stories of them as individuals and what they were going through in their separate lives rather than what they were forced to endure as a couple. Then, with Akiva temporarily out of the picture and with the chimaera Ziri's appearance, I saw the potential for a new love interest on the horizon. I know the idea of star-crossed lovers may be appealing to some readers and I must admit it generally intrigues me as well. In this instance, however, Ziri's love for and devotion toward Karou is palpable and heart-wrenching and it keeps me riveted to the story. I do usually root for the underdog and, in this case, Ziri is the epitome of an underdog, considering Karou seems to have no interest in him and is still pining for Akiva. Not to mention that, if Karou and Ziri got together, there would be fewer obstacles keeping them apart, since they are both chimaera. (Well, Karou is chimaera-adjacent; her chimaera soul formerly known as Madrigal has been resurrected in Karou's human form . . . but close enough.) Now keep in mind I said "fewer obstacles"; there is still one big obstacle standing in the way of Ziri's and Karou's. I just don't want to spoil the ending for those of you interested in reading the book. And, despite the promising relationship between Ziri and Karou, the roadblocks in Karou's and Akiva's relationship do keep us reading after all. And that's what it's all about!