Review: Muse of Nightmares - 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.

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as 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 the 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 gorgeous sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer.

Strange the Dreamer Series:
Strange the Dreamer
The Muse of Nightmares

Visit Laini Taylor's website for more information

Review:
Strange the Dreamer was one of my favourite books of 2017 so it's no surprise that Muse of Nightmares has been at the top of my wish list ever since then. Sometimes having such high expectations of a story makes me nervous to actually start reading it but I never get that feeling of fear when I pick up a Laini Taylor novel because she has never disappointed me.

It's so hard to go into much detail about this book because really I think you're best going in blind and letting the story unfold as you read it. What I will say is that it took a completely different turn from the one I expected and yet somehow that still felt like exactly the right way for things to play out. This world is complex and the characters are so compelling that I really could have read it in one sitting if I wasn't so busy in the real world.

Strange the Dreamer was a book about good people who had done bad things, it was a story of regrets, hatred, the need for revenge and about two young people who were desperate to find a way forward that wouldn't end in all out war. Muse of Nightmares is about all of those things but also about hope, redemption and trying to right the wrongs you've done. It's about admitting your mistakes and understanding you could have done better but having to learn to find a way forward in spite of the pain you've both suffered and caused other people. You have to learn to forgive yourself and the enemies that can no longer hurt you if you want to build a future that isn't full of the same fear and destruction.

Honestly it's so hard to write reviews for books that are as special as this one. I don't have the words to adequately express how much I love this series or how happy this book made me. Laini Taylor's writing is nothing short of magical, I can't think of any other author who writes quite as beautifully as she does and her world building always blows my mind. But most of all it's her characters that I love, they're so multilayered and compelling that they feel like real people and even the ones you hate have redeeming qualities that make you want to see them turn their lives around.

Muse of Nightmares was the perfect follow up to Strange the Dreamer and this is now my all time favourite duology. Everything about it is perfect, I love the world, the action had me on the edge of my seat and the romance melted my heart. There were even a couple of Easter eggs for fans of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series and although you don't need to read those books to enjoy this one I would definitely recommend them all. I can't wait to see what Laini Taylor comes up with next, her books will always be auto-buys for me & my only wish is that she doesn't keep us waiting too long for the next adventure!

Source: Received from Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback / Paperback (Preorder) / Kindle:

Review: Strange the Dreamer - Laini Taylor

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around - and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he's been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance to lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries - including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo's dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Welcome to Weep

In this sweeping and breathtaking new novel by National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor, author of the New York Times bestselling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the shadow of the past is as real as the ghosts who haunt the citadel of murdered gods. Fall into a mythical world of dread and wonder, moths and nightmares, love and carnage.

Strange the Dreamer Series:
Strange the Dreamer
The Muse of Nightmares

Visit Laini Taylor's website for more information

Review:
It's been a long wait for something new from Laini Taylor, I absolutely adored her writing in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series but if anything she's honed her skills even more and Strange the Dreamer was even more beautifully written. She always manages to completely captivate me with the worlds she creates and when I fall into one of her books I never want to come back out again.

Strange the Dreamer is the story of Lazlo, a young man who was orphaned as a baby and raised by monks before he discovered the magic of the great library and trained to become a librarian. Lazlo is in part a little like every book worm you'll ever meet, he's obsessed with stories and spends so much time with his head stuck in a book that real life often happens around him without him even noticing. Lazlo's biggest obsession is the mystery of Weep and he has dedicated his life to reading everything he can about the city that disappeared so long ago. It's been years since anyone was able to find Weep and nobody can even remember the city's real name but Lazlo longs for it to be discovered again and he would give anything to visit the place he has spent so long dreaming about. Lazlo is a dreamer but he's also smart, funny and very caring. He always tries to help people but never expects thanks for his hard work and is so grateful for every opportunity he is offered that he never takes anything for granted.

This is also the story of Sarai, a young woman who has been trapped in her home for years with only her siblings for company. I don't want to get into too much detail about where Sarai is or how she ended up trapped there but her path crosses Lazlo's in the most unusual manner and I absolutely loved spending time with them both and watching the beginnings of their romance. Sarai and her siblings have been through something horrific but thanks to her unique talent she is the one best placed to understand both sides of the story and she longs for peace and freedom. She's such a compassionate girl, one who has seen the worst people have to offer but who also has great capacity for forgiveness and who tries really hard to look at the good in people.

Once again Laini Taylor has created a world that you just want to dive into, there are so many beautiful and amazing things to discover but there are also dark secrets lurking underneath that will leave you reeling. Her characters are people you want to be friends with and even her villains are so complex that you can understand their actions even if you don't particularly agree with them. There is so much pain and fear between the two different groups in the story that it's going to take a miracle to pull them together but I have complete faith that if anyone can pull it off Lazlo Strange and the Muse of Nightmares can. Working together I think they can achieve anything.

Strange the Dreamer is definitely one of my favourite books of the year and there is no doubt in my mind that it is going to be appearing on a lot of "best of 2017" lists. The Muse of Nightmares is right at the top of my 2018 wish list but I know I'll be rereading this book while I wait for it to be released.

I just have to add that I think the UK cover is so gorgeous and after a little arm doodling I think it would make a pretty gorgeous tattoo too!

Source: Received from Amazon Vine in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback / Paperback / Kindle: