Days of Blood and Starlight

First of all, look at that amazing cover? What kind of person, with his right mind, could not be intrigued by that cover? Man, the first time I saw it, I couldn't take my eyes off it. I thought the cover of Daughter of Smoke and Bone was the most amazing cover ever, but this one was just as amazing. And the title, gosh the title. Days of Blood and Starlight? What can be cooler? I've been waiting for this book for a year now. Since I read the first book, I've been hooked. I mean, who wouldn't? Laini Taylor is just a pure genius. I love the world she created in this book. The world of the angels and the chimaera. Astrae and Loramendi. Everything was epic. So, when I went to National Bookstore yesterday, I was gravely disappointed to find out that the said bookstore still didn't have the book. And because I'm an impatient little fellow, I did a drastic move. I downloaded an epub version. I did an all-nighter and finished it. My experience in reading this book can all be describe in one line. This line: "I fell in love, only to find my heart broken. But then, unexpectedly, I fell in love again." Don't get me wrong, this doesn't pertain to the story. I'm talking about a certain character in the book. And, no, it's not Akiva. It's Ziri. The last Kirin. The handsome and sweet Ziri. Lucky Ziri. As they call him. He's the last one of his kind. If you read the first book, then you would know that Madrgal (the chimaera Karou was before she became Karou) was also a Kirin. They're humanoid chimaera, with horns, bat wings and hooves. They're one of the most beatiful chimaera races. When I first read about Ziri, I immediately fell in love. It's the first time I fell in love with a character after only reading a few lines about him. As the story progressed, I found myself falling even harder. I just want to comfort him everytime he's emotionally hurt and I want to kill all those bastard angels who tortured him. I want him all for myself, but at the same time, I also want Karou to notice him, even just a little. That's how much I love him. And when I was near the end, and I thought he was gone, I felt like killing someone. Then something happened and he was back. But it's just sad. So sad, because he will never be the same Ziri again. It just pained me that I could never read about his beautiful form again. But, oh well, Ziri is still Ziri regardless of how he looked. I still love him just the same. I'll give this book 4 stars out of 5. I honestly want to give it a 5 but I just can't. Half of the book, Karou just lose her usual spunk. She became this timid, afraid, obedient girl. Yeah, I know, it can't be helped after all that happened to her. But heck, where did the cool Karou I knew disappeared to? And another thing was the unexpected event that happened at the end. It's just a little weird. I don't want to spoil anyone so I won't mention anything here. :p All in all, it's still a great book. I can't wait for the third installment already. I think there would be a lot of bloodshed. And a lot of love triangles, too. AkivaXKarouXZiri and KarouXAkivaXthatStellianQueen.