After Reading: DREAMS OF GODS AND MONSTERS by Laini Taylor

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:00 AM

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? (Goodreads)

You know how there are some series that just kind of suck you in and don't let go? That leave you thinking about the characters for ages after you've finished? That make you re-read multiple times? This is one of those series for me. I love the writing, the world, the intrigue, Karou and Akiva (though I thought I might scream at the two of them a couple of times), and just the loveliness of it all. Mixed in with a whole lot of darkness, but let's be honest, I like that too :) It's amazing when I come across books that just seem to "get" me, and these definitely were. I put off this last book in the series for quite a while, mainly because I couldn't face the end. I loved it too much. (This is a dangerous habit of mine--something I do a little too often.) I'm glad I finally set aside some time to just delve into the world though, and I enjoyed seeing how everyone managed to work things out. I did think there were some added complications that seemed to be added in more for complication's sake than because they felt true to the story, but that's fine. I pretty much would read anything set in this world, so I really can't complain. And the ending left me hoping that somewhere down the line Taylor might share another fun tale from Eretz!

Have you had a chance to check out this series? What did you think?