Book Review - Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
by Laini Taylor

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)

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?

Why I Picked this Book:  A close friend of mine pretty much praised it, and I couldn't resist.  Not to mention that awesome, different cover!

My Thoughts:
Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a magical story about fate, love, and battling for it all.  Laini Taylor truly has a magic quality with her words, and was able to weave a story that left me wondering.

The beginning was a bit rocky for me, to be honest.  I kept reading though, mainly because others had raved so much about this book.  After a bit I finally got into the groove of things, and was pulled in.  The main character Karou was very interesting, what with her blue hair, crazy battle skills and the fact that she was raised by chimeras.  I couldn't help but wonder what the heck was going on with her, and what secrets her psuedo-father Brimstone, the teeth collector, was keeping from her.

Then you meet Akiva.  An angel who at first is set out to stop Brimstone from his magical secrets.  That is, until he meets Karou.  Then everything changes.  There is something about her that he can't resist.  And now he finds he cannot bear to leave her.  The reason why... is so much more than he expected.

Overall, the story was enchanting.  Taylor created a world that was pretty believable, full of mystical creatures, battles of fate, and faithful friends.  Many times I literally felt like I was there, in the story instead of reading it.

My issue with this read was that about three quarters of the way though, the story suddenly changed.  I get why it did, and it does make sense.  Still, I felt disoriented and am still unsure how much I do like that choice. Though everything does connect and make sense in the end (which might I add, leaves you with a complete, total cliff-hanger)... I can't say I fully enjoyed the switch up.  I loved the story that was told.  I really did.  But... See?  Even now I am all flustered.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone was a very enjoyable read.  I do look forward to the next book in the series, though I might not be clambering to the bookshelves to get it as fast as I had hoped.  I recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick magical outlet from their normal, mundane world.

My Rating:

(3 out of 5 stars)