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gilexia's review against another edition
5.0
Es war ein Reread und es hat sich echt gelohnt. Der Anfang ist noch so typisch Fantasy-Jugend-Buch-mäßig mit guten Humor und eine coole, starke Protagonistin. Allgemein finde ich die Story und die Welt da echt toll, und den Wechsel von Urban-Fantasy zu High-Fantasy ist wunderbar gelungen. Alles echt gut gemacht, aber das Besondere liegt echt am letzten Drittel. Es ist einfach so schön geschrieben und ich wurde echt auch traurig. Leider konnte ich mich dann wieder an das Ende erinnern, aber ich weiß noch, dass es mich beim ersten Mal überrascht hat. Es ist jedenfalls kein typisches Ende.
Ich freue mich jedenfalls schon auf den zweiten Band! (Was auch ein Reread ist, aber ich kann mich an fast nichts erinnern. Ich weiß nur noch, dass ich sogar noch besser fand, als den ersten Teil)
Ich freue mich jedenfalls schon auf den zweiten Band! (Was auch ein Reread ist, aber ich kann mich an fast nichts erinnern. Ich weiß nur noch, dass ich sogar noch besser fand, als den ersten Teil)
matolj's review against another edition
5.0
JUst SOOOOO flipping amazingly mind blowing....oh my gooood i loved this so much!!!
duvyna's review against another edition
2.0
Daughter of Smoke & Bone is such a popular book and I wanted to really like it but it was an on again off again affair for me. I found the first half to be pretty slow and I’m not sure I needed some of the details of the life Karou is currently living. Karou is living in Prague but that is hardly her home, in fact she doesn’t really seem to have one. She was a likeable enough character but was bogged down by the minutiae of her life. The ex-boyfriend really had too much page time and the amount of time she spends away running”errands” makes it unlikely she really could be a good student with no one thinking it strange.
Akiva was a strong character and I get him but the first meeting with Karou was a bit out of place and makes it unlikely the second one was going to go as well as it did… The back story while important seemed to drag on. The last quarter of the book was mostly flash backs and then boom you’re at the epilogue and she’s flying off into danger with no allies, no plan and a lack of knowledge about what lies ahead… I found it rather unsatisfying. Brimstone I found a bit annoying; keeping someone in the dark just leads to trouble and it was no different here. I don’t really know what his plans truly were but I don’t see how they are going to work out to peace happening.
I did want to like this book but it just didn’t live up to the hype for me and I don’t think I’ll read the next books of this series. It’s a YA book in that there is only lightly implies sex and non-graphic violence with one character sort of aged 17 but still not really; the subject matter seems more mature for the typical YA crowd and they might find it a bit of a slog.
Akiva was a strong character and I get him but the first meeting with Karou was a bit out of place and makes it unlikely the second one was going to go as well as it did… The back story while important seemed to drag on. The last quarter of the book was mostly flash backs and then boom you’re at the epilogue and she’s flying off into danger with no allies, no plan and a lack of knowledge about what lies ahead… I found it rather unsatisfying. Brimstone I found a bit annoying; keeping someone in the dark just leads to trouble and it was no different here. I don’t really know what his plans truly were but I don’t see how they are going to work out to peace happening.
I did want to like this book but it just didn’t live up to the hype for me and I don’t think I’ll read the next books of this series. It’s a YA book in that there is only lightly implies sex and non-graphic violence with one character sort of aged 17 but still not really; the subject matter seems more mature for the typical YA crowd and they might find it a bit of a slog.
fethiye's review against another edition
4.0
Really liked it . The writing Style is lyrical and the world building is fantastic . It's Entertaining
manjala's review against another edition
3.0
Laini Taylor's writing, as always, is so fantastical and beautiful in this book.
There were so many very unique and cool concepts in this story and world, which I really liked. Sadly, I couldn't get particularly attached to any of the characters yet. At first I noticed a bit of the "not like other girls"-flavor with the main character (I blame the 2010 era this came out in for it), but it managed to subvert it enough to make Karou likeable for me. To be honest, I'm kind of a sucker for artist characters like her. (April from the Longest Journey being one of my favorites probably).
One thing I did not like was the insta-love and the heavy focus on it, and it was not even with one, but two couples. That kinda cheapened the whimsy and magic I felt for all the rest of it.
I feel this series has a lot of potential for me though, so I will continue on right away. I have all three books anyways... ;)
There were so many very unique and cool concepts in this story and world, which I really liked. Sadly, I couldn't get particularly attached to any of the characters yet. At first I noticed a bit of the "not like other girls"-flavor with the main character (I blame the 2010 era this came out in for it), but it managed to subvert it enough to make Karou likeable for me. To be honest, I'm kind of a sucker for artist characters like her. (April from the Longest Journey being one of my favorites probably).
One thing I did not like was the insta-love and the heavy focus on it, and it was not even with one, but two couples. That kinda cheapened the whimsy and magic I felt for all the rest of it.
I feel this series has a lot of potential for me though, so I will continue on right away. I have all three books anyways... ;)
odin45mp's review against another edition
3.0
The world setting is fairly unique, with magic manifesting in an unusual way in the beginning. The characters are less developed than I would like, and their character arcs through this book fall squarely in the tragic, star-crossed lovers trope. I was hoping for something a little more outside the box. That said, where the world is and where it may go will have me getting the next volume from the library at some point in time.
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to read this book as it has been on my TBR for a while, I enjoyed Strange the Dreamer and I wanted to read more of her work. So, I decided to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I enjoyed this book, but I got completed lost during the middle of this book.
This book is based on Karou, she fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious errands. She speaks many languages – not all of them human – and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that colour. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she is about of find out. However, around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low and in the tangled lanes of Prague, Karou is about to get caught up in the war. Then there is beautiful and haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets are unveiled and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But with Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
I still adore Laini’s writing style and the way she describes things so beautiful and makes you feel like you are lying on a soft pillow. I loved the love story between our two MCs, even though I don’t usually like love at first sight. Karou is such a badass and yet she’s got a heart of gold and just wants to find a true love for herself and who she is – like having a gooey inside but a tough shell. Akiva told a while to grow on me because I didn’t know if I could trust him or not and still don’t trust him after this book. I loved Karou’s best friend and how she still wanted to meet Akiva even if they don’t speak the same language, but she wanted to threaten him to not hurt her best friend. I just wanted to hug her throughout this whole book – she just wanted to have friends and live. The story was so unique, and it was so interesting.
However, I struggled with the jump between the past and the present. One minute it was Karou and Akiva in Prague about to find some of Akiva’s friend and then it was the past and the White Wolf and Madrigal and I just lost the storyline a bit. It just sort of happened and then we were back in the present and I had a headache.
Overall, this book was brilliant, and I will be carrying on with the series and hopefully the second book will make more sense because that cliffhanger was mean.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Torture, Slavery, and Genocide
Minor: Sexual content, Rape, and Animal death
megscorner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
eudisummer's review against another edition
3.0
Not my favorite series, I felt like I got side tracked while reading this book a lot. Although it had good plot and great backgrounds but it felt like it just kept dragging on I feel like now that everything is out, the story will finally begin in the second book, I won’t be in a rush to get it though.
diana_ykm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0