Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
9:37 PM
Publisher: Little Brown Books
ISBN: 9780316134026
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Review by Geraldine
Synopsis (Goodreads.com):
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?
My Thoughts (Spoiler-Free):
First of all, every single time I've asked someone what this book was about, all they could tell me was that I had to read it because they couldn't explain it. Now, I completely understand why no one can explain it without giving spoilers! Also, Phil always raves about this book and ever since I bought it, he's been constantly telling me that I really needed to read it! Also, I've heard nothing but all around great things about this book. I always said I would read it and I finally got the chance to read it this month. Boy, am I glad that I read it!
The side of Karou that I found myself drawn to was the fact that she was an artist. I thought it was pretty awesome that she drew and I did not expect for her drawings to be what they really were (you'll have to read it to find out what I'm talking about). I thought that Akiva and his kind were unlike your stereotypical...(I can't say what they were because I don't want to spoil it for anyone that hasn't read it). Also, I loved that the chimaera weren't your typical characters physically. Again, you'll see what I mean when you read the book.
I really enjoyed Laini Taylor's writing overall! It wasn't too overwhelmingly descriptive and it wasn't too generic either, it was the perfect mix of writing. Also, I love coming across random lines that just pop out at me and speak to me when I'm reading. With that said, one of the lines that I really enjoyed coming across was Because hope comes from in you, and wishes are just magic.
Going into this book, I kept hearing about "the part" where the book got weird, but of course, no one could explain to me exactly what this meant. That being said, the one thing that I did not like was that "the part" (that everyone keeps talking about) didn't start until the end of the book. Not only that, it went on for so long! I mean don't get me wrong, I loved "the part" a lot. My problem was that It seemed like the book would have been even better if "the part" had popped up not only towards the end, but in the very beginning of the book! I actually enjoyed "the part" so much that I found myself drawn to it more than the original story line, and that's why I docked off half a star! Another thing that bothered me was that I came to the realization that not that many things actually happened as a whole throughout the book, but yet I never realized it until I finished the book.
All in all, I found that writing a review for Daughter of Smoke and Bone was extremely difficult without giving out any spoilers! Hopefully, you'll be able to pick up the book for yourself and get to "the part" and understand exactly where I'm coming from. And be careful, the cliffhanger at the end will make you want to go out immediately and get the sequel!
I ended up really enjoying this book and I definitely would recommend it to everyone and anyone!
4.4 stars!
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1 comments
Great review... I absolutely loved this story. I agree about 'the part', though. :)
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