Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Release Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Rating: YA 15+
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Pages: 417

Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. 

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

**A review copy was provided by the publisher (thank you!!!)**

Finally. A book that lives up to it's hype! I've been hearing so many amazing things about this book, and before I started it I have to admit I was a little worried that I would be let down and disappointed. As soon as I read the first few pages, though, I was completely hooked. Laini sucked me in and didn't let me go! I loved it! How she came up with this mind-blowingly brilliant and awesome world that I was so fully invested in till the very end, I have no idea. But I'm not going to question her genius! Just sit back and witness it. I'm SO there when the second book comes out.


It's been such a long time since I've read a book this good. I feel like I've been walking in a haze, surrounded by fog this whole time, and this book has finally woken me up. It was like BAM! This is what really great writing is! Where have you been my whole life???


I love her. So freaking much.


Karou is me. She is you. She is all of us. Our hopes, our dreams... our fears. Just everything, really. And I think that everyone will be able to find a bit of themselves inside Karou. She's smart, funny, sarcastic, kind, and have I mentioned her hair? Her BLUE hair that I am so unbelievably jealous off? That's right people, Karou's hair is the color of the sky on a beautiful sunny day. The stormy blue of the ocean during a storm. And it completely suits her character! I actually can't imagine Karou with 'normal' hair. Karou's a rare specimen; an endearing teenager! It's been so long since I've read a book where the main teenager is as lovable and empowering as Karou. And us teenagers aren't that bad, so I'm happy that it's finally time people see the best of us, which is completely Karou. Karou embodies all that's good in us! :')


I loved the little moments Taylor allowed us into Karou's inquisite and (if I may say so), totally hilarious head. They made me feel so much more connected to Karou, and I grew to love her even more after these tiny insights.


"There was really nowhere in the room to go except the bed, so she scooted back onto it. She kind of wanted to take off her boots, but that was something you didn't do if there was any chance you might have to quickly flee or kick someone. Judging by Akiva's plain exhaustion, she didn't think she was in danger of either. The only danger was of foot smell.

She kept her boots on."


Heehee. Have I mentioned just how much I adore Karou? 


The world that Laini created in this book was so fascinating and interesting, even if I'd read it all before. While nothing that original, it was still really well-written, and therefore completely captivating and believable. The chimaeras, the seraphim, we've all kinda seen it before, but the concept was still just as mind-boggling, brutal, and awesome as ever. How can angels be so apathetic, and monsters sympathetic? The roles of good and evil are reversed, and it's really super cool! 


I grew to love Karou's family of monsters (Brimstone, Issa, Yasri, Twiga) as if they were my own, and like I had also been raised by them. Even Karou's human family of friends were oddly nice and easy to get along with! 


Akiiivvaa... come hither! The relationship between Akiva and Karou would seem to be the 'average angel meets chimaera and falls in love against all odds' kind of relationship, but it wasn't, really. It was so intense, man! There were so many sparks, and there was so much heat and friction between them! It was juicy and sizzling, all the while remaining really meaningful, and I really believed in it. There was something there, and it wasn't just a completely out of the blue kind of thing. At first I thought it was a little weird and forced how Akiva just happened to started wanting to spill his guts to a pretty blue-haired stranger, after over half a century of not opening up and sharing his feeling with anyone, but after learning a bit more about his past, I started to see why.


Laini Taylor's awesome fantastical novel is honestly nothing short of magnificent. Utterly heart-wreching and breath-taking, and wholly captivating, it really is a true masterpiece that you won't want to miss out on!!

5 Muffins - Positively Enticing!

If you like this, try:

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies

Related Works: Laini Taylor's Hair!

Hi!

I'm Laini Taylor.

I am a writer-artist-daydreamer-nerd-person,

and simultaneously a mom-wife-sister-daughter-person.

I can do a lot of things at once, like for example: I can sleep and dream and also lie very still,

all while also breathing and ever-so-slowly growing ten distinct toenails.

* * *

I write books for youngish people, 

but they can also be read and enjoyed by oldish people, aka grown-ups.

You know grown-ups? They tend to be a little bigger and hairier than kids.

But not always.

* * *

Thank you for being here. I hope you like me.

***

(Bio taken from her blog)

OMG How cool is Laini?? And aren't you completely in love with her pink hair?? :D