Well.

This was a nice change for me, considering the not so great books I've recently read. Daughter of Smoke and Bone is not what I expected, at all. It's definitely fantasy, not paranormal, with angels and chimera. I knew it had a good deal of praise from a lot of readers. I also knew it had a lot of complaints from readers. I went into this not expecting to be blown away, despite the hype this book had received. After reading books that really missed the mark this year, like Silence and A Touch Mortal, I was really excited to read something GOOD.

It's hard to pin down exactly why I gave this book 5 stars. I just loved it that much. Karou was an awesome heroine. She wasn't needy, she wasn't a b*tch (well, not to anyone but one girl who deserved it)and she wasn't easy to predict. Daughter of Smoke and Bone wasn't filled with typical YA tropes. It had a world completely realized and completely open to the reader.

I loved the angel and chimera lore. It was fully explained and expanded on and fantastic. Laini Taylor really did her homework when she sat down to write this. I wasn't confused when I finished the book and when the book ended, I was satisfied with where the story stopped.

The only real problem I had was the pacing in the middle of the book. It slowed down a great deal when Akiva showed up. But it wasn't enough to knock down a star.

I don't know why, but the whole concept behind the teeth amazed me the most. I figured out their purpose before it was revealed (point for me, since this rarely happens for me). Just plain cool.

Akiva. Oh, yes please. Tiger eyes and flaming wings? I'm down. He was bad ass. And Zuzanna. I adored her performance. I could picture it very well in my mind as she danced, which points out how well Laini Taylor uses description. Her writing is beautiful and colourful.

I could go on fan girling about this book, but I think I've made my point. This is a series to read.

So this book was great I loved the story and the characters were great I thought the concept was was really interesting and just wow. I was very drawn to the story and everything involved. I'm keeping this short and sweet, this book was great go check it out. :0)

This Book Was Absolutely Amazing Keeps You Interested From Star t To Finish Cant Wait To read More Of Her Books :)

I admit, I doubt I would have ever picked up this novel were it not recommended to me by a member of my Book Club. I knew it was a YA, and I've been known to enjoy a good YA every now and then, so I ordered it online.
The day the package arrived, I take it out of the box, and note that it has quite a stunning cover - not uncommon for YA, they boast the most gorgeous book covers - and I procede to open it up to read the synopsis....then I see the photograph of the author on the back flap and think "oh man, I've been duped!" She is clearly over the age of 15, and she has bright pink hair! I mean it's BRIGHT, and it's PINK! I have no idea what to expect, but I open it up and begin to read.

It starts out pretty much as I expected, beautiful young people, exceptionally gifted (albeit, with peacock blue hair and tattoos), but it's a YA, so I carry on reading and I find myself pulled into the story immediately, then I start to realize that this is something really special, the world building, the style of writing, and the characters are exquisite. I am completely immersed, living and breathing in these pages, loving these characters (no matter how small their role), and seeing everything Taylor describes in an almost poetic way in three dimensions in my minds eye. I am awed at the beauty of her words and frequently find myself re-reading passages because I want to taste them on my tongue one more time - And the romance, the achingly beautiful romance of this novel is unlike anything I've read of late. It's only flaw is that it is only 420 pages long, and I have to wait heaven knows how long for book two!!

Don't leave this one to the Teens ladies, and don't be put off by bright pink hair! Laini Taylor operates in a very special place, and it comes out perfectly in her writing. Highly, highly recommended!!