Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone

“I don't know many rules to live by,' he'd said. 'But here's one. It's simple. Don't put anything unnecessary into yourself. No poisons or chemicals, no fumes or smoke or alcohol, no sharp objects, no inessential needles--drug or tattoo--and...no inessential penises either.'

'Inessential penises?' Karou had repeated, delighted with the phrase in spite of her grief. 'Is there any such thing as an essential one?'

'When an essential one comes along, you'll know,' he'd replied.” 

 Daughter of Smoke & Bone by: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Book: 1
Pages: 418

 

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:

Daughter of Smoke & Bone brought me to a world I never knew existed. Sure, it had the usual black and white magic that lingered in the unseen eyes of mortals along with the righteous presences of Angels. But, what Laini Taylor brought us was creatures of unusual designs that instantly get painted into our minds. The word "unique" goes very far and for these creatures it works perfectly, because that's exactly what they are. If it wasn't for Laini Taylor I would have never read a book with such outstanding characters that keep you guessing every moment "What would they really look like in person?" This book is hands down amazing-ness, a novel that I recommend for readers to go straight to their local book store and grab it off the shelves before it's gone.

Editorial Reviews

Chelsey Philpot

Any book that opens with "Once upon a time" is inviting high expectations. It's a phrase that inevitably evokes fairy tales and leather-bound classics about epic adventures, setting up the anticipation that readers will discover worlds filled with magic…In this case, the story that follows…is a breath-catching romantic fantasy about destiny, hope and the search for one's true self that doesn't let readers down. Taylor has taken elements of mythology, religion and her own imagination and pasted them into a believably fantastical collage.
—The New York Times Book Review

(If You've noticed I've posted two different covers of the book. I'm not sure if the second one on the left is a foreign cover and which one it might be, but it's possibly my favorite cover yet)

Cover rating: B