Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor


Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (September 27, 2011)
Source: Own

From Goodreads:

Around the world, black hand prints 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 grows 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?

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is one of the most original stories I have read in a long time. While classically inspired by a Romeo and Juliet romance arc, the way it was adapted was so interesting and intriguing, that it felt fresh, new, and original. 

After reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I just want to open up Laini Taylor's head and peer inside. The creativity she demonstrated through this story is inspiring and I await future books still in awe from this one. Unfortunately, the unique world she built makes it difficult to describe. I'm at a loss on how to convey the story and world she created. 

I always enjoy when stories take me to new places, real and imagined. This book did both. While set in Prague, the reader is transported to both the Czech Republic as well as the fantastical places that Karou visits. She has one foot firmly planted in the "real" world and one in the magical realm. Her discovery of this realm's secrets are well-paced, so the reader is still grounded while uncovering the mythology.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor knocked my socks off. One of my favorite reads of last year. I highly recommend it to YA fans that enjoy fantasy, romance, and/or awesome stories. 

Final thoughts: Buy.

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