Thursday, December 1, 2011

Book Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone



Daughter of Smoke and Bone

by Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke anad Bone #1
Release date: 29th September, 2011
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 418 (Hardcover bought by me)
Next Book: Unknown (2012)

Summary 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?

Review By Alaiel Kreuz:

Refreshing and original from page one. I completely enjoyed this book. You know when sometimes you find a book so good you don't care if it's 3am? You just need to keep reading. Well, this one was one of those.

Karou is not your average girl. At all. She can't remember her parents, her hair is blue (real blue), she speaks at least 8 languages and her skills for painting are amazing.
Oh my, let's not forget the fact that she was raised by chimaeras. Amazingly cool chimaeras who, for some reason, decided to take her in.

Do you know what chimaeras are? They are creatures that are part human and part animal. In some cultures they are supposed to be some kind of demons, in others they are simply beings. Since I don't do spoilers you will have to read the book to know who are these creatures.

Back to the book: Karou do all sorts of errands for Brimstone, the leader of the chimaera, who collects teeth. Why teeth? He uses them to make necklaces that will grant wishes. Since wishes have different values so does the teeth he uses to create the necklaces.

But in one of those errands she runs into an angel who, when he discovers for who she works, tries to kill her but fails because, in the last second, he had to stop. He doesn't know why but he just couldn't kill her.

Short after that all the doors that communicate our world with Elsewhere (the chimaeras world) are destroyed stopping Karou from visiting her family who, she is sure, is in great danger.

And while trying to discover what went wrong with the doors and finding her family she is about to discover who she is -who she was- and it might be the most difficult thing for her to endure... Maybe Akiva, the angel who tried to kill her, can help her somehow. But sometimes destiny is just pain cruel and sometimes when trying to find answers you just end up stuck in the middle of a war.
How convenient, right?

Personal opinion:
Pick up the book, don't forget a drink, maybe hot chocolate now that winter is coming and sit down with the book. Take a depth breath and let yourself go with the world that Laini Taylor will create for you to see. This amazing author just took the average -and used- fight between angels and demons into another whole level.

Karou is clever, strong, independent, fascinating, brave and loyal. The chimaeras are not creatures in her eyes, they are her family, the only thing she has in this world and nothing is going to stop her from finding them. I can't help but admire her.

The adventure begins in Prague but get ready to be taken to a lot of different countries, different environments and situations. Karou's life is full of color: friends, places, art, Prague, adventure... every component is a color. Read the book to understand what I'm saying, is difficult to express.

This is a love story that will make you heart melt, make you hyperventilate and cry because some things are just too precious to lose.

And the title? I couldn't help but smile when I found out the reason of the title. Really, really good!

Alaiel's Rating:
If you really like it, you can find it here:

5 comments:

  1. I have been wanting to read this book for a long time. This review makes me really want to check it out even more. I love all of the fallen angel books that are out right now.

    http://deadtreesandsilverscreens.blogspot.com/

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  2. I loved this book, too. It is clutch-the-book-to-my-chest good.

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  3. LOVED this book! I'm glad you liked it too, great review!

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  4. Yay! So happy you like this. I loved the world and the characters it's all incredibly well written! Great review! :)

    Giselle
    Xpresso Reads

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