Author: Laini Taylor
Release Date: January 1st, 2012
My Rating: 4/5 stars
Hello, hello, hello!
This has been a long time coming. These books are fantastic. Laini Taylor has created an intricate world of desire and danger. I simply love her work. Her creativity and phrasing match each other so well, this book is tied together perfectly.
I would definitely suggest continuing on to this book if you have already read Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It flows nicely from the first book to this one. These books are high fantasy, so you need to take the time to learn the new terms and characters when you begin them, but they are worth it. This is such a fantastic world, I suggest reading them if you are in the mood for adventure.
I suggest these books to readers more experienced in the fantasy world, but also to those wishing to get into it!
To those of you who haven't read it, See you next time! This is where you get off because there are spoilers below the picture!
**Spoilers**
Alright everyone. Down to business.
One of my favorite parts of this book is the difference yet similarity of the Chimaera and Seraphim. They are both different species, but when we jump from Akiva and Karou's points of views, we see the similarities of both sides. Taylor did a fantastic job making each minor character their own individual with different opinons that she gave them a chance to express. Like when Karou was standing up to the White Wolf, and the characters got to choose which side they supported.
I also really enjoyed how Karou and Akiva were not together in this book. We saw their independence. These books are not just another romance story, it has meaning and its' own flavor. Yet we see the difference of their opinions on each other. Karou knows she loves Akiva, but also knows she can't be with him because of what he did to Brimstone. However, I am still confused on what actually happened. I hope that gets explained in the next installment. On the other side, we see how Akiva still loves Karou, yet we almost never see them together. It shows that just because there is romance in a book, there may also be bigger things going on.
I absolutely loved seeing Zuzanna and Mik again. I missed them, and when they showed up I may have started laugh/crying. That moment, when Karou goes to see who is on the hill, and it's Zuzanna yelling her name and they are finally reunited. Oh, so beautiful. I think those two were some comic relief that we definitely needed. Plus, they were so adorable. So adorable. With their fairytale tasks and their sometimes awkwardly adorable moments together when they think they are alone but they're not. Ah, I love them.
I also absolutely loved how we got Issa back. She is such a strong character not only in the book, but also in Karou's life. I picture her as the mother Karou never had. She is so protective and straight forward, we needed her to get rid of Ten (who I hated).
I loved seeing things from Hazel and Liraz's point of view. Those two really defined the individuality of characters I was talking about before. It killed me when Hazel died. That's when we saw how human Liraz is. She's not just a killing machine, she has always wanted that love and family, and the one person she had it with got ripped away. And then when Akiva and Liraz brought Hazel to Karou to try to save him and she couldn't, it ripped me apart. The entire book built up Hazel, and then he was ripped away from us, AGAIN.
Thiago. How I hated that bastard. I don't know if I have hated anyone as much as Thiago and Ten. They just annoyed the hell out of me. When Karou killed him, I was laughing. But then later, when Taylor scared us all by making us think that Karou had brought him back, I actually got angry at Karou. I couldn't believe she had done that. But, then when we find out that Ziri is actually now Thiago, it made me so incredibly happy. I also love Ziri so much now. He has become such a huge character in this series. He is so selfless and brave, I can't wait to see what lies in store for him (hopefully only great things that end in happiness because I don't think I can handle it if he dies).
I have to admit, romantically, I can't quite tell if Karou will lean towards Akiva or Ziri. This is troubling me. I can't even say what side I'm on because I love all three of them so much. I think right now I'm on team Ziri because I just love him so much, but I can't ignore the bond Karou and Akiva have. However, there was nothing ever outright romantic with Ziri. I just have a feeling. We'll see.
Laini Taylor did a beautiful job. In the end, everything that happens in this book ties together so well. It is flawless. I will be reading the next one, there was too much that didn't get finished, especially with the apocalypse. This book is just such an adventure.
Until next time, Keep Reading!
