review: daughter of smoke and bone (#1)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Once Upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love...
Karou is a spunky little spirit. She’s an artist and high-schooler living in beautiful Prague. Her hair is a head-turning blue (personally, I’m more in favor of the psychedelic tie-dyed look, where it looks like a rainbow just decided to have a shit on your head. But hey, digging the blue gurlfran).
She also happens to have a family of monsters.
Fuck it book, take it. Take all my money. I said take it!
No doubt about it, this book has a way with words. So much so that at times it feels like its broke free from its leash, has pounced you, and is slobbering all over your face. However wordy it got though, I was still intrigued with the initial story and its characters. Curiosity had me turning the pages (fine I lie, more like tapping my e-reader screen but you get the point), ever eager to discover just who or what Karou is.
And then, like some rogue bolt of lightning Zeus accidentally farted out, Akiva descended upon the story and…and…I never stood a chance. Here is where Karou began to wax on lyrically about his beauty and where I began to feel disconnected from everything. It felt like someone just picked me up and flung me into the treacherous waters of YA romance (fuck, not even a life-preserver? Shit. Marie, I leave to you my collection of missing pair socks). Every break to the surface I made just had another wave overlap me.
And just when I think it could not get worse, a time-machine falls from the sky and crushes me.
‘His gaze was heat across her cheeks, her lips. It was touch.’
Ew, get it off, get if off.
‘This new thing that sprang up between them, it was…astral’
Oh, I bet it was. And the way this all reads, it’s like the universe is smashing these two together, like a toddler playing house with dolls. Instead of being intrigued for the sake of natural curiosity, we need something bigger to convince these two that they are meant to be together. Personally, whenever I read something like this, it just comes across as lazy. “Shit, can’t explain it and balls to developing it. I know…IT’S THE FUCKING UNIVERSE! BOOM! Okay, make-out now.”
Then again, I shouldn’t be too hard on Karou. I once had an astral connection with an adorable box of biscuits.
Don’t you judge me like that! They had panda’s on them and everything!
Personally, whatever time is spent on Karou and Akiva, would have been better spent on Karou and her family. I’d rather take on complex family dynamics than insta-love.
Also, I’ve been rick-rolled.
Earlier, I mentioned a time-machine falling me. And no, it has nothing to do with the time-lord. And no, I did not piss off Sailor Pluto (pssttt, you’re no longer a planet). Nearing the end, you’d imagine everything would be converging into one point, the plot climax just around the corner, the shit is about to hit the fan.
Well, sucks to be you. Here’s a flashback instead. No bullshit, I’m straight up telling it as it is. You get to the last quarter and it is an entire flashback about a character named Madrigal. There isn’t much reward for this structure butchery, save for more Brimstone moments (who I swear to the almighty Pumpkin is the best damn thing in this series). In fact, this section only served to remind me of how much I wanted to see more of Brimstone than Akiva.
To conclude, the initial story idea and delivery captivated me, the middle and end felt a bit of a slug to get through. Slowly and surely my interest and sympathy began to wane. I feel like this first book should have perhaps centered around Karou and her family. When Akiva decided to pop in the story threads feel rushed, like there’s some race to hit every point as fast as possible. In order to still carry some emotional weight, the book hammers in the lyrical prose and inter-reflections to a point where it had me going, “Yes that’s all fine and lovely but get on with it!”
“Your soul sings to mine.”
So…soprano? Bass? Or is her soul more of the karaoke type?
IN DEPTH DISCUSSION
Warning, there be spoilers ahead!
So, Karous is reincarnated.
Well, more like resurrected, and all her memories from her previous life have been magically placed into a wishbone that she carries as a necklace.
Just to reiterate she currently does not have her memories as Madrigal. So why the ffffuuuccckkk did we have all that sappy insta-love cheese thrown all over us? You know what would have been infinitely better? If Karou was Karou. If she didn’t have some ‘astral, universe dark-magic crap’ drawing her to Akiva, from a previous life she doesn’t even remember. This shit shouldn’t be treated like it’s genetic. It feels like entrapment, and it’s depressing as fuck. Even if you’re living a second life, your past one will overshadow it? You will forever more be drawn to Akiva?
What we get is Karou falling in love for no rhyme or reason, and then, to quickly cover its ass and attempt an explanation, the book just goes, “PAST LIFE MOJO! Don’t question it, or I’ll cut you.”
And then suddenly it all makes sense to Karou. Of course. Of fucking course.
It’s not like the first time around it was a deep and developed romance. As Madrigal, she finds Akiva wounded on the battle and saves him. Because the universe.
By the time they finally break the wishbone, Cthulhu had already risen from the sea. Even the book agrees.
‘And so, at last, they did.’
And then you’re dumped into a flashback. By the end of it all Akiva admits to killing, or aiding in the murder of Brimstone and her family. He seems to only regret what he has done because SHE’S alive.
“If I’d known, Karou, I would have believed in redemption. I never…I never would have…”
Fucked up mortality system is strong in this one.
Pfffttttt. Silently judging you.
Once Upon a time, Rappelle read a YA fantasy book. It was…ehhh, it was okay, I mean it could have been a lot worse, like A LOT worse, but hey there’s monsters and angels in it and astral meaning to every glance, touch and fart. (Deep breath) Phew!
“Us,” he said. “They won’t understand us.”
Shit, Akiva. I still don’t understand you two, and I got the flashback.
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