Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Karou is the kind of girl that everyone constantly wonders about. Nobody believes her when she says she didn’t dye her bright blue hair, though it’s true. Nobody knows where she disappears to for days at a time, claiming to be on mysterious errands. Nobody could conceive that the extravagant creatures which populate her sketchbooks are actually part of her everyday life.  And though Karou knows these things about herself to be true, she’s still an enigma to even herself. She may know who she is now, an art student in Prague with a connection to several magical monsters, but what she’s afraid she’ll never know is how she got to be this way, and who she was. This burning question of identity still haunts Karou even as she is hurled into the midst of an age old war of otherworldy proportions. As she fights for her life against monsters she’s never faced, Karou will have to ask herself how far she is willing to go to find out the trust of who she is—and set right the violent wrongs of a past to which she is inexplicably tied.

After I started reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone, I wondered to myself why on earth it took me so long to start reading! That’s just how immediately addictive Karou’s story is. Taylor is without a doubt an incredible storyteller; her rich details and sumptuous imagination make the reader feel as if he or she is truly within Karou’s unusual world. And once readers are there, they will never want to leave. What I loved even more about this story than its amazing worldbuilding and alluring tale was how Taylor refuses to skimp on any detail. As a result, her characters are three dimensional and utterly realistic, the pacing is always perfect, and the plot is full of little surprises. Daughter of Smoke and Bone was a true delight to read. It’s more than just a book—it’s an experience that exposes readers to magic, demons, fallen angels, a currency of wishes, a doomed love, betrayal, and so much more. Basically, it’s an experience that will leave readers thirsting for more.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a must read, especially for fans of A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, Falling Under by Gwen Hayes, and City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

Rating: 4.75

Review copies from BEA and publisher Little, Brown