Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

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.

Reviewed by Kelsenator on

4 of 5 stars

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Karou is a unique girl, aside from having natural blue hair. She is strong and was raised to fight if she needs to, she’s also intelligent and great at art. She was raised by Brimstone, a Chimera who lives in a little office working with teeth, and she often goes on errands to collect them for him even though she doesn’t know why he needs them. Even with her monster family, and her normal friends on the other side of the door, she always feels empty like a part of her is missing, and unsure of who she really is.

Karou does get to travel all over the world, and I loved hearing about all the different places. I thought it was also really cool that she could speak so many languages. The chapters and sections are divided up between Karou and Akiva, and I really liked being able to see his side of things as well, especially when it went into describing the tragedies of the past.

When Karou meets Akiva, she’s captivated by him, even when he tries to kill her at first. He’s a Seraphim, and he’s come here with two others to complete a certain duty. They of course meet again, and start to get attached to each other slowly. Akiva seems like the emotionless guy who could care less, but he’s actually hurting from past events, caring and sweet.

The story itself changes from just a girl doing errands and going to school, to so much more. There’s a war involved, other worlds and other stuff that’s awesome and that I can’t tell you much about it without spoiling anything.

The mentions of wishes versus hope was also interesting. The wishes themselves are a big part of the book, and the main currency that people receive when trading in teeth to Brimstone. There’s so many possibilities that can be done with a wish.

This book went past my expectations, and I can’t believe I waited to read it for so long. The only issue I had was the last part of the book. A lot of the chapters are past scenes only, and I had to wait forever to find out what was happening with Karou and what she was going to do next. I kind of wished that they cut back and forth a bit, but it was still fun to read. Definitely will be picking up the next book, and I highly recommend giving this a try!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 16 September, 2012: Finished reading
  • 16 September, 2012: Reviewed