Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

This isn't a real review. I'm going to post the synopsis, squee a bunch and then faint. I'm not lying about the fainting.

This is a really difficult story to summarize. If you reveal too much, it ruins the suspense and the blurb doesn't really do it justice. But blurb is what you get because I am lazy.

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?

You're thinking "Angels, bah, BORING", right? WRONG. I mean, yeah sure angels, whatever, but not like JESUS angels, more like alien species angels. So, give it a chance, ok? OK?

I've read Laini Taylor's other books and loved them (I am super pissed that Putnam has elected to not continue with the rest of the Dreamdark series; screw you, Putnam). But this book blew them all out of the water. It's romantic, mysterious, magical, melancholy, surprising, insert-complimentary-adjective-here. Every time I thought I had a handle on the story, it went all twisty. And even when I figured out the who, the why and how of it surprised me. Also, the writing itself is beautiful.

Generally, I finish one book and IMMEDIATELY start a new one, but here I had to give myself a short break so I could let the story settle in my brain. I know I'm gushing so I'll allow that I do have a couple of complaints; the third-person narration is mainly focused on Karou and Akiva but occasionally jumps to minor characters. But not consistently, so when it happens, it takes a second or two to adjust (by which point we have switched back to Karou or Akiva). Also, the pacing in the first two-thirds of the book is really spot on but drags a bit in the last third. The big reveal was wonderful and interesting, but I think the flow of the story suffered because it took so forking long.

Final Reckoning

Should you read this? YES, a million times, YES. Buy the hardcover, this is one of those books that needs to be read on paper. I borrowed my copy from the library, but I'm going to buy one this weekend (it's Support A Small Business Saturday!). I may actually buy both the digital and physical versions, just so I can have it with me always. The only other book I've done that with is Daughter of the Forest. You should go read that too.

Buy It . Borrow It. Skip It

It's the first book in a trilogy which I'm assuming will be named "Daughter of Smoke and Bone". I have no real idea, the author's website doesn't actually say much.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Book 1 of 3 (projected)
Next Book: Who knows? It's not mentioned anywhere on the author's site
P.O.V.: Third person, past; omniscient

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

I loved that title until I had to type it out. Anyway, if you are at all a fan of books that straddle the divide between poetry and prose, I suggest that you read Catherynne Valente’s books for adults immediately. I am particularly fond of In the Night Garden, Book 1 of The Orphan’s Tales. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland… is her first book for children. Ignore the age recommendation, it’s perfectly wonderful for adults too.

Encapsulate This

I am going to lift the synopsis from the book jacket because I am finding it difficult to summarize without ruining the magic. Because seriously, this book is magic.

“September is a girl who longs for adventure. When she is invited to Fairyland by a Green Wind and a Leopard, well, of course she accepts (Mightn’t you?). But Fairyland is in turmoil, and it will take one twelve-year-old girl, a book-loving dragon, and a strange and almost human boy named Saturday to vanquish an evil Marquess and restore order.”

Ruminate on That

I think what I love best about this story is the calm acceptance of whatever-may-be that September has. Of course the Green Wind has come to take her to Fairyland. And of course, she meets a Wyvern whose father is a library. She decides to do something, and then she just does it. That’s one of my favorite aspects of fairytales. There isn’t a lot of excuse-making.

I don’t really have an objective opinion here. I just love the hell out of this book. The writing style, the story itself, the lovely illustrations, pretty much everything made me happy. The only (slightly) low point for me was the villain’s motivation. It was the weakest point of the story. However, the ending made up for it. It ended concretely, but with lots of space to imagine the future. I hugged the book when I finished it. And if it hadn’t been 11:00 p.m., I probably would have read it again (I did that the next day instead).

Final Reckoning

Should you read this? ABSOLUTELY. Actually, you should buy it. But buy the hardcover, this is definitely one of those books that are better in print than they are in digital.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

So I bought this book last year for a dollar. It may possibly be the best dollar I’ve ever spent. No, that is not hyperbole, this book is pretty damn amazing. It isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but YA dystopian fantasy? Yes please, thank you.

Encapsulate This

Sometime in the distant (unspecified) future, the USA as a unified country has collapsed and has been replaced by a nation called Panem. Surrounding the central Capitol, the land has been divided into 12 Districts, with each district responsible for a specific trade. Every year, in each district, a girl and a boy between ages 12 and 18 are picked by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games, a contest that is televised throughout Panem to entertain the citizens of the Capitol and to subdue the outlying Districts. In order to win the Games, you have to be the last person alive in the arena.

Sixteen year-old Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12, the poorest district in terms of both wealth and prestige. When her twelve year-old sister Prim is picked in the lottery, Katniss volunteers to take her place. The male tribute (what the lottery winners are called) is Peeta, a boy Katniss is familiar but not friendly with. Katniss hasn’t had time to consider all of the ramifications of taking her sister’s place, but she knows she can count on her best (only) friend Gale to take care of her family if she dies in the Games. She’s pretty sure she isn’t going to make it home.

Ruminate on That

If you have ever read Battle Royale (if you haven’t, you should), this is a familiar story. A lot of dystopian books have similar themes, so I don’t particularly care if the story is ALL NEW! NEVER SEEN BEFORE! I care if a story is told well. You guys, this story is told REALLY WELL. Despite very clearly being a cautionary tale, it rarely feels preachy. The pacing is perfect, what there is of dialogue is solid and there is a good amount of background information without info-dumping. The story is told in first-person present-tense (not my favorite, I’ve said before), so I felt Katniss’ experiences pretty viscerally. I was rooting for her even though she’s emotionally stunted, because she is pragmatic and capable. She’s far from perfect, she’s often cold, but I still wanted her to win.

Violence, especially violence-as-titillation, is a key element of the story, so be prepared for a fair bit of it (um, duh? The entire premise is an annual adolescent death-match). There are a couple of areas in the world-logic that are a little wonky, but actually, the only thing that really, truly bugged me was the romantic sub-plot. In general, I am a fan of the romance but (this applies mostly to the books to follow) a lot of the romantic element felt forced. So authors, please, stop with the love triangle. Pretty please?

Final Reckoning

Should you read this? Hell yes. I love this book so much that I bought a copy for my Kindle. It is a three volume series, so take that into consideration. And then buy it anyway. This book resolves the initial story arc well but there is lots of room for the story to continue. I’ll get around to reviewing the second and third books too.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Book 1 of 3 of The Hunger Games)

Wither by Lauren DeStefano (Book 1 of The Chemical Garden)

Hey, another YA Fantasy! It’s also another debut novel! I promise I will review a book for a Not-So-Young Adult, but I’ve been reading either fantasy novels that are in the middle-to-end of a series or books that just don’t warrant a full review.

In a not-so-distant future, scientists engineered a generation of disease-free, genetically perfect children. It isn’t until the second generation starts dying that they realize their cure had unintended consequences. Now, with young men dying of infection at 25 and young women at 20, people are desperate to keep the human race from extinction. Women are being kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages so they can bear children. When sixteen year-old Rhine Ellery is kidnapped as a bride for Linden Ashby, all she wants is to get back to her twin brother. Even as she plans her escape, her growing affection for her sister-wives and her understanding of Linden make her conflicted. And is she beginning to feel something for the servant Gabriel?

That is the cover copy, essentially, I am too tired to summarize this myself. (Have I ever mentioned how much I hate doing these synopses? I HATE DOING THESE SYNOPSES.)

This book was good. Not fabulous but interesting. Rhine’s narrative voice is what carries the story. She’s confused, scared, or angry but believable. While I was reading, it was fairly easy to suspend my disbelief, but once I put the book down, the inconsistencies and holes in the storyline became apparent. There isn’t nearly enough world-building but since this is the first in a series of three, I hope that we’ll learn more about the environment and the science (but I don't think that the logic behind the story will actually support any intensive scrutiny).

I would say read this but maybe wait until the next book is released? It’s not because there is a cliffhanger, the story ends pretty much where I expected it to. I'm just not sure it made sense. I’m curious to see how the whole story resolves but also a little hesitant because I'm not sure it will resolve well.

Wither, Book 1 of The Chemical Garden by Lauren DeStefano

Warped by Maurissa Guibord

Tessa Brody is a seventeen year-old girl who finds an old (REALLY OLD) unicorn tapestry and a book in a box of some other books (no other tapestries) that her dad bought from an auction. When she touches the tapestry, she gets all weird and tingly (not the fun kind of tingly, the transport-you-through-time kind). After hanging the tapestry on her wall, she notices a loose thread and yanks it out (because this is what you do with something that is 500 years-old, you compromise its structural integrity, amirite?). Upon pulling the thread, a dude by the name of Will de Chaucy appears in her room. Will is a super-hot, sort-of arrogant young English guy who was trapped by a witch some 500 years ago. The witch had turned him into a unicorn and woven his life thread (this is important) into the tapestry to keep herself forever young and beautiful. When the witch discovers that her tapestry and book are missing (silly minion lost them, you can never trust minions) and that Tessa has inadvertently freed Will, she is ROYALLY PISSED. Also, the Norn are looking for seven life threads that were stolen from the Wyrd a long time ago and think Tessa is involved (because time travel? suspicious coincidence? I don’t know). So Tessa and Will set out to defeat the evil witch and recover the stolen threads for the Norn.

Sound confusing? It’s not. It’s actually pretty awesome. It’s got a little mythology, a little fate, a lot of magic, and some PG romance. Plus, a trusty best friend and an affably clueless dad. Warped is Maurissa Guibord’s first novel and I must say, that as a whole, it is damned impressive. The narration transitions are a little spotty, but the story flows well, the characters are well developed, there are a couple of surprising plot twists, and it’s just plain interesting. The story wraps up nicely but leaves some room for a sequel. I REALLY hope there is a sequel. And, not to spoil the surprise (but clearly, I am going to), Tessa’s first name is TESSERACT. Because her mom loved A Wrinkle in Time. I squealed.

I loved that Tessa is a smart, pragmatic girl who doesn’t need Will to rescue her, she manages to rescue herself (and him). She doesn’t whine or complain (much), she just applies herself to solving the problem. Will is a bit of a jerkwad sometimes, but ultimately, he’s a good guy to have in your corner. I really only have one problem with this book. At some point, Will asks Tessa for A Midsummer Night’s Dream to read, but he’s from the year 1511 and Shakespeare wouldn’t be born until 1564. That jerked me out of the story for a minute (which I used to check Wikipedia) and that is never nice. Other than that, I pretty much loved every page.

Read it? Oh yes. The Kindle edition is kind of expensive, but your library probably has it.

Warped by Maurissa Guibord

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

I really wanted to love this book. As a matter of fact, for the first 5 chapters or so, I did. It’s got dragons, an interesting spin on dragon folklore, and romance all in the same book. Awesome, right? Wrong. So very WRONG.

Jacinda is a young draki* girl who is the only fire-breather in her pride. Fire-breathers have been extinct for a long time, so the current alpha decides that she will marry/breed with his son (the next alpha). Jacinda is out flying one sunny day (whoops number one) and is nearly caught by a group of hunters (whoops number two). She escapes because a young hunter boy lets her go (for reasons unknown, but mostly because she’s pretty). When she makes it back to the pride, they want to punish her for nearly exposing them and her mom, not wanting her daughter to suffer, escapes with Jacinda and her twin sister. They move to a desert town, where the young hunter just happens to live. There is an awful lot of angst, true love, super-mysterious secrets, mortal danger, blah, blah, blah, OHMYGOD, please shut up.

It’s hard these days to find a paranormal-ish YA fantasy that doesn’t have people drawing parallels to a certain series that shall remain nameless (a clue: it sparkles). Sometimes, like now, the comparison is deserved. The story is told from 1^st person (check). It’s about a young girl is made to move to a new town where she doesn’t really fit in (check). The young girl meets a young boy who is very, very bad for her (check). There isn’t a lot of interaction between them but they LOOOOVE each other (check). There is some stalking and obsessive behavior from the young boy (check). There is a romantic sort-of rival who borders on abusive (check). There are a lot more checks, but I don’t feel like enumerating them. Suffice it to say that once Jacinda got to the new town, I didn’t go a single chapter without thinking OOOH SPARKLES. Plus, the writing could have used a much more judicious editor. I cannot count how many times I read the words stark(ly) or dark(ly) or bleak(ly).

But now, despite all these numerous faults, I have to read the next book. Because holy forking shit, the ending? CLIFFHANGER, an entire fucking mountain range worth of zero resolution. And for no good reason because there were a million ways to tie up the storyline and still leave room for expansion in the next book. It was utterly UN-fucking-NECESSARY to leave the story unfinished.

Don’t read this. It will just make you angry because you’ve been manipulated into reading the series.

Firelight, A Firelight Story, Book 1 by Sophie Jordan

*Some background: The draki are not actually dragons but are descended/evolved from dragons. They have a bunch of rules, chief of which are 1) only fly at night when people can’t see you and 2) never betray the fact that the draki can take human form. The draki use magic to hide themselves from people, but are hunted by a select group for the healing properties of their blood, their ability to find jewels, water, arable land, etc. There, now you know way more than you need to.

Eyes Like Stars, Theatre Illuminata, Book 1

I've decided to use the book names as post titles, it's just easier to manage. So, hooray for internal inconsistencies.

The Theatre Illuminata is home to The Book, a magical collection of all the plays ever. The players who live there are the characters from these plays. The players are bound to the Theatre and the Theatre itself reacts to the commands of the Managers (and Bertie). Beatrice Shakespeare Smith (aka Bertie) is a young lady who lives in the Theatre. She isn’t an actor and she isn’t staff so she doesn’t really fit in anywhere. She was left at the Theatre as a young child and doesn’t know where she came from or who her parents are. Her closest friends are the 4 sprites from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Nate, a pirate from The Little Mermaid (Potential Romance Alert!). Also, Ariel from The Tempest used to be her friend and then shit got weird (oh look! another Potential Romance Alert!). To make a place for herself, Bertie decides to restage Hamlet. As she works on the play, she begins to discover some things about herself, the place she’s made her home, and the people she’s made her family.

So that synopsis made this sound a little boring, but it was the exact opposite. Lisa Mantchev’s writing is just a little dark and the dialogue is funny and the secondary characters are more than just cardboard props (whoops! Pun Alert!). Scenes from Bertie’s past are written in traditional play format and add to the play-within-a-play (within-another-play) feeling of the story. And the story-behind-the-story is both really clever and a little sad. A magical theater sounds awesome, but imagine playing Ophelia forever, drowning yourself endlessly and then imagine just how much that would suck (it would suck A LOT). The ending here was a little abrupt (goddamn cliffhangers) and didn’t end up quite where I wanted it, but there are at least 2 more books in the series and I’ve already nabbed the next one(I finished this last week). This book has all of the things that make YA Fantasy so awesome: a little magic, a little romance, a little mystery, and really good friends. All in all, you should read the hell out of this book.

Eyes Like Stars, Theatre Illuminata, Act I by Lisa Mantchev