A review by eesh25
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

2.0

Someone once said that this was the kind of series that you either loved or hated. Usually, there was no in-between. And despite that fact that I was intrigued by the synopsis and very excited for the book, I come in the latter category (except less hate, more dislike).

I just didn't like this book. One of the main reason for it was the fact that I absolutely hated Karou. She got on my last nerve. Here's an explanation of why.

Me: Hey, Karou? What are you doing?
Karou: I'm using my powers that I just discovered.
Me: What do they do?
Karou: Oh, uh... I'm not exactly sure.
Me: Then why are you using them?
Karou: Because I can?
Me: Wha- That's not right. Stop!
Karou: No! I like being powerful. Besides, just because I don't know what I'm doing, how or why I'm doing it or who I'm doing to, doesn't mean I should stop.
Me: *strangles Karou to death with my bare hands*

The End

Okay so that last part wasn't for explaining, but it made me feel better so I don't care.

Now, moving on from her (I could rant all day). The book was well written and I'm not going to deny that, but the writing style wasn't really for me.

You could say that it was like a party at the Capitol (yes, I'm taking about The Hunger Games). It was colourful, pretty and glittery, but at its core, superficial. Some people might like it. It wasn't my type.

The romance wasn't good either. It was all about the beautifulness of how beautiful Karou and Akiva's beauty was, with the whole "the world shifts when we touch" vibe going on. It wasn't really about who they both were as people at all. Which is understandable because Karou's not very likable, but still. Not good.

Honestly, the only part that worked for me was when we read about Madrigal. We finally got to know something about the war and the worlds. But then it just kept going on and on... I wanted basic info about Madrigal, not the details of her dress!

Overall, this book simply wasn't fo me. I spend most of it wondering when it would end. Talking about end, there was a reveal just before the epilogue that was cool. But I doubt it was enough to make me pick up the next book, much less commit to the series. Maybe a google search?

Anyway, I'm not going to say whether you should read it or not, it really depends on the person. If you're into stuff that focuses on flights of fancy, you could try. It's up to you.