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vaguelyredhead's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Colonisation, Torture, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault
sleepysapph_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I have… very mixed feelings!!! On one hand, it’s sorta my own fault because I read the first two books back in FEBRUARY (oops) 🫣 but on the other hand (based on some reviews) I don’t seem to be the only one feeling a bit conflicted!
I absolutely fell in love with this series thanks to the first book, like I genuinely ended it in tears because it was so beautiful to me - so perhaps I had unreasonably high expectations, but for how BIG this book was I was hoping it would’ve felt more… cohesive?
There were soooo many storylines happening, including more time with new characters. I don’t usually mind that sort of addition but for the final book it just seemed like biting off more than one could chew. I genuinely could’ve gone without Eliza’s entire storyline (sorry not sorry) and the final act seemed so rushed and random. The concept was great but I think if it was mentioned earlier/brought up with more urgency early on it would’ve been more impactful for me.
The main conflict we were building up to with the first two books seemed to end rather easily as well? And quickly? I assume it was to make room for that final piece involving Akiva but I really didn’t enjoy that change in pace. Speaking of pace, the pacing was a bit whack at times which made this a bit harder for me to get through - but here we are!
All in all, it was still a beautiful story. The writing was gorgeous (no surprise there) and my love for the original group of characters remained intact (apologies to all the newer ones, but I demand time and deep backstory to get attached).
I’m happy I finally finished this trilogy, and I’ll definitely be reading more from the author in the future because her writing is just soooo dreamy and creative.
I absolutely fell in love with this series thanks to the first book, like I genuinely ended it in tears because it was so beautiful to me - so perhaps I had unreasonably high expectations, but for how BIG this book was I was hoping it would’ve felt more… cohesive?
There were soooo many storylines happening, including more time with new characters. I don’t usually mind that sort of addition but for the final book it just seemed like biting off more than one could chew. I genuinely could’ve gone without Eliza’s entire storyline (sorry not sorry) and the final act seemed so rushed and random. The concept was great but I think if it was mentioned earlier/brought up with more urgency early on it would’ve been more impactful for me.
The main conflict we were building up to with the first two books seemed to end rather easily as well? And quickly? I assume it was to make room for that final piece involving Akiva but I really didn’t enjoy that change in pace. Speaking of pace, the pacing was a bit whack at times which made this a bit harder for me to get through - but here we are!
All in all, it was still a beautiful story. The writing was gorgeous (no surprise there) and my love for the original group of characters remained intact (apologies to all the newer ones, but I demand time and deep backstory to get attached).
I’m happy I finally finished this trilogy, and I’ll definitely be reading more from the author in the future because her writing is just soooo dreamy and creative.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
If you’ve spoken to me in the last couple weeks, you’ve probably heard me screaming about how much I love this series! I think it’s an absolute CRIME more people aren’t talking about it. I also had the absolute best time buddy reading these with my fave feral five (sorry for imploding the buddy read when I just couldn’t stop reading, whoops).
Mini reviews for each book are below, but the main takeaway: READ THESE BOOKS!
Daughter of Smoke and Bone (4.5 stars): The world building was incredible and the characters pulled me in! Also the ending absolutely BROKE ME into a million pieces.
Days of Blood and Starlight (5 stars): Possibly a hot take but this was my favorite of the series! I absolutely loved it, start to finish, and literally could not put it down.
Dreams of Gods and Monsters (4 stars): An amazing conclusion to an incredible trilogy! It wasn’t my favorite ending and I could probably nitpick a lot of things, but overall SO emotional and captivating!
Night of Cakes and Puppets (5 stars): An absolute DELIGHT of a novella spotlighting Zuzana and Mik, who might be two of my all time favorite secondary characters.
Mini reviews for each book are below, but the main takeaway: READ THESE BOOKS!
Daughter of Smoke and Bone (4.5 stars): The world building was incredible and the characters pulled me in! Also the ending absolutely BROKE ME into a million pieces.
Days of Blood and Starlight (5 stars): Possibly a hot take but this was my favorite of the series! I absolutely loved it, start to finish, and literally could not put it down.
Dreams of Gods and Monsters (4 stars): An amazing conclusion to an incredible trilogy! It wasn’t my favorite ending and I could probably nitpick a lot of things, but overall SO emotional and captivating!
Night of Cakes and Puppets (5 stars): An absolute DELIGHT of a novella spotlighting Zuzana and Mik, who might be two of my all time favorite secondary characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Torture
jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved this book and was suprised by the revelation of a certain characters what seemed to be demisexuality, after how we’d seen them portrayed previously it was somewhat surprising but I’m so happy that they got their own form of happy ending.
I love the characters and this series with my heart, unfortunately though something just felt unfinished which is why it didn’t get 5 stars. I feel we could’ve had another book exploring what we found out in those last 100 pages with the longer term outcomes of everyone finalised.
I love the characters and this series with my heart, unfortunately though something just felt unfinished which is why it didn’t get 5 stars. I feel we could’ve had another book exploring what we found out in those last 100 pages with the longer term outcomes of everyone finalised.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Grief, Religious bigotry, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Blood, Animal death, and Death
lisashelves's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
jla's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Death
doodeedoda's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Grief, and War
Moderate: Violence, Torture, and Colonisation
Minor: Child death, Rape, Child abuse, Classism, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Racism, Sexism, and Bullying
donatio's review
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Writing style was okay, nothing special. Plot wise I liked the solution and the happy end , but after they had Jael to go back to Eretz the book left me wondering what would happen in the last hundred pages or so. The last plot twist didn't get me because it was solved so fast, like they didn't think much about it.
Characters: my favourite, after Brimstone died in the first book, was definitely Liraz, because she was more relatable than the others and I really do ship her and Ziri, but why does she have to look up when he's in his natural body again? Don't get me wrong, I love that he has his "right" body back, but I'm not a fan of the fact that Liraz was an absolute queen before and now has to look up to somebody and is blushing and all. I thought she was tall. Why can't she be the same height at least? Doesn't seem realistic to me. But well, I ranted enough.
All in all I would say it was a solid read, nothing outstanding though.
All in all I would say it was a solid read, nothing outstanding though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, War, Child abuse, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
kirstenf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Grief, Blood, War, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture
michelles_book_nook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
⚠️ CW: war, death, sexual assault and mentions of rape ⚠️ Wow what an end to an absolutely incredible trilogy! This book continues to follow Karou who is intent on steering her and the rebellion away from dead-end vengeance in the hopes of a better future for all and their war-ravaged world. However, when Jael's brutal Seraph army trespass into the human world the unthinkable becomes essential and Karou and Akiva must rally their enemy armies against the threat. It may be a twisted version of their long-ago dream but they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people, and perhaps for themselves to also find a new way of living and maybe even loving. But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing; A vicious queen is hunting Akiva and in the skies of Eretz something terrifying is happening that fills their world with a deep sense of dread. This series hasn't stopped leaving me speechless after every single book! I generally find with trilogies that there is always one book that is lacking in some way but again Laini Taylor has absolutely smashed it. There is so much I could rave about this book and this entire series but its so hard without giving spoilers. Overall, I don't know how there isn't more hype surrounding this trilogy because I've adored every last page and the beautiful writing of Laini Taylor. And I know I've said it before with the last two book reviews but if you are into epic mythical fantasies then you need to read this series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, and War
Minor: Rape