From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #1)

Laini Taylor,

Khristine Hvam (Narrator)

Start date: March 16, 2016

Discussion: 2016 Read Harder Challenge

Why we're reading this: Won an Audie for Fantasy in 2012
[close] Won an Audie for Fantasy in 2012

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2016 Read Harder Challenge

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What Members Thought

Jan 20, 2016 Lacey Louwagie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, youngadult, youngadultfantasy, romance, paranormal, 2016-read-harder-challenge

Read Harder Reading Challenge Item: An audiobook that won an Audie award.

I've come to realize that the books I listen to when I do my monthly "cooking days" (6-12 hrs of cooking, which I then freeze and eat throughout the month) tend to get a "bump" in star ratings -- I think almost everything I've listened to on "cooking days" has received either 4 or 5 stars from me.

I only include this preamble because I think it's worth noting that a story can have a bigger impact when one has the chance to Read Harder Reading Challenge Item: An audiobook that won an Audie award.

I've come to realize that the books I listen to when I do my monthly "cooking days" (6-12 hrs of cooking, which I then freeze and eat throughout the month) tend to get a "bump" in star ratings -- I think almost everything I've listened to on "cooking days" has received either 4 or 5 stars from me.

I only include this preamble because I think it's worth noting that a story can have a bigger impact when one has the chance to ingest it all in a short amount of time and appreciate the entire story and character arc. I think this is why we so often consider books we read all in one day to be so good -- so the question is then, did we read it all in one day because it was so good (i.e., we couldn't pull ourselves away) or did we think it was so good because we read it all in one day, and thus had a better opportunity to see what the author set out to accomplish?

All that is to say, I really enjoyed this book -- found myself utterly swept away, in fact -- even though it started out a little slow for me and also veers more toward paranormal or urban fantasy than straight-up fantasy, which I tend to enjoy more. Initially I wasn't sure I would be able to get behind the love story -- I'm still not sure I'm altogether "behind" it, although I did get more caught up in its origin than I expected. There are a few intriguing aspects of the first half of the book, including questions about Karou's identity and the creatures she sees and interacts with that exist apart from what most of the world is able to see. But for me, it's the latter part of the book that is really captivating -- not surprising, I suppose, since it veers more into traditional fantasy territory.

Overall, what sticks with me about this book is its haunting images -- fitting, perhaps, since Karou is an artist. I look forward to seeing how these images manifest onscreen in the movie adaptation. Although it will be live action, I would love to see the chimera animated -- it could be gorgeous.

It does some interesting things with angel mythology, although it is the chimera that are most compelling. I could have done without all the descriptions of how otherwordly hot Akiva was, but the descriptions of Madrigal's beauty were unusual enough to rise above typical paranormal romance fare. Still, as much as I liked Madrigal's backstory, the most compelling relationship in the book is not the love story between Akiva and Karou or Akiva and Madrigal, but the one between Karou and her father figure, Brimstone -- probably the most fascinating character in the book.

I kept sort of wishing this book was about college-age or older characters, though, since they all seem too "old" to be high schoolers, both in their general maturity level and in the way they live their lives. Karou has an apartment of her own, and her best friend lives with an elderly aunt who is not even mentioned until halfway through the book. It just felt like they were far too unfettered by adult supervision to really be teenagers, even if they were in an "artsy" boarding school in Europe.

Finally, the audio version of this is definitely worthwhile. I'm pretty sure it won the Audie for Kristine Hvam's portrayal of Razgut alone. ...more

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Mar 30, 2014 alana rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, making-things, young-adult, urban-fantasy, fantasy, audiobook, series-in-progress, angels

Daughter of Smoke and Bone would have been 4 stars for me if not for the star-crossed romance (yes, the whole point, but...not my thing) and the feeling it was super long (the flashback could have been its own book). I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of life as an art student in Prague as well as the creative details of the fantastic chimera. All the choices of settings were appealing. Again, the stories of ignornant Karou and englightened Karou could have been their own novels. The abunda ...more

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Jul 15, 2011 Kirstin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library

Karou lives a double life. By day, she is an art student in Prague, hanging out with her best friend, Zuzana, at the Poison Kitchen, filling her sketchbook with pictures of fantastical creatures. But at night, she serves as the international courier for the real-life versions of the characters she draws — Brimstone, the Wishmonger, who trades wishes for teeth; chimaera Issa, Yasri, and Twiga; and tiny, bird-like Kishmish — the only family she has ever known.

It’s a stressful life for a young woma ...more

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Sep 24, 2011 jen8998 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Imaginative and engaging. Loved it except that it ends on a cliffhanger and there's a sequel to come. ...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Megan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, urban-fantasy

I feel like I need to absorb this book more before I could really review it, but I'll go for it anyway. This book is beautifully written, enough so that I actually could tolerate the insta-love. Well, there's another thing that helps, but that's a spoiler. At first I felt Karou was just yet another twee artsy character, but she becomes so much more than that, thankfully. I'm not sure what I expected out of this book, but it was quite different.

A little thing that I don't see enough in fiction th ...more

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Aug 04, 2012 Erika rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thefantastic, young-adult

This book has been getting an insane amount of hype ever since it came out, and I kept telling myself “by golly, I really want to read that! The next time it’s on the shelf at the library I’ll grab it.” Only, it was never on the shelf, and eventually I had to suck it up and put a hold on it, and thank god I did because this book is da bomb and easily one of the most enjoyable books I read in 2012.

Read the rest of my review at:

http://teenbooksaregoodbooks.wordpres... ...more

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Feb 13, 2012 Kate McCartney rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: girl-power, friendship, fantasy, audiobook, teen-fiction, angels, supernatural, 2014, 2019

Read originally in 2014, reread in 2019 so I could read the sequel and remember what was going on. Also because Taylor has a gorgeous writing style, creates incredible worlds and engaging characters.

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