Muse of Nightmares
by Laini Taylor
Review by Sarah McDuling
I knew this book would be amazing. Everything Laini Taylor writes is amazing. Her books are like shimmering miracles full of magic and mystery. She is like some kind of mystical sorceress of words and wonders! If that sounds like hyperbole to you, let me issue a simple challenge –
Pick up any one of Laini Taylor’s books, flip it open to literally any page and read a few sentences. You’ll see what I mean when I call her a ‘mystical sorceress of words and wonders’. No-one writes gorgeous, otherworldly, phantasmagorical fantasy quite like Laini Taylor.
Strange the Dreamer was one of the best books I read last year. If you haven’t yet read it, maybe now would be the time to stop reading this review of the sequel? Fair warning, I’m about about to get mildly spoiler-ish vis-a-vis the ending of Strange the Dreamer ….
The ending of that book was so unbearably, tortuously painful!! Am I right?!? The way Laini Taylor left readers hanging at the dramatic conclusion of Strange the Dreamer should really be illegal. I was so worried for Lazlo and Sarai (oh my beautiful, beloved Lazlo and Sarai!) and so desperate to find out how they were going to deal with the horrific turn of events that left me literally weeping at the conclusion. Thank God this is a duology and not a trilogy because I don’t think I would have survived another cliffhanger like the one at the end of Strange the Dreamer.
Fortunately, Muse of Nightmares brings is story to a glorious and satisfying conclusion. To all my fellow fans of Strange the Dreamer I can confidently say Muse of Nightmares will give you absolutely everything you hoped and dreamed for … and possibly even some things beyond your wildest imaginings.
This wondrously strange, weirdly beautiful, occasionally terrifying and wholly enchanting story is my favourite kind of fantasy. The world that Laini Taylor has created is darkly glittering and vibrantly imagined. It is a world that manages to evoke a feeling of familiarity, as though you are reading about the ancient mythologies of a long lost civilizations. At the same time, it is completely original and gloriously peculiar. Stunning, exquisite and absolutely perfect in every way – I literally cannot praise this duology highly enough and cannot wait to read it all over again!
Click here to read my review of Strange the Dreamer.
Click here to order your copy of Muse of Nightmares.

Muse of Nightmares
Sarai has lived and breathed nightmares since she was six years old.
She believed she knew every horror, and was beyond surprise.
She was wrong.
In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.
Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice - save the woman he loves, or everyone else? - while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she's capable of.
As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel's near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with the thousands of children born in the citadel nursery?
And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?
Love and hate, revenge and redemption, destruction and salvation all clash in this gorgeous sequel to the New York Times bestseller, Strange the Dreamer.
About the Contributor
Sarah McDuling
Sarah McDuling is Booktopia's Category Manager for Children's and Young Adult Books. She has been in the bookselling game for almost a decade and a dedicated booklover since birth (potentially longer). At her happiest when reading a book, Sarah also enjoys talking/writing/tweeting about books. In her spare time, she often likes to buy a lot of books and take photographs of books. You can follow her on Twitter and Instragram @sarahmcduling
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