Days of Blood & Starlight

Well, that was a bang-up start to the month.

For as unexpected as the first book was in a ‘that was unexpectedly awesome' this book was as ‘unexpectedly kind of awful'. Karou, who was totally amaz in the first book was nothing but a shadow of her former self through most of this - especially with her ‘oh, I feel so guilty. I'll just not ask/figure out what the hell is going on'. Blerg.

Honestly, I thought the ‘romance' was really well done in the first book but in this one, it just feels...bad to me. Supremely uncomfortable and unhealthy. (And what the actual hell is up with the ‘it's okay to love him' stuff? No. No, it's not. Not after everything he did and, let me guess, this ends with some grand, sweeping epic ‘true love' - forget the fact that she's his morality chain and the ONLY link to what little sanity he has left. And, the only reason he feels guilt? I'm not 100% of that, but that's sure what it reads like. Not to mention the fact that, with her the way she's become in this book, it would be super easy to guilt her into feeling that all the people he's killed is her fault for dying and leaving him alone. Again.)

When there's enough stuff going on (usually courtesy of Zuzana and Mik or Hazael and Liraz - definitely my four favorites in this book) and I can forget how much the ‘romance' and Karou are not working for me, it's really, really good. But I'm always pulled back into the stuff that just got more frustrating the longer the book went on. And depressing. (Oh, the depression!) And by all means, let's add some rape, because that's what this story was missing.

Mostly, it earned a second star from me for the vague memory of how much I was actually enjoying the first part and Liraz and Hazael. Whom I adore. So much.

(And, btw, a ‘big reveal' is only effective if you don't see it coming. ... I saw it coming.)