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bex_inada 's review for:
Lips Touch: Three Times
by Laini Taylor
I actually really ended up loving this. I went into it not really knowing what to expect and I was frankly pretty dubious about it. It had excellent reviews, however, and I'd loved the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, so I decided to check it out, even though three "supernatural love stories" didn't really appeal to me at all. I'm so glad I did! These stories are beautiful, and the illustrations are incredible. Taylor has a really interesting way of writing that's instantly captivating and makes you really care about and identify with the characters. Of the three stories, I liked the last one, "Hatchling" the least, and the first one, "Goblin Fruit," the most, though I did like all three.
"Goblin Fruit" really speaks to her strenghts as a writer, and I think it was probably the one she was most comfortable writing, of the three. It was the perfect length--just long and tantalizing enough to draw you in, but without over-doing it. I loved it. And to be perfectly honest, I identified with Kizzy, the lead character, more than I'd like to admit. This one just struck something perfect within me and I loved it to little bitty pieces.
The second story, "Spicy Little Curses Such as These," was also wonderful, though in a different way. Whereas the first story was a perfect blend of story and character, I cared less about these characters and enjoyed the story more, which is fine. It seemed very random, compared to some of her other work, including the other two stories in the book, but I appreciated that she was trying something new and exploring something she was interested in--Zoroastrianism. I didn't love it nearly as much as I did the first, but still it enjoyed it quite a bit.
The third story, "Hatchling," was slightly more problematic for me. I think it was a bit too long and over-ambitious for what she was trying to do with it, and I really didn't care about the characters at all. I'm supposed to care that Esme is walking around with the demon queen inside of her? I guess I'm supposed to care enough about Mihail that I'd really want to see him reunited with his lost love, but I...didn't. It was totally fine, just not my favorite. The other two stories, and "Gobling Fruit" in particular, more than made up for it, though.
The thing I loved best about these stories is how clearly it telegraphed the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, which was published a couple of years after this. There were so many little things--the random girl with blue hair in the market, Kizzy's personality, Mihai's personality, Esme being two people in one, Mihai having to bring her buried self act via ritual, Esme having to carry on with the knowledge of her fractured selves, the "deals" with the demon, the idea of...not resurrection, exactly, but being reborn in another body, the way the goblins resembled the beasts, the stolen moment of the picnic, Mihai's fascination with and search for a soul...seriously, there were just so many different things that screamed Karou, Akiva, and their entire story. I'm sure I'm missing some. I just think it's so interesting and cool to see all of these little ideas kicking around in her head, waiting for her to tell their story. It really makes me wonder if she'd worked that story out, yet, or if these little things just manifested themselves in her writing. Either way, I loved that you could see that progession and it made me love these stories even more than I already did. I'm glad I read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series first to get the full impact.
I almost forgot! The illustrations in this novel were absolutely stunning and added a whole other really beautiful dimension to the stories. The fact that they were done by the author's husband just makes it that much better.
"Goblin Fruit" really speaks to her strenghts as a writer, and I think it was probably the one she was most comfortable writing, of the three. It was the perfect length--just long and tantalizing enough to draw you in, but without over-doing it. I loved it. And to be perfectly honest, I identified with Kizzy, the lead character, more than I'd like to admit. This one just struck something perfect within me and I loved it to little bitty pieces.
The second story, "Spicy Little Curses Such as These," was also wonderful, though in a different way. Whereas the first story was a perfect blend of story and character, I cared less about these characters and enjoyed the story more, which is fine. It seemed very random, compared to some of her other work, including the other two stories in the book, but I appreciated that she was trying something new and exploring something she was interested in--Zoroastrianism. I didn't love it nearly as much as I did the first, but still it enjoyed it quite a bit.
The third story, "Hatchling," was slightly more problematic for me. I think it was a bit too long and over-ambitious for what she was trying to do with it, and I really didn't care about the characters at all. I'm supposed to care that Esme is walking around with the demon queen inside of her? I guess I'm supposed to care enough about Mihail that I'd really want to see him reunited with his lost love, but I...didn't. It was totally fine, just not my favorite. The other two stories, and "Gobling Fruit" in particular, more than made up for it, though.
The thing I loved best about these stories is how clearly it telegraphed the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series, which was published a couple of years after this. There were so many little things--the random girl with blue hair in the market, Kizzy's personality, Mihai's personality, Esme being two people in one, Mihai having to bring her buried self act via ritual, Esme having to carry on with the knowledge of her fractured selves, the "deals" with the demon, the idea of...not resurrection, exactly, but being reborn in another body, the way the goblins resembled the beasts, the stolen moment of the picnic, Mihai's fascination with and search for a soul...seriously, there were just so many different things that screamed Karou, Akiva, and their entire story. I'm sure I'm missing some. I just think it's so interesting and cool to see all of these little ideas kicking around in her head, waiting for her to tell their story. It really makes me wonder if she'd worked that story out, yet, or if these little things just manifested themselves in her writing. Either way, I loved that you could see that progession and it made me love these stories even more than I already did. I'm glad I read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series first to get the full impact.
I almost forgot! The illustrations in this novel were absolutely stunning and added a whole other really beautiful dimension to the stories. The fact that they were done by the author's husband just makes it that much better.