Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Karou. Her name means hope.

Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there’s no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.

She’s an enigma – her hair grows blue from her scalp, she collects languages, and you get basically no background about her or information about her childhood. You are left to question: who is she? What is she? The mystery was intriguing and left me eager to learn about her past. And the teeth! What are the freaking teeth all about?! That was driving me crazy. I loved how it kept me guessing right up until the end, when it finally gave answers.

“Don’t put anything unnecessary into yourself. No poisons or chemicals, no fumes or smoke or alcohol, no sharp objects, no inessential needles – drug or tattoo – and…no inessential penises either.”

It could have been a good drawing, but she’d ruined it. Her line work had darkened and lost all subtlety, finally ending in a chaotic scribble that blotted out his…inessential penis.

Blue hair: frivolous.

Erasing pimples: vain.

Wishing off the light switch so she didn’t have to get out of bed: lazy. (something I would do, ha)

Making ex-boyfriend’s cranny itch: vindictive.

There was a bit of a lull in the plot between the doorways to Elsewhere burning and the breaking of the wishbone. It never got boring, but it was just Karou and Akiva and a lot of talking. I kind of expected Karou to put up a little more resistance against him. She wants to hate him and suddenly doesn’t. There wasn’t really a transition. But there was sort of a reason for that too, I suppose.

I mentioned the breaking of the wishbone because it was a turning point for me. After that, the plot really took off. You finally get the whole background needed, who and what Karou is, who Akiva is, and the significance of the teeth – which I found fascinating, astounding, and utterly brilliant.

Taylor spun a glorious tale of forbidden love and star-crossed lovers from the past. The last 100 pages were riveting to say the least. I wanted to read as quickly as possible and at the same time I never wanted it to end. In addition to finding out the purpose of the teeth and the bodies in the basement, you also realize the purpose of the Smoke and Bone of the book’s title. I loved that part, magic and will and what it symbolized.

I must say I was very frustrated by the end. I kind of had the urge to scream, actually. Everything finally comes together, only to fall apart. The downside of reading the first book of a series before the 2nd is released. After I finished this book, I just sat there for almost twenty minutes straight, dumbfounded and staring. There was so much information and background crammed into that last 100 pages that I want to read the book again to pick up all the details. There were so many little things along the way that I didn’t realize were significant until I got that last puzzle piece and was thinking back on the rest of the book.

This is definitely one of those reads that my mind will revisit at random intervals!