Romance Audiobooks discussion

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

Character List
(view spoiler)[
Karou: Blue-haired teenage art student who lives in Prague, running errands for Brimstone, a chimaera who is the closest thing to a father she has. She is capable of performing magic through wishes and is a skilled martial artist. As it turns out, Karou is the chimaera Madrigal resurrected into a human form. Now aware of her status as a revenant, her memories as Madrigal, and her name's meaning as the chimaera word for "hope", she takes up Brimstone's mantle as the resurrectionist of her people.
Akiva: Seraph. As a bastard son of Emperor Joram, he is a member of the seraph army faction known as the Misbegotten. He has an unusually large capacity for magic, possibly due to his mother's Stelian heritage. A good soldier should never ask questions, but when Akiva lays eyes on Karou, he can't stop until he finds out exactly who - or what - she is. Akiva is a supernaturally beautiful young man whose face possesses high cheekbones. He is tall, with muscular arms and skin that is honey in color. He has short dark hair and a widow's peak. White scars run across his hands, while his fingers are tattooed with black lines that mark each chimaera he has slain in battle. His wings are fiery and able to be hidden while casting a glamour - though they will still appear in his shadow. Akiva's amber eyes, framed with heavy eyelashes and kohl, are fire-like as well. Akiva has an old arm injury that provides him enough pain to perform magic when he needs it, that was nearly amputated by doctors, had it not been for his half-sister, Liraz, who refused to let them do so.
Brimstone: Only father figure Karou knows. Though he raised her from infancy, she doesn't know how these circumstances came into being. With a menacing demeanor and a monstrous appearance, the intimidating image he presents does not match his capacity for tenderness. He collects teeth - some human, some not - and operates out of a dark workshop, which has doorways that lead to it from all over the world.
Madrigal: Also known as Madrigal Kirin, is the chimaera who saved Akiva's life at the battle of Bullfinch. She is a member of the Kirin tribe. Madrigal's punishment for being an "angel-lover" is evanescence, meaning that her soul would not be allowed to enter a new body, and thus be left to dissipate, after the execution. Brimstone gives her the idea to enter another body after the execution, and her soul eventually gets placed into a newly created human body (Karou) but she loses her memories in the process, which are kept in a wishbone. Karou remembers her life as Madrigal after breaking the wishbone with Akiva.
Ziri: One of the last surviving members of the Kirin tribe, and - as one of the few soldiers to have never been killed or resurrected - the owner of the last natural Kirin body in existence. When he was younger, he was in love with fellow Kirin Madrigal. He served as a soldier in Thiago's rebel army, but has now taken over the White Wolf's body.
Issa: Half-woman and half-serpent chimaera and one of the inhabitants of Brimstone's shop. She is the guardian of the threshold and one of Karou's caretakers.
Zuzana: Karou's best friend, and a petite but "normal" Czech girl who is curious about the nature of Karou's "secret errands". She is a student at the Art Lyceum of Bohemia and specializes in puppetry.
Mik: Zuzana Nováková's boyfriend. He is a talented violinist from Prague.
Liraz: Half-sister of Akiva and Hazael.
Hazael: Half-brother of Akiva and Liraz.
Thiago: Wolf-like chimaera whose revenant body is discovered by Karou underneath Brimstone's shop. As the son of The Warlord, general of the chimaera army, and his father's right hand, he occupied a very high position of power in the society of Loramendi. Having survived the destruction of Loramendi, he becomes general of the rebel army consisting of approximately sixty surviving chimaera soldiers and Karou. His gonfalon displays a wolf, accompanied with the motto "victory and vengeance".
Ten: Chimaera and the attendant of the White Wolf Thiago.
Joram: Emperor of the seraphim. He is the father of Akiva, Hazael, and Liraz. His younger brother is Jael, leader of the Dominion.
Jael: Younger brother of seraph emperor Joram, and thus the uncle of Akiva, Hazael, and Liraz. He has a gruesome scar disfiguring his face that runs from the top of his head and down the center of his face before stopping just before his throat. He is without a doubt a truly heartless man; calculating and cold-hearted, he has no qualms about torture or murder.
Festival: Stelian concubine who gave birth to Akiva. (hide spoiler)]

I’ll be listening to this in November, as well as the next in the series.

Ditto! A good re-listen will get me refreshed for book three.

I'm actually really looking forward to getting back to this world.

Yay!!!

I need to re-listen. I'm excited.

When do you want to start this one?

I’m out of town right now and don’t have the audiobook on my phone yet. Maybe Sunday? Don’t feel you have to wait on me to start.

Ok great. I have another book up to listen and I am almost finished my current audio. I wouldn't be ready until the weekend anyways.

I look forward to sharing thoughts with you all!

I'll be ready by the weekend too!

Late in requesting but can I join this BR..my library has all three audio's available

Sure, Debby. This is open to everyone. I would recommend you start with the 1st book so you can just jump on it with us.

Absolutely! The more the more fun.

Just started this morning. I forgot how I love the narration on this. Everything is starting to come back to me about book 1. I'm excited!

The narrator is outstanding.

Absolutely. I love it.

I'm downloading this right now. I'm excited to go back to this world!

Yay!

I’m starting this now!

Yay. I didnt get that far. It seems like everyone was interrupting me during my commute this week. I am hoping to do better this weekend.

Me, too! I got a little distracted by the romance package from Audible. So I'll start this tomorrow or Saturday, too.

Oh, great! We’ll be reading together.

Did you ladies finish?

I’ve got about four hours to go. I won’t be able to finish the third book until next month, though.

I’ve lots of questions. Have you finished your re-read?

Not yet. By today or tomorrow.

I think next month for the last book would good.

So let me jump start this discussion.

Did any of you find the overall tone and vibe of this book different than book 1?

How did you feel about Ziri and Thiago (sp?) ?

Samantha wrote: "So let me jump start this discussion.

Did any of you find the overall tone and vibe of this book different than book 1?"

This was SO much darker than the first book. Whereas the first was all about the love story and Karou's search for her identity, this one was about pain, anger and vengeance. It was really tough for me to get motivated to keep going at times.

Samantha wrote: " How did you feel about Ziri and Thiago (sp?) ?"

You've spelled it right!

Poor Ziri. You just know he's going to get hurt and now that he's wearing Thiago's identity, it's got to be tough.

I was so very happy when Karou killed Thiago but was really thrown when he showed back up as being "resurrected." I couldn't believe it! I was convinced Karou had truly lost her way. Nice twist and I don't know who I was more happy about getting offed, Thiago or Ten:)

Guess what I just found!?!! A wiki page for this series!!!! It's got all of the characters and back stories.

Here's the link:

http://lainitaylor.wikia.com/wiki/Cat...

Do you think Hazael will return?

I completely agree about the tone of the book. It made it so hard to get through. The world is already so complex and you have to pay attention to all of the intricate details to stay focused.

That resurrection was everything. I was sure Karou had lost her mind. Then i was happy and sad. Such a bittersweet moment.

Jonetta wrote: "Do you think Hazael will return?"

No because she had to have his soul to resurrect him. That made me mad. I wanted him back.

I have to look through that list to see if I could get the girl's name. I keep calling her Liza but she started to win me over a bit. I understood why she was so hard.

I added the names above in the first message. Gonna work on the descriptions.

Samantha wrote: "Jonetta wrote: "Do you think Hazael will return?"

No because she had to have his soul to resurrect him. That made me mad. I wanted him back."

I’m still holding out hope. Maybe his soul is somewhere they can later find...I know, I know...it’s weak.

Samantha wrote: "I have to look through that list to see if I could get the girl's name. I keep calling her Liza but she started to win me over a bit. I understood why she was so hard."

You’re talking about Akiva’s sister, Liraz.

Yes, it was Liraz.

Oh gosh. I think his death was the real deal.

Thanks for the descriptions.

They helped me remember all the story elements.

Yes the story ia fascinating but can be confusing. We need all the help.