Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

**SARAI HAS LIVED AND BREATHED NIGHTMARES SINCE SHE WAS SIX YEARS OLD.**

**SHE BELIEVED SHE KNEW EVERY HORROR AND WAS BEYOND SURPRISE.**

**SHE WAS WRONG.**

**I**n the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggled to grasp the new boundaries of their selves are dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice--save the woman he loves, or *everyone else?*--while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the Muse of Nightmares, has not yet discovered what she's capable of.

As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel's near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: Must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to *save* them instead?

Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this astonishing and heart-stopping sequel to the *New York Times* bestseller *Stranger the Dreamer*.

This description comes from the publisher. *Muse of Nightmares* is the second book in the *Strange the Dreamer* duology, the first of which is *Strange the Dreamer*.

This suffered from the typical sequel syndrome and took me forever to get through. I adored the first book but this one felt a little stretched thin and unnecessary, with nothing really happening until Nova shows up and even then, I wanted them to just get on with it. While this book does conclude some events of the first book and answers some questions, I honestly feel that the first book should have just stood on it's own, with maybe a novella or two, unless another book focused on a different set of characters in the same universe and not so much on Serai and Lazlo again. My favourite parts of the book were the ones focused on the non-“gods” and I wish Thyon's (and Ruza's, gaybaiting and all) story got a lot more time.

“It's the mind. It's the most complex and astonishing thing there is, that there's a world inside each of us that no one else can ever know or see or visit.”

This book makes me glad that I'm a reader. This was my most anticipated read for 2018 considering I had read Strange The Dreamer only a few months ago. I spent my birthday devouring this book and finished it the next day.

This book was everything and more that the first book promised. The conflict had been one of the central themes, and I really wanted to know how the author would chose to resolve it.

SpoilerSo we got two strategies to resolve it,
First - It's easier to find a common ground when you have a common enemy, which is a bigger threat than the other problems.
Second - If you can't beat the odds, change the game. (SOC!)

The tension was palpable since the first page of the book. Also, the way Laini writes and make you care about all the different set of characters is amazing. Till half-way or more, Kora and Nova's story was something like a flashback that I wasn't sure how it would mesh in with ongoing events. But the plot reveals were astonishing and the story was so full of emotions that it made you feel for all of the characters.

This book is the sequel in the Strange the Dreamer series. You should definitely read the first book Strange the Dreamer before picking up Muse of Nightmares. The first leaves the reader with so many questions and this one is the answer key. In fact, this book leaves off right where the first one ends. I'll try to leave this review spoiler free so it is thin on book summary.

What can I say about this book other than it is amazing. It ripped out my heart and then fix it back into my chest and filled it again almost to bursting. I finished reading this book before bed and I couldn't go to sleep because I was just so happy. I feel like I was on a journey right along with the characters feeling everything they feel. Laini is a words smith. She makes the reader understand how characters can be good and bad by creating the clearest, realist picture of people. The magic and the world are huge and detailed but not confusing. Plus, shout out to an epilogue I needed to read. Perfect closure to a story leaving me satisfied and dreamy.

In this book, we follow the same cast of characters but even a few new ones, Nova and Kova, enter the fold becoming a critical point of the story. Lazlo returns but we spend less time in his head. Sarai also returns and as the title of the book leads you to believe, yes this is her book. She is sweet, strong, and instead of breaking people down she is learning to use her magic to help people. Rudy, Feral, and Sparrow are back. I think Sparrow gets a little more magical growth in the story but Rudy and Feral set the perfect teenage tone. Minya is a marvelously complex character. All the pain she holds and knowing every decision made was to protect the others. Even though I disagreed with her so many times, it is so easy to understand her position completely. The character with probably the most unexpected arc is Thyron. I don't want to give anything away but at first, I was a little confused why he was getting page time. Let's be honest he isn't the best person in the first book but it made me so happy to see him develop. (Squeal!) Lastly, Eril-Fane and Azareen. Sigh. So much emotion.

Yes, these books are considered young adult but the themes in this book are ones we are constantly facing throughout life. How grief can be blinding and holding on to pain is such a negative weight. Learning to let go of hurt and learning from mistakes and after all that knowledge, you can still do good. Moving on from the ugliness. Thank you Laini Taylor.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review. Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor will be published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on October 2nd, 2018.

Initial Thoughts: I'll be honest, I struggled with this one. It had Laini Taylor's signature amazing lyrical writing, but I either wasn't in the mood for this type of book or just did not care about Lazlo or Sarai's story anymore. This book also took me way longer to read than I was expecting.