Daughter of Smoke and Bone

By: Laini Taylor

Narrated by: Khristine Hvam

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

Beautiful Writing, Mediocre Romance

Blue haired, free spirited Karou runs between worlds to gather special items for her mentor/father figure, Brimstone. He gives her wishes when she completes her tasks and like a spoiled child, frivolously wastes them at times. On one particular errand, she meets someone from her past whom she doesn't yet remember and you travel with her to find out the answers.

The writing is fluid, detailed, and rich with character development in this YA novel. The explanation of why Karou collects the items is fascinating.

Khristine Hvam is flawless and sounds exactly as I imagine Karou would.

What I would change is the characters' flawless beauty. A little imperfection makes the story more plausible and the references to perfection are irritating. Also didn't care for the half animal, fantastical other world and relationships. The book would have been better without it, however the writing is lyrical, lovely, and I recommend this YA romance.

Good Book But Just Didn't Interest Me

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a nicely dark urban fantasy featuring an unusual setting (Prague) and a variety of interesting characters. This is definitely a Romeo and Juliet story playing upon several mythos but at its heart a devil and demon pairing in the midst of a centuries old war.

Story: Karou is a human art student raised by 'monsters' - beasts made up of several different types of animals living in the underground. Then an angel appears trying to kill her and slaughter her friends/family, and she soon realizes that there is a lot more to her life and family then she ever knew. But will she learn enough in time to save those important to her - or even herself?

I fully understand why there are so many 5-star reviews for this book - it's decently written, interestingly dark, and makes a lot of moral dilemmas for the main characters. And yet, it never really captured me. Not enough happens and a lot is remembering a past that already happened - making half the book feel very passive. I listened to the audible version and I found myself oddly disconnected and even bored with the story. I didn't really like Karou, her friends, or the angel. As well, the villains were almost cookie cutter macho bad guys and the good guys just a bit too good. That lack of complexity warred with a story that was trying very hard to not be so simplistic.

I attribute my malaise more to my personal tastes and interests rather than the fault of the author, however. So for me it was a 2 star book but recognizing the appeal, I offset that against the 5 stars and find a 3.5 star rating.

Don't let my experience discourage you from this book - it is by no means a bad book at all and I can definitely see why so many enjoyed it.

I Loved this Book

A really interesting premise. I read lots of paranormal fantasy and romance and this is new and different. I loved the writing style, the character building and the world building.

Sophisticated Fairy Tale

Lovely story and performance- You can just slip into this book and enjoy the interesting mix of myth, fable and religious symbols or just hang on for a fun ride in an different world.
I listened to it while prepping and painting my garage - Made the task a guilty pleasure vs dreaded chore.

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.