Title: Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2)
Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date: October 2nd, 2018
522 pages
5/5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis
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 would have chosen you, if they had let me choose.
laini taylor, muse of nightmares
Strange the Dreamer was one of my favorite reads of 2019 and I have no idea why it took me so long to read Muse of Nightmares. Thankfully, it did not disappoint!
Muse of Nightmares picks up where Strange left off with the Mesarthim gang and Lazlo. To avoid spoilers, I won’t go into the synopsis so much, but let’s be real you probably read the Goodreads synopsis already. But anyway, after the end of Strange, the group has a lot of issues they need to deal with…
I adore Laini’s writing. This duology was the first of her books I’ve read so now I desperately want to read her backlist titles. The writing is so beautiful and captivating that it’s hard to put the book down. The flow is great and it keeps the plot moving along smoothly. The romance between Lazlo and Sarai is also so endearing, and focused more on their feelings for each other than any sexual chemistry (even though it is definitely there!). Their relationship is beautiful and Lazlo is my new fave soft boi, cinnamon roll, book boyfriend.
My only, and I mean only, request from this book would be MORE. The ending definitely leaves it open for Laini to return to this world, because things weren’t really wrapped up. And I want it. And I need it. Kay thanks!
Happy reading, folks!
Baltimore Bibliophile 