Review: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Book Description:
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?

My thoughts:
This book is fantastic!
I listened to this audio book in my car, NOT a good idea.  Gas prices are going through the roof and driving around JUST to listen to the story is not cost effective - but I did it anyway.

I fell in love with the characters - all of them ~ from the smallest support characters on up to Karou, Akiva and of course Brimstone.  The writing is vivid, descriptive and visual; you can see the sites and smell the smells.  

The wishmonger - is what Brimstone is called and you are given a completely different view of wishes and dreams.  Karou has been raised by Brimstone in his shop filled with secrets, stories and portals.  She is his errand runner - but oh so much more than that.  The constant question - "Who/what is she?" 

In this story, you learn the price of wishes and the difference between wishing and dreaming.  You see the faith in friendship.  You find out what being family means and feel the sting of betrayal; the agony of loss and the glory of love.  Above all of this - there is hope.

My advice: If you are planning to listen to Daughter of Smoke and Bone in your vehicle, be going on a long trip - hopefully with someone else who loves audio books - buy book 2 so you can have it along for the return trip because the end of book one leaves you screaming for more.