Reading Teen

At a Glance:Easily one of the best books I've read all year, Days of Blood and Starlight is a book I wholeheartedly recommend. Once I picked it up, I didn't want to stop, and once I finished, I just wanted to read it all over again. This book is amazing, heart-wrenching, incredible, beautiful. Daughter of Smoke and Bone:If you haven't read this book yet, what are you waiting for? Amy and I both read this book (I listened to the amazing audio) and both loved it. Kit just finished reading it, and she really loved it too. We all have different tastes, and all liked it, so what better recommendation is there? :D The storyline is captivating, dark, mystical, fantastical and thoroughly engrossing. You will be absolutely swept away by the world-building and the imaginative characters. It is seriously one of the most creative concepts I've ever read. If you haven't read it yet, get it now!!Sequel Assault:I have to say, I was even more swept away by this book than I was Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I was IMMERSED in this book. I didn't want to do anything but read it. I was constantly being hit by a barrage of emotions from one chapter to the next. My heart was in shambles by the time I got through it. I was pelted with one heartbreak after another, only to be given a tiny morsel of hope and then have it blown to pieces. Laini Taylor assaulted me with Days of Blood and Starlight, and all I want is for her to do it again. Absent Romance:How on earth, can the absence of romance, be SO romantic? If you have read DoS&B (and if you haven't, don't read further), you know that things did not end well with Akiva and Karou/Madrigal. Once she found out that he was responsible for the death of Brimstone, she left him, hating him, and hating the day she ever loved him. In this book, Karou is finished with Akiva, they barely see each other, and when they do, she is full of hatred. But there is something there, so much emotion, it just rips at your heart, and all you want is for them to love each other again. It's just so completely compelling. Endless Wars & Bloody Smiles:This book was rough. If you have a queasy stomach when it comes to blood and violence, you'll definitely want to read this with one eye closed, or in-between your fingers. After the angels annihilate most of the chimera army, along with innocent women and children, what's left of the rebellion holds nothing back in their retaliation. There is no "too far" or "over the top," there is no honor for that matter. Everything is fair game, and everyone is too. This back and forth only gets bloodier and bloodier, and at first you find yourself rooting for it, then you find yourself horrified by it. I think Laini does an amazing job at manipulating your emotions, making you feel what Karou and Akiva are feeling. It was really well done, and I'll let you find out about the Bloody Smiles on your own....Old and New Characters:One of the things I really enjoyed about this book was all the new characters. Especially one fine chimera named Ziri. I love him!! He might just give Akiva a run for his money. No, don't worry, there's no love triangle......except the one between Akiva, Ziri, and myself. And of course we have Zuzanna. I really liked her in this book. I can't say she was my favorite in the first book, but I connected with her, and I loved the fierceness of her love and loyalty to Karou. Plus she and Mik were just adorable. The Bottom Line:Read it. Devour it. Love it. Then come back and tell me how right I was.Book Doppelgangers:Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr, Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor, Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr-AndyeReadingteen.net