Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1) in The Wide Web of Friends in YA Books

Feb 05, 2012 Booknut 101 rated it really liked it

A thrilling read, that has a hint of the supernatural and yet holds the beauty of Prague close and weaves a tale unlike any other. One of the best books ever, with fact and fiction bonded so tightly you'll almost expect to wake up with an angel hovering over your bed, and wishbone dangling from around your neck. Beautiful! ...more

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Feb 19, 2014 Angela Blount rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, romance, urban-fantasy, no-hea-for-you

3 ½ Stars

Let me say up front, this was a supremely difficult book for me to rate/review...especially in coming up with a spoiler-free assessment. But it deserves that much, so here we go.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone begins as a sort of YA urban-fantasy, teetering on the verge of New Adult thanks to the heroine's raised-by-monsters state of independence and the Euro-centric cultural feel. (Oh, and more mentioning of 'penis' than I normally encounter in YA.) I would argue that, at a little past the
3 ½ Stars

Let me say up front, this was a supremely difficult book for me to rate/review...especially in coming up with a spoiler-free assessment. But it deserves that much, so here we go.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone begins as a sort of YA urban-fantasy, teetering on the verge of New Adult thanks to the heroine's raised-by-monsters state of independence and the Euro-centric cultural feel. (Oh, and more mentioning of 'penis' than I normally encounter in YA.) I would argue that, at a little past the halfway mark, the whole tone shifts and we're plunged into a full-on NA Fantasy...but I'll get to that a little later.

The story more or less swept me off my feet from the onset, and into the tantalizing vividness of modern-day Prague. The city itself was probably my favorite character. (At once archaic and exotic, by my meager American standards.) The heroine, Karou, lives what must be every art student's reverie—though she's also adrift, not allowed to know who or what she is. I flew through the first half and can honestly say I loved it—largely due to Laini Taylor's evocative prose and liquid-awesome style. Beautiful, darkly complex writing that rolls around in the mind and clings like a warm syrup.

While I deeply enjoyed the first 250 pages or so, I also have to say the dropping of details and backstory was somewhat sparse. The reader is strung along at great length waiting for more pieces of the puzzle. I was willing to be patient, hoping for a grand payoff. But what I ultimately encountered was a sort of atom-bomb of world-building encased in one of the longest flashbacks I've ever encountered. The abrupt surge of other-worldly sociopolitical, cultural, historical, alternate mythological, and fantasy elements left my head a bit muddled. At that point, it also seemed like we lost Karou and had to become acquainted with someone else entirely. And for this reader at least, that last 1/3rd of the book became a somewhat dissonant slog that almost felt like an entirely different book.

Oh, and there's insta-love—or near enough to it. Which is apparently fated, but I'm not clear on why. Don't get me wrong—I appreciated the fantasy parallels to Romeo and Juliet. But as the hero/love interest, Akiva fell a bit flat. He just seemed to be missing some intangible -something- I couldn't quite put my finger on, but which would have made him come more alive. And at the (somewhat dismal) end...I find I'm still not clear on why, exactly, so much critical information was kept from Karou. (If someone can offer some reasoning I may have missed, I'm all ears! Er...eyes? >.> But certainly not teeth, hehe.)

I enjoyed the writing and originality enough to round up to 4-stars, but alas, I can't say I'd be interested in reading further into this series. I really did hope I'd be enticed into continuing on. I will, however, be keeping an eye out for more of Taylor's works. A different sort of plotline could make all the difference. And her way with words is too delectable not to sample further.

...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Ifrah rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned

Second Read: Just as good the second time around. now I really want to re-read Days of Blood and Starlight!
First Read: Read this book ASAP!

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Oct 23, 2012 Chester rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-to-2015-pub

I've never really been drawn to the angel/human, angel/devil sort of stories. I've tried Lauren Kate's Fallen and it didn't do well with me. So even when this got a lot of hype, I still wasn't expecting too much of it. But, despite my doubts, I bought the book. And so I turned the first page and it said...

"Once upon a time, an angel and devil fell in love.
It did not end well."

I was so ready for disappointment that I did not for one second realized that I just might like it.

But I did.

Daught ...more

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Jul 12, 2013 bliss rose rated it really liked it

Shelves: other-supernatural, angel-books, magic-books, unique-books, action-books, favorite-books, mythology-related, pure-awesomeness, awesome-heroine, romance

This book was one of the few books I thought was simply amazing. Laini Taylor really has a wonderful imagination-I loved the world she built! The story was built beautifully, and the main character was unique. Blue hair, kick-ass, and a sense of humor? check.

The Plot:
Although there may not have been much adventure(if you don't count Karou going to different places to get teeth), as in moving from place to place, it was pretty fast-paced. Karou's discovering who she is and unraveling the secrets This book was one of the few books I thought was simply amazing. Laini Taylor really has a wonderful imagination-I loved the world she built! The story was built beautifully, and the main character was unique. Blue hair, kick-ass, and a sense of humor? check.

The Plot:
Although there may not have been much adventure(if you don't count Karou going to different places to get teeth), as in moving from place to place, it was pretty fast-paced. Karou's discovering who she is and unraveling the secrets that were kept from her. Initially, I wasn't very interested in a story without adventure, but Daughter of Smoke & Bone is a different kind of adventure. A girl collects teeth! What sane teenager would spend their time collecting teeth? Awesome ones. There was so much twists and so many surprises! It was a very interesting story and I really enjoyed reading from a third person POV instead of first person. It livens up the writing as well as provides a broader way to express the emotions of the characters. It's been a while since I enjoyed a book so much.

The Characters:
Karou was a very humorous character. I loved her sense of humor and her comebacks. The way she dissed of Kaz was really well thought. Taylor writes Karou in such a way that she's not dull, nor wimpy. She can fight(she's been trained in martial arts) and she learns from her mistakes-Kaz. Although there may not be much characther growth in Karou, there was a lot from book 1 to book 2. Karou was such a mysterious and awesome character-I mean look, blue hair!
Akiva and his fire-colored eyes. He was a nice love interest. At the very least, he wasn't power hungry to control his lover. He also wasn't an entirely crazy stalker, though I've got to admit, he was borderline stalker-ish(he watched her sleep like Edward Cullen, sort of creepy, don't you think?). Next to Karou, he just didn't stand out, despite Taylor's attempts to describe him as a very hot individual. In Book 1, I didn't really understand Akiva that much, but in book 2, I understood him significantly better.
Zuzana was so cute! I just wanted to squeeze her and hug her! She was literally adorable. Only 5 feet(hey, just like me!) and having a tough personality, she's really someone I can relate too. Although at times, I've got to admit, she's a bit...let's just say, nosy. But, what kind of friends aren't nosy? She was a comic relief, and I practically wanted to hug her every moment she was on the page. She was adorable!

Daughter of Smoke & Bone was a very good read, but it wasn't amazing. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time, but I felt that it was missing a touch, like I didn't quite fully feel the other characters. The ending was interesting. ...more

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Dec 28, 2011 Anna rated it really liked it

I think 3.5 stars.

This book from start to finish was NOTHING like I expected. It just kept going in the other direction from what I was expecting, sometimes good and sometimes bad.

I only gave it 3.5 stars because I felt a lot of disconnect with the characters. I felt little to know passion from Karou and Akiva, I just didn't believe it...actually scratch that I felt it sometimes from Akiva and once or twice from Madrigal but never together, it was weird. This rubbed me a little the wrong way bec ...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Amy rated it really liked it

I loved this book. I don't read much fantasy, because honestly, I don't always understand the characters and get lost in the made up names and creatures. This book did a good job mixing real world and fantasy though. It had somewhat of a mystery to it that I didn't quite figure out until the end and that was a nice surprise. The world building was great and the characters were likable. Can't wait for the sequel. ...more

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Nov 20, 2014 Chandini Dialani rated it it was amazing

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. AKIVA YOU INSOLENT FOOL. WHY BRIMSTONE??????

EH. YOU'RE STILL ADORABLE.

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

SIGH.

ONTO THE NEXT BOOK

BLOOD AND STARLIGHT, HERE I COMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

THAT SOUNDED WRONG *FACEPALM* ...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Maira rated it really liked it

Shelves: awesome-ya, awesome-ya-must-read-funny-wit

i loved the writing style, theam and the story of the book it was very stong. the style of the writter was so mature that reading it was very interesting.

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