Author : Laini Taylor
Genre : Fantasy
Published Date : April 8th 2014
Publisher : Little, Brown & Company
Pages : 613
Source : Bought
From Goodreads :
By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.
Common enemy, common cause.
When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. 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. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.
But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.
What power can bruise the sky?
From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.
At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?
Review
I've been waiting and dying for this one like forever, and when it's like April already and it's released, I'm practically ecstatic. And glad to see that this book really satisfy and ended this series beautifully.
"I want you, at the end of all this. The dream, peace, and you."
—Karou
And the way it all resolved was also lovely too, all loose end tied together and leaving out hope in the end.
The romance between Karou and Akiva is also way more lovely here than the other books, with their chemistry and their so called star-crossed lover existing and all. Sure, there's not a lot of swoony moments happening because they're in the middle of war, but it still doesn't lessened the charm this two had over me.
And they, as their own character, was also stronger than they are in the previous book. Karou continue to amaze me, while Akiva, well, he continue to make me swoon all over again.
As for the secondary character : Zuzana, Mik, Liraz, and Ziri, they also has their very own unique and strong characteristic here. The first part of the book might seems cluttered by totally new and random chimaera, but as the story goes on, I'm glad that Laini Taylor made a place and pivotal role for each one of them.
Also, the character that has became really interesting was Liraz, for me. Her development from the heartless angel to someone very human, is really really believable. And turns out, she's really, believably cute too, with her own problem and story.
All in all, I do have some complain about this book, such as the slow beginning and the story that stretched out a little bit too much. But for the final book in a trilogy, Dreams of Gods and Monsters didn't fail to impress and satisfy.
With a strong cast of characters and intriguing story line and unexpected twist, this book is totally a must read. If you haven't read this series already, do so right now.
Cheers, x
NK
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Author : Jennifer E. Smith
Genre : Contemporary
Published Date : January 2nd 2012
Publisher : Poppy/Little Brown
Pages : 236
Source : Bought
Rating : ✿✿✿✿✿
From Goodreads :
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life.Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met.Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves.Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.
Get a Copy : [AMAZON] | [BARNES&NOBLE] | [INDIEBOUND] | [THE BOOK DEPOSITORY]
Review
I was looking for a good contemporary novel to read since I finished The Fault in Our Stars, when I came upon this book.
From its title and cover, I assumed that this book would be something like Anna and the French Kiss, heartwarming and cute and easy to read, and sounds really unique. I mean, love at first sight was nothing new and could be sometimes cliche, but the statistical probability of it?
And honestly, I'm the type of person who could be easily hooked by curiosity, so when I saw the long and unique title of this book, I couldn't help but to check it out.
"Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?"
—Hadley
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight told us about the reluctant Hadley as she was about to get off to London for her father remarriage. But when everything seemed to fall out of place, Hadley was forced to take another flight as she missed the original one, and met the intriguing Oliver on the way. As they talked and discussed their heart on a supposedly once-in-a-lifetime talk, Hadley realized that they were soon getting way too attached. But what will happen when the plane touched London and they might never seen each other again?
I really love the opening of this novel, especially the part where Hadley ask the question about life-changing four minutes of her life, which was really great to hook the reader. The way it was written gave the reader distinct image of what had happened to Hadley that made her missed her flight, and at the same time made the reader curious.
The ending however, as expected, was predictable for me. Girl gets the guy and every problem solved and the live happily ever after. Uh-huh, okay.
It's not like I hate this book—because, honestly, I enjoy reading it—but rather, it didn't really leave an impression on me. So yeah, read on and you'll know how many stars did I rate this one.
Hadley, our main protagonist, was really well-written. While her traits was nothing really fancy, she was really consistent with her character. When she said she hates this and that, the story really portrayed her as the person she said she was.
Oliver, the boy who sat a seat away from Hadley on 18-C, was also quite interesting. He was reclusive as a person, and I think it really added a nice touch of reality, because sometimes the characters on many many novels was way too open for the sake of information. So yeah, I love Oliver's character with his hesitation and all that.
There's actually nothing that I hate from this book, but then again, maybe it was just because I already assumed that this book would be predictable right from the beginning. Which, turned out, was right.
This book was also a bit flat and didn't invoke any strong feelings toward it. So maybe, it was another reason why there's nothing for me to hate here. And yeah, I think I have to go with just 3 stars because this book simply didn't leave any impression for me. Or maybe, I just didn't like the flatness.
If you're looking for a light, sweet, romantic read like Anna and the French Kiss, this book would definitely something you should pick up.
Title : Days of Blood and Starlight
Author : Laini Taylor
Genre : Fantasy
Published Date : November 6th 2012
Publisher : Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages : 517
Source : Bought
Rating : ✿✿✿✿✿
From Goodreads :
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?
Get a Copy : [AMAZON] | [BARNES&NOBLE] | [INDIEBOUND] | [THE BOOK DEPOSITORY]
Review
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, the first book of this series, had been an amazing read. The cover was stunning and beautiful, and I really like the story. Since I've been dying to know the continuation of this series, when Days of Blood and Starlight was out, you can only imagine how excited I was. And needless to say, I was really thrilled by it.
"It was rare. It was love, and it was beautiful.”
—Issa
Days of Blood and Starlight continued as Karou traveled to her chimaera homeland, Loramendi, where she found it being ash and ruins from the angel’s doing. Desperate to save the only family she had, Karou hesitantly joined Thiago, who had beheaded her in the previous life, as he tried to resurrect his fallen army once again. But when she found out Thiago’s true reason of war, Karou began to questioned her people, her decision, and moreover, herself.
The plot of this book was actually quite okay in my opinion. While slow-paced, it was not boring and gave too much or too little for the readers. And what made it better was that the story was not as jumpy as the first book, and I found it easier to read it this way. The tension building was also better than the first book, and it kept the reader guessing about what would happen next, and what would the consequence of the action be.
The character was showing a lot of development here too, with Karou as our main character growing stronger and fiercer. She was shown as a tough girl first, but later developed a more softer side, yet still burning when provoked.
Akiva as Karou’s counterpart, was showing a lot of development too, being more rational and more human. I love how he would defy his belief if it’s for the once in a lifetime love he found on Karou / Madrigal, yet still love his brother and sister deep down on his heart.
One character I’ve found quite interesting was Hazael and Liraz, Akiva’s brother and sister respectively. I love how they seemed to balance each other, with Hazael being the humorous one and Liraz being the icy one, yet they both still care for each other. Their past, along with Akiva was told quite well too, being laid all over the story so the reader could threw it all together to made the story of Akiva’s childhood.
One thing I’m not quite fond of this book was how the story tends to sag when it was told from Karou’s point of view. Akiva’s and Suzanna’s part was actually pretty exciting, but I found that Karou’s part was a bit repetitive at the earlier part, but got better as the story went on.
Overall, if you had read the first book and like it, you would definitely love this one. Or if you’re just looking a new series to read, or you’re just an urban-fantasy lover, or love to read a story based strongly on angel mythology, I would really recommended this one.
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