Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor | A story about hate and love, and how both destroy people

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
Series: Strange the Dreamer #2
ISBN: 9780316341707
on October 2, 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Epic, Romance, Social Themes, Friendship, Action & Adventure
Pages: 528
Read it as: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
My rating:
Check it out in Goodreads
Synopsis

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 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.

 

I’d been waiting for this book ever since I read the last page of Strange the Dreamer. Before that book, it’d been a while since I’d last read something by Laini Taylor. I knew I loved her writing. I remembered it was beautiful, but beyond that, I couldn’t really pinpoint what made it so.

Strange the Dreamer reminded me you can tell a story like that, and get wonderfully immersed in a world, while appreciating each sentence. And Muse of Nightmares was no different.

I was worried that it would be far inferior to the first book. I’d been seeing some opinions that while it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t as good as the first one. That was okay, as long as it wasn’t an altogether disappointment.

Laini Taylor hinted at some things that ignited my inner fangirl. Any Daughter of Smoke and Bone fan out there can go throw a party right now because, peeps, this ain’t over yet.

 

This is a story about hate, and how it consumes us

I can’t help but feel it that way. Maybe it’s also because while I was reading it, my family was going through a rough time, and it kinda echoed the story back to me. Or the story echoed my family.

Because it was such a real and raw conflict, I was racking my brain wondering how on Earth the characters would solve this.

At two points in the book I wondered the same thing. Would violence be the answer, or would it be possible for these people to let go of the hate? I was curious too. If this was one of those situations where that’s what would happen, then how would it be believable? How can you just let go? Forgive so much?

 

 

It’s a story about hope too

And Salt to the Sea should also be a perfect example of how much I love stories that play with showing us a glimmer of hope in the midst of despair.

There is family, friendship, and above all, love. Minya would kill me for saying this, but it was amazing to see how Laini took some of the characters to the worst situation possible, both in the past, and in the present, force them to deal with it and see what happens when it’s over.

 

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I don’t want to spoil anything, which is why I didn’t go into specifics, but this book was amazing. I still prefer Strange the Dreamer, but this was a worthy sequel, and I’m excited for what the author has in store for us. It’s just the beginning!

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