It's here! It's finally here! We've been seeing little teaser snippets of this trailer on some blogs all last week and its such a relief to get a look at the whole thing. I'm usually not a fan of book trailers, but this one is pretty awesome!
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 otherworldly 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?
First Line:
Walking to school over the snow-muffled cobbles, Karou had no sinister premonitions about the day.
My Thoughts:
If I had to describe this book in a few words, this is what I'd say.
Enchanting. Bewitching. Spellbinding.
Daughter
of Smoke and Bone is a beautiful, beautifully written novel. It is an
utterly enchanting book. I've read a little more than a dozen novels
about angels and forbidden love, but never anything like this. If you've
read the synopsis and expected anything like anything you've ever read, then you're badly mistaken. I don't feel worthy of reviewing this book, saying anything about it - because to anyone who has read this - it will sound utterly bleak in comparison with the authors' writing style.
Laini
Taylor's writing is beautifully poetic and so very, very vivid. This
struck me especially when the author made a thorough description of a
setting, and I could practically see things stand out at me. Colors and
smells of the streets of Marakkesh. A battlefield after a fight.
Emotions. People. While the authors' characters were almost always
described as beautiful, ethereal beings, I couldn't bring myself to not
like this - completely otherworldly, flawless characters and I still
can't; because as everything else - it fit perfectly into the story. I
never thought I'd say this about romance in a book, but it was as
believable and real as every other thing in this amazing novel, and this
is seeing the fact that he tries to slash her to bits.
There is
not one thing about this book that I can say I didn't like. I loved
Karou.I truly admire this fantastic female character that the author has
created. She regrets nothing she does, and she's one of those female
protagonists that are so rare these days - strong, a little skeptical,
and not going falling head over heels for the other guy the minute she
gets a look at him.
I loved the setting. Rather, I loved the
huge multitude of settings in the book! That was the very first thing
that made me love this book so much.Things never just happen in one
place. And each place fit seamlessly into the story. Beautiful, snowy
Prague. A brief glimpse of Paris with its street musicians. Morroco. And
in the end, a tantalizing glimpse of the land of the chimaera - Eretz.
I'd
written a similarly rambling review of Witchlanders yesterday, and now I
can feel the stark difference between the two. They were both fresh,
unique ideas. They had engaging story lines and great characters; but
the difference is vast. There are books that drag you in headfirst into
the novel, with a fast-paced storyline that barely lets you breathe.
Now, if I had to make a comparison like that to Daughter of Smoke and
Bone, I'd say its a book that slowly, subtly lulls you into the story
and slowly but surely pulls you into its depths, and it stays long
after you've turned the last page and put it aside. Sounds cliche,
doesn't it? Yet, I had no idea how true it was until I finished this
book.
The cool button is from the awesome girls over at Bewitched Bookworms! Do say hello!
"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.
A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink:
When her parents are
murdered before her eyes, sixteen year-old Helen Cartwright finds
herself launched into an underground London where a mysterious
organization called the Dictata controls the balance of good and evil.
Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants
charged with protecting the world’s past, present, and future.
Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this
responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic
brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend
who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted,
and above all to be strong because temptation will be hard to resist,
even for an angel.
Over the years she’d found that that was all it took, that lazy smile, and she could tell the truth without risk of being believed. It was easier than keeping track of lies, and so it became part of who she was: Karou with her wry smile and crazy imagination.
High in their mountain covens, red witches pray to the Goddess, protecting the Witchlands by throwing the bones and foretelling the future It’s all a fake. At least, that’s what Ryder thinks. He doubts the witches really deserve their tithes—one quarter of all the crops his village can produce. And even if they can predict the future, what danger is there to foretell, now that his people’s old enemy, the Baen, has been defeated? But when a terrifying new magic threatens both his village and the coven, Ryder must confront the beautiful and silent witch who holds all the secrets. Everything he’s ever believed about witches, the Baen, magic and about himself will change, when he discovers that the prophecies he’s always scorned— Are about him.
First Line:
Ryder woke to the sound of clattering bones.
My Thoughts:
Okay. Deep breath. Exhale. Calm.
I totally, utterly and completely loved this book.!!
I think this is the first YA book I've read in a long, long time that
has no romance in it whatsoever and boy, am I glad for that. I might be a
little partial due that as I like the mushy stuff to be low or
altogether absent in books. But I stand by my original declaration! This
is an awesome book in its own right!
What makes it so great in my view, you will ask? Everything. Just everything about it. The world building is perfect. It's an utterly unique, fresh idea. As far as I can see, it isn't rooted in folklore or mythology of any sort and that is one thing that I always admire in a book. I can't help but be in complete awe with the author's superb skills at building this alternate universe.
I loved the two main characters, Ryder and Falpian. Even though they were great characters on their own, I just wish the author would have made them stand out more as individuals with differences other than their physical appearance. I understand the author would want to make them appear to be a rather similar pair given *ahem* what they are (don't want to give away too much here so I'm going to be sounding vague) but a couple of more stark difference between the two would've been nice. I would've expected some arrogance in Falpian and some rustic bumbling by Ryder, given their upbringing.
As I said before, the world is totally new. Its like nothing I've ever read before and the whole premise intrigued me from the minute I read the synopsis.I love the fact that the author keeps the suspense up till the very end, dropping little bits of information through the book, alternately from Ryder and Falpian and its all done so subtly, you have loads of information about the Witchlanders and the Baen without you realizing it. Nope, no huge info dump-and-process sessions here. Even then, until the very last page , you're wondering about what will happen to the characters.
When I picked up the book, I hadn't expected and second character
so important to the story. The synopsis, the trailer, nothing hints
towards it. I'd expected a war maybe, and a story from only one
viewpoint, the Witchlanders'. When the synopis said "Baen", I hadn't
thought of a still existing race of nothing more than humans with a different appearance and different forms of magic. Needless to say, (I'm saying this rather often, no?) Witchlanders left me pleasantly surprised with how the story turned out to be and also left me one very, very satisfied reader.
