Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

ANTICIPATED RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

Summary: 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?

Lo says: I just reread that summary and squealed out loud. I’m in my thirties, guys. This is…special.

Anyway, I will be the first to admit that I’m easy.

Back up the truck. I mean that I’m easily entertained. I’m not always a super critical reader when I’m in it for the enjoyment. I generally try to find the fun in any read, and if it offers more then, sign me up.

Now, this isn’t to say I can’t be critical. It doesn’t mean that I don’t see flaws in books, or see where the plot falls short, the characters act inconsistently, the romance feels trite. It’s just that I’d rather focus on the good.  Optimisim, yeah?

It also doesn’t mean that all good books rank equally. I can count on one hand the books that I feel have truly transformed my life. (This doesn’t count neuroscience texts, of course. #nerdalert.)

But, guys? Come closer. DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE by Laini Taylor? Yeah, you’ll have to pry this copy out of my cold dead hands. This book ranks in the very very few that I will read over and over and over.

Come to think of it, this book is the first of Lo’s Epic Yearly Reread List. This list contains the books that I will reread once a year. So far, this list contains one book.

This one.

Some books have amazing prose, or a badass chick, or a swoony boy, or the hottest kiss that you have to read a million times a few times before moving on. Some books may lack strong characters but the concept is so powerful you can’t stop reading. Some *gasp* may have more than one of these qualities. But DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE has them all.

The prose is so rich I can pretty much use any gooey delicious chocolate metaphor and you’ll get my point. I see the world she’s built, I can imagine every bridge, every cloud, every brightly colored building, every tiny inch of Zuzana. I can imagine Brimstone and the teeth, as if I’ve seen these things. In fact, I feel lame trying to describe the seriously INTENSE prose with my cheesy metaphors. MOVING ON! Hey look over there!

The characters, oh! The characters! Karou, please be my bestie? I will totally put on a puppet show for you and find the quirkiest coffin-filled cafes for your mealtime enjoyment.  I LOVE KAROU! Blue-haired, inquisitive, searching, hard-as-nails and vulnerable Karou. I feel like I know her, and I know how that sounds (hello, cliche! raise your hand if you rolled your eyes… okay settle down guys my feelings are fragile) but it’s true. Karou is badass and swoony and tender and strong. How does Taylor do that? *shakes fist at sky*

And the boy? There is swoon. MAJOR swoon.

Hello there tiger eyes, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.

I don’t think it’s possible to say the name Akiva with anything other than a shaky-breath sigh, like Ahhhkivvvaaaaaahhhhh. I may tremble a little when I say it, too.  Don’t judge, you’ll see.

So what’s the story? Well, the book isn’t out yet, so that’s a secret. I’m not a fan of spoilers and the summary is actually perfectly uninformative while being completely true and telling.  Evil or fantastic? You let me know.

There are some lines in this book that I am considering painting on my wall. They are so beautiful and gripping and PERFECT that I kind of want to grab Laini Taylor and put on some nerdy glasses that allow me to see her brain. WHAT? THEY TOTALLY EXIST.

I give this:
Straight to the Favorites Pile
Badass Chick on Board
Swoony Boy Alert
And: I Will Reswoon Soon

Trust me, you want to read this one as soon as you can get your swoony little hands on it.

About the Author: Laini Taylor is the author of the National Book Award finalist Lips Touch, as well as the novels Blackbringer, which Kirkus said “belongs at the top of everyone’s fantasy must-read list,” and Silksinger. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, illustrator Jim Di Bartolo, and their daughter, Clementine.

Also? Laini was on the What’s Hot in Young Adult Fiction panel at San Diego Comic Con! I met her! She was amazing! (Probably still is). YAY US that we get to read her words!

Want your very own ARC of this amazing book? Keep watching the blog to find out how…