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Originally posted

Silksinger is the second book in the Dreamdark series by Laini Taylor and is the sequel to Laini Taylor has become an auto-buy author for me because I fell in love with her YA books: and . I found Blackbringer a little harder to get into that her other books but ended up enjoying it quite a bit once I got used to the writing and the worldbuilding. I picked up Silksinger right after reading the first book because I wanted to see how the story would progress. Okay, I just realized that I posted my Blackbringer review a month ago - I can't believe it's taken me this long to write about the sequel. Sorry about that!

I've heard from other bloggers that Silksinger is a lot better than its predecessor, Blackbringer, and I have to agree. The second installment in Laini Taylor's series about faeries is a lot easier to get into that the first book. Or maybe it's also because I'm more familiar with the details so it wasn't as difficult as experiencing Dreamdark for the first time. I found the action-packed adventure story engaging right from the start. Here's a glimpse of how the first chapter begins:

"Whisper Silksinger knew two kinds of death. There was the peaceful kind, quiet as eyelids fluttering shut, and there was the kind with teeth, sudden as a spurt of blood, a devil pounce, a scream. She had seen both. Of her whole clan only three faeries remained, and now death had come for them too.

And it had come with teeth."

Doesn't that make you want to know what happens next? The characters in the first book - Magpie, her crow companions and Talon - are back in this novel but new characters are also present. What I liked about Silksinger is that Laini Taylor continued to breathe life to the world that she created in Blackbringer by introducing new characters like Whisper and Hirik, moving the setting to different locations in the same world and adding new kinds of magic. I feel like there are more layers to the story as it moves forward, giving it more depth. I like that each Dreamdark novel focuses on one of the djinn and the fairies that have special connections to them. So even if Magpie, Talon and crows are in this novel, it really is more of Whisper and Hirik's story. At the start, Whisper might seem like such a timid person but she has a backbone of steel when it comes to doing her duty as a guardian of Azazel. She's not as feisty as Magpie but she has her own strengths. And Hirik is the same - he's determined to bring back honor to his clan by serving the Azazel in spite of all the dangers involved.

I've only read a handful of middle grade novels this year but I've really liked all of them, which shouldn't be surprising because I base my reading choices on recommendations from blogging buddies or Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ friends. After reading Silksinger, I really felt bad that the publisher has decided not to continue the series. I don't understand why because it's well-written and I would really like to read more of Laini Taylor's writing. Her Dreamdark books are different from her YA novels, which I think is a good thing because it shows her capabilities as a writer. She switches from middle grade epic fantasy to YA urban fantasy and does it successfully. Isn't that amazing? I believe she's working on Daughter of Smoke and Bone's sequel and then she'll probably work on the third novel in the trilogy after that. Which means she won't be able to come back to Dreamdark until after a few years have passed. SAD. There's closure in both Dreamdark books and they don't end in cliffhangers so they can be read on their own but come on, I want to know what happens to the other djinn! I really hope the series finds a new publisher and that we'll eventually see the rest of the books. So if you're a Laini Taylor fan and you love epic fantasy, support her Dreamdark books by reading (and if you can, reviewing) them.

Here's another reason to read the books, they include beautiful illustrations by Jim di Bartolo: