Strange the Dreamer By: Laini Taylor Review (Okay, it's basically me fangirling out.)

"Sometimes a moment is so remarkable that it carves out a space in time and spins there, while the world rushes on around it. This was one such."

 I absolutely adore Strange the Dreamer! I am now a HUGE Lazlo fan for life. There are so many great quotes in this book. Even though I don't usually share quotes, I have to share some of my favorites in the review for this one! 

"The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around."

(*Side Note: This print is from Fandom Honey Bees! The colors are so vibrant in person. I love it. I highly recommend you check out her Etsy shop. If you want 10% off an order use the code- BEEWITCHED10*)

"I think you're a fairy tale. I think you're magical, and brave, and exquisite. And I hope you'll let me be in your story." 

SWOON! I love Lazlo and Sarai so much. Also, the writing is beautiful and flawless. My only two MINOR complaints are that the beginning is a tad slow with the worldbuilding and I guessed early on the big reveal near the end. Even though I was expecting it, I still enjoyed how it all played out. So I can't really even complain about that one. 

"Without his books, his room felt like a body with its hearts cut out."

"And that's how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts, the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can." 

That quote right there, yes the one right above this that you just read, is my favorite quote from the entire book. The truth in those words has really resonated with me, especially with how my life is 95% dark parts at the moment. This quote and the ending of the book had me literally choking back tears.

Overall Strange the Dreamer is such a wonderful book and I HIGHLY recommend it. It was even better than I had expected it to be. Is it October yet? I need Muse of Nightmares NOW. 

#LazloSwoon

#INeedMuseOfNightmares

Waiting on Wednesday- Strange the Dreamer By: Laini Taylor

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature/meme hosted here at Breaking the Spine. The idea behind it is to share upcoming releases that we can't wait to get our hands on!

My pick for this week is Strange the Dreamer By: Laini Taylor. I really love the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series by Laini Taylor and I can't wait to read something else by her. At this point I would try anything else she writes and Strange the Dreamer sounds like it will FANTASTIC!! Aftermath of war, a hero, a librarian, alchemy, monsters, and love?! Oh I am so in! I absolutely can't wait to read this one. I hope it's just as good as the DOSAB series. 

Expected Publication Date: September 27, 2016

Summary From Goodreads:

Ooo doesn't that sound great? I can't wait to get my hands on this one, but there is still a while to wait. Darn it! What are you waiting on this Wednesday? 

Dreams of Gods & Monsters By: Laini Taylor Review

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So here is the last book in yet another YA trilogy. There is definitely an over abundance of YA trilogies right now in literature. Nowadays if I know it's a trilogy I always hesitate to read it. However I keep breaking down and reading them anyway. I have read my fair share of YA trilogies (and series in general), but I find that I don't like how a lot of them END. I come across a lot of YA series that the first one is fabulous, but the rest of the books suck. Or the series starts out great then slowly declines with each book until I get to the last one and it sucks so bad I want to hit myself in the head for starting the damn series in the first place.

This is NOT one of those trilogies. 

The last book is AMAZEBALLS. Just freaking fabulous!!! THE ENDING!!! OMG!!!!!

I am so happy after finishing this series. Laini Taylor did not let me down on the last book and I am so grateful for that. The Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy has definitely become one of my favorite series of all time. 

When Dreams of Gods & Monsters started off with Jael coming into the human world I was a little bit worried how the book would go. I didn't want a whole angels VS. humans thing to ensue and then other plots get pushed aside. Luckily I didn't need to worry because the book was still focused mainly on the Seraphim and Chimaera. 

I just can't get over how good this was. By the time I ended the book I couldn't even move. I was stunned by all the feels I was having. 

This is one of those series that when you finish you have to take a little time afterwards to just sit and think about it. The ending was so satisfying and the love story just completely left me in awe. I love Laini Taylor's writing. She has excellent and well fleshed out characters, crazy good world building, superb plot lines, and unique ideas. We need more YA trilogies/series like the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series.

My only complaint....


It's very minor and it didn't change my star rating... but....


I was not to pleased with all the Stelians, Scarab, and Eliza things that were happening in this book. I feel like there was a LITTLE bit of a lead up for the Stelians in the last book, but it seemed like Scarab and all the barriers of space and time crap just came out of left field. Then Eliza just popped up out of nowhere. It was a little too thrown in last minute for me, but by the end of the novel I was able to accept it and enjoy the book.

Overall Dreams of Gods & Monsters had me like----

I recommend the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series to EVERYONE. Yes, this series is THAT good.

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Days of Blood & Starlight By: Laini Taylor Review

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"You only have to begin Lir. Mercy breeds mercy as slaughter breeds slaughter. We can't expect the world to be better than we make it."

- Laini Taylor, Days of Blood & Starlight 

I LOVE this series!! I always worry when I absolutely adore the first in a series that the next one won't live up to my expectations. I'm happy to say that Days of Blood & Starlight did not disappoint me. The writing is still fantastic and giving me all the feels. This series is completely shredding my heart.  

I have to say I really like Ziri. Like A LOT!! I was so close to saying forget Karou and Akiva being together let Karou and Ziri get together. Until the end of the book...I definitely did not see that happening!!!!! 

As for Karou and Akiva I do still want them to have a happy ending. I want them to have their peace like they dreamed about. I can't get over how awesome Akiva is though and all that he does for Karou. So what that he killed most of the Chimera... he made a mistake...right?! Forgive him Karou!!! 

I miss Brimstone though. Am I the only one hoping that he pops back up in the third book? I mean Issa did in this one, so maybe Brimstone will in the next. I can hope.

I was surprised how much WAR and darkness there was in this book. Some things that happened were just, BRUTAL. I have read quite a few books where the big battle or whatever really never happened. Let alone any battles leading up to a bigger end battle. *Cough...Breaking Dawn... Cough* I think this is a fantastic middle book. It builds everything up quite nicely and has a lot of good things happening in it. I enjoyed everything about it. 

This is definitely becoming one of my all time favorite series. I'll see how the third one ends everything before I decide for sure though. I can't wait to read it and find out what happens. 

I recommend Days of Blood & Starlight to everyone, everyone, and everyone. 

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Daughter of Smoke & Bone By: Laini Taylor Review

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WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really wish I had read Daughter of Smoke and Bone earlier. Thank you to my Facebook friends for recommending I get with the program and read this one. I feel like a bit of a dummy now for having put it off for so long. If  the summary sounds even somewhat intriguing then take my advice and

Black handprints begin to appear scorched onto doorways by winged creatures all over the world...

Karou lives in Prague and she is an art student with blue hair, blue hair that grows out of her head that way. She draws monsters in her sketchbook and she is always running mysterious "errands." On one of these "errands" Karou meets Akiva and things get really interesting after that. Karou doesn't know who she really is, but she's about to find out!  Daughter of Smoke and Bone is filled with fantasy, magic, mystery, angels, a star-crossed love and some very unique creatures. 

I CAN'T get over how good this book is. To start off, the setting in Prague is different and perfect for the story. The description of Prague and the characters are so BEAUTIFUL. I found it very easy to imagine everything and get swept into the story. Daughter of Smoke & Bone is a book that I want to crawl inside. I want to burrow myself in between the pages and live in the world Laini Taylor created.

I must say I was shocked to find such an original and enchanting novel. I really didn't know what exactly the book was about when I started reading it. I'm so glad that I didn't know what to expect because everything was such a pleasant surprise. (Which is why I am trying not to give too much away here!) Daughter of Smoke & Bone is a breath of fresh air in the YA/Fantasy genre. Sadly this is a genre where there are too many books that just don't bring anything new to the table.  

Also, the characters in this book are just SO GOOD. I love the relationships! The relationships between Karou and her bestie Zuzanna, Karou and Brimstone, and of course Karou and Akiva. The relationships really got me right in the feels.

 #awww 

Especially Karou and Akiva and how they couldn't NOT touch each other. 

#awww

The writing is just off the charts! I was blown away by the entire novel. After finishing this book I just can't stop thinking about it. My heart is still feeling for the characters and my mind is still trying to figure out what's going to happen next. I can't wait to go buy the next two books when I have the money. Seriously, I can't recommend this book enough.  Daughter of Smoke & Bone is one of the best YA/fantasy books I have read in a long time. The last time I was this excited about a YA/Fantasy series it was the Throne of Glass series. Daughter of Smoke & Bone has EVERYTHING. I'm definitely going to have a hard time getting into my next read after this one, that's for sure. 

Just do yourself a favor: 

Stop reading this and immediately go read Daughter of Smoke & Bone if you haven't already! 

I recommend this for EVERYONE, EVERYONE, and EVERYONE. 

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What's Next? -- Daughter of Smoke and Bone By: Laini Taylor

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I have heard so many good things about the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series. I have many friends on Facebook and Goodreads that keep telling me I need to read it. I think it's time I finally read the first one. I want to see what all the fuss is about! I'm going to be starting it tomorrow or Monday, so if anyone would like to read along with me and discuss the book, then please do! Whether it's your first time reading it or you've been needing to re-read it, it doesn't matter. I would love to read the book and discuss it with people as I go along. I could even start a group on Goodreads for it if you like. Let me know if you are interested! You can look up the blurb on Goodreads in case you want to see what it's about. It has an average rating of 4.06 on Goodreads with 162,364 ratings right now. So surely it will be a good one!!

I did make a group on Goodreads here is the link. Daughter of Smoke and Bone Read-a-long

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