Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

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 otherworldly 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?

Review

Everything about this book screams beautiful. The cover, the story, the language. I fell utterly in love with it after the first chapter. If you want to steal away to a dark, fairytale world, this book is the perfect read.

We follow the story of Karou, an art student in the city of Prague (the European setting makes it all the more mysterious). Anyway, the strange thing about her is that she is an orphan, with no knowledge of her origins. You're obviously wondering "how does an orphan survive with no parents?" at this point, right? Well, Karou has been raised by a foster family of creatures from another world. Without giving too much away, this world has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is a big part of Karou's life.

My favorite aspect of this book was the author's use of language in writing the story. Everything is beautifully scripted and falls into place delightfully. She also manages to make the romance of "two people from two different worlds" work without it seeming cliché. While reading, I found myself drawing comparisons to Fallen by Lauren Kate, in which the romance is similar. While, the romance is a big component of the story, it doesn't completely devour the characterization or plot, which happens in Fallen. You should definitely give this book a shot if you're not a fan of the Fallen series.

I also enjoyed the world-building in this book. Every location and magical aspect, from the streets of Prague to the monstrous world is artfully drawn through beautifully poetic descriptions. Overall, Daughter of Smoke & Bone has the right mixture of romance, adventure, and intrigue that makes the start of an awesome series.

Rating: ★★★★ 4 stars

Renée   

The Friday 56 (10): Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice
Rules:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader

*Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it!) that grabs you

*Post it

*Comment with your (url) post.

This week's pick: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor 

Ah, yes. When Karou was too small to show out into the world's streets on her own, Issa had kept her here. Hours they had sometimes crouched in this tiny space, Issa trying to keep her entertained by singing songs or drawing -- in fact, it was Issa who had started her drawing -- or crowning her with venomous snakes, while inside Brimstone confronted whatever lurked on the other side of that door. 

Renée  

Waiting on Wednesday (8): Fates by Lanie Bross

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event held by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick:

Fates (Fates #1) by Lanie Bross

Expected Publication Date: February 11th, 2014

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Genre: Fantasy, Mythology, YA

One moment. One foolish desire. One mistake. And Corinthe lost everything.

She fell from her tranquil life in Pyralis Terra and found herself exiled to the human world. Her punishment? To make sure people's fates unfold according to plan. Now, years later, Corinthe has one last assignment: kill Lucas Kaller. His death will be her ticket home.

But for the first time, Corinthe feels a tingle of doubt. It begins as a lump in her throat, then grows toward her heart, and suddenly she feels like she is falling all over again--this time for a boy she knows she can never have. Because it is written: one of them must live, and one of them must die. In a universe where every moment, every second, every fate has already been decided, where does love fit in?

My Thoughts

I love it when authors take mythology and give it a modern twist. This story looks so interesting as it ties in the idea of the Greek fates and how they control the lives and destinies of people. It should turn out to be a good YA fantasy. Guess we'll have to wait and see...

Renée

The Friday 56 (7): Sleepless by Cyn Balog

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice
Rules:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56, or 56% in your eReader

*Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it!) that grabs you

*Post it

*Comment with your (url) post.

This week: Sleepless by Cyn Balog 

The rain filters through the trees, weighing down the leaves, making my branch wet, but I cannot feel the dampness on my skin. Sandmen are not affected by the weather, or so Chimere tells me. Yet just as I did as a human, I find rainy days to be gloomy. So many years have passed since I would arrive at the mill looking like a drowned rat after trekking the four miles through the city of Newark, and no longer do I have to endure the water seeping through the soles of my well-worn shoes...yet there is still something utterly melancholy about gray skies and softly falling raindrops. 

Waiting on Wednesday (7): Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event held by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pick:

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Expected Publication Date: April 15th, 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Genre: Contemporary, Fanstasy, Romance, YA

Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash. 

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

My Thoughts

Another Jennifer L. Armentrout book? I'm totally on board here. Her writing style and characters are just so awesome! Really can't wait for this one.

Still on my Mind (2): Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Still on my Mind is hosted by Haley at YA-Aholic where we feature a book we read a while back that was so good it's "still on our mind."

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight - she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug.

When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change.

She never expects to become Po's friend.

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace - or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...

Why this is still on my mind...

I picked up Graceling for the first time this summer when I was looking for something to read after Hunger Games. My older sister had recommended it to me a while back, so when I saw it lying there on the shelf, I thought why not? Anyway, long story short I simply fell in love with the world and characters Kristin Cashore created. I loved Katsa's! She was the heroine I wanted to be at the time; tough, brave, unrelenting, and a total bad-ass. And I loved the romance between Katsa and Po; they were definitely made for each other. Graceling was probably one of the best YA fantasies I've read so far.

Review: Onyx (Lux #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I've sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we've got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I've seen someone who shouldn't be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…
________________________________________________________________________

The second installment in the Lux series, this book promises to be amazing and delivers. It picks up where Obsidian left off, where Daemon and Katy are dealing with the aftermath of a recent Arum attack. Katy realizes she shares a "connection" with Daemon after he healed her from a near-death experience with an Arum. Convenient for Katy, a new boy arrives in town: Blake Saunders, and he apparently has the answers to all the weird things that have been happening to Katy. Meanwhile, with the Department of Defense in town, there are rumors that Dawson and Bethany may still be alive, and we get a little closer to uncovering the mysterious "disappearance" of those two.

Katy and Daemon were absolutely brilliant once again. The witty banter and romance between the two was just right. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who wants to swoon every time Daemon's mentioned. It was fun to see them open up to each other after the whole "boy pretends to hate girl" phase was over. This book couple is similar to Will Herondale and Tessa Gray from Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series. Unlike that series, no love triangle here.  

What I like the most about Katy is that she's fiercely independent...but that can have a downside too. Since sometimes that translates into reckless behavior that can hurt those closest to her. But from an overall point of view, she's an awesome kick-butt protagonist that doesn't need to rely on only Daemon to get her out of (most) sticky situations.

The book ended on a cliffhanger that pulls on the heartstrings. It seems happy...for now. It should make for an interesting turn of events in the next book.

An awesome sauce rating of 4.5 starts for this one!

Renée