Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Goodreads Blurb

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.
This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.
In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.
While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.
But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

I think we all know this book, after all, didn't we all fall in love with Daughter of Smoke and Bone? But, shockingly, I've been hearing some doubt about this sequel. (You guys are crazy. And that's coming from me.) So, here I am, ready to clear all of those delusions doubts.

So, first thing first, I was so confused throughout about 40% of the book. I had no idea what was a flashback in time, what was a reference to Karou's life as Madrigal, what in the world was happening sometimes, what had happened, and who some of these characters were. Of course, that last part may have something to do with the fact that I completely forgot what happened in Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but, you know. The wonderful thing about Days of Blood and Starlight (I'm just calling it Days.) is that you can quickly grasp the plot threads. 

I'm sure I don't have to go over how absolutely stunning the writing is. It's just gorgeous and lush and I can go on and on, but I'll spare you all the time it'd take. But for you people who haven't read Daughter? It will not disappoint you. 

The characters are just so incredibly well written and I bet I don't even have to explain how in depth they are. I loved each of their quirks, how even though a move seemed unpredictable, you somehow knew it was going to happen sooner or later. We just get to know characters more and more that we end up feeling as if they could be our next best friends! (Totally joking of course. I, personally, don't want a blood thirsty angel as a friend. Or an enemy.) 

The imagination used for this book is just crazy! I can't believe how vivid some of these descriptions are and I just love how detailed they are. It's amazing how much creativity was channeled into this 500 page thing! 

The plot was, well, a bit slow in the beginning. I was pretty bored and I just wanted so kickbutt scenes to come into play and I got it about 100 pages in! That's still 400+ pages of goodness, people. It's worth it. There were so many epic battle scenes and reunions and I loved anticipating what would happen next. Crazy things happen, unexpected events occur, and basically, Days will blow your mind!

Pages: 528

Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #2

Genre: High Fantasy/Romance

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Release Date: November 6, 2012

Rating: 3.5--->4 stars