Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Wow. So it's October. Between family travel and a lightning zap to my computer, I missed posting on one of my favorite books of the year: Laini Taylor's  Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

It lives up to the hype.

Some of my sticky note thoughts.

1. Irresistible character names = immediate draw to the novel. Karou, Madrigal, Razgut, Akira, Thiago, BRIMSTONE, Issa, Twiga, Yasri, Chiro, Hazael, Liraz
2. The premise of an angel and a devil (chimaera) falling in love. Plus the promise of the intro page that states: "It did not end well."
3. Taylor's sense of place. All the travel to real places as well as her created ones. Prague really held no interest to me until I read this. Same with goulash, which yes still sounds like not my thing but then, dang, Karou and Zuzana ate it a lot...
4. at the genius place called Poison Kitchen and the Pestilence statue! Gray, cold, spooky, funky, and in Laini Taylor fashion - hilarious ... as further evidenced by...
5. Page 22 (of the ARC) brings the true wisdom: Brimstone's sex talk. I think "inessential penises" will be the foundation of my talk with my kids as well.

This is a dreamy, tense, violent, smouldering love story. Many of the same elements that made Lips Touch extraordinary.

Finally, If you aren't already following Laini's blog  you should. She posts about home design and decor as well as writing tips and strategies. Plus, lots of adorableness by way of her daughter. It's one of my favorites.