I’m not quite sure what to say about this book, so I’ll
start at the beginning—the way beginning, long before I had a copy of the novel
in my hands. Last May at BEA I attended a panel with five editors talking about
five of the most buzzed about books for the upcoming fall season. Alvina Ling,
the editor at Little, Brown who worked on Daughter
of Smoke and Bone was there. I don’t remember much about the panel other
than I was kind of underwhelmed by the editors’ presentations; none of the
books seemed to stand out when the editor was talking about the acquisition and
editing process or the fantastic world that the author created. And that’s
because what makes books really special
is not the plot or characters; it’s the writing, and that’s nearly impossible
to convey in a presentation that doesn’t include reading an excerpt from the
book. The one thing that did make Daughter
of Smoke and Bone stand out for me, though, was that one of the last things
Alvina mentioned: it was set in Prague. I perked up in my seat. This is
something that intrigued me beyond the paranormal and fantasy elements that,
when summarized, this book seemed to share with all the other highlighted
novels. I adore Prague!
And that, I guess, is where I should start my review of
the book. The setting, the world, the magic—breathtaking. And the novel isn’t
just set in the seemingly magical Prague; much of it takes place in Marrakesh
and otherworldly places. The various settings and the way Laini describes them
is the gem of this novel. Fantasy novels are generally so Euro-centric and moving
away from traditional Northern-European medieval villages and castles to rich,
lush, different settings was so refreshing. And the way in which Laini throws
in terms that refers to everyday objects found in Marrakesh that weren’t
familiar to me made the scope of her novel so much broader than typical YA. It’s
wonderful to see a novel do new things and push the boundaries of what readers
expect. The lushness and complexity will appeal to readers of all ages, not
just teens.
That being said, I didn’t love the novel. I wanted to so badly and thought for the
majority of the book that it was better than average bordering on really good.
But there wasn’t much of an actual plot; there was beautiful world building and
I was intrigued to find out more about Karou…but what actually happened during
the course of the novel? Three or four things, that’s it. There needed to be
more action leading to an understandable if not foreseeable point. Perhaps there
will be direction in the sequel.
This next point contains major spoilers. Stop reading now
if you haven’t read the novel yet. My larger concern and reason for not loving Daughter of Smoke and Bone is from the
last quarter where we finally find out who Karou is. I wanted to know. I was intrigued, but not interested enough
to have a 75-page tangent about Karou’s past life as Madrigal. It was too much
and I ended up not caring, even when it came to the steamy romance between her
and Akiva. I wanted to know about present-day Karou in Marrakesh trying to find
Brimestone and her family, not Madrigal who only had been barely mentioned by
Akiva once or twice before. As I got closer and closer to the end of the novel
and realized that the conclusion was basically just the reveal of who Karou was
and wouldn’t get to the action I was sorely disappointed.
And, unrelated to the text, I despise the cover. Anyone
else with me? Although it definitely hints to the mystery of the novel I find
it dull and misrepresentative of the overall story. Karou is the girl with blue
hair, not the girl who wears a feathery mask! And yes—I understand that the
image might be of Madrigal at the ball, but once again, I care about Karou, not
Madrigal!
So, to wrap up this long review, I’m torn. Some aspects I really
loved, some I was disappointed in. I’ll definitely read the sequel—but I won’t
preorder it the way I did this novel.
What are your thoughts?
This month’s pick for the Fall Book Club is Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I
read the book a while ago when I snatched up the ARC at BEA so this review is
going to be briefer than most of my book club reviews. I look forward to
hearing what others think about this new novel from the Wolves of Mercy Falls
author.
In the end, I’m glad that this is a one-off and not the
beginning of a series. Although the writing was compelling I doubt I’d pick up
a sequel. And the cover art isn’t doing the book any favors, either. It’s
dull—almost appropriate for non-fiction. Check out the UK art, it’s world’s
better!