The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. "He never says please", she sighed, but she gathered up her things.
When Brimstone called, she always came.
Published: 2011
Genre: YA High Fantasy Fiction. Fantasy Romance.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.
This is an incredible opening to any book and the story that follows is worthy of the thrill it issues.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is the first in an impeccably written trilogy of YA high fantasy romance novels. The books that follow, Days of Blood and Starlight and Dreams of Gods and Monsters are equally worthy of attention and rapture, so I'll do my best to elucidate without spoilers.
As we all know by now, fantasy is a genre I often reside in, and there is so much to be admired in the way Laini Taylor approaches it.
Her characters range from humans to beasts, chimera to be exact, and they all possess well rounded, believable traits that make them engaging to read, to route for, or to despise with every fibre of your being. These books provoked some strong emotions in me, to be sure.
The chimera, in their variant forms, account for many of the book's characters. The inspiration for which I assume was taken from Greek Mythology, a chimera being a creature compounded of incongruous parts: a lions head, a goats body and a serpents tail, whose appearance was considered to be an ill omen. However, there are many other references found across cultures and beliefs.
I'm in awe of the way this mythology has been compounded and expanded upon to create something innovative and engaging. Angels verses demon's from en entirely new perspective. This story is unlike anything I've had the pleasure to read before. I love being able to say that about a book. It reminds me of nothing, which perhaps doesn't sound like praise, but trust me it is praise in its highest form. A true original is as rare as a golden unicorn.
The main character, the ultramarine haired Karou is a story all by herself. A seventeen-year-old living alone in Prague, studying at the Art Lyceum of Bohemia; dropping everything as the summons of Brimstone, a monstrous chimera and the closest thing she has to family, by whom she is sent between worlds collecting human and animal teeth: purpose unknown.
Karou is a brilliantly complex character whose layers continue to peel back, revealing more and more of her as the trilogy unfolds.
Her counterpart, an angel called Akiva, is equally complex and engaging. Their romance does more than indulge the YA teenage "angst" for lack of a better term. It's embedded in the story and crucial to its telling.
Laini Taylor seamlessly overlaps her worlds and flits between them as easily as if she has traversed them herself. Perhaps she has.
Everything about this book was unexpected. It was full of twist and turns, adventure, action, sorrow, love and friendship.
I demolished the trilogy too quickly for my own liking, for I was genuinely devastated to have finished reading them. So many authors conclude their work too abruptly after an incredible, jaw clenching build up, but not this time. These books were good to the last drop - and, of course, I thoroughly recommend.
It is a new habit of mine to read the acknowledgements that you often find at the back of books, almost as an extension of the story in some cases. A lot of the time, it's the acknowledgments as much as the book itself that endear me to an author. The acknowledgements written by Laini Taylor revealed her to be humble and quirky, and above all else real.
It gives me hope to read about an author and find comparison to myself. It solidifies my belief that my book too can be published.
There we have it: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, published 2011, 2012 and 2014 respectively. The consistency of the titles thrills me by the way - yes, I know that makes me terribly sad, but unashamedly so! I can't believe it took me so long to come across this trilogy, but I'm so glad I did! I've since been singing their praises to anyone who'll listen.
Let me know what you though if you've read them, and if you now intend to if you have yet to have the pleasure!
Until next week, find me across social media for book and writing updates: Facebook - Instagram - Twitter
Zuzu 🖋
This is an incredible opening to any book and the story that follows is worthy of the thrill it issues.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is the first in an impeccably written trilogy of YA high fantasy romance novels. The books that follow, Days of Blood and Starlight and Dreams of Gods and Monsters are equally worthy of attention and rapture, so I'll do my best to elucidate without spoilers.
As we all know by now, fantasy is a genre I often reside in, and there is so much to be admired in the way Laini Taylor approaches it.
Her characters range from humans to beasts, chimera to be exact, and they all possess well rounded, believable traits that make them engaging to read, to route for, or to despise with every fibre of your being. These books provoked some strong emotions in me, to be sure.
The chimera, in their variant forms, account for many of the book's characters. The inspiration for which I assume was taken from Greek Mythology, a chimera being a creature compounded of incongruous parts: a lions head, a goats body and a serpents tail, whose appearance was considered to be an ill omen. However, there are many other references found across cultures and beliefs.
I'm in awe of the way this mythology has been compounded and expanded upon to create something innovative and engaging. Angels verses demon's from en entirely new perspective. This story is unlike anything I've had the pleasure to read before. I love being able to say that about a book. It reminds me of nothing, which perhaps doesn't sound like praise, but trust me it is praise in its highest form. A true original is as rare as a golden unicorn.
The main character, the ultramarine haired Karou is a story all by herself. A seventeen-year-old living alone in Prague, studying at the Art Lyceum of Bohemia; dropping everything as the summons of Brimstone, a monstrous chimera and the closest thing she has to family, by whom she is sent between worlds collecting human and animal teeth: purpose unknown.
Karou is a brilliantly complex character whose layers continue to peel back, revealing more and more of her as the trilogy unfolds.
Her counterpart, an angel called Akiva, is equally complex and engaging. Their romance does more than indulge the YA teenage "angst" for lack of a better term. It's embedded in the story and crucial to its telling.
Laini Taylor seamlessly overlaps her worlds and flits between them as easily as if she has traversed them herself. Perhaps she has.
Everything about this book was unexpected. It was full of twist and turns, adventure, action, sorrow, love and friendship.
I demolished the trilogy too quickly for my own liking, for I was genuinely devastated to have finished reading them. So many authors conclude their work too abruptly after an incredible, jaw clenching build up, but not this time. These books were good to the last drop - and, of course, I thoroughly recommend.
It is a new habit of mine to read the acknowledgements that you often find at the back of books, almost as an extension of the story in some cases. A lot of the time, it's the acknowledgments as much as the book itself that endear me to an author. The acknowledgements written by Laini Taylor revealed her to be humble and quirky, and above all else real.
It gives me hope to read about an author and find comparison to myself. It solidifies my belief that my book too can be published.
There we have it: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, published 2011, 2012 and 2014 respectively. The consistency of the titles thrills me by the way - yes, I know that makes me terribly sad, but unashamedly so! I can't believe it took me so long to come across this trilogy, but I'm so glad I did! I've since been singing their praises to anyone who'll listen.
Let me know what you though if you've read them, and if you now intend to if you have yet to have the pleasure!
Until next week, find me across social media for book and writing updates: Facebook - Instagram - Twitter
Zuzu 🖋
#bookreview #daughterofsmokeandbone #lainitaylor
Absolutely love this series of books, I'm halfway through the last one and can't wait to find out what happens. Also don't want it to end at the same time 💚xx
ReplyDeleteI know that feeling! When a series is so good, you're almost disappointed when it ends, no matter how good the end is! x
ReplyDelete