Daughter Of Smoke and Bone

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Author: Laini Taylor

Release Date: 27 September 2011

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1

Pages: 420

Goodreads Description:

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?

So many would probably be wondering- to believe in the rave, or not?
Well I say to the noose with the haters, and run to your nearest bookstore! I LOVED Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The synopsis does not do it any justice. But of course, to ensure a spoiler free summary, they couldn't exactly say the juicy parts, right?

The words in the book just... flowed, you know? The information wasn't jarring, it fit right into the plot. The thing is, I can't imagine taking anything away from the book. Everything fits perfectly. I devoured it in 2 hours- what I normally do for books I love to the point of no return.
The macabre feel of it was alluring, the eccentricity inviting, and the mystery mindblowing. God knows I'm a sucker for mystery. It made me keep reading on feverishly, trying to find out what exactly is going on or about to happen.
AND THE ACTION. I really(x googolplex) love action in books. Combined with mystery (which it usually does) just about makes me faint in delight. The description of the knifes were so beautiful, I wanted to go all Willy Wonka and just "reach in, and grab one".

The description is quite misleading. It seems to suggest that the people she draws are just her imagination, and her own happy hallucinations, but ah, misleading much?
Coming from an art school myself (though not visual arts), the blurb enticed me. But I felt that the schoolshe went to was rather warped in reality. We don't do art everyday in school. There's still normal curriculum. But ah well, excuse my nitpicking, and get back to reading the book.

For about 2/3 of the book, when Karou finds out his huge bigass secret about a certain something, I loved the place where they visited, be it by metaphorical or literal (can't say too much now,can I?). It was a new element (x:x={a,b,e} INNER NERD) added, and has that whole new thing edge going, but it still fits well! In fact, by adding a new element after entering the story actually made it more of a pageturner, if possible.

My favourite character is Zuzana. Even her name is awesome. Her enthusiasm was so infectious, it was a pity not to see her as many times as I want in the book. She amuses me a lot. I also find it cool that her family line is full of marionette artisans. I thought puppets went out a long time ago! Oh her performance was so lovely, with the big Puppeteer and all. I could almost see her dance. Issa is also one. She reminds me of Drakainas. Serpent/dragon women. Seems like my crazed love for dragons or scaly characters hasn't faded.

I found the idea of wish coins very fun,and I love how the author showed that you don'tmake wishes for fun. Everything has a price. Some books tend to overlook that, but thankfully, we don't see that in here. I also found the sugarcoating (um... literal) part quite interesting. but I am digressing from the point. What exactly is the point in the first place, huh?

She did, learn the truth about herself, and it was shocking. The author also had the insight to make sure from beginning to end, you would know what you need to know. Hmmm the ending wouldn't really count as a cliff hanger, but hmmmmm OKAY fine it's a cliffhanger. I want to go ransack Laini Taylor's house right now to get my hands on the next book. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. AHH. AHH. This want is ever growing! I fear I shalt restrain thyself to prevent the crazed rampage of finding the answer to my woes! My woes! The answer! The sequel! Now!
So to get away from the weird person waxing poetic nonsense, I yet again recoomned you to run to your bookstore like your life depends on it, and take out all the cash you have. Then buy as many copies as you can, and distribute them to every person you know. Don't forget to read the book. And don't forget to give me one copy too. I like having more.


Favourite Quotes:
-“Nothing,” she told him in Chimaera. In Czech she added, sternly, “She. Did not say. Anything.”
“Yes, I did,” piped Zuzana, and like a child who has gotten a reaction for naughty antics, she merrily repeated, “Mating! Seed!”
“Zuze, stop, please,” begged Karou, helpless and so very glad the two had no common language.

-There was real magic here among the quacks and touts. She knew of a scribe dressed all in white who penned letters to the dead (and delivered them), and an old storyteller who sold ideas to writers at the price of a year of their lives. Karou had seen tourists laugh as they signed his contract, not believing it for a second, but she believed it. Hadn’t she seen stranger things?

5/5