Daughter of Smoke and Bone

By: Laini Taylor

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

In a nation on the brink of war, a young art student's star-crossed love begins to bloom in the first book of the New York Times best-selling epic fantasy trilogy by award-winning author 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 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?

©2011 Laini Taylor (P)2011 Hachette Audio

Interesting and captivating story

I found this story to be very unique and the characters to be captivating. The author did a wonderful job describing the cities that were settings for the story. The architecture was detailed and made me want to travel to these places (particularly Morocco and Prague). I did find some of the writing repetitive, particularly when many of the characters were described as beautiful, over and over and over again. The other primary problem I had with this audiobook was the performer's attempt at different voices for the characters. Often times the accent sounded a little over the top to me and many of them sounded the same. Overall, I found this book to be very different I did enjoy listening to it. I am excited for the sequel to come out so I can find out what Karou does with her new memories.

THIS AUTHOR REALLY KNOWS HOW TO WRITE!!!

What made the experience of listening to Daughter of Smoke and Bone the most enjoyable?

Easy and fun listening! I thoroughly enjoyed the author's descriptions of the world that is ours and her fantastical world that is everywhere and nowhere. The strange and lovely characters, creatures and settings made this audio book hard for me to turn off.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Daughter of Smoke and Bone?

I don't want to give anything away but one of the best moments takes place when the ruthless, cold Akiva realizes his relationship to the outwardly strong but inwardly vulnerable and 'lost' Karou, and their meeting results in a supernatural conflict that causes Karou to take him home. Of course she refuses to let her guard down so instead of relaxing she paints, draws and sketches the stranger who is asleep on her couch and who is not of this world, not a human but who is alluring, magnificent and gorgeous. I think I fell in love with Akiva before Karou did.

Which character – as performed by Khristine Hvam – was your favorite?

The narrator did a well enough job but some of the accents (northern European) were questionable.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I am impatiently waiting for the second book!

Any additional comments?

I loved the author's descriptions of Prague, other cities, architecture, characters, etc...wonderful, colorful and very creative.

Excellent

Where does Daughter of Smoke and Bone rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of my all-time favorite series! A must for all fantasy readers who love it when angels are less than perfect.

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!

What made the experience of listening to Daughter of Smoke and Bone the most enjoyable?

The narrator's voices, by far! This is a book FILLED with new creatures galore; dozens and dozens of them. Let alone the people. Khristine Hvam gave a hiss or growl or snarl or menace to each and every character and kept it through the entire series. I still don't know how she did it. Even if the words hadn't read "Issa said..." I would have still known it was her speaking. And don't even get me started on Zuzana. I laughed out loud so many times!

Which scene was your favorite?

Brimstone's workshop when Karou first arrived there in the book. I so wanted to step inside and look around.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

Any additional comments?

Laini Taylor has a singular way of description that I've never seen before. It seems she uses all of her senses when writing that really fit the story. For instance if another author would describe feeling someones soul they may use words like kind and cheerful and sweet. But Taylor's descriptions would run something like "his essence was morning sunshine and mountain stream and crackling fire". It made no sense but at the same time, I understood her completely and it was a joy to listen to.

Very intriguing

The book was a very intriguing one. I like reading or in this case listening to these types of books and story line. It made me laugh and I was able to feel what the characters were feeling which is very good. I can't wait to continue onto the next one! Thank you it was awesome!

Exceeded Expectations

Daughter of Smoke and Bone was extremely engaging and entertaining. I looked forward to my commute every day just so I could listen to the story. Cheesy at parts, but genuinely well-written and worth a listen.

Great Fantasy Novel--Average Love Story

What is it that compels some authors to include irrelevant love stories in otherwise good books? I have no idea. Taylor has introduced a new world of magic and wishes that is truly amazing. The storyline is spectacular when dealing with that world, yet it gets a bit too muddied with the love story. I think the book would have done just fine on its own without the love story. Nevertheless, the ending of the book left me interested in reading the next one, and I can't wait for it to come out!

Great story!

I was having withdrawals from having finished all of Stephanie Maas books, and this was great to fill that gap! Loved it!

loved every minute

this is the book series this is my second time listening to it and I'm still in love with it

A must read!

I love this series! The writing style is beautifull and almost lyrical when put into audio. The surprising end to this novel always makes my heart hurt.

Do yourself a favor and read this series!