Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

By: Laini Taylor

Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, Romance

Length: 422 pages

Synopsis 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 otherworldly 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 beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery 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?

Goodreads | Amazon

My Review:

Rating:

***Caution May Contain Spoilers***

Daughter of Smoke and Bone has been sitting on my shelf for years now. I purchased the complete trilogy from Book Outlet and just couldn't wait to read them. However, like most of the books I have read lately, these sadly got pushed to the bottom of my TBR list. 

With all the hype surrounding these books I was bit nervous to read them. So many loved and were captivated by these stories and I couldn't help thinking, "what if I end up hating them." Yet I am glad to report that while it was a slow start at the beginning by the end I was completely enthralled and wondering at every turn. 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone follows a young girl, Karou has she discovers the many secrets hidden from her throughout her life. Karou is an art student in Prague and her drawings of Brimstone and his band of misfits have captivated her audience in class. But little do they know those unusual creatures are real and they are the only family she has ever known. 

Then one day while running "errands" for Brimstone she stumbles upon a uniquely beautiful man. A man with vengeance in his eyes and yet she appears to be drawn to him. But why?

Akiva is hell-bent on destroying those hideous monsters that took the love of his life from him. Vengeance is all he knows, until one day in Marrakesh he spots a blue-haired girl that seems to remind him of someone from his past. 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a tale of both love and hate. It is the iconic tale of two races; the seraphim and the chimaera, set in a battle for centuries. (Much like we see in the real world.) A war against a race that on the outside appears different from those that despise them. The seraph see the chimaera as hideous, vile monsters that must be destroyed. Two rulers determined to bring an end to one another's race. And yet in the midst of war two unlikely individuals fall in love; an "Angel" and a "Demon."

Now while I struggled a bit at the beginning, I have to say I found this story quite intriguing. After a couple of chapters I had so many questions such as, "what are the teeth for" and who is Karou, where did she come from?" I was surprisingly lucky to avoid spoilers with this series, so I was just as lost and wondering as any first time reader. 

I must say Laini Taylor is a phenomenal author. At first I was a bit skeptical, especially after I struggled so much at the beginning. I couldn't help but think, "I don't like this writing style." However, after a few more chapters it grew on me and I found myself enthralled just like many other readers. I loved how the book was sectioned off, almost as if every few chapters was the start of a new book/story. 

I plan on hopping right into the next book, Days of Blood and Starlight. I must know how it all ends. Will Akiva and Karou finally have their happy ending? Will they be able to stop a centuries old war? 

Published by: K