I had made a goal to post every Monday, but I had to break that goal to do this review of Muse of Nightmares. I was up until 1 in the morning reading and then I wrote the review immediately after. I don’t feel like waiting a week to post this, so this will be my second post this week. Email subscribers – deal with it.
Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Oh my goodness! I literally just finished reading this book and I had to immediately write a review, because this book was fantastic! I feel very strange giving this 5 stars when I only gave the first book 4 stars. Generally it is the opposite when it comes to sequels. I think I rated the first one a little lower because it was so unique, parts of it took me a while to really sink in with me. Strange the Dreamer started off feeling like a fairy tale, then ended up being more scifi, and I didn’t know what to think of it. But my goodness, I ended up loving it! And I loved Muse of Nightmares even more, I think. (Click here to read my review of Strange the Dreamer.)
Overview
This book picks up where Strange the Dreamer left off. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’m going to keep this short. We pick up with the characters trying to convince Minya not to destroy all of Weep for vengeance, and then a chain of events follows that opens them up to a problem much worse and more threatening than Minya and her evil little games.
The Plot
Holey smokes, there are so many crazy twists in this book! Problem upon problem is introduced in a way that isn’t forced, but comes to pass like a line of dominoes that fall faster and faster with each one. I love how it is all so connected. Little details that seemed insignificant when introduced, or just strange, are brought back in surprising ways and end up making a world of difference to the story. Also, I just can’t get over how fresh and unique this story is! Dream moths flying out of a blue girl’s mouth, enchanted metal sculpted by a junior librarian, a terrifying villain who is nothing more than a ragged child. Laini Taylor has honestly created one of the most unique books I’ve ever read and I really hope there is more in this series, because I have fallen in love with it.
The Writing Style
I mentioned earlier how I had been initially thrown off because the first book started off feeling like a fairy tale and ended up being more science fiction. The fun thing about it though, is while the content is rather scifi, the writing style still retains that dreamy fairy tale vibe that I love. Fitting, since it’s fairy tales that shaped the main character’s life (and nose). Laini Taylor is a true artist in her descriptions of this incredible world she’s cooked up. I want to go to Weep almost as much as Lazlo did! (And if not the real Weep, then I’ll take Dreamer’s Weep!)
Another important note I’d like to make is that Laini Taylor understands the importance of keeping an acceptable ratio of good and bad. So often it seems like authors feel the need to write only about problems that stack up on each other until everything goes to crap. Yes, in a nutshell, that’s what a novel is. However, to me it’s important to sprinkle in some happiness and humor throughout a story to give the characters and reader a little hope. Also, I just find silly banter between characters ridiculously entertaining. Laini Taylor does this all so well. While still sucked in by the intensity of the plot, I can still enjoy a smile, laugh, or “aww” along the way.
Characters
I can’t say much here without giving anything away, but seriously, the character development in Muse of Nightmares is fan-freaking-tastic! All of the characters learn, grow, and develop as real people would. There seemed to be a theme of characters with troubled pasts or issues with mental illness, and I feel like Laini does an impressive job realistically bringing these characters through a true journey of self-discovery. Characters I did not like before became precious to me. Characters I feared became sympathetic. Characters I loved became even more lovable. *cough cough* Can I please marry Lazlo? Because I think I am in love with him… *cough cough*
Bottom line, read these books! No matter what your preferred genre, they are so good!