It's always, "Surely this book must be as awesome as book bloggers and reviewers say it is. Oh look, even my favourite author is gushing about it. So. Must. Read!"
.... Then comes the inevitable let down.
The first time was Beth Revis' Across the Universe trilogy. Two books into the series and its lead characters still annoy me. Saying that, I do have a soft spot for the trilogy - even if it's a very small and discreet spot.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone didn't leave as much of an impression. Blame it on high expectations if you must. It's a 4.12/5 star book on Goodreads after all! And this book was #1 last year on Amazon's young adult book list.
What it's about:
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 grows 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?
In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grows 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?
To be fair, the book actually started off quite all right. For 3/4 of the story, I thought "this is interesting, I can see why people say it's good". The descriptions of Prague were beautiful, the prose elegant, and the characters and folklore well fleshed out. But something was still missing... which I hoped I would find as I continue reading.
Then it struck me: I wasn't getting pulled into DoSaB's world(s). Neither was I feeling as much as I would like to for Karou and Akiva. It was a struggle to connect.
If anything, my favourite character was Brimstone, the tender and mysterious chimaera that raised Karou. Pity that he weaves in and out of the story and eventually disappears.
So by the time the book ended on a rather abrupt note, I was annoyed.Yes, DoSaB is part 1 of 3 books, but personally I feel that all books in a series should be self contained.
You read the next book and then the next-next one to find out how the story continues, but you should also be able to enjoy a full story on its own in each book.
I may pick up Days of Blood and Starlight - book #2 - when it's out November 2012, or I may not. I'm just not too concerned.about it. I'm content to ogle the awesome book cover for now.
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