Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Goodreads Synopsis:    Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands", she speaks many languages - not all of them human - and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

My Thoughts:

-    I feel like I'm the last person to read this series, but I'm finally doing it!

-    The whole book was setting up the last 100 pages. It was worth all the build up. Wow!

-    I loved the Gothic world that was created. I want to live in that town.

-    I didn't connect with the characters until the last little bit. Karou grew on me, and I felt so sad for her and her situation. Akiva bugs me a little. I was weirded out when he fell to his knees and cried like a baby. It really ruined his image. I feel really bad for the characters. They endured a lot, and it sucked. My heart cries for Brimstone! He is my favorite. 

-    The ending is killer! What happened? What is going to happen? AH!

-    I'm not completely on board with Karou and Akiva's relationship. I didn't like the insta-love. I feel like their whole relationship is more lust than love. I'm hoping their relationship deepens more in next book.