ASTONISHING

I listened to this on audiobook courtesy of my beautiful monthly membership to Audible. It was astonishingly good. The prose was colourful, imaginative and sophisticated. There were moments when I found my brain chewing over a dazzlingly brilliant metaphor or simile that just left me reeling in a post-literary glow. I don't even care how dodgy that sounds.
I am in love not only with Taylor (who has very pink hair, by the way), but with her wonderful protagonist, the tattooed, blue-haired Karou. She was a girl who lived between worlds and who knew just how to sharpen the pointy-end of a witty one liner. I am in love with all of Taylor's characters. Akiva (a swoon-worthy Seraph) was a fairly typical male interest who was rather predictable. Nonetheless, he was a literary hottie. Karou's best buddy, a tiny Czech girl by the name of Zusana kept me giggling throughout.
The characters were beautifully drawn, the setting made me want to hop on the next plane to Prague and Taylor's writing made me want to keep chipping away at the dense old block that is my skill at crafting words. I don;t want to write too much about the plot here as I wouldn't want to give the game away. I will, however, say that the structure of Taylor's narrative was, if not a breath of fresh air, then a good old spritz of Fabreeze to the somewhat stale and tattily-woven fabric of some YA reads.
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A rare 5 stars for this and a whole lot of bated breath for the sequel!Lx

32 people found this helpful

A well crafted piece of fantasy

First: I really enjoyed this book. I actually fell asleep listening (not 'cos it was boring but because it was late) and this gave the whole experience a definitely dreamlike quality. Re-listening awake, its still good, even for a not so young adult. Of course seen in context of the fantasy genre as a whole, this ticks all the well known boxes, another world on the the side of a door (CS Lewis, Pullman), angels (Pullman again) so the underlying ideas aren't really new. But this need not matter as it is beautifully, lyrically written and read (even if in a US accent). And it takes the ideas and adds romance, which is certainly lacking in all the other versions. So I'm on tenter hooks for the next instalment.

15 people found this helpful

Who, or what, is Karu?

If you could sum up Daughter of Smoke and Bone in three words, what would they be?

This book starts in a deceptively simple way, with a girl acting as a carrier for her family. Albeit this is a rather unusual family of mixed creatures. Karu herself lives in Prague, and has a fairly normal school life, but one day she sees something she shouldnt, gets very hurt, and makes the reader start to wonder just what is behind the doors, and why is she collecting teeth?!

This is an interesting story, where you are kept guessing as to who exactly is good or bad, and it doesnt get any easier as the protagonists history is revealed. Easily one of the best of the current paranormal slew of angel based books, and one suitable for older children, but not younger ones due to some of the fights and deaths, none of which are in great detail, and well justified in the storyline.

Gave it four stars, as I hate books ending on deliberate cliff hangers, why cant they at least write a partial ending, and be a good enough read anyway for me to buy the next book? That said, a lot of ends were tied up, so wouldnt be too frustrating to read alone.

So, in 3, engaging, exciting, and immersive.

What other book might you compare Daughter of Smoke and Bone to, and why?

I would compare this to wicked lovely, another book that keeps you guessing without making too much of this as a plot device.

What about Khristine Hvam’s performance did you like?

I liked most of her voices, she makes it really easy to keep track of who is speaking.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Does addiction to the storyline count??

Any additional comments?

Does need a bit of concentration at times, so not the best book for driving to, but a good bedtime or sunbathing book.

6 people found this helpful

Brilliant

This is a wonderful book. The style is quite modern but it is beautifully written. I absolutely loved the narration as well and have been looking for more more more from the writer and narrator both. MUST get this if you love fantasy. So good.

6 people found this helpful

First audiobook I ever stopped listening to

I'm sorry to say that this is the first audiobook I ever stopped listening to. I listened exactly halfway through and when it did not pick up I decided to just drop it and wait for my next credit.

What I should say is that this is not terrible, but also not very good. I think the mistake I made was listening to this as an adult, because I do think I would have enjoyed this as a teenager. If you like the Twilight films chances are you will love this book, and if so don't let this review put you off.

The story in itself isn't so bad and after a few hours I even thought the book did show some promise, but as is made painfully clear it turns into a love story and not a very good one. Slow, sleazy and a serious amount of words describing two people looking at each other. Again and again. Other 'side'-parts of the book, mostly when Karou, the hero, hung out with her friend Suzana made me cringe. Tried to be funny but didn't work.

I'm really making this sound worse than it is, as said before I probably would have liked this fifteen years ago. Overall, don't bother if you don't like Twilight and books/shows similar to that.

17 people found this helpful

Normally a big YA fan but, meh...

I love reading and listening to YA literature. Most good stories can be enjoyed by people of all ages. But this book just did t do it for me. I'm quitting before the end. The characters are childishly gruesome and the story is predictable. The narrator doesn't help. She has an overly bubbly tone and the accents are pretty terrible. Pick a better story, like The Red Queen.

3 people found this helpful

Definitely YA

I listen to a wide range of books and quite like Young Adults fiction & fantasy.unfortunately, this one is a bit too much bad ass woman power and weeping angel for my liking. My daughter (13) will love it and it's perfect if you are looking for a modern/fantasy/slightly soppy Romeo and Juliet Superwoman story...but hopefully with a happy ending, never made it that far...saying that, it might develop over time seeing that it is a series, but not for me...

2 people found this helpful

Enjoyable in every way

Would you consider the audio edition of Daughter of Smoke and Bone to be better than the print version?

Loved the story. Bought the next volume in the trilogy right away and now I cannot wait until September 2014 when the next volume of trilogy is published. One of the best narrators I have listened to. Very enjoyable indeed.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Akiva and Karou, main characters. Chemistry and tragic impossibility.

What about Khristine Hvam’s performance did you like?

Loved it!!!!!! I will be searching for more books read by her.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES, definitely!

2 people found this helpful

A Fairytale Feast

Dazzling fantasy and lore. A romance filled with gripping twists and turns. Loved the story!

1 person found this helpful

Start of an epic series

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Starting this much-loved series that has been on my tbr forever was my main reading aim for the beginning of the year.

I do not like angel stories, I avoid them at all costs. There’s only one thing worse than this and that’s angel and demon stories. An hour into this listen and it was beginning to become apparent that there were creatures and then there were angels. What I found was that this wasn’t a Christian depiction of those beings but otherworldy, yet set in our world. I was able to get into this aspect.

I loved lots about this book but primarily, I loved Karou. She was a character of quirks and giftings that was fascinating. She was also a character full of heart and passion and that was catching. There was an amazing friendship between her and Zuzana that was funny, loyal and heartbreaking too. I was unsure about Brimstone, he creeped me out whilst I found him endearing in moments.

Akiva was a late entry to the proceedings, certainly in the background for much of the first half of the book but when he came face to face with Karou, oh boy, I just sat back and listened. There was something deep and mesmerising when these two were together and they convinced me of their pull pretty quickly. They made me think of Romeo and Juliet, in fact their whole tale did. When all was said and done, the story of Madrigle gave that perspective that slotted everything into place, but it was not a comfortable tale within a tale.

The narration was exceptional for this book. Khristine Hvam narrates with emotion and a wide range of impressive accents. She helped me truly sink into the story.

So, am I fan? Yes I am. Can I deal with these angels and creatures? In this situation, yes I can. There’s maybe a lesson to be learnt for me not to toss certain tropes and contexts out of hand immediately. The proof of this story is really in the fact that I’ve already started book two, mere hours after finishing book one. Thank you to everyone who’s ever recommended this book to me over the years, I got there in the end.

1 person found this helpful