REVIEW: Muse of Nightmares

By Denise @ Life With No Plot on June 17, 2024 • ( 0 )

About the Book

Title: Muse of Nightmares

Author: Laini Taylor

Series: Strange the Dreamer #2

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 528

Edition Read: Kindle library ebook

Dates Read: April 1-9, 2024

Blurb: 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 astonishing and heart-stopping sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer.

Review

I don’t know if it was just my brain being weird or what, but I was able to fly through this book in a way that I wasn’t able to with Strange. Same writing style, same story world, but so much more added to it.

Also . . .

***SPOILERS FOR STRANGE THE DREAMER AHEAD**

You have been warned.

For one thing, we end up following two stories: one with Lazlo and Sarai, and one with new characters, Nova and Kora, who lived many, many years ago. Through their story, we get to learn first hand about the gods and how terrible they could be. You start to understand why the Godslayer, Eril-Fane, had to kill them and why the people of Weep were so terrified of the godspawn. We flip back and forth between these two narratives until they finally come together in a way that is both heartbreaking but also very satisfying.

The romance is turned up a bit in this one – not to the point of being “romantasy,” but definitely more than there was in Strange. Lazlo has discovered his true identity and is starting to learn more about his powers. It was really cool seeing his character arc, going from a poor library servant to literally kin with the gods. Sarai also has a lot of growth, ironically finding some freedom from the Citadel now that she’s dead. Their relationship is a beautiful thing.

If you are a fan of Laini Taylor’s work, you will enjoy this series/duology. They are hefty books, but well worth the time.

GoodReads rating: 4 stars