(First off, Goodreads really needs to update their system to automatically save reviews because let's just say that a child's playful fingers can accidentally erase an hour's work in mere milliseconds.)

Here's Take 2:

How does a parent explain the love they have for you until you've had one of your own? How do you explain the awe of a sunset until you've seen it yourself? How can I explain the beauty of "Smoke and Bone" until you've read it?

It's indescribable. It's art. It's perfection in the making.

Karou's life in Prague takes a turn when mysterious black hand prints mark the portal doors between earth and her home elsewhere. These prints are the catalyst to discovering who she is and where she comes from.

In the beginning, I was a little unsure of what I was getting into: what is this story really about? Who are these people she calls 'family'? Who are these angels? Who are these beasts?

In a way, there was a part of me that wanted to categorize everything neatly into "good" or "bad." However, Taylor challenges this notion to rethink what society and culture have depicted as good or bad. And this story is less about figuring out who is right or wrong and more about understanding each society's perspective. It's an allegorical tale of culture and society and history.

I don't want to talk too much about what happens in the story because there is a beauty to uncovering the depth of who Karou is and what she's gone through. (I didn't know anything about this story except that it was unbelievably good, and I want you to have the same experience discovering the delicacies in the story.)

My only disappointment in this tale is the anticipation of what's to come next. I wanted everything to be wrapped neatly in a bow without have to endure until the next installment. So many questions, so much anticipation because Karou is left to answer the hardest question of all.

Advisory: (view spoiler)[Artists are painting their subjects nude: it is not descriptive and tastefully explained. The main character Karou had sex with her ex-boyfriend. "Devil" is used to refer to one of the chimera although it is more of a societal label, not a character depiction. War, violence, and death are depicted. (hide spoiler)]