Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

13 reviews

justagirlwithbooks's review against another edition

3.0

"Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there's no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic."

I think the lower rating on this book was mainly due to the fact that I was expecting to love it (it is by an author who wrote one of my 5 star predictions, after all) and I didn't. After the first few chapters, I was extremely confused and also a bit uncomfortable because of

Kaz and his modeling.

The writing style was actually really nice and I liked the worldbuilding, but I was a bit confused by it at first. Even the plot felt confusing at times and I found myself skimming a lot. But, I did like the locations that this book had. And I did read this book in about 4 or 5 sittings, so, there's that.

And I do not love insta-love. This book also felt way too over-sexual for a YA book. It kind of messed up my expectations a bit and rubbed me the wrong way.

I'll still continue the series though, because I want to see how this continues after that abrupt ending.

And I hope that Strange the Dreamer is better than this.

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kiwij96's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was a super easy read: well-paced chapters and full of plot points that all eventually come full circle at the end. Engaging plot in that sense, especially when the twists come in.

Not super in love with the idea that Karou was potentially being groomed by Kaz as it mentions in the beginning that they had been a couple for a while before their break-up and he is now 20 while she is 17. I also felt super uncomfortable with the Akiva and Karou romance plot too given the age gap there too.

I was also worried at one point that he was her dad.

However, the plot all comes together at the end and boy did it.

My only other gripe is Chapter 22. It felt massively out of place and I had to reread the chapters either side of it to figure out how it fitted in with it all. Felt like an afterthought but misplaced in the sequencing.

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moonchild_cos's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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scarlett_f's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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kayelina's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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donatio's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

So... overall I liked the book.
I liked the characters as well as the world-building but some things didn't sit right with me.

I'm a big animal friend and I'm intrigued by the concept of opposites, how something cannot exist without an opposite, but the depiction here failed sometimes. The fact that the angels basically colonised the world of the chimaera often fades into the background and the chimaera are still often described as the villain(monsters) because the angels make no appearance except for Akiva's "rightness" and so on; the balance it was probably supposed to be... Is just not there. Even though it is said that the chimaera are intelligent and feeling beings this behavior isn't shown, there is no tender love in Eretz in the chimaera capital described. That makes them seem cruel even though the angels are the "real" enemies.
Furthermore I had a problem with some comments made in the book I can't recall specifically now and the fact that everyone seems to be beautiful (ly thin) in some way upsets me.

Still the story managed to draw me in, to care about the characters.

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