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

Complex, Entertaining and Challenging...but

Laini Taylor weaves a beautiful tale until she gets sidetracked and fails to recover the threads of the story before ending the book too abruptly.

Using simple words, beautiful writing and rich metaphors, Laini Taylor lays down the foundation for an amazing adventure. The witty, quick banter between Karou and her best friend, Zuzana, is light and refreshing. In contrast, Karou's pursuit of teeth on behalf of her "family" of monsters, her questions concerning who she is and how she came to live with them and the fantastic magical doors to different places in the world, is thrilling and exciting. The arrival of Akiva and the marking of the magical doors add to the intensity and complexity of the story.

Once the stage is set, however, the overall flow falls apart. The introduction of the world where Akiva and the “monsters” come from feels rushed. The Karou/Akiva romance feels false and forced. Things get worse when too much time is spent in the "flashback" Akiva/Madrigal story at the cost of further development of the Akiva/Karou story, and then, the book just ends.

Despite the abrupt ending and disappointing overall development, I enjoyed the writing, quotes and metaphors so much, that I plan to give "Days of Blood and Starlight" a try. I hope that Ms. Taylor can salvage a very promising story.

A great Christmas Read

What did you love best about Daughter of Smoke and Bone?

I was able to lose myself in a story I could not put down.

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

When she flew for the first time it was incredible.

Any additional comments?

I liked how the ending was not just the romance all tied up into a nice package.

Ok, but lost my interest

Was moving along, if a bit long winded, until the flashbacks started. Then it lost my interest, plot was ok but started to ramble.

Wonderful fantasy!

Loved, loved, LOVED this story. We meet Karou, a 17 year old art student living in Prague. Her bright blue hair grows out of her head that way (!) and she has no memory of any human family. The only "family" that she does have are her father figure Brimstone and his half-snake assistant Issa, along with other monstrous creatures Yasri and Twiga. Karou carries around a notebook, where she makes drawings of these creatures, along with drawings of angels' wings. She eventually meets an angel, Akiva, and as their relationship unfolds, their history is revealed, along with deep pain, betrayal, and lifetimes of regret. This is a wonderful story that really paints a picture of another time, another place. I loved it and was so sad when it ended. Sigh... :-)

Wow, starts off slow, but gets really amazing

Stick with this book, you will not be diaspointed. Love, Adventure, Twists, new content! Great book!!

To romantic for me

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

If you like love stories and fantasy this would probably be your kind of book.

decent story, casual teen sex

Would you try another book from Laini Taylor and/or Khristine Hvam?

yes.

Would you be willing to try another book from Laini Taylor? Why or why not?

yes.

What aspect of Khristine Hvam’s performance would you have changed?

nothing. she was fine.

Was Daughter of Smoke and Bone worth the listening time?

yes.

Any additional comments?

The only caveat I would offer is since the intended demographic is teenaged girls, the main character as a minor in high school should not be engaging in casual sex first with a fairly sleazy young man nor appearing so ready to jump in with both feet again with the hero. I like sex with context, thank you very much, and I very much dislike the trend of the publishing world to portray our children hopping from sex partner to sex partner just to sell books. This story does less of that than some, admittedly, and attempts to back track a little on this front, by having the mentor character chide his protégée for 'unnecessary penises' which I liked.

Can't wait to start the next book!

YA but not YA at the same time. A wonderful mix of high fantasy and urban fantasy in the same vein as His Dark Materials, but with a romantic subplot that would make Shakespeare proud. Not yet madly in love with it, but very much looking forward to book 2!

Phenomenal

Just buy it and start reading. You most certainly won't be able to stop. She's amazing, and this novel was amazing.

Everybody Loves A Tale Of Monsters

I bought this book unconvinced and ended up reading it in three days!
The story is fun and well developed, and I even found myself gasping in some passages.
The narrator is adorable!! I want to listen to everything that she reads! Her accents and inflections are just fabulous, and that always adds to the story that’s being told.
I am going to purchase book two of this series and hopefully, the author will keep the good work with that one too.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a good book for youths and adults who still like stories about monsters, angels, and the like.

#angelsanddemons #lovestory #engaging #fabulousnarrator #pageturner #tagsgiving #sweepstakes