–review by Kara, teen reviewer

Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

five-stars

Summary:  When a brutal angel army trespasses into the human world, Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat — and against larger dangers that loom on the horizon in this thrilling conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy.

In terms of storyline: plot twists. There are so many plot twists. Every time I thought one thing was going to go one way, it went a completely new direction that I didn’t expect. It isn’t a bad thing. It’s just that you can never relax while reading the book because there’s always something that’s waiting to slap you in the face. But the general edginess left the reader eager to see what was gonna happen next. Let me tell you something, I never found a proper bookmark for this book because I never set it down until I was done.

The writing was, as always, spectacular. Like the other books in the rest of the series, Laini Taylor gives her characters witty humor and sometimes breaks free of character POV to narrate or illuminate something that’ll leave the reader a little shell-shocked. She’s written in a way that foreshadows (which generally kills any hope you might have for an alternative) but doesn’t spoil.

The characters are believable and, even if their ordeals are (hopefully) beyond anything we’ve experienced, we still sympathize and root for them. All of the characters are unique and their personalities are still believable. The only issue I have with some of the character development is that I felt like Laini Taylor is “pairing the spares.” It isn’t that I can’t see the two characters together, it just felt very rapid and a little abrupt. (Sorry to be so vague, but if you read it, you’ll understand).

Overall, I really recommend it for anyone who enjoyed the rest of the series (and if you haven’t read the series, read it if you want something that’s edgier but still somehow magical) but not for anyone who can’t handle lots of plot twists. 5 stars. –Kara, teen reviewer


 

Find the book at our library:  Dreams of Gods and Monsters