So I was going to review these individually but thought why not join them together, these reviews are more my thoughts whilst reading rather than what happens so it’s pretty spoiler free for anyone who hasn’t read them yet. 

Days of Blood and Starlight is an amazing follow up to Daughter of Smoke and Bone, now we’re immersed in the Chimera and Angel’s worlds and Laini’s magic/world building is amazing and blew me away as usual.

“Mercy, she had discovered, made mad alchemy: a drop of it could dilute a lake of hate.” 

The world is in so much chaos and Karau is in the thick of it, living with danger at her back and every move closely watched, she’s cautious and trying to figure out how to get out of the mess she’s in. Zuze is back and they have such an amazing friendship and I just want to hug them and make them eat cake and banter with each other forever, but monsters and angels so… not really happening anytime soon.

The one thing I really didn’t expect was how dark the story went. The story is set amidst a huge war, gruesome revenge killings and brutalisations, attempted rape, and murder. The grittiness of this really made me invested in how dire the situation actually is and I enjoyed the darkness that is sometimes lacking from YA.

It’s easy to think everything’s okay with Zuze and Mik making friends with monsters and the way Laini adds humor in so effortlessly but Karuo is in real and constant danger and I loved the edge it brought into the series.

4/5 Stars

Dreams of Gods and Monsters had everything in it, war, monsters, love, mystery, new characters, lovable old ones, but the beginning stopped me from really falling in love with it.

There was SO much story to get through and having a slow start really made me lose the urgency that the last book had built up. Karou, Akiva, the angels, the humans, the war, the splits between the worlds, everything’s set into a fantastic crescendo, there’s danger everywhere and a precious balance between the armies, but the slow beginning and small/little background on a new and pivotal character really drew me away from the sense of doom. I missed out on the tension I was expecting.

I love Mik and Zuze as always *kiss/punch* they are my favourite and the most well-developed characters I’ve read about in ages. Not even meant to be the stars of the show they stole the spot light for me.

The second half had a lot of info to get through and did it well but again the pacing was off for me. We saw from all sides and learnt more about different races of Angels and Akiva himself as well as what General asshole actually wanted but it all happens in 300 pages. Where was this info the last two books? We had some clues but no solid background and it made me disconnect from loving it as my mind had to much info to process.

The ending was nice. I wasn’t head over heals but I was satisfied to a point. It wasn’t a perfect bow and I felt it was a little rushed but it did the job and I don’t feel there were to many unfinished things left to deal with.

Laini’s writing as always is phenomenal, the worlds she creates with words, the people, the emotions, the complexities. All with such amazing prose, I wish I had more of her books in my hands right now.

4/5 Stars

All in all I really enjoyed this trilogy and can’t wait for more of Laini’s books to hurry up and be in my hands!

Have you read this trilogy? What did you think? Who was your fave character? Is it still on your TBR?

I’m a bit late to the party but I’m so glad I finally read and enjoyed them.