Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone

by Laini Taylor
publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
date of publication: September 27, 2011
format: hardcover
pages: 420
source: from the publisher for review
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N

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?

What I Thought

What can I say about Daughter of Smoke and Bone? Words such as "mysterious," "riveting," and "poignant" come to mind, but that is really only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Everything from the tone of the novel to the plot line stood out. You might even say that it stood on a hill top and shouted its presence. This book was a gripping, entrancing ride through a world so imaginative that I was left staggered when I finally put it down.

I was very much intrigued by the characters that Laini Taylor created for this book. From Karou, her blue-haired, artistically gifted 17 year old girl to Akiva, the brooding, violent, heart-broken seraphim, each character had so much life breathed into them that I wouldn't have been at all surprised to learn that they really exist, much like the existence of the characters in Karou's sketchbook in her own world. Yes, the characters themselves have a lot going for them in the department of substance and creativity. At first, however, I thought that the relationship between Karou and Akiva was too rushed and contrived. However, once the book moved further along, things began to make much more sense, thus setting it apart from similar moves found in other novels of this variety. I found this to be very refreshing and wrought with emotion as things progressed and more and more was revealed.

The primary setting for this story is absolutely superb. I have never before read a book set in Prague, so this one has been a unique experience for me. The descriptions given for Prague lend to it a dark and mysterious yet beautiful and enchanting quality that can't be denied. Places such as the portal to Brimstone's lair, Poison Kitchen, and the bridge each have a distinct feel to them, which really emphasizing just how multifaceted the city is. I had a great time getting lost in Karou's world no matter where her travels took her. The backdrops are probably my favorite aspects of this book. I simply could not get enough of the settings the different parts of the story took place in.

For me, the plot has its high points and its low points. Amongst the high points are things such as the details regarding the war between the seraphim and the chimaera factions; the fantastic creatures to be found in their world, Eretz; the revelation of Karou's origins; and the purpose for the teeth that Brimstone so diligently collects. The low points are much fewer and slightly less tangible, however. I found that as the book progressed and the flashback sequences got more and more detailed that my attention wavered somewhat. It is difficult to put my finger on the reason for this. It felt somewhat like the tone and the pacing changed at this point, which tripped me up as I read, so to speak. The part in question is beautiful and well-written. It just felt almost as though I had picked up a different book and started reading at that point. As I said, the writing was not bad in the least, just somewhat different in comparison to the parts that came before.

This book has weight, and I am glad to say that I enjoyed it very much. I would not hesitate to recommend it to my friends and my more bookish family members. I can not wait to see what else is to come from this series and am already awaiting news on the second book. I give Daughter of Smoke and Bone 4 hoots and urge you all to read it very soon.

Obligatory legal statement: This book was provided to me free of charge by the publisher. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.