September 05, 2018

Review: Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor

Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3) 
Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little, Brown
Publication Date: April 8, 2014
Pages: 613
Format: Hardcover/Own

Two worlds are poised on the brink of a vicious war. By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera's rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her.

When the brutal angel emperor brings his army to the human world, Karou and Akiva are finally reunited - not in love, but in a tentative alliance against their common enemy. 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.

But with even bigger threats on the horizon, are Karou and Akiva strong enough to stand among the gods and monsters?

The New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy comes to a stunning conclusion as - from the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond - humans, chimaera, and seraphim strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

*Some spoilers if you haven't read the first 2 books in the series*

Review: I thought this was a good overall ending for the trilogy. Just not exactly how I expected it to go. I feel like everything was wrapped up nicely. I have to say though, I honestly think Daughter of Smoke & Bone was my favorite out of all the books though. I definitely enjoyed this more than Days of Blood and Starlight, but it definitely didn't top Daughter of Smoke & Bone. I felt like Dreams of Gods & Monsters was a solid mix of the pacing of books 1 and 2. 

So I liked that this didn't drag things along for a while before getting to the plot. I also like that it had better pacing and more action than book 2. That being said, I really feel like this was anticlimactic. I was expecting a battle to defeat Jael and the Dominion. But that battle never came. We got a battle with our mixed group of Chimera & Misbegotten holding off the Dominion so Karou could get away to put her plan to defeat Jael into action. That was the big scene. Karou and Akiva actually making Jael leave the human world was super anti-climatic. There was really no fighting regarding that at all. And then there was not really any fighting when the Chimera/Misbegotten tricked Jael and the Dominion upon their return to Eretz. While I did like this scene because Jael was so blindsided, it was still anticlimactic. But their reaction to who actually won the battle was priceless! And I don't feel sorry for Jael's fate one bit. 

I did like that Karou and Akiva finally got to be more of who they wanted to be. They finally don't have to really hide their relationship. It was nice getting to see them together again and not flat out avoiding each other. These two deserve their happy ending after everything they've been through. I'm so glad they got to be together in the end. I'm just sorely disappointed we never got their scene in the pools. It was interrupted and I'll refuse to forgive that. We mention them getting that scene so much and then we never actually get it. I'm also really glad things were starting to change in Eretz. No more battling between the Chimera and Seraphim. They actually start working together, slowly but surely in this new world. I'm also so happy to see Karou and friends able to save all the souls that were stored in the cathedral in Loramendi. I was going to be so sad if we didn't get to find out if they were saved or not. I'm also so happy to see Loramendi is going to be rebuilt. 

I really loved more of Mik and Zuzana in this book. They were definitely bright spots in some of the dark scenes. I also loved that they played a huge part in the second half. Stealing Esther's wishes after she betrayed them. Helping Eliza even though they didn't really know who she was. I also just loved that they got engaged. Adorable. I love these two. 

I thought it was interesting the twist with Eliza being part angel and a prophet. That brought a huge twist to the story and explained some of the interesting background with how the Stelians play their part in the story. I also thought it was cool seeing the Stelians, Akiva's mothers people play a role in this. We mostly see them in the end when they confront Akiva about his actions and how he almost destroyed all the worlds, but it was interesting learning their part in everything nonetheless. I was not super enthused about Akiva just going with them right away after the confrontation at the end because I wanted him and Karou to have their moment. But they finally got one in the epilogue. The whole revelation about the monsters at the end was interesting. Kinda feel like it leaves the end open for more books or a spin-off series based on that info.