Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2) by Laini Taylor

All of her life Karou wanted to know why Brimstone made her collect teeth and as with many things in life, the answer is so much more than she is prepared for.  Facing the genocide of her people, the Chimera, Karou is racked with guilt for having not only dared to love an angel but to dream of a new world.  She must now reconcile what her people think of as her betrayal, her guilt and the love she cannot stop feeling for Akiva.

Akiva knows what he has done cannot be undone and yet he dares to hope that Karou/ Madrigal's existence will mean that somehow their naive dream will bear beautiful fruit.  To the seraphim, Akiva is not simply the weapon of his father and uncle's blood lust for war and power.  The lines on his hands indicate each kill in battle and the toll ways heavily on him.  Somehow, he must make a difference, somehow he must atone.

Karou and Akiva aren't united in their struggle thanks to all that has passed between them but they cannot help but love each other from afar and dream that one day their people will find peace, even if it doesn't end in happiness for them.

Days of Blood & Starlight has a very different tone than the first book in the series, Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Where Daughter of Smoke and Bone has moments of lightness, very little of that feeling finds its way into the pages of Days of Blood & Starlight.  It seeks to ask harder questions like what survival looks like. Is there a true objective to war, or is it simply the amassing of power? Is there a point where vengeance becomes futile? Are the children of our enemies deserving of death simply for the potential that they might one day grow and wield a sword?  Interspersed with these larger questions, the tragic romance between Akiva and Karou/Madrigal plays in the background.

Both Akiva and Karou/Madrigal feel the weight of the war between them.  No matter the torture Akiva suffered at the hands of the Chimera, participating in genocide is never acceptable.  At this point, I don't really see how these two can have a happy ending. Yes, Karou/Madrigal still loves Akiva but how can she possibly have a HEA with the person who is directly responsible for the slaughter and near extermination of her people?  I am not even sure I can accept that Karou/Madrigal is still drawn to Akivia and the determination on Taylor's part to seemingly paint him as good particularly when juxtaposed to Thiago. 

Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love.

It did not end well.”

Karou is a young orphan who has been adopted by demons and lives in Prague.  Her days are spent in art school, interspersed with missions from her adopted demon father Brimstone to collect teeth.  These missions take her around the world using magical doors.  Brimstone is abrupt and distant in many ways and this troubles Karou, but she loves him none the less.  It hurts Karou to see the results of her teeth gathering missions because not all teeth come from dead bodies.  As a reward for her actions, Brimstone grants her the ability to make her minor wishes come true.  This is why blue hair naturally grows out of her head.

Even though Karou has her adopted family the chimera and her best friend Zuzana, much of the time she feels isolated.  Karou knows that Brimstone keeps secrets from her and she cannot share the little she knows with Zuzana, out of fear of not being believed and risking the only friendship she has managed to maintain.  There are two tattoos on her palms that she is constantly asked about and she has no answers, wondering if she has been born with them.

Enter Akivia - the angel who has lost his soul and humanity.  He is determined to bring an end to the chimera.  When handprints start appearing on all of the portal doors around the world, Karou quickly finds herself caught up in a war that she didn't even know what going on.  Karou must solve the mystery of who she is and try to find a way to save her adopted family.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone started off extremely strong. For seventeen, Karou proved to be a smart and capable protagonist.  She survived being shot by criminals in her teeth collection missions and absolutely refuses to be used as a tool by her ex boyfriend.  Karou is even inventive in her response to her ex cheating on her and trying to woo her back. At times, Karou has a strain of aloofness but that's quite normal for age.  For the most part I really enjoyed her.

Just like Karou, I desperately wanted to know the importance of the teeth that Brmstone collected. I had very much hoped that this is where the story would center but alas, it was not to be.  What started off as a great mystery to be solved, quickly turned into a Romeo & Juliet type love affair that I really could have done with out.  Instead of really getting to know each other, Karou and Akiva spend so much time waxing on about their love.   Akiva is the typical Y.A. male love interest: tortured.  Of course, it's Karou's love which teaches him how to hope again and makes him smile.  There is also the issue that Akiva actively stalks Karou and watches her sleep (yes, shades of Twilight)

Once Karou meets Akiva which I suppose is inevitable, all of her good sense goes out the window.  Why does she invite this angel who tried to kill her into her home?  Why does she introduce Akvia to her best friend in the world?  Yes, Karou has her doubts but the fact is that she still allows an intimacy to develop with someone who clearly is keeping secrets and has tried to kill her on at least one occasion.  The only reason I can fathom for this absolute breach of common sense is that Karou finds Akiva attractive.  How do I know this?  Well, for starters, I began to roll my eyes and struggle not to stop reading because of the copious descriptions of how beautiful Akiva is and Karou's desperation to capture his image.  Then there is Zuzana, who repeatedly chants that Karou needs to mate with him and childish comments about Akiva's seed.