2020 EDIT: As magical and tragical as ever on rereading. I found that I cared more about Karou and Akiva (especially Akiva) and their romance this time round. I didn't find their relationship to be as insta-lovey. Karou is a profoundly proactive and badass YA heroine, and an artist, and I adore her. Akiva is a devastating figure, a wretched and suffering warrior with a poor poet's soul. Tragedy is his life; carved and marked into his whole existence.
A few niggling bits aside for a 2011 YA hetero romance (where it appears that only beautiful and perfect people - who are literally godlike - deserve love, and for once why can't we have love interests who are normal or normal-looking?), 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone' is a strong start to an epic fantasy, that makes you care deeply. Wonderfully starry, clever, and creative.
Hope is powerful, indeed. Hope for a better, peaceful world where everyone is happy and equal. No matter how impossible that heart's wish is. Keep hope alive. Though it never dies.
Final Score: 5/5
Original Review:
One word:
Wow.
What a surprise this turned out to be. And to think I almost didn't bother buying it!
I admit that Laini Taylor's previous work, 'Lips Touch', didn't thrill me like I wanted it to, but 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone' convinced me fully of her imaginative and magical talents as a writer. No, not just a writer. An artist. Taylor creates art in her story and prose: colourful but with intelligent and passionate substance.
Once I started this book, I didn't want it to end. That almost never happens to me while I'm reading - recently it's become, "I'll just get on with this one so I can read the next book" - but 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone' succeeded in keeping me hooked from beginning to end, making me feel so much. The emotions and passions and creativity conveyed is nothing short of outstanding, and I think that it deserves its hype and praise as the next big trilogy after 'The Hunger Games'.
So lets talk about the characters, as I think they are the most important element for any story to be good.
Karou is a seventeen-year-old art student who is headstrong and doesn't take any nonsense. Plus she fights using crescent moon-shaped knives. How cool is that!
And I like that, unlike a lot of virginal YA heroines, she had a boyfriend before she met her main love interest, Akiva. From the beginning we are told that Kaz used Karou in her innocence, took advantage and took her for granted when they were together. And our girl never forgets that. She doesn't take things lying down. I'm also happy that, since Karou has a will of her own and won't take Kaz back, no love triangle is present. It could easily and dangerously have come to that, but it didn't. Well done, Laini Taylor.
While Karou uses her magic occasionally for selfish and irresponsible means, it is there to show that, while she does love her Chimaera family, she still often wishes to be a normal teenage girl who can hang out with her normal human friends whenever she wants. I absolutely fell in love with her best friend Zuzana - she is a true friend, and you can see why Karou likes to hang out with her. And I really would pay to see her reverse-puppetry Broken Doll performance. As someone who used to put on stage performances myself, I can appreciate the hard work that Zuzana must have put into making her school project/show.
Man, this book does successfully blur the line between reality and fiction, in my opinion.
I won't talk much about the plot since I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't yet read 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone'. But I will say this: It left me excited and on the edge of my seat, especially in the wake of the many big reveals towards the end. The workings of bones and souls has never been so creative and scary, and Madrigal is a beautiful name. The ending is also surprisingly tragic for a YA romance novel.
Does the book have any flaws, then? Of course it does. Everything has flaws. The main thing being, as other reviewers have pointed out, the intant-love/like relationship between Karou and the angel Akiva. I personally didn't mind it much, since their attraction to one another has a deep rooted reason behind it, and because the rest of the story is so awe-inspiring that it would be petty of me to mark it down just for that one little thing. It helps that Karou and Akiva are three-dimensional characters on their own. The reader comes to understand that Akiva isn't really a dangerous jerk but a sweetie - an unconventional winged warrior who's been through so much and whom I felt terribly bad for at the end. This fallen angel tries so hard, but his life is a tragic mess of wars and the duties that come with them.
In addition: I wouldn't really call this book fine as a stand-alone, since it does heavily build up in preparation for the sequel. But in this case it works, because the big reveals are written gradually and flow naturally in the context of the story. I wouldn't say it was more of an introduction text than a proper novel, because all the important questions are answered, and there is a lot of drama and character development. 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone' doesn't read like a "first act" novel. So the cliffhanger doesn't feel cheap.
That about covers this tale then. There are few books I would call beautiful, but 'Daughter of Smoke and Bone' has restored my love and faith in the fantasy genre after many disappointments.
Great characters, great world building, great magic. One of my favourite stories ever.
Final Score: 5/5
Tagline: 'Do you belong here, or Elsewhere?'
The UK Hodder and Stoughton cover is lovely and mysterious. It really fits the magical mood of the story.
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