Daughter of Smoke & Bone
by Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1
Published: September 27, 2011
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Format: eBook (418 pages)
Source: Library
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.
Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love.
It did not end well.
-Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone
That opening line hooked me and I could not put this book down after that. The voice was delightful. The foreshadowing was spot on. Daughter of Smoke & Bone starts out with a small mystery – wishes – and all the little pieces and answers you discover start to build an incredible story one by one. Each answer leads you to another question. She had me following the trail of questions and answers like a fat Hansel and Gretel through the forest. This is truly the kind of book you can get lost in.
Laini Taylor appreciates that you are an intelligent reader because she does not over-explain things on this quest for answers. I went a little nuts with theories and ideas as I went along – most of which were wrong – but that just made me adore this book even more.
Daughter of Smoke & Bone was hands down the best angel and demons mythology book that I’ve ever read. I loved how this fantasy was set in our world, but it still kept a magical feeling because she set it in such unique and beautiful places, like Prague. I could tell this was a book that the author put her heart and soul into. The back story of the characters and their world was intricate. The characters felt real. I haven’t read anything this creative and full of rich details since Harry Potter.
The story does have a dark tone to it, but there are some quite hilarious moments. My favorite is a delightfully evil quote at the beginning about wishes and itches in uncomfortable places on ex-boyfriends.
The romance was stunning. Laini Taylor somehow managed to make a love story MORE tragic than Romeo and Juliet. I loved it.
Overall, it was epic fantasy at its best with tragedy and star-crossed lovers, but with a fresh and modern twist.
Content Rating: High, because I felt it was very mature for a young adult book. I would have called it an adult book. Talk of sex, discussion of p****s (not graphic), some violence, and quite a bit of language.
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About Laini Taylor
Hi there! I'm a writer of fantasy books for young people, but my books can be enjoyed by adults as well. My 'Dreamdark' books, Blackbringer (2007) and Silksinger (2009) are about faeries -- not dainty little flowery things, but warrior-faeries who battle devils. My first young adult book, Lips Touch, is a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award! It's creepy, sensual supernatural romance. . . about kissing. I am also an artist with a licensed gift product line called "Laini's Ladies."
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
Glad to see that you enjoyed this book. I think this is a marvelous series. I agree… I think the author did put her heart and soul into this book… I could just feel it when I read it.
I loved this book, too! I was a little disappointed in the sequel because it was more violent than I care for. (But everyone else has loved it, so I’m totally in the minority) :) I’m excited the last one comes out next year. She has such an interesting writing style I’m curious to see what her other books are like.
The writing in this book was so beautiful. I hope that the final book is strong!