Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Amazon's Top 20 Books of the Year (#6)Amazon's Best Young Adult List (#1)2011 New York Times Notable Children's BookHuffington Post Top 10 YA Books of 20112011 Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year2011 Kirkus Best Books for TeensAmazon's Top 20 Books of the Year (#6)Amazon's Best Young Adult List (#1)2011 New York Times Notable Children's BookHuffington Post Top 10 YA Books of 20112011 Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year2011 Kirkus Best Books for TeensAnd there has never been a better place to say this:BELIEVE THE HYPE, PEOPLE. I can't do Daughter of Smoke and Bone justice, no matter what I write.It's going to be legen-wait for it-NO LOVE TRIANGLE! Yet another book with no love triangles! Laini Taylor writes about starcrossed insta-love and still manages to make me fall in love with her words. I take my hat off to her. (This review will sing praises of her. You've been warned.) She is a true story teller, like Homer. I think she can literally breathe life into letters on a page, like Silvertongue from [b:Inkheart 28194 Inkheart (Inkheart, #1) Cornelia Funke http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1328866790s/28194.jpg 2628323]. Her lyrical prose! She writes pure magic. This woman is a abstract daydream of the writer I want to be one day. STORY:Daughter of Smoke and Bone is about, among other things: doorways to another world and wishes made out of teeth. Yes, you read that right. There is a violent war raging between the Seraphim and the Chimera as I write this, and a mysterious, seventeen-year-old girl from Prague is caught in between. KAROU: “Skip meeting him? The butterflies, the pounding heart, the blushing? The part where you enter each other's magnetic fields for the first time, and it's like invisble lines of energy are drawing you together-“ Karou, our artist and the heroine of this novel, is the daughter of smoke and bone. She collects languages and teeth. She has long (bona fide) azure hair and she lives with monsters. She isn't annoying at all, at odds with most other teen heroines. AKIVA: “By the time he was sent back to his regiment at Morwen Bay, he could have used a little more time to perfect his Chimaera accent, but he thought he was basically ready for what came next, in all its bright and shining madness.” Akiva is nothing more than gorgeous eye candy to begin with. Just one more tortured soul, I thought. Except he was a warrior. But then he changed. I fell in love with him about the time he began to fall in love with Madrigal. From DREAM-LOST and BLOOD WILL OUT, where he tells us about how he fell in love with her, I fell for him HARD. So, yes, I do end up liking Akiva a whole lot more than I should by the end.And then there's Zuzana and Brimstone, the two who made this story so much better for me.ZUZANA: The perfect best friend.BRIMSTONE: Need I say more?All I can say is, if “Hope is the real magic” . . . can I hope [b:Days of Blood and Starlight 12812550 Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #2) Laini Taylor http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1337964452s/12812550.jpg 17961723] into existence sooner then?

Cuando comencé a leer esté libro, lo primero que pensé fue “No cumplió con mis expectativas “ pero al seguir leyendo y al seguir conociendo más sobre el mundo de karou, el libro llegó a ser uno de mis favoritos. Ame los últimos capítulos del libro y realmente el final no me lo esperaba.
Ya quiero leer la secuela!

Started SO promising but did not like the romance and delaying the revel of who she is was frustrating

Found this in the library of the old-fashioned hot springs resort I was at for a family reunion (Capon Springs, WV! Can't recommend it enough!). Interesting to read a pretty early precursor to the current rash of romantasy (of which I've read plenty). I liked the world-building, found the plot propulsive, and was an overall fan. I don't love "we connected in past life/past versions of ourselves" trope particularly, so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. I'm not rushing to finish the trilogy, but am at least curious about the sequel eventually.

I went into this book without knowing anything about it ready to have just another YA novel, but was so overwhelming surprised that it is so much better with a different story. I love it! Can't wait for the next books.

Toen ik even terug de [b:Strange the Dreamer 28449207 Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer, #1) Laini Taylor https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519915549l/28449207.SY75.jpg 48158509]-duologie van dezelfde auteur had verslonden, zette ik deze trilogie meteen hoog op mijn te-lezen lijst. Helaas werd ik afgeleid door de vele andere boeken op die lijst, maar nu deze uitgekozen werd voor de leesclub van A Frolic Through Fiction moest en zou ik deze eindelijk lezen.En ja, ik zei helaas, want ik kan mezelf wel voor de kop slaan dat ik dit niet eerder las.Er zijn van die boeken waarvan ik snel besef dat ik iets speciaals aan het lezen ben. Ze wurmen zich een weg naar binnen, nemen me mee naar een andere tijd en plaats, en laten me compleet vergeten dat ik woorden op papier aan het lezen bent. Dit was zo'n boek voor mij.“Like mold on books, grow myths on history.”Het begint nochtans als een vrij standaard YA-boek, alleen steekt de schrijfstijl er meteen met kop en schouders bovenuit. Poëtisch, sprookjesachtig en lyrisch.De opbouw van de wereld is magisch en levendig. Het speelt zich in eerste instantie af in Praag en sindsdien wil ik niets liever dan een citytrip maken daarheen!“Humans have gotten glimpses of things over time,” he'd said. “Just enough to make the rest up. It's all a quilt of fairy tales with a patch here and there of truth.”Oppervlakkig gezien maakt dit verhaal gebruik van plotelementen en mythologieën die al zo vaak zijn gebruikt dat ze tropen en clichés zijn geworden, maar Laini Taylor maakt hier iets compleet nieuws mee.Absoluut geweldig de manier waarop wensen en tanden verweven zitten in het verhaal. Hoe we zowel een tragisch liefdesverhaal krijgen, als een epische strijd die generaties overspant.Alle beelden zijn voortreffelijk levendig. Alle personages dynamisch en echt.“Wishes are false. Hope is true. Hope makes its own magic.”Dit was echt zo'n mooi, fantasierijk en meeslepend verhaal. Het deed mijn hart bonzen en breken.Ik was nog niet eens halfweg dit boek toen ik de vervolgdelen heb aangeschaft. En deze zijn dan ook mijn eerste prioriteit om te lezen!Adembenemend.

I loved the first half of this book. Beautiful prose, a rich fantasy world with angels and chimaera, and an interesting cast of characters—human and chimaera alike. Karou's relationship with Brimstone and the other chimaera had promise, as did the errands she did for him. I also enjoyed the sections in Prague with her human friends and would've liked to see more with them.

Unfortunately, the introduction of Akiva derailed that part of the story. Karou was obsessed with him almost immediately and their relationship is clearly instalove, a trope I'm not fond of. The reveal of Karou's background didn't change that, and only further showed how their love is based almost solely on physical attraction.

Despite this change in the story, I still plan on reading the second book as I've heard the rest of the series focuses more on the war and less on the romance.

Que tremendo plot twist que no me hubiese imaginado ni en mil años, y ese final madre mía. Necesito saber cómo continúa.

I really question why it has taken me so long to start this trilogy. I absolutely LOVE Laini Taylor's writing! The rich, lyrical descriptions just suck me in and create an atmosphere I want to drown in. Her magical worlds are places I want to visit. Whether it was her Faeries of Dreamdark books, which are probably my favourite books about faeries ever, or the magical treasure that is Strange the Dreamer, Laini manages to craft stories that I'm enchanted by.
I think some early reviews that said the love story was a bit too in the ‘love at first sight' category made me hesitate, as I too don't particularly care for that trope, but I shouldn't have listened to that and gone with my gut! I have literally had these books on my shelf for YEARS and I regret it!
With that quibble aside, Laini Taylor creates a mysterious and mythical world that caught me in its snare immediately. Again, her lyrical writing just oozes atmospheric magic. Prague felt like an entrancing character all its own. I wanted to get on a plane and go there to walk the streets and wrap myself in the history, culture and character of the city. And that's just the real Prague we know, then there are other worlds you only glimpse at during the story. Worlds of supernatural creatures, magic and enigmatic secrets. I was definitely a fan of the world-building.
I also found the main character Karou to be a pleasant surprise. I liked her quite a lot. She wasn't moody, sullen or a Mary-Sue. She has quirkiness, passion and spunk and it was so refreshing and honestly a bit inspiring to have a more upbeat lead character. She also has a big heart and values friendship, which I felt drawn too.
Okay, now the loaded love story part. It honestly didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. It niggles, I won't lie, but I suppose when your story is about star-crossed lovers it's almost a given that there will be an almost unbelievable connection between the two and falling in love immediately seems par for the course. I think the ending saves it a bit, but I can't give that away, so you'll have to decide for yourself. If you're dead against that type of love story, steer clear, however, if you can even have a sliver of suspended belief on that part, I think you'll be well rewarded with the rest of story and still on board for the love story part.
Lastly, the ending is a banger. It came so hard and fast with so many little pieces falling into place that all I wanted to do was speed read through it, while also appreciating how much backstory the whole thing was leading up to. Ending on a cliff-hanger was a groaner (in a good way), but I guess the positive side of waiting so long to read this means I can go straight into Book 2. And I am SO ready for the next book!
Overall highly recommended. Best YA fantasy I've read in a LONG time. I'm sorry Laini Taylor for waiting so long to read this book. I won't wait next time, I promise.

This book is Addie la Rue. Out of sight, out of mind

Iti multumesc Laini Taylor pentru ca m-ai invatat ce este un penis neesential... unii nu au ce face cu timpul lor liber.

OOOOKAY, I was not expecting this.

I feel like I've wanted to read this book since forever. I always kept saying that I was going to read it and when I finally decided to order it, my order got lost on the way somehow. A couple of months after that, I decided to give it another go. And here I am, finishing the first book. And I really loved it!

This book started out really good, but then it got a bit too slow for my liking and I was starting to feel bored, but then things started picking up again and then it turned into an emotional rollercoaster. I really enjoyed the story and the characters, even though I don't feel like I know them that well, but there are 2 more books left so I'm not going to complain about that.

re-read reason: I want to read the sequels but forgot what happened in this book

still an average 3 star for me. the first half is so good but the second half felt like a whole different book.. in a bad way.
loved the ending though!!

wtf ?????

"It seemed like just another Monday, innocent but for its essential Mondayness, not to mention its Januaryness".

This brilliant line immediately set the mood for me. I loved Taylors writing style from the beginning. The way she portrays the beautiful city of Prague or the lively souk in Marrakech. Her characters come to life and even though at first I thought they were a bit ordinary, I soon found out that's definitely not the case. Then comes the part where there are monsters, and angels, and a big mystery surrounding.. teeth? Everything is explained later, in a ‘let me show you, ‘cause talk is cheap' kind of way. Needless to say, I was hooked!

I liked Karou and her strange family of monsters. You can say what you want about the morally grey Brimstone, but he did give Karou some pretty good advice about her love life and any “inessential penises” she may encounter in her life. I laughed so hard at that.

“Someone who was for her, as she was for him, whose blood and butterflies sang to hers and answered them, note for note”.

This certainly reads like it was written in 2010. Make that what you will.

The insta love didn't help. Nor did all the time jumping.

This was my first book getting back into reading as a hobby. Found it on BookTok and decided it was a good idea to try it.

I used to really like these kinds of books: YA fantasy. I dread that I might have grown out of that phase in my reading journey.

This book was easy to read, which was nice for someone like me who works >60 hours a week. It moved at a good pace, too, which kept me interested. Karou is a very interesting character and I liked reading about her relationship with Brimstone and the others.

However, once the love interest was introduced, it lost its luster for me.

I have never really been into the “I was immediately drawn to you” sort of love story. They literally say they are in love with each other the morning after meeting. I just find this sort of juvenile love not very intriguing. The other thing that grossed me out at first was that the love interest is apparently 150 years old and the girl is like, 17. This later unfolds itself in a little bit better of a light once you get farther into the book.

The other thing that didn't do it as much for me was the author's flowery language. She uses a lot of strange phrases while describing things and while I think it was trying to paint a mental picture, I just ended up skimming a lot of the book.

It was a fine read, but I have a gut feeling I don't need to finish the series to know what happens. (And, in fact, I am not planning on reading further.) I think that I've just moved on from the instant love story between two supernatural beings type of book, which is totally fine.

Not a bad read at all. Just not my cup of tea anymore.

Laini Taylor has such a magical writing style and Khristine Hvam's narration brought Laini's world to life. I “read” this book after I read “Strange the Dreamer” and the sequel. Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares are in my all time favorites list, but Daughter of Smoke and Bone is definitely up there too. What a brilliant story, full of love, whimsy, complexity, magic and pain...Laini knows how to weave so many elements together artfully and beautifully. I can't wait to read the sequel.

4.5 did not like it in the beginning. I thought the protagonist was going to be one of those “not like other girls” characters. Until I found out she was SO unlike other girls...

It's 3 am and I just have to start the next book. I just have to.

Starts out really strong but the narrative (and my interest) waned once the backstory took over.

solid

Really I give this book a 3.5. There is a lot I liked about this book, namely the magic system, the dual worlds at play with each other, and the main character who was both different from the typical protagonist but still a lot of fun. However what I think really made this book drag, especially at the end, was the relationship aspect. I found myself just uninterested in the main relationship compared to anything else going on. Perhaps it was the instant love or the its tropey nature but the fact that the book ended with that as it's focus made me start wishing for the end.

May continue the series but I'm not in a rush to do so.

I really liked this book. I was surprised, because I am not a romance fan at all. The romance was so well done that it didn't take away from the story. I love Laini Taylor's writing style. It just drags you right in.

Ok so I didn't write my review for this as soon as I finished it and y'all know my memory sucks so this is most likely going to be a very short and to the point review.

I went into this book not really knowing anything about it so I didn't really have any expectations for it and luckily it turned out to be good. The types of characters in this book are very interesting, some of which I have never read a book about before. Everything was just weird but in a good way.

When you first start reading this book you're not going to know what's going on. Just stick it out though because it all gets explained. The romance!! I know that's all I ever focus on. Sorry not sorry. Anyways it comes off a little instalovey which by the way I love but I know a lot of people don't. Again I say stick it out because there is a reason that gets explained later in the book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and recommend it if you haven't already read it and I can't wait to continue on with the series because I am not ok with that ending.