“Once upon a time,
an angel lay dying in the mist.
And a devil knelt over him and smiled.”
Now, can you honestly tell me that doesn’t sound like a wonderfully delicious read?
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, the first installment of the series, is one of my favorite Young Adult books. The author, Laini Taylor, has done an incredible job mixing rich, beautiful description with today’s modern––American––sense of humor.
The characters are edgy, tough, and do all sorts of crazy, mythological things you or I couldn’t even begin to imagine (on our own, anyway), let alone try––like a girl flying through the streets without any form of device, cords, or lever.
And how did this story come to be? Well, one day this wonderful woman decided to write this incredible story, and then…
“…something [started] to take shape,
out of magic and will. Smoke and bone.”
The story begins with a girl, her name is Karou––which means “hope.”
Now, she isn’t exactly your typical teenage girl, even if you could look past the hamsas tattooed to her palms, the blue hair is kind of hard to ignore.
But where is this strange girl from? Who knows….
Where could you possibly find her?
Prague, and that’s where the majority of the story takes place.
Karou is not the only unique creature in this book. There is, of course, Zuzana––Karou’s best friend––who is know for her absurd commentary, but even stranger is Karou’s family. Now, I know what you must be thinking, “my family’s pretty strange too”––maybe you even have a crazy Uncle Al, but trust me, your family has got nothing on Karou’s.
Because I seriously doubt that any of you humans out there were raised by Chimera. That’s right, I said CHIMERA––as in super-awesome, super-crazy, mythological beasts that you KNOW you want to read about.
But I’m getting off subject….
And Chimera aren’t the only magical creatures in existence either. There are also Seraphs. Of course, these two beings don’t live in our average human world, nor do they get along. Ongoing war plagues the two species––it has for their entire existence––and now it has seeped into our human world (or more correctly, Karou’s).
Now, there is far more to the story, but I’d hate to give away all Karou’s secrets. Just one more thing before you rush to Lemuria to by this book––because let’s be honest, you’re already looking for your car keys––there is another really important character I should mention. His name is Akiva, and he is a Seraph. I’m sure you know where this is going. Yes, the plot contains a love story. Totally unexpected, I know, but this is a YA series, what did you expect?! But it’s all right, I myself have a crush on Akiva, so don’t worry.
Now, it has been a few months since I have read this book.
So please excuse me if some of my school girl giddiness has escaped my writing––trust me, it has not vanished.
I only hope I have made this book sound like it was worth reading. Because it most certainly is.
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