Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

For Lazlo, his imaginings of the forgotten city of Weep feel more real than his own actual life as an orphan librarian. All his studying and reading creates far more questions than answers and when his dream of Weep has the possibility of becoming a reality, Lazlo knows that he can never be satisfied unless he takes this one specific chance.  This chance will lead him to knowing not only what caused Weep to disappear from memory, but also to a place where his waking life will be full of blue skinned gods, god slayers and a kind of magic that might open his eyes to world of infinite possibles.

There are few authors that give a story life and soul way that Laini Taylor does. Her characters are so complex and they have to grapple with intense and tangled situations. Just like in real life, there are no easy answers or clear-cut distinctions when it comes to matters of the heart or of right and wrong. The magic and fantasy in this book was everything I hoped for and expected - it is densely gorgeous and painfully distinctive in its beauty within tragedy, she just does that so well.  It is such a pleasure to have my incredibly high expectations met once again and read by Steve West, no less? It's like a dream come true. I wait with the greatest anticipation to see what happens to Laszlo and to Weep.