September 2nd
It was page 65 before I even remembered the two main character's names. I'm reading Chapter 27 and I'm still struggling to keep the storyline straight and remember the character's names. So many new characters my mind is spinning (Game of Thrones is the same struggle for me, too many people and intertwining storylines to track - I think I'm not smart enough to keep it all in line).
If it has been awhile since you read Daughter of Smoke and Bone, my review won't help you remember (I really try and avoid spoilers), but the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Wiki will save you pages of confusion. It's already saved me - I'm slowly understanding what it going on.
Other than really longing for a little more review at the beginning of the book to spur my memory as to what is going on, I love that this book begins with Zuzana. So many books feature a best friend with a very minor role, but not this series. Zuzana is a real character with real importance to the storyline.
Rae Carson has written these half books that fill in the blanks, add stories from the other character's perspectives, and bring a fuller life to a story where there is so much going on. I hope that Laini does the same. Either I didn't read the end of Daughter of Smoke and Bone, or I'm missing how Karou got into her current "job."
I'm feeling confused, but I'll keep trudging through. If worse comes to worse, I'll grab book one and remind myself what is going on :) It is my own fault, this has been out for months and I just checked it out. Series should be read with the previous book fresh in your mind. It really is better that way. Maybe that is why I struggled with City of Lost Souls so much?
September 7th
Okay, maybe it took me a little to get into this book, but Laini has not disappointed! I'm 60% of the way through the book (thanks GoodReads) and things are finally pulling together. Characters are seeing each other again, the path of the book (both up to this point and into the future) are starting to make sense.
Part of me would love for them to turn this into a movie (even if Hollywood almost always ruins them), but I don't know how they would do it. After all, Ziri (possibly my favorite non-main character in this book) is a monster ... literally.
None the less, I cannot imagine the hard calls that these characters have made and are going to have to make. How do you decide between the good of yourself and the good of others (possibly, everyone else)? I know what SHOULD be done, but that isn't what I would want to do. I don't think that is really what Karou or Akiva want to do ... no matter what they are saying ...
September 7th continued
I hope the neighbors will excuse the fact that I was just yelling (and possibly screaming) at the book I dropped on the floor. Hopefully they too understand what it is like to be reading along and then dropped off the edge of a cliff as you come to the last pages. This whole book I've been yearning for reconciliation between Akiva and Karou. This whole book I've been awaiting the characters return to one another. And then, that ending, Ms. Taylor that was cruel!
There are a couple of truly violent scenes in this book so I feel like I have to warn you - this is not for the gentle of spirit. However, if you do dive into this adventure, be prepared for heart break (and a billion characters, but I'm adjusting).
Now that I've finished I want to go back and re-read the first book and then re-read this one. I don't feel like I grasp everything that has happened. There are more layers to the onion that is this series and I don't want to miss out on a moment.
Book three, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, won't be out until April, so I have awhile to re-read these terrible and wonderful books.
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