Sometimes, if I have enough to say about a book, I like to post my reaction to it here. In this case, my reaction went straight into my Goodreads review. So sorry if you’ve already seen this, but here it is for those who haven’t:
Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone is gorgeous. I was blown away by pretty much everything from page one: the writing, the setting, the characters. I’ve seen a few people mention they’re wary of books involving angels, and while I’ve never actually read any of the angel books that are all the rage right now, I’d be willing to put money down this one isn’t anything like them. Seriously, don’t let the mythos get you down. This book is not what you think—absolutely, 100% not what you think.
There were a couple moments in the flow of the story that jostled me a bit. The climax, in particular, doesn’t really feel like a climax, but a kind of story-spike that’s meant to lead to a much greater climax this book never gets around to. I got the impression this was written as one very long story and then divided up because it was just too epic. I can’t specifically mention what else was odd about the climax without potentially spoiling a surprise, so I won’t.
Lastly, I am a person who needs a character to cling to in order to enjoy a story. If I don’t have an anchor character, neither the most beautiful writing nor the greatest story will hold my attention (yeah, my attention-span is evil; I learned to accept that at an early age). Daughter of Smoke and Bone had so many fantastic characters I could have clung to, but it wasn’t even a competition in the end. There was only ever one anchor character for me from the moment he stepped on the stage: Brimstone, Brimstone, Brimstone.
So in short, read this book, if only because Brimstone is magnificent. As for me, I’m going to go looking for everything else Laini Taylor has written.
Jodi Lamm 
6 responses to “Brimstone, Brimstone, Brimstone”
I agree! I was a little turned off by her extensive use of detail at first (my brain is a bit distracted because it’s too much to imagine at one) but I got used to it.
Normally, I have a problem with hyper-description, too. But I didn’t with this one. It just seemed to flow for me, and I could see the scenery in my mind’s eye. There were times I even wished I could visit the locations, myself. Loved it. Also, hello! Thank you so much for commenting!
Just added it to my library holds list, thanks!
Awesome! Let me know what you think. I’ll be curious.
I just finished, and I think I might be mad at you. Clearly it’s your fault my guts are all torn up like this. It was amazing, and I totally get the Brimstone fascination, but… wow. It takes a lot to write an ending that not-happy.
Sorry. :-( I know I was pissed, too, but it was also kind of refreshing for a change. Star-crossed love is not supposed to be easy. I hear there’s a sequel coming out soon. I might have to read it, just because I have hope the story won’t stay miserable.