Daughter of Smoke & Bone

This is an absolutely beautiful book. It's no secret I read a fair amount of YA, and while I try to stay away from the really crappy ones, sometimes I read some that are pretty fluffy. This is NOT one of those books. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is full of lyrical prose, fully fleshed out and intelligent characters and a blow-you-away world of beauty and mysticism. It depicts a Prague that feels real and timeworn (especially in comparison to The Book of Blood and Shadow, 2 stars) and the other world Taylor has created with dueling species and unique mythology is possibly the best YA fantasy world I've yet seen. And don't even get me started on the love story. Yes, this book has the obligatory angsty romance but there is NOTHING eye roll inducing to be found between these pages and I'm not ashamed to say that I caught myself swooning multiple times. Hands down this is a winner, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to lose themselves completely to the awe of a lovely and magical book.