Title: Days of Blood and Starlight *link goes to my Goodreads review*
Author: Laini Taylor
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
For someone who reads as much as I do, it's odd that such a big book gives me pause. A 300 pg book? Psh! Done in no time. Start creeping over 400 pages and suddenly, I have the hardest time maintaining interest enough to get started. Never mind that once I get started I get completely swept away.
Well, most of the time. Days of Blood and Starlight is a different story. There is so much going on and so much at stake, that I had to stop after every couple of chapters to maintain my emotional balance. (I really get into books.)
The premise: Karou is one of the Chimaera, the half human-half creature race that are in open rebellion to the Seraphim, a race of angels with blazing wings. In the first book, she learns of a betrayal from someone close to her and in this second one, she must decide how far she is willing to take things in her need to avenge her race.
This series takes an interesting look into the nature of war and the people who fight in it. Neither side is innocent, that much is painfully clear as the book goes on. But how do you stop fighting once you start? How do you answer someone's pain that you've caused?
Days of Blood and Starlight is aptly named. Since it is war that they are involved in, there is so much death and blood. I am afraid that there could never be a movie because to do it right would be too gruesome for the silver screen. There is also the matter of the pain tithe for magic. Even though this concept is brutal, it makes so much sense. You can't get something from nothing (although that seems like the very purpose of magic) and in this world, to conduct any sort of magic, you need a reservoir of pain to purchase it. Cringeworthy, indeed, but it makes you think more about what is worth the pain.
If you had the power to do anything you wanted, but at a cost, would you still do it?
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