*Review* Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Reviewed by: Caressa

A 4.99.../5 wishes

Goodreads summery:
"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 grown 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?"

     If I had to describe Daughter of Smoke and Bone (by Laini Taylor) in one word, it would be: WOW.
     I have been dying to read this book for months after seeing it on one of my favorite blogs. Blue hair, demons, artist-- I couldn't resist! When I headed over to the bookstore (for the first time since starting a book blog, I could hardly contain my excitement), I immediately picked this up and added it to the books I was already holding.
    Before even talking about the content of this book, I have to talk about its aesthetic. The cover for this novel is fantastic. Under the dust-jacket the binding is simple: vibrant, shiny blue lettering makes out the information on the spine. Flipping through the book after reading it, the short stand alone quotes dividing the book are beautiful, flawless and irresistible. And the names! I loved every single one of the names in this book. Karou, Akiva, Brimstone, and so many others are so original and flawless. I walked around the school flaunting quotes, names, plots, and tidbits to my book nerdy friends all day, unable to resist.
     The plot of this novel was original, a perfect, beautiful way to follow a seemingly never-ending strand of Harry Potter reads. Without giving too much away (because you SHOULD walk into this book with no more knowledge than Karou), the ending caught me off guard. Oh! Cliffhanger, galore. But I didn't walk away with an itching in my fingers to get and read the next book as soon as possible, merely a satisfied feeling I didn't want to leave Prague. I loved, loved, LOVED this novel, particularly the beautiful way it's opened and the real way characters related and communicated with each other. If you have ever enjoyed YA, this is the book for you!