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A review by rubeusbeaky
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
4.0
A beautiful, beguiling fantasy! Many times I felt like I was being drawn into a play, the story was so descriptive, sensual and rich. I love the surprising moral inversion (protagonist demons and antagonist angels), and I love the merger of so many myths from different cultures/religions to create one world. AND, at the risk of sounding redundant, I love the motif about how truth and story are a matter of perspective.
I had some nitpicky moments. I wish Laini Taylor had gone back and forth between Karou and Madrigal's stories, instead of saving Madrigal's for the final chunk of the book; I think it would have created more sympathy for Akiva earlier on, and made his sympathies for Karou less sudden and jarring.
I was also a little upset that even though this book is sex-positive, and says beautiful things about how Love is feeling safe and "home" with someone... it still felt, sometimes, like the book was saying Love requires sex....which it doesn't. I don't think that was an intentional correlation, I think Karou's ex, Kaz, is supposed to highlight how physical attraction does NOT equal intimacy....BUT STILL, in some of Karou's scenes with Akiva, she's fixated on his divine beauty, or the feel of him... Physical touch is not the point of Love, just saying :/. End soap box.
All in all, these worlds are beautiful, full of layers and twists, and I cannot wait to see what's next for Karou
I had some nitpicky moments. I wish Laini Taylor had gone back and forth between Karou and Madrigal's stories, instead of saving Madrigal's for the final chunk of the book; I think it would have created more sympathy for Akiva earlier on, and made his sympathies for Karou less sudden and jarring.
I was also a little upset that even though this book is sex-positive, and says beautiful things about how Love is feeling safe and "home" with someone... it still felt, sometimes, like the book was saying Love requires sex....which it doesn't. I don't think that was an intentional correlation, I think Karou's ex, Kaz, is supposed to highlight how physical attraction does NOT equal intimacy....BUT STILL, in some of Karou's scenes with Akiva, she's fixated on his divine beauty, or the feel of him... Physical touch is not the point of Love, just saying :/. End soap box.
All in all, these worlds are beautiful, full of layers and twists, and I cannot wait to see what's next for Karou