This book made my heart ache.
With love. With joy. With wonder. With despair. With fear. With fascination.
Laini Taylor, if you’re out there …
What’s it about?
Just like Strange the Dreamer, I’m going to insist that Muse of Nightmares is best enjoyed blind. It’s one of those books where the delight and wonder lies in the unfolding … but, if you’re itching for the Twitter summary, here it is:
Magic boy and dead girl try to save a lost city.
If that’s not tantalizing enough, you have the following to look forward to:
- Amazing characters
- Magic and wonder
- A sophisticated plot and sub-plots
- Sub-plots that actually and meaningfully merge into the primary story
- Detailed world-building
- Almost-perfect prose
And the rest? My lips are sealed.
Things I liked:
The writing. **swoon**
The characters. **sigh**
The world-building. **gasp** — was not expecting that twist!
The echoes. Taylor is an absolutely amazing writer … not just in her ability to create poetically-descriptive text, but also her skill in weaving together an emotional punch. Muse offers a double whammy: there are a number of key phrases / images / themes that are repeated at later parts of the text, which brings the story into new perspective. It’s a super effective bit of word-play. (My typical reaction: “Holy crap. That just happened?!”)
The flashbacks. I wasn’t sold on these at the start, but the flashbacks grew on me. Far from being mindless exposition, they provided new context and emotional depth to the characters.
Things I disliked:
The fact that this book doesn’t have a sequel. Or a prequel. I just need more, K?
The fact that I’ll never be able to read this book for the first time again. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered this feeling before. For the record: it sucks.
Favourite Quote:
She gave the words back to him, murmuring, and kept them, too. You could do that: Give them back and keep them. “I love you” is generous that way.
Final Thoughts:
Muse of Nightmares is a textured and lyrical continuation of Strange the Dreamer … and is just about everything you could want in a book: gorgeous writing, meaningful themes, interesting (relatable) characters, and a startlingly original magic system.
Read. this. book.
The Details:
- The Book: Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
- Published:Ā 2018, Little Brown and Company
- My Copy: KFPL
- Read date: February 3-5, 2019
- Rating/5: š¦š¦š¦š¦š¦
- You should read this if you like ā¦ being awe-struck
- Avoid this if you dislike … book hangovers
The Geeky Jock 
That twitter summary is amazing. I am SO tempted to read the book now!
You should! š I think you would really enjoy it!!