Book Recap: Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Cover Inspection:
Don't you just love the mask?
Like Laini Taylor's writing,
the book cover is beautiful.

SUMMARY (book description based on GoodReads):

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 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?

BOOK REPORT CARD:

Cover	3.0
Plot	2.5
Writing	3.5
Characters	3.0
Ending	2.5
Overall Rating	3.0 Very Good! (89% to 92%) * highest rating possible is 4.0

LOCATION/SETTING:
Modern day Prague and Marakesh. I have to say that it is the setting that made me want to read about this book. I am just so intrigued by the air of mystery in these two cities. Exotic.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
The story is about Karou. She is raised by the wishmonger Brimstone, a chimaera sorcerer. She’s human, but she has these marks on her palm. She’s sort of an errand girl for Brimstone, going all over the world in search for teeth. Yes, teeth. Brimstone collects teeth. Although she runs errands for the sorcerer, she does not really know anything about the world she was raised in. Karou recently broke up with her boyfriend. She loves art. Karou has blue hair; she wished it that way.

WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT:
Karou is a human teen is raised by the chimaera (these are creatures that are part human/part animal/part whatever), and she runs errands for Brimstone, the teeth-collecting sorcerer of the chimaera. Karou does not know anything about chimaera, seraphim and their world. Little does she know that the seraphim are sort of invading the chimaera – leaving black handprints on doors or entrances to chimaera lair. She meets the seraphim Akiva (after fighting and almost killing him) and she finds out about the world she was raised in. War is central in this book. There is a war between the chimaera and the seraphim. The seraphim wants to dominate the chimaera and the chimaera just wants to be free. And caught between the war are two lovers.

LOVE:
I loved the world that Laini Taylor has created. A story about monstrous chimaeras and glorious seraphims – the book is very unique. I have never read a book like this one. One looking for a break from vampires and shifters should check this book out. There is no doubt that the Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a very original fantasy book. For some reason, I found this book inspiring too. It conveyed the message that there is always hope, and that even the unchangeable can be changed. In addition, Laini’s Taylor’s writing is beautiful. The world was described in detail, and the writing isn’t choppy. Oh! And I also learned about one very good use for powdered sugar… you have to read the book in order to find out. (haha)

NO LOVE:
I think that the book is too long. It’s probably because too many words are used than necessary. Don’t get me wrong, the writing is impeccable. All I can say is that I am not a fan of verbosity.

FAVORITE CHARACTER:
Brimstone. Although he was presented as ugly and monstrous, he is a father-figure for Karou. He may be hard on Karou, but at the end of the book, one realizes that it is all because of fatherly love.

FAVORITE LINE:

Hope is the real magic, child.

MUSINGS:
This book made me think. Is the light side (or the beautiful side) the good side? Is the dark side (or the ugly side) the evil side? I reached the end of the book wondering who is evil and who is not.

DOODLES:

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE:
Laini Taylor

SIMILAR READS:
Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

CONTENT REVIEW:
profanity: moderate
violence: moderate
sexual content: moderate (implied sex scene, talk of losing virginity)
mature themes: moderate
age recommendation: 14+