Reviews with content warning for War - Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Color me pleasantly surprised. I've been hesitant to go back and read all these 2010s YA fantasy series (many by cis white women) as I worried they wouldn't age well. This is my first foray into those waters - since reading some of them back in the day - and it's not bad!
Yes there's an insta-love* plot, and yes we have some pretty gross violence for the sake of "war" but I thought the setting was fun and the characters aren't half bad. I'll be picking up the next book, for sure.

Content Warnings

donatio's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

So... overall I liked the book.
I liked the characters as well as the world-building but some things didn't sit right with me.

Spoiler

I'm a big animal friend and I'm intrigued by the concept of opposites, how something cannot exist without an opposite, but the depiction here failed sometimes. The fact that the angels basically colonised the world of the chimaera often fades into the background and the chimaera are still often described as the villain(monsters) because the angels make no appearance except for Akiva's "rightness" and so on; the balance it was probably supposed to be... Is just not there. Even though it is said that the chimaera are intelligent and feeling beings this behavior isn't shown, there is no tender love in Eretz in the chimaera capital described. That makes them seem cruel even though the angels are the "real" enemies.
Furthermore I had a problem with some comments made in the book I can't recall specifically now and the fact that everyone seems to be beautiful (ly thin) in some way upsets me.

Still the story managed to draw me in, to care about the characters.

Content Warnings

timedothwasteme's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

auraflores's review against another edition

Go to review page

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

There is something about the writing of the book that kept me really enagaged. However, there was something I felt was missing after having finished the book. I think for the most part, it's a great book, but I don't know if I left feeling like I needed to pick up the next book in the series.

Content Warnings

_alyssar_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.25

Content Warnings

kirstenf's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

lisaandthebooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I've wanted to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone for such a long time now, but when I wanted to start reading it, I was surprised to see that I didn't actually own a copy of the book?
So I got the eBook and started reading it before going to bed. I just wanted to read a few chapters, but I couldn't put it down. I read one and on for multiple hours straight and I only got myself to stop after about 250 pages, because I was so invested in the story. And the only reason I did stop, was because I had to go to uni early the next day.

I finished the book today and it was amazing. The ending hurt me but I'm so excited to see what's coming next! I absolutely hate Thago and I assume we're going to see more of him in the next book, but I really don't want to.

All the twists and reveals where pretty good (at least to me). I mean, I guess I could have assumed some things, but I didn't have the time to think about it, because I was so mentally caught up in the story.

I prefered the chapters in the currently time over the ones in the past though. I feel like the backstory was all just bulked together and even though it was interesting to learn about, I just wanted to go back to the current time because we left off in such a crucial place.

I loved the setting of Prague, the art school and all the weird and amazing 'human' people (Zuzana). Karou was a very likeable protagonist in my opinion, even though she could be quite rash and stupid at times. But even though I was sometimes a bit annoyed by her and felt like she was doing things for absolutely no reason besides to further the plot (like going through the forbidden door.. ), I still liked her in the end. She is relatable in a way and also so far removed from anything at all relatable to normal humans.

Also the relationship between Karou and Akiva reminded me so so much of Hunt and Bryce? Like the whole soldier angel thing.. idk I constantly thought of them. Might be why I liked them so much even though we didn't get a lot of explanation and it was pretty instalovey (which is not normally my favourite..)

Also I really liked all the discussions of the war and perspectives of the different sides. I am very interested to see how the story continues and what more I'll get to learn about this world and its truths.

All in all I would highly recommend this book. I wish I had read it when I was a bit younger though, because I feel like that would have made me enjoy it even more. In my head I just imagine the protagonist being my age (19) instead of 17.

Laini Taylor is an author I kind of always expected to really enjoy reading from, but I never did. I really like the blurbs of her books but tbh I just didn't like the covers so that might have put me off a bit. I did really like her writing style though. It's so immersive! And the worldbuilding felt so real and thorough.
This is just a really good fantasy book and exactly what I wanted to read right now, so I guess it's also a 'right book - right time' kind of thing. :)

Content Warnings

michelles_book_nook's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

⚠️ TW: war, execution, misogyny, rape, torture ⚠️ If you're looking for a beautifully written and mesmerising fantasy series that will have you instantly obsessed then you need to read this! This book follows Karou who has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On one hand she is a 17 year old art student in Prague and on the other she is an errand girl for a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work of buying teeth from hunters and murderers nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole. When one day the portal doors to elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a nearly destroyed world that may hold the answers she has always sought. This book was everything you could possibly want from a fantasy book and I can't believe it has been sat on my tbr for so long! From the gripping storyline to the vivid characters to the impeccable world building. It left me speechless when I finished it because it was just so good and I dove straight into the second book. Overall, if you are into fantasy then you need to read this book/series because if the other two books are half as great as this one then it is incredibly underrated and needs all of the love!

Content Warnings

More...