Month: March 2016

Title: Dreams of Gods & Monsters
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3
Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little, Brown
Publication Date: April 17, 2014
Genre: Young Adult – Fantasy, Romance
Pages: 613
Format: Purchased Paperback

What power can bruise the sky?
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 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 feel as though I’ve become an emotional wreck on the inside. My heart is filled with happiness after reading the third and final installment to this trilogy.

This book picks up right around where the last one let off and it was filled with nothing short of action, heartbreak, vengeance, mystery, love, and so much more.

The plot of this book encompassed so much and introduced us to a few important characters, namely Eliza, and the Stelians. Each were crucial to the story, and though I didn’t figure out why until the end, I thought that their parts in it played important roles and that they were much needed and added not only to the story itself, but to the lore of the world that Laini Taylor created.

I’m not sure that I can fully do justice by explaining the plot without giving away too many spoilers, as this is the third book, so just know that there is a lot of tension between the chimaera and angels, and that Jael wants to have complete control over Eretz by not only using what powers he may have available to him there, but also from Earth. It’s a crazy, twist and turn story that weaves itself in ways I wasn’t expecting, telling the story from many points of view. Each part of it, though, I felt like progressed the story and didn’t hinder from it.

There was a heavy focus on the romance aspect at times, but from the first book – where it was introduced and we learn of the manner of Karou and Akiva’s relationship – to the second book where there was virtually no romance, it was kind of understandable why it was there as much as it was. And trust me, I’m not complaining, because there were a few scenes in particular that made me squeal in excitement for what was going on – and it wasn’t between our two main heroes.

So let’s talk about the characters.

Karou really bounced back from the grieving, anger driven girl in the second book to a strong individual in this book. She has her moments where she is lost or down, as there’s a lot of war and death and destruction going on around her, so it’s understandable. I thought that she came a long way from where she first started not knowing anything about who she is or where she came from, to accepting her fate, to making it her own and realizing the dream she wanted to see come true when she formed it with Akiva so long ago. I thought that her persona was true to who she was and that she was really a huge driving force in this book.

Akiva seemed a bit more lovesick than anything in this book, but he also had a lot going on in terms of learning about himself and his people, and his powers and the consequence of using his powers. We still got to see a warrior side of him, but I think that it was more of the strategic side than the fighting side. He, too, has come a long way, but like I said, the romance was a large driving force between him and Karou in this book – and again, I can understand why. I think that their love and relationship is beautiful and strong, and even though they may desire after one another, it’s not in itself a bad thing; it’s a very powerful motivator for them. I do love how their relationship is often described as two magnets either being pulled together or pushed apart, because it’s true.

We got to see more chapters from Liraz’s point of view, and oh. My. God. I love her. She’s become one of my new favorites, especially toward the end. When we first meet her she seems like this cold, mean person, but it’s the way she’s brought up and how she has to stifle that part of herself that makes her that way. But as she warms up to others and slowly gets to understand them and care for them, the ice in her heart cracks and she shows that she is capable of having emotions and feelings. She’s strong, though – physically, mentally, and emotionally – and I love that about her. My favorite quote that I read about her was, “She was no mere weapon as she was trained to be, but a woman in full command of her power, unbowed and unbroken, and that was a dangerous thing.” Like, seriously Liraz, SLAY.

We got a lot from Ziri, too, as he was performing in secret as someone for a while, and though he tried his best to be like the one he had to portray, some of himself continued to shine through, and that was tough on him. I really enjoyed his chapters because I felt myself growing more and more attached to this kind soul. He has a sense of innocence about him that draws you in, but he’s still an incredibly capable warrior and just, wow. I’m amazed at what he can do.

Also, for the record, I SO ship Liraz and Ziri. Read the book to find out why because I was giggling like a freaking schoolgirl, and omg I can’t even.

Eliza was a new character introduced, and at first I was confused as to who she was and why she was important to the story to have her own perspective and chapters thrown in. As the story of her and who she was unfolded around her, though, and the circumstances for which she was put into, I realized that she is incredibly important. I just didn’t know how much so until the end. I found her character to be useful, and slightly filler, but not really? I liked her, though, and I think that she’s a very bright woman.

Zuzana and Mik, ah, one of my OTPs, never fail to make me smile. They go through a lot in this book with Karou and everyone else, but they always try to stay true to who they are and how they react to situations and everything. I love the dynamic that these two throw into the mix because they a) provide much needed comic relief sometimes, b) they’re adorable together, and c) they each have distinct personalities that really help to show the story in a different perspective. I think that they really helped to progress the story, as well, and am so glad as to where they were at the end.

P.S. Morgan Toth is a jerk and I hope he enjoys his punishment delivered to him.
P.P.S. Razgut is also kind of manic and crazy, but he does provide us a lot of insight into who he is and what happened when he was, you know, not a crippled Fallen.
P.P.P.S. I don’t like Ester. She got her just desserts.

As for the rest of the novel, well… there is honestly so much I could cover, but that would be an extremely long and spoilery post, and since this is the third book I’d rather you all read it and then see how much I loved this book and why this trilogy has become one of my favorites of all time. The writing is still exquisitely beautiful in this book with many phrases that caught my eye, and the story was all encompassing and I felt a sense of completion when I finished. I didn’t think that there was any kind of cliffhanger or anything like that.

I still want more, though.

Overall, I think that this was an extremely solid final book to the trilogy. Not only was the plot large and encompassing and complete, but it allowed the characters to reach out and reach their final destinations – their potential destinations – whatever they might be. It’s filled with heartbreak, romance, friendship, betrayal, second chances, lore, truths, discovery, and so much more.

I rated this 5/5 stars and highly recommend it.

My overall series rating: 5/5 stars