Daughter of Smoke and Bone - audiobook review

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. This book is on sale at Audible right now - and I totally scored with this one!

Wow. Wow! Wow. I thought it was amazing!!!!! (5 exclamation points!)

characters: Karou, Akiva, Zuzana, Madrigal,
setting: Prague (Czech Republic) and "Elsewhere"

I liked Karou from the beginning and her friend Zuzana brought some humor and sweet human girl-friendship to the story. I am not in love with Akiva, but I cared about him. The many unique "monsters" who were Karou's family were intriguing and vividly described. I liked the way the story unfolded and glimpsed backwards. I did not love the ending, but it was fitting for a story about a world at war. Although I thoroughly loved this book, I'm left wondering if I could let it end here. Not that things are wrapped up, just that it feels so perfectly tragic.

GoodReads summary:
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?

Quotes from this book:

“Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.”

“Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there's no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.”

"For the way loneliness is worse when you return to it after a reprieve--like the soul's version of putting on a wet bathing suit, clammy and miserable."

“Wishes are false. Hope is true. Hope makes its own magic.”

"As she walked, clock towers across Prague started arguing midnight, and the long, fraught Monday came at last to a close."

“Your soul sings to mine. My soul is yours, and it always will be, in any world. No matter what happens. I need you to remember that I love you.” -Akiva

“Oh, Hell. Must. Mate. Immediately.” -Zuzana

“Hey! My body may be small, but my soul is large. It’s why I wear platforms. So I can reach the top of my soul.” -Zuzana

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