Daughter of Smoke & Bone

I am a huge fan. This story had me engrossed from the beginning. Laini's words were so descriptive. It set my imagination on fire. I think I have a crush on Akiva. Lol. Did I just say that? Shhh. Don't tell no one. This was a great read. I am on to book 2. I cannot wait for the next adventure.


I am rooting for Karou and Akiva!!

Toen ik even terug de [b:Strange the Dreamer 28449207 Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer, #1) Laini Taylor https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519915549l/28449207.SY75.jpg 48158509]-duologie van dezelfde auteur had verslonden, zette ik deze trilogie meteen hoog op mijn te-lezen lijst. Helaas werd ik afgeleid door de vele andere boeken op die lijst, maar nu deze uitgekozen werd voor de leesclub van A Frolic Through Fiction moest en zou ik deze eindelijk lezen.En ja, ik zei helaas, want ik kan mezelf wel voor de kop slaan dat ik dit niet eerder las.Er zijn van die boeken waarvan ik snel besef dat ik iets speciaals aan het lezen ben. Ze wurmen zich een weg naar binnen, nemen me mee naar een andere tijd en plaats, en laten me compleet vergeten dat ik woorden op papier aan het lezen bent. Dit was zo'n boek voor mij.“Like mold on books, grow myths on history.”Het begint nochtans als een vrij standaard YA-boek, alleen steekt de schrijfstijl er meteen met kop en schouders bovenuit. Poëtisch, sprookjesachtig en lyrisch.De opbouw van de wereld is magisch en levendig. Het speelt zich in eerste instantie af in Praag en sindsdien wil ik niets liever dan een citytrip maken daarheen!“Humans have gotten glimpses of things over time,” he'd said. “Just enough to make the rest up. It's all a quilt of fairy tales with a patch here and there of truth.”Oppervlakkig gezien maakt dit verhaal gebruik van plotelementen en mythologieën die al zo vaak zijn gebruikt dat ze tropen en clichés zijn geworden, maar Laini Taylor maakt hier iets compleet nieuws mee.Absoluut geweldig de manier waarop wensen en tanden verweven zitten in het verhaal. Hoe we zowel een tragisch liefdesverhaal krijgen, als een epische strijd die generaties overspant.Alle beelden zijn voortreffelijk levendig. Alle personages dynamisch en echt.“Wishes are false. Hope is true. Hope makes its own magic.”Dit was echt zo'n mooi, fantasierijk en meeslepend verhaal. Het deed mijn hart bonzen en breken.Ik was nog niet eens halfweg dit boek toen ik de vervolgdelen heb aangeschaft. En deze zijn dan ook mijn eerste prioriteit om te lezen!Adembenemend.

Short and Sweet: Set firmly on the line between reality and fantasy, [b:Daughter of Smoke & Bone 8490112 Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1) Laini Taylor https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338613368s/8490112.jpg 13355552] is a phenomenal story of star-crossed love, betrayal, loss, and hope against all odds. Characters are 3D, their motivations just as clear, all set against a centuries-long war with the two who seek to turn the tide for peace. One of the most well-written and engaging YA novels I've had the pleasure of reading, to date. I'm burned out on YA, I'll be honest. The insta-love, the ~tragic~ choices; I find myself pulling away from the genre despite some of my favorite novels originating in YA. So when [b:Daughter of Smoke & Bone 8490112 Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1) Laini Taylor https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338613368s/8490112.jpg 13355552] arrived on my doorstep - fueled by a flurry of glowing reviews and five star ratings - I dived in with some reluctance. Reluctance that, as I swam through the first part, deepened upon getting to know the main character Karou on a superficial level. The scent of a Mary Sue weaved faint upon the winds, and I was not pleased.As I read further, however, Laini Taylor brought her back down and turned her into a human like the rest of us, but with extraordinary circumstances - with an extraordinary love interest alongside. This ability to turn extraordinary things into something compelling and engaging is a theme through this novel, and will not let you leave feeling unsatisfied.[b:Daughter of Smoke & Bone 8490112 Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1) Laini Taylor https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338613368s/8490112.jpg 13355552], at its most basic core, a Young Adult love story. But, to reduce it to that singular point would not be doing the novel justice. Laini Taylor does a wonderful job of weaving the romance in such a way that, aside from serving as the catalyst, it also provides a richness and depth without sacrificing plot. No love triangles, no assholery from Akiva. It is romance as it should be written, with the butterflies and fiery touches and longing glances, but also with very real consequences. The world itself is one of the most unique ones I've had the pleasure of experiencing. Many other fantasy novels will pull from tropes or other books as reference, but [b:Daughter of Smoke & Bone 8490112 Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone, #1) Laini Taylor https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338613368s/8490112.jpg 13355552] takes it to a new level. It presents not just one plot question, but many, and holds onto them up until the very last page. The ending, while satisfying in the questions it does answer, also leaves room for the next two novels in this trilogy: Days of Blood and Starlight and Dreams of Gods and Monsters. Both were immediately added to my to-reads list, as I will definitely be completing this trilogy in full. Truly, an absolute pleasure to read.

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.

Cuando comencé a leer esté libro, lo primero que pensé fue “No cumplió con mis expectativas “ pero al seguir leyendo y al seguir conociendo más sobre el mundo de karou, el libro llegó a ser uno de mis favoritos. Ame los últimos capítulos del libro y realmente el final no me lo esperaba.
Ya quiero leer la secuela!

I loved the first half of this book. Beautiful prose, a rich fantasy world with angels and chimaera, and an interesting cast of characters—human and chimaera alike. Karou's relationship with Brimstone and the other chimaera had promise, as did the errands she did for him. I also enjoyed the sections in Prague with her human friends and would've liked to see more with them.

Unfortunately, the introduction of Akiva derailed that part of the story. Karou was obsessed with him almost immediately and their relationship is clearly instalove, a trope I'm not fond of. The reveal of Karou's background didn't change that, and only further showed how their love is based almost solely on physical attraction.

Despite this change in the story, I still plan on reading the second book as I've heard the rest of the series focuses more on the war and less on the romance.

Publicado originalmente (Reseña completa): El Extraño Gato del CuentoUna de las reservas que siempre tuve que con el libro era sobre las quimeras y es eso porque tengo cierto gusto por todo lo relacionado con la mitología, en muchos, por no decir todos, los mitos o cuentos que uno se encuentra que tenga quimeras, no es exactamente algo muy... ¿bonito? Siempre son bestias salvajes sin ningún tipo de conciencia, tan solo aparecen para antagonizar. No leo sinopsis, eso de alguna manera también me hizo tener otra idea del libro. Lo que quiero decir con todo este palabreo es: ¡Que cosas tan queribles son! En su manera un tanto perturbadora y tosca son una de las criaturas más adorables que he podido leer. La verdad es que no me esperaba para nada terminar añorando haber crecido con quimeras.Karou no es un protagonista cualquiera, no sé muy bien si es cosa de la escritora o del personaje en sí, pero hay algo que me hizo conectar tanto. El que por fuera se vea diferente no significaba que por dentro ella sea un ser frío y sin sentimientos, a veces es como un requisito en los libros: Si quieres ser una protagonista de armas tomar significa o que bien debas dejar tu lado más suave o ser una mujer sin alma. A mi parecer es un gran mensaje, puedes ser ruda y tener un gran corazón y a la vez ser una chica!Y el romance. Les doy un minuto para recuerden su escena favorita y se derritan, aquí espero... ¿Ya?Es tan bonito el romance porque en gran parte del libro casi ni existe, quiero decir ¿cuando se ven por primera vez? No tuvo exactamente nada de romántica pero fue espectacular. Ahora que estuve revisando mis notas para poner algunas citas en la reseña, es obvio lo pausado y de segundo plano que es el romance y como tampoco es algo que absorbe toda la trama. Básicamente estoy restringiéndome al no copiar medio libro aquí, tengo una cantidad impresionante de citas, varias de ellas son de personajes secundarios. Porque sí, Laini Taylor nos da LOS personajes secundarios, no solo es una narradora excelente y con una capacidad gráfica impresionante, sino que además de una protagonista genial, un personaje masculino del cual no me hablo porque es mío... digo, ustedes ya lo conocen, o sea, Akiva ♥ Laini también nos da a Zuzana, Brimstone, Issa... por nombrar solo algunos, cada uno es perfecto.Quizá hayan visto que le puse 4.5 estrellas en goodreads, es porque al final hubo una pequeña cosita que me desinfló un poco, no el final final, no recuerdo ahorita muy bien, algo mínimo. Me han dicho que la historia mejora y mejora con cada libro así que lo más seguro es que me falten estrellas para los siguientes.Y el final!! –> 4.5Por alguna razón casi al final se me desinfló un poco pero por todos lo demás ME ENCANTÓ.Twitter   Blog   Pinterest   Tumblr   Instagram

"It seemed like just another Monday, innocent but for its essential Mondayness, not to mention its Januaryness".

This brilliant line immediately set the mood for me. I loved Taylors writing style from the beginning. The way she portrays the beautiful city of Prague or the lively souk in Marrakech. Her characters come to life and even though at first I thought they were a bit ordinary, I soon found out that's definitely not the case. Then comes the part where there are monsters, and angels, and a big mystery surrounding.. teeth? Everything is explained later, in a ‘let me show you, ‘cause talk is cheap' kind of way. Needless to say, I was hooked!

I liked Karou and her strange family of monsters. You can say what you want about the morally grey Brimstone, but he did give Karou some pretty good advice about her love life and any “inessential penises” she may encounter in her life. I laughed so hard at that.

“Someone who was for her, as she was for him, whose blood and butterflies sang to hers and answered them, note for note”.

Oh wow, I didn't really know what this was about when I grabbed it? I knew it had some good buzz & also the audiobook was approximately the same length as the trip I was taking, so I took it. Like if I had realized it was about angels and chimera and shit I probably wouldn't have taken it? But it would have been my loss because this was really great. And the audiobook was exceptional–really good accents and monster voices. Like in retrospect when I think about summarizing the plot I like... kind of still don't really care about angel wars and soulmates and shit, tbh, but I think Karou is a really engaging character and I'm definitely going to read [b:Days of Blood & Starlight 12812550 Days of Blood & Starlight (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #2) Laini Taylor http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337964452s/12812550.jpg 17961723]. Or better yet, see if we can get the audiobook of it for our library.

Despite a ridiculously stereotypical YA title and description, this book was good. I keep trying to think of a better title for the book. “Doorway to Elsewhere”? “The Kindness of Monsters”? “Art School is a Beast”?

The development of the world in this story develops slowly which kept me engaged. I don't want to give away to many details but the story is MUCH better than the description on the back of the book.

I'm hoping that the second book is as good.

Group read with Mitsu, Joyce, and Nikki.

I absolutely love Laini Taylor's writing. This book is beautiful with vivid descriptions that bring everything to life, and needless to say the world-building is simply amazing. The plot twist and the reveal might be predictable for some (myself included), but the execution is just so well-done that it turns into a very engaging story—even if you see the secrets coming from a mile away.

Another thing that I adore from this book is the grey characters. Even though the story takes on the theme of angels and demons, the characters are never 100% black or white. Both sides have their own legends that justify their perspectives, and the romance that serves as the beginning of this story shows that things are not as simple as “good and evil”. The way Brimstone and his group take care of Karou and Madrigal is very touching, and the same goes for the love between her and Akiva. It happened really fast and at first left me wondering if it's another love at the first sight, but the second half of the book really gives depth to their story.

That being said, I didn't give this book 5 stars because some parts are written so vaguely it feels like something is missing. Mainly the time skips, the brief flashbacks, and especially the epilogue. The first two didn't bother me that much, mostly because we get the full version of the flashbacks later on, but I feel that the epilogue killed the tension built by the last chapter. As much as I dislike cliffhangers, I believe the book would've ended in a more intriguing note that way... Then again, it's a finished series so thankfully I can just grab the next volume and marathon them all.

Really I give this book a 3.5. There is a lot I liked about this book, namely the magic system, the dual worlds at play with each other, and the main character who was both different from the typical protagonist but still a lot of fun. However what I think really made this book drag, especially at the end, was the relationship aspect. I found myself just uninterested in the main relationship compared to anything else going on. Perhaps it was the instant love or the its tropey nature but the fact that the book ended with that as it's focus made me start wishing for the end.

May continue the series but I'm not in a rush to do so.