Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Author: Laini Taylor

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

POV: Third Person (very similar to Cassandra Clare)

Average Rating: 4.06 Stars

My Rating: 5 Stars

Goodreads

Book Depository | Barnes & Noble | Chapters/Indigo

Daughter of Smoke & Bone focuses on a 17 year-old girl named Karou with bright blue hair, many tattoos, and who constantly runs errands. She goes to art school in Prague and her friends are fascinated by the monsters she draws in her sketchbooks. And sometimes, she feels foreign in her own body; like she should be somewhere else, doing something else. The day she see the fiery-eyed Akiva in the streets of Morocco is the day her whole life turns around.
Sounds awesome, right? You'll never know where the story is going (in a good way) and the different points of views intertwine perfectly... seriously, I haven't found one plot hole.

I could fangirl about Laini Taylor's writing every minute of the day if I could. From the very first page, I promise that her writing will suck you in. She is so talented at describing everything in great detail without making you bored. It may take a little to get used to, but you'll learn to love it!

If you're looking for something fast-paced, this is not the book for you. The style of writing can make the book slow sometimes, and if you're not committed to the story, you won't enjoy it! I'd heard so many amazing things about this that I went into with zero expectations and didn't put pressure on myself because I really wanted to like it, and it definitely worked! When I first finished reading it, I wasn't sure what to rate it, because I wasn't the biggest fan of the pace, so I slapped five stars on it on Goodreads, just to have something there, and continued with the next book. Now, after finishing the second book, I know that 5 stars is totally worth it. If you've read this and didn't feel too great about it, KEEP READING because you may just change your mind. 

There is a romance, (obviously, this is YA we're taking about) but this book becomes so much more the further you get into it (and I've noticed this especially in the second book). It's a star-crossed love very different than you'd imagine, and the story isn't about their love, but what it represents, and I really appreciated that as a reader. 

The characters are all wonderful to read about, all with their own distinct relationships and personalities. None of them are perfect, but you'll love them all. I'm convinced that if you gave me one of those "who said it" tests like I had to do with Shakespeare's plays in high school, I would ace it. 

Here's where I'm gonna get slightly spoilery? I question it because you sort of know that it's coming, it's obvious from the beginning that there's another world somewhere. Okay, now that it's out there, I'm gonna briefly talk about it. This is an angel/demons novel, and within the secret world is where they live together. However, they don't live in harmony and that's all I'm gonna say about that. 

If you're just getting into fantasy, this is not the series to go with. For that, I'd recommend the Shadow and Bone trilogy or The Mortal Instruments series. With a slow pace, and a large world, it's better to start off smaller. The story is so unique, I think you're really missing out if you don't give it a chance. And if you're reading this having already read Daughter of Smoke & Bone, but not Days of Blood & Starlight, this is my plea for you to continue, because I promise it gets better!

Have you read Daughter of Smoke & Bone? Did you like it? 

If you haven't read it, do you plan to? 

Not sure if you'll read it? Have any questions?

Let me know in the comments!