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 Chelsea on

4 of 5 stars

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Initial Thoughts

I was pleasantly surprised at how different this book was. Even at the start I was hooked on this new idea. I love it. First of all, I noticed that the book takes place in Prague, which not a lot of books do. That was just the beginning at all the surprises though. I was slightly skeptical because I know that this book has fantastic reviews and I didn't want my expectations too high.

My New Best Friend

Karou, the main character, was my favourite. I'm an artist too and I liked reading about someone like me. Also, I loved how she didn't care that she was different. She knew she was and just accepted it. I just couldn't handle how awesome she was. She was so good at balancing her two lives. I wanted to be in the story right there with her saying I understand.She was so smart and not at all annoying that I instantly feel in love with her. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see her friend Zuzana as much as I wanted. She could have been my new best friend if we'd seen her more. Plus she was hilarious.

My Crush

Oh my gosh Akima. Why did she have to create such a perfect character? Why? He's so sad when we first see him. He's just trying to do his part for his people and then he sees Karou and isn't sure why but he's drawn to her. I was a little worried that it was going to be an instant fall in love kind of thing but it wasn't. When their past is revealed and all the pieces feel together it all made sense and it made me love him more. Their romance was so cute and subtle and DIFFERENT! I can't believe someone finally wrote a different kind of romance. It was seriously beautiful. So is Akima.

Writing Style

I loved almost everything about this book. There was just a little thing about it that bugged me. The start was really well done. The whole book was well written actually. But then you get into the middle. It starts off ok and then the author starts writing these flash back moments and I hated it. I just wanted to continue on with the story but I had to stop and wait for her to finish a flashback. That was the only thing that bothered me about this book. The ending was great as well, it left me needing to read the next book.

Closing Thoughts

First of all, shout out to Brimstone because even though he was technically the bad guy, he was pretty awesome. The world that the author created in this book was amazing. I've never read anything like it. She's a great story teller, one of the best I think. My review can't even come close to doing this book justice. Just read it and you'll see why. I'm just completely blown away by how different and unique it was. That's what really got me hooked. This book lived up to all the hype.

Bonus

I now want to visit Prague because of the amazing descriptions the author gave me.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 9 March, 2014: Finished reading
  • 9 March, 2014: Reviewed