Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1)

by Laini Taylor

Errand requiring immediate attention. Come.

The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. 'He never says please', she sighed, but she gathered up her things.

When Brimstone called, she always came.

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she's a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole.

Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.

• ISBN10: 130676551X
• ISBN13: 9781306765510
• Publish Date: 1 January 2011
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 19 May 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

Oh what a magnificent imagination Laini Taylor has, and how I envy her for it. When I picked this book up I had no idea what it was going to be like, and in truth I barely knew what it was about to begin with. It was just one of those books that drew me to it without and real reason, and I’m so glad it did. I can’t say I’m particularly fond of the cover, it’s a little off I think, but at the same time it’s rather pretty and I can’t stop looking at it. It’s complex in it’s simple nature, and that’s kind of what the story is like when you start reading.

At first I was kind of confused, the writing felt weird and I was faced with a rather unique main character that I knew nothing about. I feared the worst and was rather skeptical that I’d enjoy it at all if it continued the same way, I’m not one to willingly stumble around in the dark. As I continued though I found that I cared less and less about it not giving me all the details I wanted right away, instead I was eager to read more and find out more. Pretty soon I was devouring chapter after chapter with wide eyed rapture and loving every minute of it. The story isn’t something I expected and it stayed that way from start to finish, which is perfect because now I’m dying to get the second one. The whole world that Taylor created is so different and so rich that I can’t help but be entranced by it, she gives you so much to imagine and it’s all so easy to fall into.

Without giving away all of the aspects of the story I’ll attempt to point out some of the best stuff. The “monsters” are fantastic and they sound beautiful in their own ways. I love how they are described physically they are so different and so animal, but describing their personality is when you learn how truly human they are. The Serephs are a fantastic version of angels, and for once I wasn’t completely disappointed in how they are portrayed. In fact I wasn’t disappointed at all, they were pretty much what I want to see in angelic characters. Tough, solder minded, beautiful and most of all deadly. The world in which these two group reside is war torn and at the same time rather beautiful to envision. As the story progresses and deepens it begins to shift from Karou’s point of view to Akiva’s, and you gain even more perspective and it becomes even more riveting. The writing style is not one I’ve ever seen before and it’s rather beautiful to read, it flows so smoothly and I had no trouble letting the story take me.

Karou is one awesome main character. She’s witty, smart, stubborn, and strong. She has her flaws but she feels so perfect, she’s someone you actually want to succeed. I loved seeing her evolve over the course of the story and I think the fact that the core of character stays true is something that you don’t find very often. She felt like a real person, her reactions never flew off the handle in some fantastic way and she never betrayed her character just to progress storyline. Akiva is a character that I immediately loved and I think it all had to do with the way he was presented in the beginning. I have a soft spot for angels who are cold and single minded but suddenly find a crack in their armor. It’s something that a lot of authors seem to get wrong, they give me that angel but then in the blink of an eye he’s exposed and emotional and they never give me a good enough reason why. Taylor took her time with Akiva and gave him a reason for everything, and that made a world of difference. All of the side characters are easily placed into your mind and they certainly stand out. Brimstone is one of the most interesting characters I’ve read about in a long time and I love everything about him. He’s mysterious, slightly scary, and surprisingly supportive. The romance that occurs is one that I genuinely enjoyed reading about and at times I was simpling like an idiot. It’s heartfelt and touching, and in some ways it’s so effortless. It’s not rushed but it’s not slow, there is a spark that just kind of ignites in a wonderful way. I truly felt that they belong together, it just felt right and their characters were so perfect for one another.

Overall I thought that this book was fantastic, and if you can’t tell by the review I’m in love with it. There is just so much to talk about that if I tried this review would be ridiculous in length. It’s not a story you can simply review and manage to capture it all, it has to be read to understood.This is one of my favorites of the year and if you haven’t guessed, I recommend this wholeheartedly.

[paperbackjedi]

I re-read this after a few years and it holds up as one of my favorite YA fantasy books. I love the way Taylor incorporates old mythologies with truly unique expansions and twists on them, creating something new entirely that still feels a bit familiar. It's high concept and has some wildly original world building. It creates a world that is capricious with kindness and cruelty, hope and despair. I particularly enjoy the prose and the way it winds like smoke around the pages and into your head as if you're recalling a melody you've heard, but can't remember the lyrics to. It's haunting and devastating and beautiful and the words seem to ache and pull and sway. I just... really love the story itself and how the story is written and the characters are so human and flawed and their growth is measured realistically in both steps forward and steps backward.

If you're looking for something lyrical, strange, and just a bit epic, this is a good pick. It's a very different sort of play on angels and demons and where humanity falls in between them and how we are all capable of different shades of those beasts.

[Amanda]

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2012/01/04/review-daughter-of-smoke-and-bone-by-laini-taylor/

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is one of those kinds of reviews that I am reluctant to write for fear of dredging up everything that I experienced while reading. This is not an easy to book to read, not because it’s poorly written (it’s not; it is beautifully written), but because it picks out your emotions, drawing them out into a line, and then wrenches and twists each of them in turn. You know this emotionally wrenching experience will happen; reading the book is like being chased with an impending sense of doom, but you must know what happens. You are never quite given enough information until suddenly you know too much and there is no turning back from what you learned.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is painful. But there is beauty in pain. There is no solace in this book; it will gut your heart and stomp on it. We need books like these to remind us that not all love stories are fairy tales. Daughter of Smoke and Bone so carefully manipulates your emotions, but they are not your emotions, they are the character’s emotions. You are Akiva. You are Karou. You don’t want to push forward, but you know there is no other option. If you want a happy book, this is not your book. If you want a book that toys with your emotions, something that will make you experience a wide breadth and depth of emotions, Daughter of Smoke and Bone is your book.

Having been to Prague before, I was happily surprised by the depth and accuracy of the descriptions of Prague. It lends an added sense of validity to the story, making everything — even the parts not set in Prague — that much more real. In some ways, there are two different stories within Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Two stories that intertwine and fuse into one single and heartbreaking ending, but not in the way one might expect. The end is far from over. There is still hope.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a wildly imaginative and original tale, a refreshing find amid all the young adult fantasy. Taylor plays with the current popularity of mythical creatures, reinventing angels and demons and the never-ending war between them, and sends them on a journey across our world and back to their own—which looks nothing like you think it does. Her writing brings to life a vivid picture of love, loss, and magic like no other story currently on the young adult market.

The characters, too, are far from cliché. Karou is a blue-haired art student (not another book-loving protagonist!) who is fiercely independent but still longing to uncover her past. Her friend Zusana is small, feisty, and amazingly loyal. Her family is a group of chimaera who are part animal, part human, and completely mysterious.

There is also Akiva, a angel who was bred for war but dreams of peace between his people and the demons. He is a pretty good love interest, a combination of strength, protectiveness, and romance who seems an excellent match for Karou. Unfortunately, the two suffer from a case of love at first, and although there is an explanation for this later in the book, it is not entirely convincing. Readers will probably be able to overlook it, however, as Akiva and Karou do work together and eventually develop a relationship with substance.

The book also includes a fairly lengthy flashback, which is a beautiful story in both content and style and is just as engaging as the main story. The information included is also essential to the plot, but readers who are not fond of flashbacks should be forewarned. The characters do react to the flashback once it concludes, which helps tie it nicely into the book instead of being awkwardly isolated.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone deserves the majority of praise it has received. Readers who enjoy fantasy and want something creative and readers who like paranormal romance and want a book with substance should pick it up.

This review was also posted at Pages Unbound Book Reviews.

[lizarodz]

Daughter of Smoke & Bone is so darn good that I don’t know how to begin with my review. What if I start with the first paragraph from the book?

“Walking to school over the snow-muffled cobbles, Karou had no sinister premonitions about the day. Monday, innocent but for its essential Mondayness, not to mention its Januaryness. It was cold, and it was dark- in the dead of winter the sun didn’t rise until eight- but it was also lovely. The falling snow and the early hour conspired to paint Prague ghostly, like a tintype photograph, all silver and haze”

I don’t normally include citations from books in my reviews, but I wanted to illustrate what I mean. Doesn’t the opening of the book makes you crave for more? It has me hooked from the first sentence and I couldn’t put it down.

The characters are well developed, full of both flaws and redeeming qualities. Karou is a strong character that was raised in very unusual circumstances, but still finds a way to rise above it. I loved Zuzana’s snarky remarks and unwavering loyalty. Akiva is a different kind of male protagonist. What I mean by that is that he is not your swoon worthy male teenager, he is more mature and has been through a lot, which made him cynical and hard. I wouldn’t call him exactly likeable, but that is fine by me.

The story is told from the third person point of view, which allows us to know what is going on with both Karou and Akiva. The plot is original, well-paced and spellbinding. Ms. Taylor’s writing is so good, fluid, full of made up words that somewhat made sense and almost lyrical. The story was totally unpredictable and I am glad we didn’t have to wait for the next book in the series to understand what was going on. My only complaint was the ending, but I am sure Ms. Taylor will redeem herself in the next book (pretty please!!)

Daughter of Smoke & Bone was an incredible read and it is most definitely going to be part of my favorite books (series) list. I cannot wait for book two!

About the Cover : This is not the prettiest cover that I’ve seen lately, but it is appropriate for the story (which is not a fluffy romance either). The blue, the feathers, the mystery implied by covering someone’s face, are all relevant to the story.

.....WOAH....what?!?! This book was amazing! i'm having a hard time trying to describe it! the words unique, engrossing, and simply amazing don't do it justice. This book just took my breath away!!
And the writing! Now, I'm not one to really notice the writing (unless it's completely awful or simply amazing). Normally I notice the plot, characters, and pacing. However, in this book, I'd be a fool not to mention the writing! thats how awesome it was!! Laini Taylor's words were beautiful and just flowed together and was like music to my ears! it was simply poetic!
As to the plot? WOAH! this book is completely UNIQUE! in a good way of course! this book does have angels, and while I haven't read to many angel books, I highly doubt any other is like this! and i have never heard of another book about the chimaera! She did an amazing job of world building and I loved how she picked Prague to set the story in. it fit the story perfectly! Honestly, the plot to this book was amazing!
And the characters! I absolutely loved them! Karou was an amazing, kick butt type of gal! I'd totally want her as my friend! and Akiva? How freakin sweet! their relationship is so complicated and amazing and I totally fell in love with both of them!
I definitely recommend this book to everyone! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :D