Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

Daughter of smoke and bone trilogy, bk 3. Hodder & Stoughton, 2014. ISBN 9781444722734.
(Age: 15+) Dreams of Gods and Monsters is a thrilling end to an amazing book series. It starts off really strong by introducing a completely new (yet very important) character, Eliza. This helped to create a mysterious feel that continues through the book until we find out who Eliza actually is. The multiple twists and turns make for a nice, thick plotline. I must admit I was getting worried when I had reached the Epilogue and certain things hadn't happened but that was all part of the breathtaking scheme Ms Taylor has created. The battle between good and evil intensifies in this last book, and in true YA fashion the evil is not the original evil we thought it was going to be. The Misbegotten Seraphs and Chimaerae must work together to combat the evil using good to the best of their abilities. Laini ups her game in this book and it is more organised than the others. It is broken down into multiple sections with nursery rhyme like paragraphs. The sections titles Arrival + #Hours creates an effective timeline to show that so many things can happen in such a short period of time. There are so many more perspectives in this book, which leads to a well-rounded story, we hear from lots of different characters with enough clarity to determine who it is. The language barriers between humans and Seraphs and humans and Chimaerae provide just the right amount of comedy in this book. The stupidity of humans makes a nice entry in this book and the ideas of religion are questioned in this book. The happy 'middle' ending creates a nice bittersweet ending to this epic series. I thoroughly recommend this series for older teens; there are some interesting concepts that are not really acceptable for younger readers to be reading.
Azriel P.