I have nothing but good things to say about one of my most recent reads, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor. I found the book while I was lurking in the book store (I might as well bring a tent and just camp out in the aisle, the amount of time I spend there). I was drawn to the remarkably handsome cover (see above picture) and when I flipped through I was elated to see it was in (gasp) THIRD PERSON. I find myself irked with the constant flood of first person narration that seems to have saturated the young adult market. I swear if I come across one more story of a magical girl falling in love with a bad boy-who-isn’t-really-a-bad boy type of character I’m going to stab my eyeballs out with my feather pen. (Yes, I do have one. I swear I’ll do it). Below are the reasons Daughter of Smoke and Bones is one of the best reads of all time…
THE MAGIC: The idea of wishes as a form of magic has always interested me, and the way that Taylor describes it is just fascinating, likes nothing I’ve read before. ( And I have read a LOT.)
THE MYSTERY: It becomes evident that the main character, Karou is not quite human. But what is she? It doesn’t become apparent for quite some time. I absolutely LOVE that, unlike most books, I wasn’t able to guess what she was right away, and when I found out I was shocked because, low and behold, it was completely ORIGINAL. Now there’s a thought….
THE WRITING: Well gosh-darn and golly gee! If the writing wasn’t just refreshingly fantastic for once! Not only does Taylor spin an engaging tale with a twisting, surprising plot full of mythology and spooky and fantastic settings, the English language will sit, stay and roll over for her. Damn, I may or may not have been absolutely green with envy.
Would I recommend this book? You bet your acronym I would! I give this 9 out of 10 on my bookshelf scale.
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