Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1
Genres: Young Adult, Greek Mythology.
Format: Paperback
Length: 441 pages.
Publication date: March 13, 2014
Publisher: Little Brown
Goodreads Avg. Rating: 4.10 out of 5 stars
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
"Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there's no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic."
Once upon a time, a girl decided to read a book that she expected to hate.
It did end well.
After 853737 years....I've finally finished this beast. You know, sometimes, you start a book and you're like, "Ooh, this is not going to end well!" But you don't stop reading despite somewhat anticipating the sad-ish ending? This is what it felt like reading this book. I'm not saying it was only misery, in fact, there were happy parts too. Parts which made me giggle. I loved reading the fluffy romance, the funny BFFs fights, the dick jokes but honestly...I imagined the author declaring, "Enjoy it while it lasts! Shit's gonna happen, soon!". And...I was right.
"It's not like there's a law against flying."
"Yes there is. The law of gravity."
*giggles*
Let me just say that the hype surrounding this book was huge. And, well, I have a knack for hating books which most people love but I really enjoyed reading this. This was such a beautifully written and imaginative prose. Plus, I'm so happy that the cover and title made sense...some things which I had assumed were only poetic and just there for the heck of it. Most people may not care about those two aspects but whenever I don't understand the symbolism behind them, I get annoyed because it makes me feel wrong...like I didn't read the book properly.
I must say this for you: if you're reading this and aren't getting the story, please be patient. The story will make sense. This is one of those books where the author slowly gives clues and then suddenly reveals everything. Don't skim anything. Don't skip anything. Note down unfamilliar characters' names and how you felt about them because they are very important. They will make a reappearance. The plot twists will make your jaw drop. Even if you are smart enough to predict them, you'll be surprised at the author's skill of creating suspense.
I suppose that's the writing style, really. A writing style can either make or break and I'm sorry if it didn't work for you. I know it sucks when you don't recognize characters, when you are clueless as to what's going on and when there's too much infodumping on one page, but even when I was puzzled , I couldn't stop reading because the writing was so good.
"She moved like a poem and smiled like a sphinx."
Moving on to the storyline, despite being a lonely, sarcastic and mysterious teenager, despite having blue hair, odd tattoos, fantasies of revenge and boy problems, despite classifying the imaginary butterflies in the tummy, Karou is not your average seventeen year old. Apart from her unnatural appearance, she has the privellege of making minor wishes with magical necklace beads. Frivolous wishes, I might add. Relatable but silly ones - getting rid of pimples, embarassing the ex-boyfriend, fixing eyebrows, etc. She's an irrevocably passionate artist. An artist who stores sketches of bizarre, unknown and imaginative creatures - beautiful half-serpent, half-women and long necked, parrot-beaked half-demons. However, there's something mysterious about her art and the stories behind them- those sketches aren't just figments of her imagination. They exist and Karou calls them family.
Her errands aren't delivering newspapers or walking dogs. They include; travelling across the globe to meet random people (sometimes human, sometimes not) and well, collecting... not bodies, not gold or anything terribly sexy. Karou's job is collecting teeth for the Wishmonger - her very reserved, grumpy, stern and chimaerae foster dad, mentor, wish supplier and well, tooth fairy. Ah, yes. The teeth. I should explain that bit, right? Don't worry, you'll get to know once you read this and I don't want to spoil the ending. If you're a fan of Albus Dumbledore, you'll like this guy because his secretive and "speaking in riddles" personality really gave me the Dumbledore vibes
"Have you ever asked yourself, do monsters make war, or does war war make monsters?"
This book...stands out. It's about a story of war. A war between the chimaera and the seraphim, ressurectionists and murderers, hope and fear. A story of yearning for peace, tranquility and freedom. A story of regret, stereotypes, ignorance, war, love and hate. And the beauty of art incorporated in every single page of this book.
It's very unique. I liked how the chapters sometimes started with 'Once upon a time..."s. I liked how different, retold versions of the mythological creatures and their originations were told. It was fascinating. Please don't feel irritated if you don't know much about the magical creatures mentioned immediately because you will eventually learn a great deal about them. I mean, I didn't really care because as long as my mc is confused, I'll happily remain confused as well.
Taylor explored her settings with absolutely gorgeous writing - the book kicked off with an image of cold, historic and stunning Prague crowded with street dancers and artists, tourists with their umbrellas. A place blooming with medieval buildings and beautiful architecture turning it into a work of art. We were viewing it from an artist's perspective but damn. I want to visit Prague so badly now.
So, a promising plot? Check. Multi-dimensional characters? Check. Impeccable writing? Check. Humour? Check. Good relationships? Check. Why didn't I give this book, 5 stars, then? Here's why:
1) The characters' ridiculous names. Brimstone, Akiva, Kishmish, Kaz? I suppose those are better names than Panju but really? You know what a Kishmish means in my language? Raisin. Names are powerful, okay? I can't take characters with names like that very seriously. I'm not sure if those are Czech names but they're funny. If that's the case, I'm sorry Czech people!
2) I didn't really fancy the dual P.O.Vs much either. I feel like only some authors are able to write perspectives through different eyes and still maintain the pace and the reader's interest but it was still forgivable.
The cliffhanger-ish ending was frustrating too but I guess it's mostly annoying because I don't have the sequel right now. I'm afraid I'll be unable to read anything else until I'm finished with Karou's story.
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This review can also be found on my blog, Goodreads and Tumblr. (Links in bio.)
Pictures I took while reading: