So it's finally time to get down to the nitty gritty here. This blog needs to be filled with some bookish credibility, so I might as well throw in a review of a book I recently read and really enjoyed. That way we can start on a nice, positive note and you guys won't think I'm some kind of negative book snob and leave me to waste away alone in the depths of the Internet. Here's hoping.
This will be spoiler-free, by the way.
Before I even discuss the book itself, I want to talk about my mindset going into it. Once upon a time, in my book-crazy childhood days, I read one of Laini Taylor's books. It was Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer. Needless to say, I gobbled this book up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Naturally this set some pretty high expectations for Daughter of Smoke and Bone, since I'd heard such great things about it and I had already fallen in love with Laini Taylor's writing. I actually had little to no idea about the plot itself, besides the fact that there was some angel-demon romance going on.
And it was glorious. Laini Taylor is a master storyteller, and, more importantly, a wizard at world building. She makes it look almost effortless too, her prose vividly portraying every chimaera and otherworldly creature so it jumps out of the page at you. The world is ingenious, the magic system is fresh, and the best part is that for a good chunk of the book you're in the dark. As the reader you are tasked with slowly discovering more and more about Karou's world, something Laini Taylor gradually weaves into the story with ease. It's just fresh as hell, especially in a genre that's dominated by street-roaming vampires and werewolves.
So first up we have the plot. This is the type of story that's driven by different points of view, which isn't something I'm a huge fan of in most books. However, this book is helping to change my mind on the matter. The different perspectives act as perfect lenses for the reader, allowing us to see the many facets of the story. Also the fact that it's told in third person makes the whole thing much less confusing than if it was in first. (I'm looking at you, Allegiant.) Regardless, the story will throw you some curve balls as well. Some of it I admittedly saw coming, but the ending is not at all what I expected. I don't want to give it away though, so you'll have to go pick up this thing of beauty to figure all of that out. Hah. Gotcha.
Then we have the characters. I've heard it said that a lot of people don't love the characters in this book, and feel that some of them are in fact weak. Take Karou, for example. Some believe that she doesn't show a lot of growth, since she's a badass at the beginning and remains a badass at the end. Here, I have to disagree. As a seventeen-year-old, I think Karou is one of my favorite heroines. Up there with Katniss and Triss and all the other badasses. Her name is wickedly different, she has blue hair, tattoos, and a devil-may-care attitude to boot. For example, we open on her rejecting Kaz and then wreaking her horrible ex-girlfriend vengeance upon him, which is fabulous, but as the story progresses we do see more of a humanness in Karou. She consistently questions her existence, and often she is slow to trust anyone but her closest friends. By the end, however, Karou is sure of herself and what she is, and she is even willing to open her heart to an angel. The other characters in this roster shine as well. Zuzana and Mik are hilarious, Brimstone and the other chimaera are intriguing in both physicality and characterization, and Akiva shines in all of his angelic glory alongside Karou.
Also the story takes place in locations from Prague to Eretz (the fantastical otherworld of angels and chimaeras), something that further sets it apart from most YA books that plop themselves in the US of A.
So just go read this book, is what I'm trying to say. Especially if you're looking for a quality YA high fantasy book. It's fresh in almost every way, from Karou's badassery to the innovative wish magic system that Laini Taylor creates so masterfully. This series is going places, and from what I hear a film is in the making. Let's hope they don't mess it up.
Also can we not all agree that the title of this book is wonderful, and its cover is gorgeous beyond compare?
Ok so. Good start I hope.
Peace. Love. Inkwells.
~The Inkling.
