Review . . . Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

I received this book for free thanks to GoodReads' First Reads program and also Little Brown. So thank you both!

Here's my review!

Okay so wow. This book takes the classical angels and demons to a whole new fantasy level and it’s so fresh and it is really well done.

Laini Taylor’s writing is so beautiful and so rich that I can’t even. The way she describes Akiva and also Prague is so breathtaking and I can’t even.

“It was cold, and it was dark – in the dead of winter the sun didn't rise until eight – but it was also lovely. The falling snow and the early hour conspired to paint Prague ghostly, like a tintype photograph, all silver and haze.”

“Fairy-tale city. From the air, red rooftops hug a kink in a dark river, and by night the forested hills appear as spans of black nothing against the dazzle of the lit castle, the spiking Gothic towers, the domes great and small. The river captures all the lights and teases them out, long and wavering, and the side slashing rain blurs it all to a dream.”  

Um. Yes. She is a master at describing and painting these beautiful pictures in the reader’s head. The descriptions mostly have this overall running theme of beauty and dream-like.

There’s a Romeo and Juliet-esque love to this story, the love shared between an angel and a demon. As the first page says, “Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.”

Zuzanna and Mik were super cute. Their love is adorable and it’s almost a foil to the love that Akiva and Karou have.

Also, the chimaera! I like that we get to see past Brimstone’s stony exterior and learn of his past. I love Issa and her snakes and Yasri and the pastries.

The thing that was also interesting is the exchange of pain for wishes that come true. I like that there is a system that one must pay something that is equivalent to what one desires. It brings to light the question of how much pain is a person willing to pay to have a wish.

The half star came off just because I wasn’t completely and irrevocably in love with the book, but it was close enough.

This was such a well-executed story and I can’t wait to read the next book. Well done, Laini Taylor. I applaud you!

I recommend this book for sure, especially if you want a different kind of angel book.

Happy Reading!