Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Book 3

By: Laini Taylor

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

Length: 18 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Two worlds threaten to crumble in the face of a common enemy in the epic conclusion to the New York Times best-selling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy—now with a gorgeous new package!

What power can bruise the sky?

Two worlds are poised on the brink of a vicious war. By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera's rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her.

When the brutal angel emperor brings his army to the human world, Karou and Akiva are finally reunited—not in love, but in 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.

But with even bigger threats on the horizon, are Karou and Akiva strong enough to stand among the gods and monsters?

The New York Times best-selling Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy comes to a stunning conclusion as—from the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond—humans, chimaera, and seraphim strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

©2014 Laini Taylor (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

*In the final book of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, Taylor revives the strong interweaving of reality and fantasy that gave the first story such cross-genre appeal."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"[An] ambitious, gorgeously edgy drama lit up by its coruscating characters and prose."—Kirkus

"New revelations, characters, multiple love stories, and constant plot twists and suspense will not disappoint Taylor's many fans."—Booklist

Amazing narrator but mediocre last book

Ok…I’m not gonna lie, this book was tough for me to get through. I finished reading book 2, Days of Blood and Startlight, on January 12, 2013. Yes, over a year ago. Needless to say with this HUGE cast of characters I was LOST! There really isn’t any recap at all to speak of, just kind of throw into the story again. MAYBE I should have re-read (re-listened) to the last book but I rarely (okay never) do that. Of course since I was kind of lost it didn’t help when there were SO MANY POV changes. LOL! I’d figure out what’s going on then get lost again. UGH!

Anyways…I figured I’d get that out.

I’ve seen other reviews complete there was just too much going on in this book and I would completely agree. There were new characters that I wasn’t invested in. Then as I’m not really caring for them BAM something major happens to that character and they are part of a HUGE plot point. My head is still reeling and more happens and then more. There was never any downtime at all. Poor Karou and Akiva barely had anytime together with all the mess that was happening in their lives.

My favorite thing in this book is Karou’s bff, Zuzana. She never fails to make me laugh and breaks up the seriousness of the situation in the book.

I liked that Akiva and Karou had their HEA after EVERYTHING they’ve gone through but the journey was just TOO much I guess.

I thought this book was going to end at least twice…but then it continued and then continued and then continued. This is one of those books that I just thought was WAY TOO long. I really wanted to like this one more. :-(

Narrator Note: As I stated in the last two books in this series, Khristine Hvam is an AMAZING narrator! Her voice for Razgot is SOOOOO good I’m in aww every time I hear it. I can’t wait to hear more from her.

Awesome

Great beginning, very captivating and exciting . Beautifully written. Lovely continuation of the other books. Great narrator, performance on point.

So fun and amazing

Brilliant story with amazing characters. suzanna was the best character among many amazing ones. the original ideas added to the fantasy made it even better.

Great series, great ending!

Would you listen to Dreams of Gods & Monsters again? Why?

Yes, we've decided to do this as our Fantasy book group choice. Several of us had read the series before we got together as a group and wanted a chance to discuss it.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters!

What about Khristine Hvam’s performance did you like?

Her accents were superb!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was drawn in to the story, vested in the characters' lives.

Any additional comments?

After reading this series our book group read the author's first series, Blackbringr. While that was an enjoyable read it was interesting to see how much her writing had developed in this series.

a satisfying wrap up to the series

while the first book had me hooked and the second was kinda a drag, this final book answered almost all my questions and I was super happy with it.

Great listen!

I enjoyed the series immensely! The narrator is great. The characters are enjoyable and well described.

OH God Stars!

Perfect conclusion to an immaculate story. If you have come this far then you already know how beautiful and unbelievably creative Laini Taylor's writing is. No need to say anymore except this book will complete the story like few finales do in such a manor that you are left feeling whole and emptied out at the very same time.

We are The God Stars.

Best.

Captivating

The narrorator was amazing and the ending felt whole. In conclusion it was a wonderful way to end a great series

Loved this one!

I read book 1 and enjoyed it I really did but having listened to the audio books for the final 2 books i love them so much more. Hearing the different voices and let's be honest the pronunciations of names and jazz was key. More though just being able to close my eyes and visualize everything I'm hearing and with a world of angels and Beasts that is huge.

loved this story

I loved every character good or bad. Amazing writing and wonder plot. Such a great story