#dosab edit

[padmeskywalkers]

books read in 2017: the daughter of smoke and bone trilogy ( laini taylor )

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.

[freefallers]

                                                                                                  “Love is a luxury."                                                                                        "No. Love is an element."                                               An element. Like air to breathe, earth to stand on.”                                ― Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone 

Review:

                                                                                                          5/7 hearts

WRITING, PROSE, WORLDBUILDING

       A very immersive beginning with the plot weakening a bit towards the end, aDoSaB was all in all a rather satisfying epilogue to my reading year. Following the adventures of 16-year-old Karou, a blue haired artist who collects teeth for her rather… unconventional family, Laini Taylor’s prose arouses the senses without excess and profligacy. Masterfully giving classic YA tropes an original touch, the author creates a very solid urban fantasy scenery with descriptions that awoke my wanderlust and tingled my imagination. The stories of the sun and the two moons were definetely my favorite and gave a depth to the world-building sadly most YA in the spectrum of fantasy tend to derograte.

CHARACTERS

           Though not particularly fascinating, Karou is, in my opinion, a beautiful example of a self-empowered yet kind female character. Aware of her beauty and her strength without rendering herself untouchable or without emotion, she challenges you to participate in the unveiling of her origin and makes you wish she appeared more.

        Personally, I found the love interest, Akiva, quite dull, though I am curious to see how their dynamic evolves in the rest of the series. Brimstone, Issa, Zuzana… even Kaz and Razgut were, I think, very complimentary secondary characters –her hoemance with Zuzana is plainly delicious and way more realistic than I could have hoped for- developed in depth. As far as villains go, Thiago was not very intimidating. Curiously the Warlord’s presence was more imposing. I’d like to see more of him and whether or not he was in the same page as Brimstone, who, has got to be my favorite.

VERDICT

     Tiring flashbacks aside, I am not sure what the story lacked that left me a bit unsatisfied. Maybe it was that I found the plot a bit predictable; maybe the fact that though not quite insta love, everything happens way too fast to the point I don’t see why I should ship it. Even though I don’t think I will be re-reading this particular book again, I am very eager to see what is going to happen next and especially for all the aspiring writers out there, I definetely suggest it. Hopefully neither of us won’t be let down.

[grishae]

· YA LIT MEME: five protagonists (5/5) - karou

“beyond merely pretty, her face was vibrantly alive, her gaze always luminous, and she had a birdlike way of cocking her head, her lips pressed together while her dark eyes danced, that hinted at secrets an mysteries.”

[bloodnstrlight]

starry posters  ☆ daughter of smoke and bone, by laini taylor.

“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.”

[aly-naith]

Have you ever asked yourself?

[b-reads-books]

Favorite OTPs – Karou and Akiva | Daughter of Smoke and Bone

“Some,” he went on, “lie together under a shared blanket and breathe the scent of each other in their sleep. They dream of a temple lost in a requiem grove, and of the wishes that were made there… and came true.”

She remembered the temple grove— every night, every moment, every wish. She remembered the pull of him, like a tide. The heat of him. The weight of him. But not with this body. To this body every sensation would be new. She flushed, but didn’t look away.

“Some,” he said, soft now, “don’t have much longer to wait.” 

[grishae]

· YA LIT MEME: ten series or books (3/10) - daughter of smoke and bone by laini taylor

“wishes are false. hope is true. hope makes its own magic.”

[chaosoflyssa]

books i read in 2017 → dreams of gods & monsters by laini taylor

“Once upon a time,an angel and a devil pressed their hands to their hearts and started the apocalypse.”