Summary: Karou is an art student at a university in Prague. She also doesn't know who she is but that's cool because she works with Chimera...and then she sees a hot angel. Wow.
It says I gave this a 3.5 on goodreads, but I think this is more of a 3 star read. I reviewed this on my channel, but I can't remember what I said because I have the attention span and the memory of a hyper active fish (which is not very long...just to clarify)
I had heard a lot about Laini Taylor over since I started watching booktube videos in 2013. She is quite the popular author. I hadn't experienced her writing until I read a short story she did for My True Love Gave to Me (a collection of short winter love stories edited by Stephanie Perkins). Her story was beautiful and haunted my very soul. I cried a bit and it just stuck with me. I thought it was amazing and to this day I can't get it out of my head. I immediately bought Daughter of Smoke and Bone...but I never picked it up...I was too scared to. What if it was a fluke? After getting Overdrive (an app where I can get free audiobooks from my library), I decided that I should finally read this book.
The likes:
The thing about Laini Taylor is that she is a beautiful writer. The way she tells stories is amazing. The world was so well written that I felt like I was there. I really loved the way her stories have a fairy tale quality to them. They just feel so...familiar and comforting. I loved the fantastical elements to this book as well. As it is a fantasy, it had some mythical creatures in it. Chimera, creatures that are half human and half animal. I loved learning about them and how they worked. Fascinating.
Dislikes.
I hated soooooooo much about this book though...It started out so good. Then she met Akiva...Akiva is an angel who is trying to kill the Chimera...And she sees him and he sees her and kira kira eyes happen (that is japanese for sparkle eyes)
^Very much like that
No thank you. I really don't like instalove. It is soooooooooooo annoying. While yes, for those of you who have read it, I know there is a reason for why it happens...but that doesn't mean I have to like it. And I don't. I hate instant attraction. I know it is possible in real life, but this was just...ugh...My eyes rolled so hard that I may have been able to see my brain for a little bit.
Then there was the fact that the last 50% of this book was a flashback. I don't know if I have ever made it apparent...but I usually abhor flashbacks. They are ok when they are done well...and I find that they rarely are. This was a flashback disaster for me. This would have been better as a 1.5 instead of a chunk of the book. I understand why it was there, but she could have given us some information and then put the rest as a separate book. I was so bored and I was taken 100% out of the story. I was so annoyed and I didn't really care. It was really hard to care once the flashbacks started...and then the uber romance between Karou and Akiva...and the fact that the book went from a fantasy to a YA romance. Not what I signed up for...not what I wanted. It was frustrating that the book went in this direction when, again, it had started out so strong.
As I usually do when I read audiobooks, I'm going to review that as well. The narrator, Khristine Hvam, was amazing! She had so many amazing voices and never once did I not know who was talking. Her accents were fantastic and she was such an enchanting speaker that I couldn't help but keep listening, even though I hated the story. Her narration and voices perfectly matched Laini Taylor's lyrical writing style. I loved her. I would totally listen to more books narrated by her.
So there you have it. My unpopular opinion on a well loved book. Naturally I will not be continuing the series. With the way the book ended, I can see where it is going to go and I'm not excited to actually read it. So I am not going to torture myself with that. How is her other book series? Strange the Dreamer? If you have read it, let me know. I'm curious to see if it is something I will like or if it will do the same thing for me as this book did.
Thank you again for reading and I will catch you all next time!!
Links and the like:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk5eRrShYL-HK0Gzg2qp4zQ/featured
Originally reviewed in March 2018 novel wrap-up
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6483377-supermomochan-peachyfishybooks
Gifs: https://giphy.com/
seriously...this book was the biggest disappointment ever.
