Karou lives a double life. Her official persona is an art student who lives in Prague with very few friends and an annoying ex-boyfriend. What people don't know is that she is also an errand girl for a paranormal creature living in a parallel world. How badly her best friend would freak out if she ever found out?
Daughter of Smoke and Bone was a truly original and highly engaging read! I've had this book on my shelf almost since its release and I can't believe I had not read it yet. The novel was split in roughly three parts. The first one we get to know Karou and her world, the second part we witness how she deals with the destruction of her world as she's always known it and the last one, she discovers who she really is, at last. I truly enjoyed all three parts, but I have to say, the last part was by far my favorite!
Laini Taylor has an awesome talent when it comes to keeping us in the dark, yet feeding us enough information to keep us railed in. It takes a long time to really know how Karou came to work for Brimstone, why does he need her to gather all kind of teeth, what are the angels up to, what really is going on and what the lore behind it all is. The mystery kept me glued to the pages and when the facts were revealed bit by bit I basked in the information! This is mostly why I enjoyed the third part so much, because everything makes even more sense then I gathered along the treacherous way.
The lore was especially rich and colorful and I will refrain from giving you any details because it would spoil everything but know that everything that's happening is about a distant war between angels and chimeras. It's honestly the first time I came across chimeras in a novel and I really liked it.
The characters proved to be engaging and I liked every one of them. Karou is colorful (her hair grows blue!) and spontaneous, making for an highly interesting protagonist! Brimstone is shroud in mystery and the desire to pierce the fog kept me awake at night. Akiva turned out to be more than I expected and I really love him to pieces. Despite all this love fest, Madrigal turned out to be my favorite, and I'll let you discover why :)
Needless to say to conclusion was of epic proportion and I am really glad I have the second book already sitting on my shelves. With the third and final book in the series releasing on April 17th, it's the perfect time for you to pick up this amazing YA trilogy! Its originality will surprise you and I'm sure you won't be disappointed :)
I love this book and this series too! Back when it first came out, it was one of the most unique and original stories I had read since I was a child (and ALL the stories were new), and 3 1/2 years later when book 3 came out, it still was (and is). I'm glad you have book 2 immediately at the ready too, and I hope you like it as much as I did ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you Jessica!
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