Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Review)

Book: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 418
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blurb

Around the world, black hand prints 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 grows 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?

Oh My God! Have you ever read a book and during it you were like "Hmm I don't know how I feel about this book" and throughout the whole thing you still didn't know and by  the end you finally realised you loved it? Well that was this book for me. Everything about this book is amazing, from the writing to the characters and the storyline. I need the second book right now!

I loved Karou. Throughout the whole story she was searching for who she really was. Although who she ended up being took on a magical quality isn't that what we all search for throughout our lives? She was a kick-butt character who didn't take nonsense from anybody, not her ex-boyfriend Kazimir and definitely not catepillar eyebrow girl Svetla. She was leading two different lives, one where she lived in the "normal" world alongside humans and the other where she did errands for the "monsters" who raised her.

And the "monsters" who raised her? Loved them too! From Brimstone the wishmonger all the way to Kishmish. They were all so well developed and took care of their own. They really show you that it's not what you look like on the outside but what you are on the inside that really counts.

Then there is Akiva. I loved him. I really don't think I should discuss him too much since it will give away too much of the story.

The places that the story take place in are stunning. From Prague and Morocco all the way to the city of the chimaera. The descriptions really draw you in and you can almost imagine that you are there right alongside of Karou on her many adventures.

Seriously, the writing in this book is fantastic. The whole story just flows and there is never a dull moment. And the words the author used, finally someone who believes that young adults can understand things beyond words with four letters that are repeated over and over again. Plus she makes up her own words, how awesome is she?

 

Do I recommend this book? YES! Go out and read it right now. You will not be disappointed. This book breathes a breath of fresh air into the Young Adult genre.