Dreams of Gods & Monsters

It's over! And make no mistake, whatever I may say here about Dreams of Gods & Monsters, it was a good book, and the trilogy as a whole is a series I would heartily recommend. But in terms of expectations, I think I may have placed all my eggs in one basket. I went into this with hopes for the ending of all endings, which is unfair of me perhaps, but I desperately wanted back the magic I first experienced in Daughter of Smoke & Bone. Needless to say, the first book still reigns supreme as my favorite of the trilogy, but that being said, the third book didn't disappoint either. It just didn't leave me as satisfied as I wanted to be, but I admit I was expecting a lot.

So the war is on in this book, with Jael at the head of the angel army. On the run, Akiva and his seraph sister Liraz have fled to the other side to join Karou, who has taken control of the chimaera rebellion through an impressive feat of deception and pretense. It's a shockingly suspenseful scenario, considering how at any moment the ruse could be discovered, destroying any chance of a peaceful resolution. Still, at last we see Akiva and Karou fighting on the same side for the same cause against a common enemy.

But as much as it pains me to say, the romance itself isn't doing much for me anymore. How far Karou and Akiva's love story has fallen in my eyes, when I look back to my review of the first book and see how weak-in-the-knees I was for their tale of forbidden love. And now? I feel nothing. If I can hazard a guess, I think the second book pushed the melodrama a bit too far. Watching the characters dance around each other going through the motions (and emotions) when you know they're going to end up back together anyway? Well, that just sort of takes the fun out of it. So Karou and Akiva reconcile in this book, like we'd all known was going to happen. Did they want a prize?

Up until the last few chapters though, and minus my gripes about the romance, this book was in fact quite fantastic. There are multiple plot threads going on, each punctuated by their moments of action and suspense, but also moments of tenderness and humor as well. When Jael's army of angels first descended to earth, it made for a few incredible chapters where the panic and disbelief practically emanated off the page.

Add to that, we have a new POV character named Eliza, whom I initially thought was introduced for the sole purpose of showing us humanity's reaction during the aforementioned significant event. As it turned out, she had a bigger role to play as well. I still think Eliza joined us way too late and her part in the overall big picture felt a little forced, given this already cramped storyline. However, I do love her character. I really can't say much more about her for fear of revealing any spoilers, but she brought a great personality to the story, and that's saying a lot, considering we already have Zuzana. It goes without saying, Zuze was simply delightful. As always!

Now for the actual ending. I wish I had better things to say about it but the truth is, I thought it carried on for much longer than it should have. Talk about an ending that overstayed its welcome. When all is said and done, the foes are vanquished, friends are reunited, all I wanted to do was bask in the glory of victory and soak up the feel-good vibes. I really could have done without a final bombshell. Especially since it felt like it came out of nowhere. Granted, that stuff usually works like a charm in action movies, and hey, it might work for you. But for me it was mentally exhausting. I would prefer not to feel like that at the end of a book, and especially not at a series-ender.

Don't get me wrong, though. None of this changes the fact that I think the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy is absolutely fantastic and one of the strongest YA series I've ever read. Like I said, I highly recommend these books. And if you've enjoyed the first two, there's no reason at all not to read this too and finish up the saga. Despite minor hiccups here and there, it's a concluding novel well worth your time.