Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Author: Laini Taylor
Publish date: September 2011
Source: Library
"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?"

I had pretty high hopes for this book and I think most of them were met (still deciding since it was such a crazy book!). This story had a really interesting plot, although a bit confusing at times, and for the most part, I didn't want to put it down. It was different than anything I've ever read before (which I feel like I've been saying a lot lately!). 

I really liked the main character, Karou. I thought she was a strong and intelligent young woman, which I don't always think about the YA novels that I read. All of the characters and settings were really imaginative and fun; clearly Laini Taylor has an INSANE imagination. I can't imagine having the amount of creativity that she had to write this story and characters: angels, demons, chimaera, all sorts of crazy things.

The story was great and I liked it until the mini-novel within the novel happened. I found that part to be confusing and I couldn't wait until it was over so I could get back to Karou's story. That was the only hiccup of the story, in my opinion. Great characters, settings, and plot combined with beautiful writing gets me excited for book number two!