Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Daughter of smoke and bone trilogy, bk 2. Hodder, 2012. ISBN 9781444722703.
(Age: 15+) Thoroughly recommended. I am so very glad that I did not need to wait for this book to be published, as I don't think that I would have lasted long on that cliff hanger. The characters are so easy to latch onto that it becomes simple to feel their pain and emotions as they progress through the story. This is the part of the story where the YA genre comes into obvious play with an orphaned child who loves a creature she shouldn't because he killed her 'family'. She must save her people by using the skills she was taught by her foster-father. Although most of the characters are pretty cool, there are a couple pesky ones that don't seem to want to leave the story. There are things in these books that I had never even imagined a YA author would try and do. A love triangle is added in this book but it's not a choice between two men, it's Romeo or Paris (if Paris was an angel-blood wanting white wolf). The different third person perspectives are really cool and they provide a very detailed and non-biased story telling.I really enjoyed the pain felt by the characters, it is so heart wrenching that there are times where you almost with you could reach into the page and comfort them. In my opinion, the first book set a high standard and this second one has met that standard and excelled. I thoroughly recommend this book (just maybe not for younger audiences).
Azriel P. (Student)