Book Review: DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1)

Author: Laini Taylor

Published Date: September 27th 2011

Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance

Summary | Add to TBR

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 grows 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 one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored 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?

My Thoughts:

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.

I know there are lots of you who have read and loved and adored this book. So, please don't take it against me when I say that I didn't like this book "THAT" much. I enjoyed it somehow, though maybe not as much as you did. I know, I know... maybe it's just me, but here's what I really think about the book:

The story started really slow for me up to the middle part. The first half was so confusing--the setting and even the style of writing. First, I didn't know that Prague is actually a city in Czech. I thought it was something that the author created and a result of her creative imagination (Really, I'm sorry. I'm not that smart to know everything.) Second, I couldn't relate with the characters. And it's the first thing I look forward to in any books. I need to like them, I need to feel a connection. Unfortunately, no matter how I tried, I couldn't connect with Karou the same way that I couldn't feel her relationship with Akiva. It was like Karou and Madrigal were two different people entirely.

BUT. The second half of the book is a different case. This time, the story picked up. Just when I thought that I would be bored to death, the surprises started to arise, and the secrets began to unfold. I started to understand things, letting me enjoy the rest of the story. Honestly, I didn't expect it to catch up anymore but I was surprised when I reached the other half of the book. Suddenly, everything makes sense!

I can't say that I'm excited for the next installment, but I can't deny either that I still want to read it and see what will happen to the characters. The ending wasn't at all cliffie for me and maybe it's because I wasn't that invested in the characters which is kinda bad since characters matters to me a lot--BIG TIME. The setting is interesting (but like I said, confusing) and the plot is unique, so over-all, this book is good enough, but not something I look forward to reading again.

BUT. Please don't base your decision in my review alone. People actually, truly enjoyed this book and I'm just one of the few who didn't love it enough. Read more reviews and who knows, you might actually enjoy it. Every book is something, right? Maybe not just for everyone, but they are certainly worth other people's time. Go and give it a shot.


My Rating: