Well hello and welcome back. How was everyone’s Holiday? Mine was fantastic, and beside it being busy as hell and full of annoying yet lovable relatives, I very much enjoyed myself. LOL!
So I just finished reading DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by LAINI TAYLOR and I’ve just got to say Holy Heck! What a treat! More like double chocolate cake with hot fudge sauce and cold vanilla bean ice cream on the side (if that’s your kinda thing). I could barely put my nook down! I am now 1/4 of the way through its sequel. But back to the first book. Oh and here’s the book cover. Amazing as well!
To me DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE is like a beautifully twisted modern-day fantasy of Romeo and Juliet with a magical feel that awakens your imaginations in ways you never knew possible and LAINI TAYLOR, Shakespear. Her words are like soft brush strokes that paint a masterpiece of in-depth emotions and heart-pounding suspense. They fizzle with the touch of pinwheel firecrackers and light-as-air snow flakes.
The beginning of the story begins in modern-day Prague, with two young art students who are living and struggling with normal life obstacles like any young college students out on their own. But Karou is nothing close to normal. She has a hazy and unreal past… and so many questions. Why the strange tattoos on her hands? Her friends wonder about the strange creatures she draws in her sketchbooks. What about her family and her past that she never talks about? And why are there black handprints marking doorways all around the city, and frankly, the world?
From there, in the “normal world”, LAINI TAYLOR smoothly un-lifts the veil and you find yourself in a woven web of the real world and a magical realm, chock full of wonder and mystery. The transition was so smooth, in fact, that the integrated fantasy was so much a reality for me it was unbelievable! The character’s are crisp and so real.
Karou, a girl with bright blue hair, and strange tattoos on her hands, is a very relatable character. And Akiva, the mysterious “man,” just makes you feel weak in the knees. My favorite character throughout though, is Brimstone. At first he puts an unknown fear in your heart, but you grow to love him, and honestly, I just want to hug the heck out of him.
To wrap it up, I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone, male or female, young or old, who still has magic in their heart and imagination in their mind. From 1-5, I give this book 5 STARS!
Get DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by LAINI TAYLOR here. It’s available on the nook, in paperback, hardcover, and audio book. Enjoy and happy reading!!
JADE M PHILLIPS 