Lazlo and Sarai are reeling from recent events where he was revealed to be a god and she became a ghost. Minya holds Sarai's soul and threatens to let it go if Lazlo doesn't comply with her commands, which includes taking the citadel to the city so Minya can murder everyone. It's an impossible decision for Lazlo and Sarai finds that he powers have changed as a ghost. A separate enemy arrives, throwing everything into chaos, making everyone reasses their alliances, and revealing the secrets of the dead gods.
Muse of Nightmares is one of my top anticipated reads of last year after reading Strange the Dreamer early. Every aspect of the story from the lore to the romance is detailed, fleshed out, and thoughtful. Lazlo and Sarai are the cutest couple ever. I wish more YA books could be written without romance because it seems expected, but this is such a sweet relationship. Now that Minya can make Sarai evanesce or control her absolutely at will, their angst is understandable and heartbreaking. Sarai doesn't expect Lazlo to commit atrocities just to keep her alive and Lazlo puts himself in danger to save even Minya because Sarai loves her even through her evil actions. These two are the best and I just want the best for them.
More information is discovered about why the gods produced so many godspawn (by kidnapping, raping, and removing memories from hundreds of human women) and what happened to them. The original gods aren't seen very much, but their actions have far-reaching consequences. The new antagonist isn't a true villain and proves to be yet another person harmed by the gods' imperialist ways. She and her sister were essentially enslaved by their partiarchal society and saw the floating citadels as a way to freedom. They discover that the gods are a more powerful enslaving force that blackmails one sister into using her power for them and threatens the life of the other to ensure her cooperation. Their place of origin is impossible far from Weep and shows the true breadth of the gods' devastation.
More locally, both Minya and Erik-Fane are completely changed, angry, and traumatized. She wants to perpetuate the cycle of violence and intolerance because he was treated the same way and continued it. For something else to happen, either side has to decide to do something different. The way both feel is understandable, but the impulse for violence never ends well. The connection between these two very different characters plus the antagonist is well drawn and makes sense with their similar experiences from either side of this war.
One of my favorite more light hearted aspects of the story is the transformation of Thyon Nero. At first, he's shocked that Lazlo is the one flying citadels and discovering his remarkable origins. He bonds with the common people he works with and has to work against his high class upbringing to just be a person with them. They open up to him over time as they see him do manual labor with them and the change in his usual snooty responses. I didn't like him in the last book even though I understood his reasons, but he sees the errors of his ways now. It just warmed my heart.
Muse of Nightmares is everything I wanted it to be. As usual, Taylor's words transport me into her world from the first sentence. Sarai, even though she is a ghost, plays a huge part in the story. I feared she would be in the periphery despite the title, but Taylor handled the story well. This book played with my emotions and had some huge, earth shattering revelations. While I would love to see a longer series in this world, the two book series is perfect.
My rating: 5/5 fishmuffins
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