 Written by: Laini Taylor Published: April 8, 2014 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Synopsis: Two worlds are poised on the brink of a vicious war. By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera's rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her. When the brutal angel emperor brings his army to the human world, Karou and Akiva are finally reunited - not in love, but in a tentative alliance against their common enemy. 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. But with even bigger threats on the horizon, are Karou and Akiva strong enough to stand among the gods and monsters? The New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy comes to a stunning conclusion as - from the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond - humans, chimaera, and seraphim strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy. |
I am so glad that I took the time to marathon this series in September. I know so many people love this series and I totally understand why. The writing is beautiful, the characters are likable, and the plot is thrilling.
One thing that continues to blow me away about this book is the world-building. With each book the world gets bigger and more interesting and this one was no exception. Here we learned even more about Eretz and the supernatural entities that inhabit it. Here I think the focus was much more on the Seraph. We learned more about their history and some of their forebearers which I found completely fascinating especially because there were some big reveals and surprises. We also learned more about the Stelian, a race of Seraphs that we have only heard mention of before owing to the fact that Akiva is half-Stelian. They were really interesting as well and it added even more depth to an already fantastic world.
But the biggest thing about this book I can say is that the stakes were incredibly high. This one definitely felt like the final book in a series. It had that “if we don’t say the day then the world will surely end” thing going for it. I know it’s a bit cliche but I really love that. It makes for a plot full of action and the high stakes environment always have me on the edge of my seat terrified about what is going to happen. Laini definitely wrote a thrilling plot here and I loved that.
The only thing however is that the pacing was a bit rough for me. It’s not that this book didn’t built to an exciting climax, clearly you can tell that it did. The problem is that it reach what I expected to be the climax and then it didn’t end. There was like 100 more pages left and it felt like there was just too much falling action. Either that or there were too many plot points that needed to be closed up. Either way, it just jumbled up the ending and I found myself losing interest and wondering why the book wasn’t over.
The thing that kept me reading however was the characters. I am so in love with the characters in this series. Karou and Akiva are amazing protagonists. They are complex and likable and I loved seeing their development throughout the series. It has always been really easy to root for them and being the heroes of this story, that did not change. Rooting for Zuze and Mik was also really easy. They are super adorable and I love them so much. The character who surprised me the lost however was Liraz. She is the character who by the end I think was my favorite. She seriously had some amazing development. She’s seriously badass and has a surprise heart of gold. But all the characters here are so good.
I honestly really loved this series more than I thought that I would. I shouldn’t be too surprised based on how beloved it is within the YA Fantasy Blogger community. It is a really great series and had a good conclusion.
I give Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor 9 out of 10 stars
Have you read Dreams of Gods and Monsters? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!
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