Laini Taylor is the New York Times bestselling author of the Printz Honor Book Strange the Dreamer and its sequel, Muse of Nightmares. Taylor is also the author of the global sensation the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy and the companion novella Night of Cake & Puppets. Taylor's other works include the Dreamdark books: Blackbringer and Silksinger, and the National Book Award finalist Lips Touch: Three Times. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, illustrator Jim Di Bartolo, and their daughter, Clementine. Her website is lainitaylor.com.
* "[A]long with writing in such heightened language that even
casual banter often comes off as wildly funny, the author crafts a
fierce heroine with bright-blue hair, tattoos, martial skills, a
growing attachment to a preternaturally hunky but not entirely sane
warrior and, in episodes to come, an army of killer angels to
confront. Rarely--perhaps not since the author's own Faeries of
Dreamdark: Blackbringer (2007)--does a series kick off so
deliciously."--Kirkus, starred review
* "Lush description of a gothic and ghostly Prague beckons readers
from the first page and fulfills its promise, leading to a
star-crossed romance that spans worlds and transcends
death...[Leaves] the reader both satisfied and eagerly anticipating
a forthcoming sequel."
--The Horn Book (starred review)
* "National Book Award finalist Taylor (Lips Touch: Three Times)
again weaves a masterful mix of reality and fantasy with
cross-genre appeal. Exquisitely written and beautifully paced, the
tale is set in ghostly, romantic Prague, where 17-year-old Karou is
an art student--except when she is called "home" to do errands for
the family of loving, albeit inhuman, creatures who raised her.
Mysterious as Karou seems to her friends, her life is equally
mysterious to her: How did she come to live with chimaera? Why does
paternal Brimstone eternally require teeth--especially human ones?
And why is she "plagued by the notion that she wasn't whole....a
sensation akin to having forgotten something?" Taylor interlaces
cleverly droll depictions of contemporary teenage life with equally
believable portrayals of terrifying otherworldly beings. When black
handprints begin appearing on doorways throughout the world, Karou
is swept into the ancient deadly rivalry between devils and angels
and gradually, painfully, acquires her longed-for self-knowledge.
The book's final pages seemingly establish the triumph of true
love--until a horrifying revelation sets the stage for a second
book."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "Taylor crafts both her world and her romance with meticulous
care, building the first on a wealth of thought-provoking details
and making the second equal parts tender and antagonistic...Fans of
torturously star-crossed lovers a la those in Marr's Wicked Lovely
and Black's Tithe will find much to enjoy here, but those who flock
to innovative, character-driven fantasy with thematic depth will be
equally enthralled."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's
Books, starred review
* "The suspense builds inexorably, and the philosophical as well as
physical battles will hold action-oriented readers. The unfolding
of character, place, and plot is smoothly intricate, and the
conclusion is a beckoning door to the next volume."--School Library
Journal (starred review)
"Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a lush, sweeping, romantic marvel of
a book. Taylor's writing is a revelation, masterfully blending an
intricate fantasy world into our own, with an artist's flair for
exquisite details. Funny, devastating, delightful, unforgettable.
Pure storytelling perfection."--Kiersten White, author of the
Paranormalcy series
"Daughter of Smoke and Bone is that rare beast: a novel that takes
the familiar and makes it appear startling and new. Taylor has
embraced the mythology of angels and reworked it in an
extraordinary form, so that by the end of this lyrical, haunting
book, I wanted to believe in the existence of these violent,
tormented beings. I can hardly wait for the next
installment."--John Connolly, author of The Book of Lost Things
"[A] breath-catching romantic fantasy about destiny, hope and the
search for one's true self"--The New York Times Book Review
"An adventurous story of self-identity, "Daughter of Smoke and
Bone" is written with high-stakes flair and a touch of humor...[It
is] well-told and well-paced, raising intriguing questions about
notions of identity, expectation, trust, betrayal and
belonging."--The Los Angeles Times
"Author Taylor has created a variety of worlds, time frames, and
creatures with such detail and craft that all are
believable...Readers will look forward to the suggested sequel to
this complex, exciting tale."--Booklist
"Thrillingly fresh and new"--Entertainment Weekly
"Wow. I wish I had written this book."--Patrick Rothfuss, author of
The Wise Man's Fear
YALSA Top Ten Best Fiction for Young AdultsA New York Times Notable
Children's Book of the YearA Publishers Weekly Best Book of the
YearA School Library Journal Best Book of the YearA KirkusReviews
Best Teen Book of the YearA JuniorLibraryGuild Selection of the
Year
Gr 9 Up-Rebellion foments in secret places in this complex sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Little, Brown, 2011). The battle between chimaera and seraphim moves from one world to another as estranged, star-crossed lovers Karou and Akiva struggle to stem the rising tide of annihilation embraced by their respective leaders. While Karou attempts to resurrect the chimaera army in a remote Moroccan kasbah, in a parallel world Akiva desperately seeks to atone for his past by warning civilians fleeing the advancing seraphs. Occasionally overwrought language is leavened by humor supplied by Karou's human friends, Zusana and Mik, who arrive at the kasbah and make unlikely places for themselves among the resurrected chimaera. The dream of peace cherished lives ago by Karou and Akiva achieves a shaky foothold when chimaera soldiers and seraph rebels reluctantly unite to battle the greater evil: Jael, the psychopathic new emperor of the angels, who is poised to invade the human world in his search for powerful weapons. Assassinations, betrayals, and revelations drive the plot through decoratively ornate prose that sometimes slows the pace, but deepening characterizations anchor the action, and the emotional and political stakes are higher. Multiple worlds teeter on the edge of apocalypse, unaware that a curious magic is reaching out from past exile to affect the present. The rising tension of the coming battle overtakes the unexceptional unrequited love story to make this a suspenseful, satisfying sequel.-Janice M. Del Negro, GSLIS Dominican University, River Forest, IL (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Taylor continues to build an irresistible fantasy world in this grim sequel to her masterful Daughter of Smoke & Bone. The war between chimaera and seraphim is in full force, with Karou reluctantly playing an essential-and painful-role. Having realized her destiny, she is now living it; feeling alone, abandoned, and betrayed, she is harder of body and of heart. Alternately focusing on Karou and her estranged love interest, the seraphim Akiva, Taylor traces their parallel discouragement at the perpetuation of bloodshed between their peoples. Since the first book is, at heart, a love story and a journey of self-discovery, its fans may be surprised to find this one is primarily a war story, filled with battle scenes, killings, anger, and hatred. The occasional scenes with Karou's Czech friends Zuzana and Mik bring welcome moments of lightheartedness and humor. Taylor's dazzling writing and skill at creating suspense are strong as ever; fantasy lovers will gobble up this book with satisfaction, even if it offers less of the cross-genre appeal that made its predecessor so extraordinary. Ages 15-up. Agent: Jane Putch, Eyebait Licensing & Literary Management. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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