Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on May 22, 2020 | 0 Comments


Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini TaylorDreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3
Published by Little Brown (4.8.2014)
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 613 pages
Source: I own it


5 Stars

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.

My thoughts

I honestly have NO idea why I put off finishing this series for so long!! I read the second book way back in 2012, and this one came out early 2014, but I just…never read it. Oops. I suck at series. I guess part of me thought I was going to be let down? I’d heard some really mixed things about this last book, so that probably led to me putting it off too. I shouldn’t have worried!

Although, I will say that this book felt like it took forever to get through. And it only took me 4 days! I don’t know why it felt like so much longer. This book is huge, though, and to be honest it was pretty slow. Not to say that I was bored, I definitely wasn’t! Laini’s prose is stunning, and to be honest she could probably write a book about paint drying and make it interesting.

“And as for myths, some are made up, nothing but fantasy. But some myths are true. Some have already been lived. And in the drift of time, eternal and entire, some haven’t.”

The world is flipping GORGEOUS and one of my favorite parts about this series. It’s so incredibly atmospheric, I just want to crawl into the pages and live there! I also absolutely adore all of the characters. Somewhere along the line I realized that Liraz – prickly, disagreeable, Liraz, sitting in corners mumbling angrily about feelings – was my favorite! It was the cutest thing ever when she used her wings to warm Mik and Zuze in secret while they were sleeping (then thought about burning everyone when she got caught). I shipped her with Ziri so hard!! View Spoiler » And of course I love Zuzu and Mik together, they’re adorable and hilarious!

Finishing this series made me realize that I want to re-read Strange the Dreamer again, too! There’s a lot of similarities in the world (Muse had a little bit of a reference to this series too!) and I’m desperately hoping for some sort of crossover in the future! I miss the world already!

Overall Assessment

Plot: 4.5/5
Premise: 5/5
Writing style: 5/5
Originality: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World-building: 5/5
Pace: 4/5
Feels: 4.5/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 5/5

Jessi (Geo)

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