Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3
Published by Little Brown on April 8, 2014
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 528
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley, Publisher
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By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

This review does not contain spoilers for Dreams of Gods & Monsters but does contain spoilers from the previous two books.

I was quite a bit nervous when I started Dreams of Gods & Monsters.  Don’t get me wrong, I expected nothing less than perfection from Laini Taylor.  That wasn’t what I was nervous about.  After only three books I’d come to love every character like they were my own friends and I was terrified of how their stories were going to end.  I’m pleased to report that while the ending wasn’t quite as happy as I’d hoped, I was very pleased with it, all the same.

To be honest, this isn’t a series where I actually expected a happy ending.  From the very first book it was clear that Laini Taylor wasn’t afraid to take chances and kill off some very well loved characters.  Knowing that, I kind of knew a little bit of what to expect from Dreams of Gods & Monsters.  I was on the edge of my seat through the whole book.   I laughed a lot, cried a little, and was left smiling like a lunatic at the end.  Like I said, it wasn’t exactly a happy ending but it was the perfect one for this story.

Dreams of Gods & Monsters is not an action-packed book.  From the epilogue of Days of Blood & Starlight, I expected to be immediately entrenched in this war between Jael and the Chimaera/Misbegotten.  I was quite surprised when instead we were taken back to before the epilogue and given a lot more detail about what exactly went down to get the Chimaera and Misbegotten together in those Kirin caves.  The whole book was like that.  There were times when I was expecting one thing (mainly some fighting) and instead I got negotiations and rational logic.  That’s not to say that there isn’t some fighting (and some deaths) but there was a lot less of it than expected.  However, that didn’t make me dislike the book.  There was so much going on and so many little pieces of the puzzle that didn’t seem like they could possibly fit together.  Laini Taylor has a way with weaving stories that completely takes readers by surprise.  Trying to figure out how everything was going to tie together in the end was enough to keep me hooked.

All of (well most of, RIP Brimstone) my favorite characters were back for this final installment.  Karou was as wonderful and brilliant as ever.  Akiva was his brooding self but with some new moods thrown in for variety.  Zuzana was her usual neek-neek  self (possibly even better than in the previous installments).  Mik was so super adorable.  He always puts a smile on my face.  Ziri didn’t play as big a role in this book as I’d expected but he definitely made an impression with his role.  Liraz played a bigger role than expected and I really came to respect her.  There were also a few new characters introduced and they really took me by surprise.  I don’t want to give anything away about them though so that’s all I’ll say.

Overall, I can’t possibly do this book or this series justice in a review.  Laini Taylor has cemented her place on my favorite authors shelf and I’m so eager for more from her.  If you haven’t already started this series (why are you reading this review?) you should really get on that.  And if you have started this series, finish it.  It’s one of the best trilogies I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

What others are saying about Dreams of Gods & Monsters:

The Bookish Manicurist’s review: “Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor, the final instalment in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, is epic.”

Reading Teen’s review: “I am utterly blown away by the brilliance of this book.”

Once Upon a Bookcase’s review:  “But I’m so pleased to say it’s the most perfect ending to the most perfect trilogy!”