Laini Taylor is the New York Times bestselling author of the Printz Honor Book Strange the Dreamer and its sequel, Muse of Nightmares. Taylor is also the author of the global sensation the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy and its companion novella, Night of Cake & Puppets. Taylor's other works include the Dreamdark books: Blackbringer and Silksinger, and the National Book Award finalist Lips Touch: Three Times. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, illustrator Jim Di Bartolo, and their daughter, Clementine. Her website is lainitaylor.com. You can find more of my reviews of Taylor's works here.
Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well. Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student named Karou is about to be caught up in a brutal, otherworldly war. When a stranger—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her, the result is a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. From master storyteller and National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor comes a sweeping and gorgeously written modern fantasy about a forbidden love, an ancient and epic battle, and hope for a world remade.
When first starting this book, I was curious about why it was named by TIME as one of the best YA books of all time. Usually with contemporary works, it's because of a strong narrative voice, combined with the author telling a really necessary, poignant story. But with fantasy, that's a little bit more difficult to uncover, but no less important. For Daughter of Smoke & Bone, there's so much Taylor does right: the pacing of the novel, the reveals, the details of the characters. Because of that, there's a lot more room to focus on the messages Taylor's novel sends us.
Those messages are so many things, but among the most powerful include how important it is to have hope in times to great challenge; the power of love during times fraught with adversity; what the truth really is, and the importance of uncovering it; and the power of community and family, whether those people chose you or you fell into their hands. This combination of messages makes for a really potent story, one where you'd have to sit with the novel for a few days to really digest and get to the bottom of. Of course teachers are going to want their hands on this, and of course readers are going to want more out of this world.
And speaking of the world, Taylor's world building feels effortless. There's something about how she lets Karou tell her story and share some unsettling details, while using it to her advantage of introducing us to her second life that makes this tactic effective. While the whole idea of having a second shadowy life isn't new, Taylor makes it feel like it is with how she folds in those fantasy details without Karou batting an eye. This is also helped with the presence of fairytales, and Taylor's lyrical writing. Having read her previous works, I fully knew what her writing looked like, but was blown away to be so enthralled by it once again—so enthralled, in fact, that I finished this book in one day!
Finally, I wanted to mention how important the characters are in this fantasy novel. Sometimes it's so easy for YA fantasy to fall into the trap of focusing on one thing over the other: the world or the characters. Taylor doesn't let either one get away from her or fall through the cracks. Karou and her family, Zuzana, Akiva, all feel real because Taylor takes the time to build them up for readers, to get inside their heads and show what's going on. On the other hand, we get to know this world because this is Karou's world, and the way she is able to extend that further and further out is just brilliant. Deciding to start the novel on Karou's awful Monday, and having it end where it ends, is brilliant and smart, and goes to show just how powerful a storyteller Laini Taylor truly is.
That's not all from Karou, or Laini Taylor. The trilogy continues in Days of Blood and Starlight, and you can find Taylor online at lainitaylor.com. You can find more of my reviews of Taylor's works here.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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