My Little Pocketbooks: Review: Dreams of Gods and Monsters

Dreams of Gods and Monsters
Author: Laini Taylor
Genre:YA Fantasy
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Release Date: April 8, 2014
Audiobook: 18 hours and 11 minutes
Narrator: Khristine Hvam
Source: Free from E-Library

Book Description

In this thrilling conclusion to the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, Karou is still not ready to forgive Akiva for killing the only family she's ever known.

When a brutal angel army trespasses into the human world, Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat--and against larger dangers that loom on the horizon. They begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people. And, perhaps, for themselves--maybe even toward love.

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.

Review

I did it! I finished the series! Yippie! And I liked it!
I know you have seen 100 reviews of this book and audiobook, so I won't go over the details of the story and I will try my best not to spoil it for you if you haven't read it yet.
Laini Taylor is a great writer and she has brought back humor, romance and adventure to this series with Book three. For me *Days of Blood and Starlight (Book 2) was missing it and I felt like it was not as good as *Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Book 1). Now this story brings it all back, full circle to my first love of the series.
In Book 2, I felt there was nothing but war, darkness and the lack of anything that really pushed the story forward. But not this one. We get a few new characters mixed in with the return of a few older ones from Book 1.
Laini Taylor has a talent for writing a modern epic story in a poetic style that is not hit you over the head poetic. This I completely appreciate and think her unique style of writing makes this story. I could not have endured it any other way. Laini builds a complete world with history, races and even theology with physics too!
I bet you just jumped ahead to check out the star rating below and you are now wondering why 4 out of 5 stars if I liked her writing style and the story. Well, there was just one think that always matters to me about a story...How does it end? Don't worry I am not going to tell you the ending. But I feel the story could have ended a few ~~pages~~ chapters sooner. There was no point in telling me the back story at the end once everything is said and done. And the back story is so detailed and involved it could have and should have been a novella on it's own. Once there is a conclusion I don't need to go back to the pre-beginning and try to figure it all out again.
As usual, the narrator of this audiobook Khristine Hvam, did an outstanding job. I love her voice and think this series was made for her. Loved her!!
Just a small side note.
Holly cow! There is a black girl in the book. And she is smart! Finally!!! Three point five books in and there is diversity within the humans.