Scan barcode
oxian_d's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I can't wait but help myself reading this second book right after the first part of the two book series. This book was fast paced, intriguing, emotional, roller coaster time traveling, and a mythical chaotic story. I like the flow of the story, love the characters, love the new nemesis such twists and heartaches all at the same time. Although there were some lapses, some incongruences and inconsistencies as to who's who or who's talking or maybe it's the version of the ebook. But most of it was to be expected, and I still got surprised, amused and frustrated. And for some reason I find and see myself in their world. I felt their pain, the loss and longing, and the never ending loop of dread and hope. It is strangely beautiful, strangely crazy, and strangely captivating and frustratingly sad. Strange, weird and irresistibly mental. I hope to see this on tv or live action movie. And wish there'd be another part as to where they'll be heading next. Such an adventure with psychology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, and Slavery
Minor: Confinement, Pedophilia, Rape, Torture, Violence, and Death of parent
aksmith92's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Muse of Nightmares is a typical Young Adult fantasy novel where love saves the day, and I ate it all up!
She's beauty, she's grace, she's Laini Taylor. Her writing is poetic, atmospheric, gorgeous, readable, and accessible. Yes, it's young adult, leading to some dramatics, but nothing over the top, and indeed a piece of art. I loved this so much, and even more than the first one, dare I say.
The setup: We left off on a BIG plot twist in Laini Taylor's first installment of this duology, Strange the Dreamer. With Sarai's fate in question, we are left with confusion and madness in Weep, where most citizens must run out of town because the Citadel is shifting and changing. Lazlo has a pretty big plot twist (although I could see that coming in the first novel). Either way, we are left with many questions about godlings, citizens of Weep, and the infamous dead gods that must've left more of a story than many thought.
Now, the story pivots to those godlings up in the sky in the Citadel, Minya's intense vengeance, and Sarai's adaptability into a new self in more ways than one. Eril-Fane and Azareen are still big components of the story and work to shift mindsets on the ground in Weep. In addition, we still hear from the wonderfully facetious Calixte and the learning and growing Thyon Nero. Lastly, we get an entirely new story about two sisters living in what seems to be a wholly different world made of ice. You know immediately that the stories will connect somehow, but the road to get there is beautiful and intriguing, yet devastating.
Laini Taylor creates an intricate world(s!) and develops the lovely characters from book one.
What I loved: My favorite part was the unique villain arcs - here we are, 15ish years after the fall of some of the more horrible villains I've read about, and we are reading about those impacts, leading to one of the most fantastic character development novels I've read. Because this story takes place years after the deaths of the villains (not a spoiler; it was also the same in the first book!), and we don't get the why for those villains other than the typical power-thirsty monsters, we now see excellent nuances in characters like Minya being stuck in the past constantly feeling like she has to save her family. Or, Nova, whose character was phenomenal, and I won't get into it because of spoiler reasons. It was pure art to have a story embedded in the after-effects of an awful fantastical regime. I loved the characters, even the ones who took a bit of a back burner in this novel, and the world-building was quite interesting. The world aspect may not necessarily be "original," but I found it unique nonetheless. PS: I must admit, the writing around eliliths - the tattoos girls get once their bleeding begins - was actually really cool. I've grown up learning to hate that, and in this fictional world, it seems powerful and beautiful. This part of the book is obviously not big, but I wanted to mention it anyway.
What would've made this a perfect read? I rated this five stars because of how it made me feel, the writing, and the story arcs. However, I will say that if I were being ultra critical, I would mention that I did feel there was a miss in relationship development between Thyon and Lazlo, the friendship that could've been, and just a better and more exciting wrap-up relationship between the godlings and those in Weep. A LOT was going on outside of that, which was critical for the story, so I let it slide. Lastly, Lazlo and Sarai are a little bit instant-love (as a reminder, the majority of this book truly takes place in one to two days!), but I don't think it overtook the story. Oh, as much as this is wonderful writing, Lazlo learned about his mesarthium control a littleeeee bit too quickly to be believable. It's implied their powers are meant to be ingrained, but I still thought it was a bit fast. Again, I let this slide because the other parts were just so good!
I am excited to read other books by Laini Taylor when I'm in a young adult and fantasy world mood. I really enjoyed my experience with Strange the Dreamer, and I'll be sad to see it go (or, as Laini Taylor puts it at the end of this book, Muse of Nightmares, is it really the end?). Bravo to this beautiful story!
She's beauty, she's grace, she's Laini Taylor. Her writing is poetic, atmospheric, gorgeous, readable, and accessible. Yes, it's young adult, leading to some dramatics, but nothing over the top, and indeed a piece of art. I loved this so much, and even more than the first one, dare I say.
The setup: We left off on a BIG plot twist in Laini Taylor's first installment of this duology, Strange the Dreamer. With Sarai's fate in question, we are left with confusion and madness in Weep, where most citizens must run out of town because the Citadel is shifting and changing. Lazlo has a pretty big plot twist (although I could see that coming in the first novel). Either way, we are left with many questions about godlings, citizens of Weep, and the infamous dead gods that must've left more of a story than many thought.
Now, the story pivots to those godlings up in the sky in the Citadel, Minya's intense vengeance, and Sarai's adaptability into a new self in more ways than one. Eril-Fane and Azareen are still big components of the story and work to shift mindsets on the ground in Weep. In addition, we still hear from the wonderfully facetious Calixte and the learning and growing Thyon Nero. Lastly, we get an entirely new story about two sisters living in what seems to be a wholly different world made of ice. You know immediately that the stories will connect somehow, but the road to get there is beautiful and intriguing, yet devastating.
Laini Taylor creates an intricate world(s!) and develops the lovely characters from book one.
What I loved: My favorite part was the unique villain arcs - here we are, 15ish years after the fall of some of the more horrible villains I've read about, and we are reading about those impacts, leading to one of the most fantastic character development novels I've read. Because this story takes place years after the deaths of the villains (not a spoiler; it was also the same in the first book!), and we don't get the why for those villains other than the typical power-thirsty monsters, we now see excellent nuances in characters like Minya being stuck in the past constantly feeling like she has to save her family. Or, Nova, whose character was phenomenal, and I won't get into it because of spoiler reasons. It was pure art to have a story embedded in the after-effects of an awful fantastical regime. I loved the characters, even the ones who took a bit of a back burner in this novel, and the world-building was quite interesting. The world aspect may not necessarily be "original," but I found it unique nonetheless. PS: I must admit, the writing around eliliths - the tattoos girls get once their bleeding begins - was actually really cool. I've grown up learning to hate that, and in this fictional world, it seems powerful and beautiful. This part of the book is obviously not big, but I wanted to mention it anyway.
What would've made this a perfect read? I rated this five stars because of how it made me feel, the writing, and the story arcs. However, I will say that if I were being ultra critical, I would mention that I did feel there was a miss in relationship development between Thyon and Lazlo, the friendship that could've been, and just a better and more exciting wrap-up relationship between the godlings and those in Weep. A LOT was going on outside of that, which was critical for the story, so I let it slide. Lastly, Lazlo and Sarai are a little bit instant-love (as a reminder, the majority of this book truly takes place in one to two days!), but I don't think it overtook the story. Oh, as much as this is wonderful writing, Lazlo learned about his mesarthium control a littleeeee bit too quickly to be believable. It's implied their powers are meant to be ingrained, but I still thought it was a bit fast. Again, I let this slide because the other parts were just so good!
I am excited to read other books by Laini Taylor when I'm in a young adult and fantasy world mood. I really enjoyed my experience with Strange the Dreamer, and I'll be sad to see it go (or, as Laini Taylor puts it at the end of this book, Muse of Nightmares, is it really the end?). Bravo to this beautiful story!
"Many a choice is made this way: by pretending it makes itself. And many a fate is decided by those who cannot decide."
"But how do you stop someone from crying? How do you lead them out of fear? Can hate be reversed? Can revenge be defused?"
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 going, then you can never quit, because it's all you are."
"The ones who know can't tell us, and the ones who tell us don't know."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: War
There is a suicide on page (near the end) and some discussion about it throughout the book; specific to only one character. Rape & sexual violence are not written in detail, and there are no scenes where they are explicitly described, but I put them in moderate because they're regularly and frequently implied. And theb book talks about after impacts of them.immovabletype's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
my rating is actually 4.43 stars, which i only point out because it's the exact same number as the average rating. wild! i did dock the half star because it took me a while to get into this one due to the focus on the main romance in the beginning (i'm a romance girly, but this one was just a little too young for me, i think, and i really loved the plot and wanted to get back to it). however, this duology is a new favorite that i want everyone to read if they haven't yet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia and Abortion
Child death/infanticide and rape are not graphically depicted, but they are so prevalent and baked into the worldbuilding and main conflicts that I can't call them moderate.bethfern04's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
kathrynleereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Picking up only minutes after Strange the Dreamer ended, Muse of Nightmares, by Laini Taylor, was everything that its predecessor wasn’t… in the most surprising ways.
With the Citadel now in Lazlo’s control but still looming over the city of Weep, Muse of Nightmares opens with a whole new level of chaos. Citizens are fleeing, Eril-Fane is trying to corral the Tizerkane warriors, and Lazlo is meeting the other Godspawn for the first time.
Before we find out how the night's events play out, however, we’re introduced to Kora and Nova, sisters living in a desolate village, who have an incredibly different view of the blue-skinned “gods” that the people of Weep have come to dread.
As the story plays out for the sisters, Lazlo, the Godspawn, and the people of Weep, the book really lives up to its name.
Where Strange the Dreamer was all dreams and imaginary worlds, Muse of Nightmares is all horror and unimaginable crimes. The books were like two sides of a coin. Readers fell in love with the picturesque and awe-filled version of Weep, then had that whole idea spun on its axis until it was an ugly truth.
There are very few times when reading a book that I can honestly say I experienced gut-wrenching horror, and Muse of Nightmares was the reason for many of them.
All of the questions presented in Strange the Dreamer were finally granted answers, but they were the answers of nightmares.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Medical content, and Kidnapping
Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
laneys_library's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I LOVE IT!!! So much better than first! One of my now favorite books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
nyree42's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual content
lizzie24601's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A well-done second half of the duology, though not as good as Strange the Dreamer imo. That's mostly bc Lazlo had such an interesting arch and growth in the first book, and in this book he's mostly just spending his time being Sarai's bf and Sarai doesn't really more of an arch than she does in the first book. SOOO much of the Lazlo/Sarai romance scenes could've been cut.
Nevertheless, there is some great character growth here, too - mostly for Minya and Thyon. The new characters were interesting and helped broaden the world. There's a little less adventure and mystery in this book, but Laini Taylor's writing is so good that you're still devouring each page, and it is quite a satisfying ending. (Obsessed withThyon's growth (I was so excited for him to reunite with Lazlo afterward) and with Sarai deciding to become a therapist at the end. Love that for her. )
Nevertheless, there is some great character growth here, too - mostly for Minya and Thyon. The new characters were interesting and helped broaden the world. There's a little less adventure and mystery in this book, but Laini Taylor's writing is so good that you're still devouring each page, and it is quite a satisfying ending. (Obsessed with
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
lilifane's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If I had to describe this book with two words, I would say: Emotional Damage!
I haven't cried this much while reading for a long time. I think I didn't last a single chapter without tears.
Although I think the plot is the weakest point and the pacing is not as well done as in the first book, I still loved it a lot. Personally, I hoped we would focus on the characters and problems still present from book one and maybe a little discovering and adventuring. But it was a lot of talking instead, and then new characters were introduced who brought new problems or rather another layer of the same problems.
Still, I loved the characters with all my heart and even if we didn't see some of them as much, I was glad about every second we got. I was also impressed by how trauma and healing were discussed in the book. These were the main themes in this duology, and they were explored in a very nuanced way.
But beware of triggers. So many hard and dark and triggering topics.
I haven't cried this much while reading for a long time. I think I didn't last a single chapter without tears.
Although I think the plot is the weakest point and the pacing is not as well done as in the first book, I still loved it a lot. Personally, I hoped we would focus on the characters and problems still present from book one and maybe a little discovering and adventuring. But it was a lot of talking instead, and then new characters were introduced who brought new problems or rather another layer of the same problems.
Still, I loved the characters with all my heart and even if we didn't see some of them as much, I was glad about every second we got. I was also impressed by how trauma and healing were discussed in the book. These were the main themes in this duology, and they were explored in a very nuanced way.
But beware of triggers. So many hard and dark and triggering topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape and Sexual content
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
As with Stranger the Dreamer, I was enamored with Laini Taylor's writing, which blossoms like orchids on the page. The story is good - there are a lot of exciting elements and complex characters - but Laini Taylor's writing steals the show. She may be a bit flowery for most, but she steals my heart and weaves gossamer threads through it, and I am in love.
There were a few things that were too easy, especially redemption arcs and resource acquisition, but I'm willing to forgive all of it. However, I lament that Muse of Nightmares felt like a middle book, and I'm crestfallen at the lack of continuing adventures.
Altogether well-worth reading and a breath of beauty and joy in this otherwise dismal universe. An easy five-star because Laini Taylor has a gift for weaving magic in her worlds and creating characters of all shapes and sorts that the reader can't help but love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Torture, Trafficking, and Death of parent
Minor: Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, and War