Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy is worth the effort

Having just completed the third book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bones trilogy by Laini Taylor I sighed from relief because the books was so long and so big and I wondered if I would ever make it to the finish line with it. But after a few days reflection I can say without any reservations, the series is worth the effort. Here is a recap of the three books and I promise, no spoilers.

1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone, published in Sept. 2011, 418 pages.
In the first book of the series readers meet Karou and Akiva. Karou a young art student with blue hair who often seems to vanish for a few days at a time, and seems to have a tremendous talent for drawing monsters. She doesn't seem to have any memory of her past. Akiva, on the other hand does know about her past. If he decides to reveal these secrets to her it may endanger them both. This is a classic tale of good versus evil but one is never quite sure which side is which. It is also a love story that transcends time.

This was a Mock Printz selection in 2011 and the student readers really liked the book but haven't flocked to the sequels. Now that all three books in the trilogy are out I hope start over and gain some devoted readers for the series.

2.  Days of Blood and Starlight, published in Nov. 2012, 517 pages.
In this sequel Karou seeks redemption by trying to avenge the wrongs done to her people by the angels on the other side of the war, by denying her love for Akiva, and by running away from her past. But how can she deny what is in her heart? And how can she choose sides when both sides have good and evil parts? How far will Akiva go to find her and at what cost?

Like most middle books in trilogies readers are left with lots of questions and won't get relief until the third book.

3. Dreams of Gods and Monsters, published in April 2014, 613 pages
Akiva and Karou must team up to save their people from the brutal Jael, a seraph who has trespassed into the human world and wants unthinkable weapons. Can they avert the cataclysmic danger and forge a peace for all peoples and kinds when everything in the whole universe seems askew? And will there be a place in the world for the two of them to be together ?

Notice the page count creeping up with each volume. Lucky it was just a trilogy or the next book would be 700+ pages. Taylor says this about the book and series in her acknowledgements:

"An ending is reached. It's deeply satisfying, a little bewildering, and unbelievably sad to be closing this chapter in my life. A trilogy, completed! I'm still dazed."

As a reader I feel a little dazed, too. After spending over 1500 pages with the characters and their worlds it is hard to let them go. I want more but I now have to let my imagination fill in the possible endings and beginnings for Karou and Akiva from this point forward. Believe me, it is worth the effort.