Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor 

Publisher: Little, Brown
Published: April 8
Genre: young adult, fantasy
ISBN: 9780316134071
Goodreads: 4.36
Rating: ★★★★

When the brutal angel emperor brings his army to the human world, Karou and Akiva are finally reunited — not in love, but in a tentative alliance against their common enemy. 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.

In 72 hours, what can Resurrectionist Karou and angel Akiva hope to accomplish? A joined army of gods and monsters? An end to an endless war? A beginning to a seemingly-hopeless love?

This took forever to read. I don’t know if it was because it was such a long book, because I didn’t want the trilogy to end, or both. I also don’t know how to write a review of this book — my mind is still a jumbled mess, and I’m only barely beginning to pick up the shattered remains from the explosion this book caused.

Taylor is, without a doubt, one of the best YA fantasy writers out there. Her work is of high fantasy quality. Our world is merely a small blip compared to her creation. It was wonderful to sink back into Eretz, to see the chimera and angels, to discover new aspects of the world along with Zuz and Mik. The lyrical and humorous writing, the multiple point of views from Karou, Akiva, Zuz, Mik, human-originally-not-associated-with-these-characters Eliza, and just…wow. It was as fascinating and overwhelming as the previous two books. The timeline is packed with information, events, training, and battles across the globe and across dimensions — believe it or not, this book takes place in 72 hours. Phenomenal. Oh, and the sexual tension between Karou and Akiva — you could slice it with a knife. By the end, you are anxious for some face smashing.

No matter how much I enjoyed it, what prevented this book from receiving five stars is the length. The quality was excellent, the story phenomenal, the characters wonderful, the depth of world-building awe-inspiring — but I felt there were too many subplots within the story that were unnecessary. I even imagined some of those subplots taken out, and with them removed it still didn’t change the core of the plot. Honestly, it could have cut 100-200 pages from the book. I hardly ever comment on the length of a book, but in this particular case there may have been too many punches packed in this finale.

This trilogy is near and dear to my heart, and I bow to Taylor’s magic.