Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Around the world, black handprints 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 grown 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?

 

This was a fun book. Although it didn’t quite live up to the hype, I still found much to enjoy in its pages.

Something that immediately struck me and for which I applaud the author is that, although the story is basically one for young adults, the writing itself is for an adult audience. There is no dumbing down or gimmicky phrases to catch a teen’s attention, which makes it a much more complex story than it could have been. It’s one of those books that seem to defy classification.

There was a lot of originality in the story itself. Beyond the chimera and seraphim, though they are interesting in their own right, I found the setting most inviting. The ambiance was perfect for a story like this one, and it kind of became another character.

The protagonists were fine. I wish they’d been a bit more than that. I really wanted to fall in love with them, but I never got there.

I do recommend the book. It’s lovely, “eh” protagonists and everything. I’ll definitely pick up the sequel.