Around the world, black handprints 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 grown 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?
Pages: 418
Published by: Little, Brown Books (Septermber 27th, 2011)
Genre: YA high fantasy (+romance, adventure, & mythology)
My rating for Daughter of Smoke & Bone (#1):
By
the end of this novel, I was really loving this book, but it took me
a while to get to that point where I was truly enjoying it.
Honestly,
it was kind of weird at first. I didn't understand what was up with
all the chimaera. I was confused by Karou's connection with them and
it took a while to
figure out what was so special about her and why she had to be their
messenger. I also thought the connection between Karou and Akiva was
super silly because it was instantaneous, but that was later
explained and then I was okay with it. Also, the initial setting was
Prague, which was SO cool! Loved that aspect.
The
last thirdish of the story took us back in time and that answered a
lot of the questions that were formed as I read. It was a little
jarring, not being in the present for so long, and at some points I
was anxious/bored to get back to the present again. However, when all
the pieces slowly fell together, I
immediately had a deep appreciation for the book and how it was
written! The insight was definitely needed to fully understand
the gravity of Karou and Akiva's situation. The story
layout left me wondering what was going to happen next between Karou
and Akiva and I wanted to know how the truth would change their
relationship. I was enticed by the
unique monsters, the angels, their worlds... those were created in a
really cool way! (A hint of sci-fi was added in here with the
reference to other planets, which was awesome!)
Karou
and Akiva were very interesting together. I was definitely puzzled by
them, and sort of still am. Their ship wasn't very hot, but they
still were an interesting duo to read about. And without giving any
spoilers, I will say that there were a few parts with them that
couldn't keep a smile off my face.
A
negative of the story for me was that some elements introduced in the
beginning and presented with such importance didn't play a large role
in the end. For example, Karou's art school, Karou's ex-boyfriend,
and the weird little quirks about her that pertained to the chimaera.
I assume they were all added to set the foundation of Karou's home,
personality, artistry, and life as well as indicate her interaction
with her chimaera family; however, these facets were completely
dropped from the book before midway and it was just unsettling.
The
cliffhanger at the end was torturous! I was so frustrated with it
that I started laughing! I just couldn't believe it ended the way it
did. Despite my frustration, it was a great note to end on because
now I must continue read the sequel!
Recommended for readers who like: high fantasy, unique writing styles, a little romance mixed in the big plot.
~
I love Laini Taylor's books! I completely agree with everything you said about how all the pieces took a while to fit together but clicked really well in the end. I really liked Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but I liked the second book even more. It's a lot darker, and you get to see so much more of the chimaera and seraphim.
ReplyDeleteI was wishing for more about the chimaera and seraphim in the first book, so that excites me to know that there's more of that in the second book! Thanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteI've been waiting to read this one until I got the second (which I will this week). Glad you like it!
ReplyDeleteSabrina @iheartyafiction
I hope you like it too!
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