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 Briana @ Pages Unbound on

4 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 11 November, 2011: Finished reading
  • 11 November, 2011: Reviewed