Review: "Days of Blood & Starlight" by Laini Taylor

I'm speechless. Amazed. Broken. Happy. Upset. I'm just a big ball of OMFGKFKD right now. I devoured this book in about two days and the only I regret I have is that I'm almost done with the series. I enjoyed the first book but this second book really took it home for me and now this is one of my favorite series. The writing style. The characters. The amount of tension and humor that was brilliantly done in all the right places and I am just overwhelmed by how much I loved this book. Seriously, I don't even think I'm putting this into words as well as I want it to be. God. Speechless, I'm just speechless... *********************(SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK)******************** The book already starts off with a great start with Karou's best friend, Zuzana. Honestly, my love for Zuzana and Mik grew tenfold during this book and I'm surprised because I didn't think I'd be seeing them appear so much in the story. But not only did they appear, they conquered. Any surprises thrown at them and they handled it with style. Karou and Zuzana were basically destined to be best friends just as Mik and Zuzana were destined to be soulmates. These three are the most amusing, most interesting, most raw characters I've seen in a long time, if ever, and I can't say enough how much I treasure them. As for Akiva. Akiva. I was honestly worried that Karou's hate wouldn't last with him and I hoped - HOPED - that she wouldn't turn into one of those characters who love someone even after doing something unforgivable like killing one's family. Let me tell you, I was certain I was going to hold onto my grudge against Akiva, but god dang it, the author has made that IMPOSSIBLE. Every time Akiva appeared, I felt bad for him. He's been through hell and the amount of effort he put into to save other Chimaera and the fact that he went to such lengths to even kill his father (That bastard who shall not be named) I was still in awe of his character. Gahhhh the complexity... And then there's Ziri. Don't even get me started on Ziri. I fell in love with him before he even SPOKE. Just by how the author wrote about him, how Karou described him, it was enough for me to like this guy and he did not disappoint. Words cannot describe how upset I was when he had to give up his body at the end *sad face* Can you imagine how an author can make you care about a character before they even do anything? It's an incredible feat! How am I supposed to read other books without comparing them to this magnificent series? Holy mackerel! As for Issa? Good lord, I was nearly hopping with excitement when I got to her (although I'm still crushed about Brimstone...) but the White Wolf (the other bastard that will not be named) is a different story. Boy, did I hate him but that twist near the end of the story had my mouth drop open. Laini Taylor has this talent of holding back and giving away scenes at certain times with certain perspectives and it was so beautifully done that I'll be thinking about it for days. There's just too much in this series that I love - The build up, the surprises, these on and off instances with hope (God, how I had hope for Hazael...), the relationships, this real and terrible image of war that makes you want to hope with Karou. Now, there is still the third book I have to read and I do have high expectations. Usually when reading a first or second book in the series, one would be worried that the last book will be disappointing. I am glad to say, that I am not one of those worried folk. To me, this series has two books that already are so successful that the third book will literally have to sky rocket hundreds of levels downward in order to disappoint me. Whatever happens, I just hope I don't finish it too quickly. i'm not ready for this magical series to end.