CBRIV: Book #2: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Pinky McLadybits

I was told that I should read Daughter of Smoke and Bone a couple of months ago. So, as I usually do, I put in a request for it at my local library. Alas, my time is rarely my own anymore, with editing and scheduling and poking contributors for content, and my saved book languished for 7 days before being given to the next person on the list.

"Ah, well, " I thought to myself, "Maybe I'll have time to read in a few months or something." Unfortunately, I just keep getting books and then not reading them, yet returning them late and paying fees. Oops.

EvenStevens recently gifted me with Daughter of Smoke and Bone, among several other books, allowing me to read at my own pace. However, once I began reading Laini Taylor's story, I was hooked and had to finish it as quickly as possible. Yay weekends!

Karou is not a normal girl, but not in that way that some girls think they aren't normal. Karou lives in Prague, speaks several languages fluently, has hair that grows in as blue as a lapis lazuli trinket, and is a very talented artist. She also has an adopted family of chimaera. Is that odd?

Brimstone, also known as the Wishmonger, raised Karou from a baby in his strange shop full of teeth collected through trade. Brimstone trades wishes for teeth of all kinds: human, wolf, bear, serpent, most any creature that has teeth. Karou has long been curious about the reason for the teeth and why she was left with her strange family that also includes Issa, who has serpentine aspects, Twiga, with his elongated neck, and Yasri, with bird qualities. 

Now in her 17th year, Karou has become even more curious about who she has and what she should be doing. Why does she have eyes tattooed on her palms? Why can't she know more about Brimstone's profession? Why are handprints being burned into the surface of the portal doors she uses to travel from Brimstone's shop to places far away, running errands for her adoptive father?

I was engrossed in this book from the moment Karou began talking about her adoptive family. When the angel appeared, I had more than an idea of where the book was going to end up. I was only partially correct, as there is such a well-drawn and exquisite world that has been created by Taylor. It is full of different creatures, rituals, practices, and magics than what I've seen in other books. It was quite an entertaining and immersive read. I quite enjoyed it.

One bonus of having waited this long to read the book? The sequel comes out in Fall of this year. Yay!