Review of Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1) by Laini Taylor

Shelved as disappointed, what a nice cover

Link to book: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I'M TRYING MY BEST TO AVOID SPOILERS BELOW.

I always feel a little bit more than awkward when I read a renowned book that everyone seems to love, and I seem to be almost the only one who didn't really like it.

Don't get me wrong, this book had a brilliant concept and enviable writing. But when a story is so focused around a love story, I can't get more than a little bit… well, you know… yawn.

Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

Let's get into it.

This writing was absolutely GORGEOUS! The descriptions were beautiful and in-depth.

"How was your day, sweet girl?" Issa had some half dozen snakes on her person-- wound around her arms, roaming through her hair, and one encircling her slim waist like a belly dancer's chain. 

Though the writing leans slightly toward purple prose at times, it's easy to skip over those parts.

Ms. Taylor was also brilliant at weaving subtle hilarity into her writing, though this book wasn't necessarily a funny book.

"Ah, no? I see. A man once said, 'All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.' Mark Twain, you know. He had a fine mustache. Men of wisdom often do."

Ah yes. Mustaches are quite wise. Haha.

The one thing that I was really pleased about this book, was the ability for Ms. Taylor to show and not tell. She makes the reader feel as if they are actually in the book, and seeing the world through the narrator's eyes (Karou). Just look at the following quote. It captures the evil of humanity and everything in something so simple.

"He can't see it. It is a condition of monsters that they do not perceive themselves as such. The dragon. you know, hunkered in the village devouring maidens, heard the townsfolk cry 'Monster!' and looked behind him."

But despite the beautiful writing, there are some things that I disliked in this book.

Let's start with the characters.

KAROU

We are introduced to Karou in the beginning, a blue-haired and talented artist, with an imagination to match. She is famous throughout her art school for making fantastical drawing of incredible creatures that could never be real.

On the first page, we meet Karou's ex-boyfriend, a jerk that she regards appropriately. I love how she treats him the way people like him should be treated. She doesn't pine after him like most girls; in fact, it's the other way around.

"Shut up," she hissed, coming to a halt in the middle of Maltese Square. God, she though. How stupid had she been to fall for this petty, pretty street actor, dress up for him and give him memories like that? Exquisitely stupid.

That is the definition of a strong female character that every reader is eager to read about.

Karou is also incredibly family-oriented and will do anything to save her mismatched lovable family, even finding a portal to their world through heaven. And she isn't exactly an angel.

Sadly, she isn't like this the entire story. She suddenly becomes overcome with love for Akiva, a glorious angel who literally stalks her for a couple days. She loves him, which I find incredibly hard to believe, even though their love is one TO SURVIVE THE AGES or something silly like that.

AKIVA

Dude, this guy had lived through some hard times. I'm not gonna say he didn't. Born for war, he was ripped from his "mother" at the age of 5 and trained to kill. Kills are notched into his fingers and his emotions have been stripped down to nothing throughout the years. He is an angel of 50 or so years.

Clearly, wisdom does not come with age in his case.

She stood astonished, looking down at his powerful shoulders as he curled into her, letting go of his glamour so his wings sprang visible. From around them on the bridge came gasps and cries. People stopped in their tracks, gaping.

An "all-powerful angel" thinks that it is perfectly safe to show his wings to the world. He doesn't think that people would be scared. Angels don't exactly parade around the streets today . His foolishness is laughable.

This isn't in the end of Akiva and Karou's self-centered love story. The entire story literally revolves around their relationship. The summary talks about a "brutal otherworldly war," but that seems to take a back seat to the powerful love of this forbidden couple.

Only the night before. It was unbelievable it had been so short a time.

Yeah, it is unbelievable!

This is referring to the time that Karou and Akiva have known each other. They have literally known each other for one day, and he is confessing his love for her only several days later. That is what I call a rush and I find it quite stupid.

SPOILERS IN THE HIGHLIGHTED AREA.

We are drawn into the past life of Karou, Madrigal. I will skip over the details because those are yours to find, but the main idea I'm trying to show will be simple to grasp. 

Madrigal saved a male angel, going against all laws. Two years later at the chimaera's biggest ball of the year, the angel makes his way in, and attempts to confess his feelings for her. Instead of call the authority over, apprehending the angel, or even showing him his way out, she too confesses her love for him. It is the most twisted thing ever. She is literally ENDANGERING HER ENTIRE RACE BY LETTING HIM STAY IN THE KINGDOM. This is selfish of her.

NO MORE SPOILERS.

There are some really funny lines that I think I should mention.  They just caught my attention.

"I don't know many rules to live by," he'd said. "But here's one. It's simple. Don't put anything unnecessary into yourself. No poisons or chemicals, no fumes or smoke or alcohol, no sharp objects, no inessential needles-- drug or tattoo-- and… no inessential penises, either."

Now, you may not follow this mentality, but you gotta admit, this is a golden line to put in a book. And the way it's said. So casual.

"That's your evidence? Flimsy. Maybe he secretly fights crime, and he's texting infuriating riddles to his nemesis," suggested Karou.

This totally reminds me of Sherlock and Moriarty from Sherlock. Even if they don't act like this.

"I swear I hate more people every day. Everyone annoys me. If I'm like this now, what am I going to be like when I'm old?"

The age-old question that plagues all us introverts.

"You'd have to have, like, a lentil for a soul to hate wiener dogs."

I will be using this in everyday language I'll have you know. 

Aah, I seem to have gone off on a tangent. Excuse me for that.

So overall, 

• Beautiful writing; good execution of show not tell
• Angry because of the insta-love
• Insipid characters (most of the time)

I would rate this book a whopping grand total of 

Please comment if you are confused by anything or wanna tell me your life story or something.