Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke & Bone
(Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1)
Author: Laini Taylor
Length: 418 pages
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Classification: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal
Release Date: June 5, 2012
Source: Paperback 
Read: March 2014

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself? 

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Laini Taylor is an awesome writer! Hello, *extends hand* I'm Stephanie and I am a new member of the Laini Taylor Fangirl club. Because seriously, I loved this book that much!

New series to add to my favorite series shelf!

I didn't know much about this book when I first bought it. I entered a giveaway on GoodReads for this one and the sequel: Days of Blood & Starlight. I didn't win the first book, but I did win a copy of the second. Therefore, I bought this one.
I knew that it had good reviews and a lot of people seemed to like it. And I am SO GLAD that I did buy it because I LOVE it. I love the story and I love the writing.

Buying this book did not disappoint me in the least bit. (In fact I have pre-ordered book 3: Dreams of Gods & Monsters April 8th release).

The Story:

Taylor created very INTERESTING complex worlds for these characters. I think the whole story is unique and I don't think I have read anything quite like this before.

I love how during the story we have flashbacks and different parts of the back story that pops up. And slowly the entire story begins to unfold before you and it is just amazing. I feel that most stories I read go in chronological order, and yeah there are memories and flashbacks, but not quite like in this book.
These flashbacks felt like I was watching it happen in the present. And I love that is was all very interesting and made the whole story tie together.
I feel that this book has some elements of friendship, adventure, romance, love for family, and some revenge.

I loved reading about the chimaera. They are all so interesting and I really enjoyed trying to picture them in my mind.

The ending broke my heart a little bit. But it also made me want to read more. (So the fact that I already have the second book is a really good thing!)

The Characters:

These characters! Seriously! I LOVE them. These are characters that make you wish they were real. So you could actually meet them and be friends with them. '
I found them all to be interesting and so well developed!

Karou: She is an awesome main character. She is so mysterious and you just want to know more about her and her life. She is very loyal to Brimstone (the chimaera that raised her).

Akiva: Interesting guy. At first I wasn't sure I was going to like him. But of course that didn't last. I of course started really liking him and now I love him.

Zuzana: I think that Zuzana is one of my favorite characters. She is amazing. I love her wit and quips. I think she is an AMAZING best friend to Karou. I also liked reading about Zuzana and Mik's growing relationship. I would love to read more about them.

Zuzana and Karou have an awesome friendship. I love their banter. The back and forth friendly verbal quips. They are so funny.

Brimstone: I like him. When I first started reading this book, I wasn't sure if he was a character I was supposed to like, since in a sense he is a devil and collects teeth. But I like him and find what he does to be interesting.

If you haven't read this book yet, I highly recommend it!!!

My Rating: