Mini Reviews: Daughter Of Smoke & Bone || Days Of Blood & Starlight

Daughter Of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone #1

Genre: Young adult fantasy

Pages: 418

Publication date: September 2011

Content warning: War, death, violence
Available at: Amazon | Book Depository
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Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Likes: The internet said I’d like this novel, and the internet was right! (Well, mostly.) I love Karou, Brimstone, and the weird magic system. I love all of the legends and all of the settings. When I finished this book, I was excited to read the next one, which is exactly what should happen with a series.

My favorite element of the story is the worldbuilding. Karou is a human who was raised by monsters, but she doesn’t know why. She has to keep her monster family hidden from her human friends, even as she runs endless mysterious errands for the monsters. I thoroughly enjoyed discovering Karou’s past along with her. The plot is twisty. And creepy. I kept getting blindsided by events in the best possible ways. This book is definitely not predictable.

I love the settings. Prague, Marrakesh, and the monster universe are all equally vivid. This novel is full of brilliant details that make the worlds come to life. Why is this book not a movie yet?

“Have you ever asked yourself, do monsters make war, or does war make monsters?” – Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Dislikes: I hate Akiva. I really hate Akiva and Madrigal together. They remind me of Edward and Bella from Twilight. Everything is sappy, overwritten, and insta-lovey. Akiva sees this woman (actually, she’s more of a bat-gazelle) once, and he’s ready to give up his life for her. He doesn’t even know if she’s single! Calm down, dude.

This book is like a Greatest Hits CD for fantasy tropes. In addition to insta-love, readers will enjoy:

1. A generic fantasy book title.
2. I can’t tell you about your past for your own safety.
3. The main characters are so stunningly attractive that no one can think clearly.
4. Masquerade ball that allows enemy soldiers wearing masks to sneak onto the castle grounds because everybody seems to have forgotten there’s a war happening.

The Bottom Line: I did some eye-rolling, but it’s a fun, escapist story. I’m looking forward to the next in the series.

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Days Of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2

Genre: Young adult fantasy

Pages: 513

Publication date: November 2012

Content warning: War, death, violence, burglary, attempted rape, a pit full of rotting corpses
Available at: Amazon | Book Depository

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it. 

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

Likes: I was so excited to be back in this world! I still love it. Admittedly, I don’t read a ton of fantasy, but the world in this series is one of the most detailed worlds I’ve come across. Unlike with a lot of fantasy books, I never got frustrated by vague explanations. I think I mostly understand this place!

I still love Karou and loathe Akiva. She’s a badass; he’s whiny. I was happy that they were in separate worlds for most of the book because I didn’t have to put up with Akiva being a Debbie Downer in my Karou scenes. He could mope around his own parallel universe.

That ending, though? OMG, it’s brilliant. Karou is a mastermind. I hope her plan succeeds and doesn’t get her murdered by her own monsters. The twists in this series are very well thought out. I don’t see them coming, but they make perfect sense.

“Once upon a time, a girl lived in a sandcastle, making monsters to send through a hole in the sky.” – Days of Blood & Starlight

Dislikes: I’m disappointed that I didn’t like this book as much as the first one in the series. The world is what made me fall in love with the first book, and there’s not much worldbuilding in the sequel. It’s mostly about the war between the species. It focuses on large-scale problems, which means the characters get a bit lost. I wanted to read about Karou and her adventures, but she spends 90% of her time building a monster army. I got bored waiting for something to happen.

I feel like this novel might have second book syndrome? Not much happens until the very end. (The very end is awesome, though.) The characters are mostly just preparing to overthrow some governments and stop some bad guys. Hopefully this book is setting up an awesome finale.

The Bottom Line: I got bored with this one, so I’m undecided if I want to read the third one. I'm leaning toward yes.

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