Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Trilogy)
So A Daughter of Smoke and Bone was recommended to me by one of my closest friends, (shoutout: Nina) and although it took me a while to get around to reading it, I’m glad I did. She wouldn’t tell me anything that happened in the book (obvi), but she raved on about how good the book was. Once I finished reading it, I agreed with her in everything she said. In only a sentence, this trilogy written by Laini Taylor is very well written, and not at all what you’d expect before diving in.
First of all, the title is interesting and gives a sense of mystery on what the book is about, because honestly, the title reveals basically nothing in terms of the storyline. When reading the words: “Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.” What you automatically think isn’t actually what the book entails. You’d expect the angel to be some pure girl right? Wrong. Most clichés which are present in most ‘heavenly inspired’ (I didn’t know how to express it, haha) novels, are indeed, not present in Taylor’s trilogy. Honestly, the series is like none I have ever read, in terms of the setting, and the theme.
The world building and character development are, in my opinion, spot on. There are many layers in the world/s and many parts (like different groups of characters etc), and Taylor screws it all together wonderfully. The writing itself is magnificent in terms of the reader feeling and empathizing with the characters as the story delves on.
So obviously, Akiva, is hot. Like damn, I’d tap that so hard. If I could marry Akiva, I would.
Anyways, his character development is great, and it doesn’t range and change abruptly or completely. He’s not perfect (in the looks department, I would say so), but he’s not a whiny or annoying character in regards to his actions and the consequences. He doesn’t make Karou love him, but he waits for her to do so.
Speaking of, Karou is a badass with her tattooed body and blue hair. She’s not the typical ‘devil’ in which the description of the book implies. She’s also aware of everything around her and isn’t stupid or self-centred like many female protagonists turn out to be. Overall, each character is written in a certain way and keeps to that certain personality throughout the trilogy. ALSO, I think a big thing to point out is the fact that the love between Akiva and Karou seems to be instant or that ‘love at first sight’ thing that you see in a lot of young adult novels. However, as the story progresses, we see that the love between those two is not in fact insta-love and it doesn’t exactly last the entire time (without giving away spoilers – if you’ve read it, you’ll know what I’m trying to say).
So I really enjoyed the storyline of A Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It was interesting to get to know Karou and her life and her world, and although the first book was the ‘story setter’ for the rest of the series, I honestly thought that it was the best out of the three. I also loved the tension that was evident between the two even before everything between them was revealed. In all honesty, I disliked the fact that (spoiler alert) after the wishbone is broken and Karou knows about herself and her past, a chunk of the book was just about Madrigal. Okay, I get that it was to inform the reader about Karou’s past life as Madrigal etc etc, but I was kinda getting sick of starting a new chapter and still being in the story of Madrigal. I felt like that Karou and Madrigal were two different people (they sort of are?) and I didn’t really want to hear about Madrigal and Akiva anymore – but that’s just me.
Anyways, in my (probably not credible or valued) opinion, I believe that Days of Blood and Starlight, the second book in the trilogy wasn’t as good as the first. I just thought it was slow and more of a filler for what was to come next. So in all good books, not all of your favourite characters live, and not everything turns out the way you want it to – like Hazael. Spoiler alert, the comic relief of the Misbegotten dies and although there is hope later of his resurrection, that hope dies too. Don’t get me wrong, it was a really good book, I just didn’t enjoy it as much as the first.
Dreams of Gods and Monsters is the last book in the trilogy, and it’s where everything comes to an end. The final battles etc which is basically the entire course of the novel. In this book, there was more Akiva and Karou togetherness, which I enjoyed, however, I did get a little frustrated with the lack of Akiva/Karou action and I didn’t even think I was going to happen until we got to the end of the book. It was kind of a ‘love conquers all’ thing, where, even though huge things get in the way, both of them manage to live and find one another etc etc. However, it was a great ending to a great trilogy and I think Laini Taylor deserves some praise for her works – it’s all wonderful in every aspect.
I would recommend this for anyone really, particularly those who enjoy fantasy and romance mixed in with action and such. Overall as a trilogy, I give it a:
