Two worlds collide in the final instalment of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy as the chimera and Misbegotten join sides against Jael's army of seraphim and try to save their world and an Earth overrun with Jael's army. Meanwhile a young scientist's past catches up with her in ways that could connect her to the madness going on around her.
The final book in this trilogy has been long awaited and it didn't disappoint. From start to finish, Dreams of Gods and Monsters was captivating and the way multiple storylines are interwoven was really effective at keeping my interest. Just as I felt myself losing interest, there would be a switch to one of the other storylines and my attention was held again. On the flipside of that, I did feel like at times there were one-too-many viewpoints and storylines, making it a bit confusing to keep track of everything that was going on. By the end though, everything had been brought back together so that wasn't an issue.
In terms of carrying on storylines from the previous books, I thought Karou and Akiva's story was told in a brilliant way in the book and the fact that it wasn't a straightforward and happily ever after was refreshing. The epilogue was truly beautiful and rounded the book and series off perfectly as well as leaving Karou and Akiva's story open ended so fans can imagine what happened to them after the books.
Eliza Jones' story was a new storyline in this book and one that was very mysterious and seemingly had no real link to the rest of the story which personally I found quite frustrating. It wasn't until almost the very end of the book that the part she was to play was revealed and while it linked well to the rest of the book, I would have liked to have had some idea earlier on in the book and seen her play a bigger part as soon as she became a very interesting character.
This instalment of the trilogy was definitely the one about relationships. Established ones like Karou and Akiva's and Zuzana and Mik's were built upon in a way that I loved, especially with Zuzana and Mik as this book saw them grow as characters in a totally alien world to them. There were also new relationships that I won't spoil but which were in equal parts surprising and fitting. They were well written and felt as realistic as relationships between fantastical beings can be.
Overall, Dreams of Gods and Monsters is a fantastic book and a brilliant end to a trilogy. From a personal viewpoint, it's not my favourite book of the series but that is purely a personal thing. I would recommend this book and this series for readers of fantasy and to someone looking for a book that's a little out of the ordinary compared to some of the YA series currently out there.
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