My Opinion:

I started this book without having read any reviews, so I didn't know what to expect. Laini's world definitely blew me away. I was not expecting that! 

The writing style of this book is so light and at the same time, intense; I couldn't put it down (but there were times when I had to). Taylor's descriptions made my imagination soar through the cities she wrote about, imagining scenes, towns, people, like a good book is supposed to do.

We start out not knowing who Karou is, or where she comes from; we only know that she has a lot of secrets, like her family and Brimstone, the closest thing to a father she has. With her blue hair, she's a rebel that seeks the truth about herself, but at the same time, does not want to disappoint mighty Brimstone. 

Her human friend Zuzana, is an ordinary girl, your typical teenage friend. I'd love to see more of her, see how she progresses in the story. Karou keeps many secrets from her, but she's still loyal to her, and that says so much about her character. She's definitely an anchor for Karou, who's losing touch with everything that means something to her. 

There are so many characters worthy of mentioning, but then this post would be very long. Karou's "monster" family is extremely caring, I started loving them just as much as Karou does. 

The veil between our world and the Other Side (I read the book in Spanish; how do you call Brimstone's world?) is thinner than Karou could know, and she'll soon learn that there's more behind Brimstone's closed doors than she could ever have imagined.

Then there's Akiva. A tortured soul with a heavy bagagge. He's here to destroy Karou's world, but when they meet, sparks fly. He's such a deep character, I loved him from the start, even when he was trying to kill Karou!

A legendary battle is playing our between the monsters that have raised Karou and Akiva's own race, and she's stuck in the middle. But what part does she play?

Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a book filled with hope: hope of a better world, of happy endings, and of sad stories. You'll pick it up and won't want to let it go until you're finished, and then you'll cry because you'll want to know more! 

Is it November already?

Publisher: HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Overall: 4 Stars 

Categories: Fantasy, Paranormal, Dragons, Romance

Goodreads Page
Other books in the series: Vanish (Firelight, #2) 

Read in January 2012

Summary:

A hidden truth. Mortal enemies. Doomed love.
Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.
Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.
Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

My Opinion:

Firelight drew me in and didn't let go until I was done! What a good read! It took me a while to read this, but that was because I waited until it was published in Arg, instead of buying it through the internet. But now, I don't know if I'll be able to wait until Vanish is published here, I want to read it now!

Although I really enjoyed this book, I was a little annoyed at the plot: girl's family has to move for whatever reason (in Firelight it was to save Jacinda from a terrible fate), girl starts new school, doesn't make many friends, and the cutest guy -the one all the girls drool about- notices her among the throng.

But I get it: sometimes these things -writing about new kids in school and falling for the boy/girl you've dreamed about/seen in your mind/are destined to meet/etc.- are inevitable if we want to make the story work. I know this from experience, I'm writing a book where my female character dreams about a boy whom she later meets, and oh, what a surprise, she meets him because he's new in school. But I've learnt it doesn't matter what others write, it's what you make of your story. Honestly, I don't see any other way for neither mine nor Sophie's story to work: Jacinda's in danger and they have to move. She's the new kid in school -along with her sister, Tamra- and it's there where she meets Will, the hunter who refused to kill her.

And it's because of that that she wants to be around him (why did he spare her, when he kills her kind for a living?), and also, because without him, her draki (her dragon spirit) will certainly die in the hot desert where her mother took her.

I love dragons, and this story did not disappoint. Their history was explained very well through Jacinda's voice, which I thought was unique. I loved that the draki have all different abilities, like Jacinda being a fire draki, the last of her kind, and that they live in closed communities. And I also can't wait to learn more about the enkros and the hunters, and Will's story.

I only wish the love triangle wasn't so strong and present in the book. Sophie created wonderful characters, and while I can tolerate the new girl syndrome, I really dislike a bad love triangle.

I'd recommend this to Inheritance's fans: while this is nothing like Paolini's series, a) it's got dragons, and b) we've got no more Inheritance books, so we might as well move on to the next series.
xo,Ella

BAG is a book with a lot of potential, and I felt it really could have given us more. It was all there, but not completely there. 

We meet Abby, a ghost (we're not sure about this yet) to give it a term, who's inside a girl's body: Brooke needs her help with something and Abby's here to do the job for her. 

When I was asked to review this, I said "Why not? Sounds good!". And it was, but I wish we'd gotten more info about Abby and her handler (?) Will, and also, about her Borrowing businness. I know we'll get all this in the next books, but for a First in a Series, it lacked that thing that makes you want to run to the bookstore and buy the sequel. 

Nevertheless, The Shadow is a short book (only 50-ish pages) and a fun read for a cold afternoon when you want to curl up in a sofa and read.

Up next, BAG #2: Girl Steals Guy!