leahrosereads's Reviews (1.04k)

The Wicked + The Divine, Vol. 3: Commercial Suicide

Brandon Graham, Jamie McKelvie, Leila del Duca, Stephanie Hans, Kieron Gillen, Tula Lotay, Kate Brown

4.25

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The guest artists while amazing, made for a slightly disconnected story with each issue having a completely different style. It made sense for the plot though and added an interesting element. Still, I missed the art style I'm so used to.

Answers are starting to come to light but with those come even more questions.

Trees, Vol. 1: In Shadow

Warren Ellis

4.0

Oh the freaking feels and so much set-up. I need Issue #9 now!

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy

Laini Taylor

4.0

January 2016 Re-read *Update*:

My review below would change just slightly, because I'm not completely in love with this story like I was the first time around. It was still great, and I'm glad that I read it to refresh my memory. Planning on finishing this trilogy this month.

I cannot wait to see where this story goes, and I still highly recommend this book.

Original rating: 5 Stars

It’s not a rarity for me to fall in love with a book. It’s why I read after all. If an author can weave a tale so thoroughly that it keeps me entranced from the beginning to the very end of the story, they’ve succeeded. And in my opinion, not only did Laini Taylor accomplish this, she did it with such pretty, pretty words.

A Daughter of Smoke & Bone was fantastic. The characters were detailed, and although I thought Karou had a bit of a Mary Sue thing going on, she ended up being beautifully fleshed out by Taylor, and Karou easily became a heroine that I admired.

The novel does have a lot of world building in it, but I don’t think it took away from the story (90% of the time, anyway). My only issue was around the 75% mark on my Kindle (

where we meet and hear the story of Madrigal and Akiva

). I understand why it was there, and why it was necessary to flesh out the plot in this novel, and, I’m sure to shape the future novels in the trilogy, but it had an awkward forced feel about it, and it threw me out of the story for a little while.

Other than that though, I absolutely enjoyed A Daughter of Smoke & Bone, and I’m looking forward to making time for the other novels in the trilogy.

Also definitely looking forward to reading other work by Laini Taylor. If she always writes like what I read in A Daughter of Smoke & Bone, I think she’ll become one of my favorite authors.

Loved this, and I would recommend it not only to those who enjoy YA, but anyone who’d like to escape to another world for a few days.

Days of Blood & Starlight

Laini Taylor

4.25

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I'm so happy that I'm doing a re-read! This is angstier than the first book by a mile, but I really loved it. The writing is fantastic, the characters are being more fleshed out, and the story is captivating. Can't wait to dive into book 3!

Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Laini Taylor

5.0

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

What an ending! I'll admit that there are parts of this book that may feel a bit rushed, and sure maybe there are some holes here or there. Doesn't matter. I love when stories and characters are a bit messy. On top of just some fantastic writing, this is easily my favorite book of the series!