"Daughter of Smoke & Bone" by Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Author: Laini Taylor

Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1

My rating: 5 of 5

(Book read from January 8th to January 20th, 2014,  for a read-along.)  

Summary: 

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 beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery 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? 

My Thoughts on the Book:

 

 

Daughter of Smoke & Bone is one of the most hauntingly & beautifully written books. I just have to start with the setting & the author's writing style. The way Laini Taylor manages to capture the atmosphere of Prague & the rest of the cities & places in this book is absolutely amazing. She will enthrall you & enchant you, so you will feel like you can almost see & feel those streets, that art, those characters, that world. Slowly, she will spin a web around you with her words, and before you realize, you'll be caught between that place where you want to continue reading, yet at the same time, you don't, because you don't want to leave that place. Almost every second of it was woven perfectly, and I'm glad I finally read this book, because I didn't know what I was missing.

As for the story, I thought it was great, and I was actually quite surprised by it, at least at first. I have to admit that I'm not a fan of books with angels, probably why I've been postponing reading this book, but I loved Laini Taylor's spin on them, it was definitely unexpected & different. And even though it was a little bit on the obvious side about who Karou is, that didn't diminish at all my enjoyment.

One thing I didn't like was the whole "Romeo & Juliet" spin - it was fine for a meeting place, but that whole "Paris" thing I really, really didn't like, though maybe it was necessary, I don't know, I haven't decided, but after overcoming my unhappiness about it, and returning to the book, in the end it definitely worked.

I thought that all the characters were quite interesting & intriguing & unique & likable, but my favorite without a doubt was of course Karou.

If you're like me, and you still haven't read Daughter of Smoke & Bone, what are you waiting for? This book is so, so great! Especially, if you love books that are written in such a life-like & fantastic way, then this book is a must-read for you, and I can't recommend it enough.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone is now one of my favorite books, and I can't wait to read the sequel, and I'm definitely going to read everything else Laini Taylor writes, too.

 

 

Challenges:

 

2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge