Review - Daughter of Smoke and Bone

 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

 

I’m one of those people who picks up a book based on the cover, and the blue masquerade mask on this one is what caught my attention. When I read the description about angels verses demons and the girl caught in between I was intrigued enough to look into it further and purchase this YA fantasy book for my library. So far the people I know who’ve read it have really enjoyed it.

 

Karou is a unique student with naturally growing blue hair and plenty of tattoos who attends a special school in Prague and has a best friend who comes from a long line of puppeteers. If you don’t think that’s fun and interesting enough, let’s throw in her demon-based family who live in a room that has a front door which opens to anywhere in the world. And teeth, don’t forget the teeth.

 

The first third of this book I really did enjoy: strong female character, wonderful cities, cool demon-like characters, neat artistic ideas. This only changes when black hand marks begin showing up on doors and dark angels appear. Then you shoved into the love story. If you are a fan of romance, great. You’ll really enjoy this. I like small bits that support plot and don’t get too cumbersome. I found the romance to be a bit too intense, too fast and too…much. But after we got through the initial part of it (the second third of the book) the story continues on with plot, which I love.

 

If you like this, pick up the second in the series, Days of Blood and Starlight.

 

 

 

Read-alikes: Brian K. Vaughn’s Saga – this is a new graphic novel series. I just happened to pick this up at the same time and I was impressed with how they complemented each other. Highly recommended.