Where to begin with this review?! It’s not going to be as long as my other reviews as I know that I’m probably going to find it really hard to review this book without letting on to any spoilers!

I am so happy that Muse of Nightmares is FINALLY out, however, I’m gutted because it’s only a duology and I NEED MORE of Lazlo and Sarai. I mean… I guess that I could just keep re-reading the books, right?

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?

The ending of Strange the Dreamer had me SHOOK! I had to put the book down for a good five minutes and tell myself to breathe because of THAT ending.

I will actually say that I think that I like Muse better than Strange… Partly because Muse was a much more plot-driven novel and second, we already knew the characters and their relationships with each other, so it was straight into the action but there was still a lot of character building throughout which I LOVED. In my mind, Laini Taylor can do no wrong and she proves this with her amazingly unique writing style which captures your attention from start to end. Her descriptions of the world are beautiful and the way that she has all of the characters – particularly Lazlo and Sarai – interact is breathtaking.

 

 

“Wishes don’t just come true. They’re only the target you paint around what you want. You still have to hit the bull’s-eye yourself.”

– Laini Taylor, Muse of Nightmares

 

 

Muse picks up straight after Strange which I was very grateful for, because I’m not a big fan of when the next book in a series starts a year later. I want to know what happened in that year! So, I thought it was brilliant when Taylor carried on from where Strange left off. One of the things that I absolutely loved about Muse was that it concentrated more on Sarai. She is one of my favourite literary characters ever, so to spend most of the book with her was a dream come true. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely missed Lazlo, but there was still the banter between the two of them and the other characters, but I’m glad that this was Sarai’s book.

 

 

When it came to the ending of Muse of Nightmares, I was very confused at first. I knew that Muse was the last book in the duology, but the ending felt very open?? I don’t know whether this was done on purpose so that Taylor could maybe revisit the series again one day, or whether it was by accident. But oh well… I loved the ending anyway, I do hope that she revisits this world because it would be such a shame not to.

 

 

“There comes a certain point with a hope or a dream, when you either give it up or give up everything else. And if you choose the dream, if you keep on going, then you can never quit, because it’s all you are.”

– Laini Taylor, Muse of Nightmares

 

 

As for the other characters, I’m so glad that Lazlo begins to learn about his new powers. There was a huge shocker towards the end of Strange the Dreamer, and to see Lazlo accept himself for who he is was such a heartwarming part of the story. As for Ruby, Sparrow, Feral, and Minya… Wow. I just love them all so much. The four of them go on such an incredible character journey where they learn more about the Citadel and the people who are in it. Oh Minya… I definitely have a love/hate relationship with her. I can understand why she’s bitter and so protective but bloody hell, she doesn’t half make things difficult for our faves!

Also, just in case you weren’t all desperate to read this book anyway, there’s one more thing: you get to find out the city of Weep’s actual name!

 

 

If you haven’t picked up this duology yet, then I strongly urge you to. This series has absolutely everything a fantasy love will want, and when you’re finished with this series, definitely go and pick up Laini Taylor’s other books, because they’re also amazing!

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me unsolicited by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

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