Daughter of Smoke & Bone

This was my first book getting back into reading as a hobby. Found it on BookTok and decided it was a good idea to try it.

I used to really like these kinds of books: YA fantasy. I dread that I might have grown out of that phase in my reading journey.

This book was easy to read, which was nice for someone like me who works >60 hours a week. It moved at a good pace, too, which kept me interested. Karou is a very interesting character and I liked reading about her relationship with Brimstone and the others.

However, once the love interest was introduced, it lost its luster for me.

I have never really been into the “I was immediately drawn to you” sort of love story. They literally say they are in love with each other the morning after meeting. I just find this sort of juvenile love not very intriguing. The other thing that grossed me out at first was that the love interest is apparently 150 years old and the girl is like, 17. This later unfolds itself in a little bit better of a light once you get farther into the book.

The other thing that didn't do it as much for me was the author's flowery language. She uses a lot of strange phrases while describing things and while I think it was trying to paint a mental picture, I just ended up skimming a lot of the book.

It was a fine read, but I have a gut feeling I don't need to finish the series to know what happens. (And, in fact, I am not planning on reading further.) I think that I've just moved on from the instant love story between two supernatural beings type of book, which is totally fine.

Not a bad read at all. Just not my cup of tea anymore.