Reviews with content warning for Rape - Daughter of Smoke & Bone

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Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

10 reviews

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.

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doodeedoda's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

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michelles_book_nook's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

⚠️ TW: war, execution, misogyny, rape, torture ⚠️ If you're looking for a beautifully written and mesmerising fantasy series that will have you instantly obsessed then you need to read this! This book follows Karou who has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On one hand she is a 17 year old art student in Prague and on the other she is an errand girl for a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work of buying teeth from hunters and murderers nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole. When one day the portal doors to elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a nearly destroyed world that may hold the answers she has always sought. This book was everything you could possibly want from a fantasy book and I can't believe it has been sat on my tbr for so long! From the gripping storyline to the vivid characters to the impeccable world building. It left me speechless when I finished it because it was just so good and I dove straight into the second book. Overall, if you are into fantasy then you need to read this book/series because if the other two books are half as great as this one then it is incredibly underrated and needs all of the love!

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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

4 ⭐ CW: violence, descriptions of blood, war, slavery, torture, self-harm mention, suicide, rape

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is book one in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series. This was an interesting twist on the angels and demons story and lore with plenty of romance.

We follow Karou, a blue haired girl going to art school in Prague. Karou has a secret: she was raised by and runs errands for chimera in a different world. But she constantly feels lonely and feels like something about her is missing, that it's something she can't remember. Then black handprints are appearing on portal doors around the world and Karou is dragged into an ancient war between Angels and Chimera. One problem: Akiva the angel seems inexplicably linked to her. We get POVs from Karou and Akiva. Their romance is very sweet.

I really liked the angel and Chimera lore in this and that it wasn't connected to religion. Karou has to learn that magic comes at a price and no one is innocent. Hope was a major theme in the book and how it can be its own kind of magic. Taylor also reminds us of the importance of perspective. To the Angels, chimera are beasts and killers that need to be ruled over. To chimera, angels are cruel and brutal slavers. But the best part is that you can make a new way of life.

I look forward to the rest of the series!

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_tamara_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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navibo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? No

4.0

Not the best one I’ve ever read, but def worth your time<3

Content Warnings

thecourtofreading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

"have you ever asked yourself, do monsters make war, or does war make monsters?"

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nickoliver's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This is a hard book for me to review, because on the one hand, I found it very beautifully written and enjoyed the story itself and the plot twists it had to offer; but on the other hand, I just severely disliked Akiva and the romance from beginning to end. Which didn't really make me enjoy the book anymore. It was a struggle at times, tbh.

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

2023: 3.75 stars.
Past me was such a little sap 🤣 this is still a fun time but I'm mostly obsessed with Prague, art school, and Zuzana, not so much about the romantic relationship, but still a fun time. Super easy to read but definitely has some dated word choices.

2017: 5 stars
I love this so much 😭😭😭😍 Taylor is one of the most amazing writers ever. I thought I couldn't love anything more than strange the dreamer but this was perfection
Her writing style and descriptions are literal magic. The plots are so amazing and everything is just perfect
I'm so thankful I have the next book with me 😂

Content Warnings

bi_n_large's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The worldbuilding for this book is brilliant and the payoffs are phenomenal.

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