Review: The Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Lani Taylor

R

Reading level: Ages 15 and up
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (September 27, 2011)

 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?

There was quite a bit of hype for this book, and I was anxious to get my hands on it. When I finally got it in my hott little hands I devoured it. I adored Karou, and how she knew her life wasn't normal, but she was happy anyway. I love her monster family! As she is running an errand for her "father" she encounters Akiva, he is beautiful, dangerous, and deadly. They fight, she runs, and he chases, he finds her a little later and somehow they get to know each other. This sparks off Karou learning who she really is. Now this is the part where some people say they lost interest. But I for one loved the second half just as much if not more than the first. I loved finding out the truth about Karou and her family. I also loved the releationship between Akiva and Karou. I want the next book now please. I want to know what happens to Karou and her family, and what will happen with her and Akiva. Now on a side not I really enjoyed learning why her "father" collected teeth. It think it was original and pretty cool. I give this one 5 stars!