Laini Taylor. DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE

"You were true to her, even if she was not to you. Never repent of your own goodness, child. To stay true in the face of evil is a feat of strength."

DAUGHTER OF SMOKE & BONE is one of the best fantasies I've read in a while. Laini Taylor is truly a gifted writer. Let me tell you right up front that my review won't even come close to doing it justice. But I'll forge ahead anyway.

Karou is a mystery to those around her. She attends art school, most of the time. But she tends to disappear from time to time, and she returns from these trips with injuries or illnesses. Her best friend has learned not to ask her about the details of her mysterious personal life.

What her friends at school don't know is that Karou was adopted as a baby into a family of chimaera, or what one might call monsters. Her father figure, Brimstone, is an interesting combination of lion, ram and dragon.

Although Karou has already moved out to her own apartment, she still visits Brimstone and his chimaera friends often at his shop. When she disappears on those mysterious trips, she is collecting odd items for Brimstone, who needs them for his sorcery. He's not forthcoming about what he does with these rare items. In fact, he's not forthcoming about a lot of things. Karou's own history is a mystery that she wonders about often. Then Karou meets an intriguing, beautiful angel named Akiva, who nearly kills her.

Karou discovers that she and Akiva are enemies on the opposite sides of a war between the chimaera and the angels. But Karou also feels an unusual connection to Akiva. Perhaps he can help unlock the mysteries of her past.

This is an original fantasy complete with fascinating characters, epic battles, and a fiery romance. The writing is exquisite. Laini Taylor has created a rich world that is pure perfection down to the tiniest detail. I was so delighted to see that this will be a trilogy!

You won't be able to put this one down!

Check out the author's website here.

And one of the trailers:

Rebecca Lim. MERCY

Mercy is an angel, but she doesn't know it. She has no memory of her life before her current situation. She wakes up in a different person's body every so often and she isn't sure why or how. She does what she can to improve that person's life and then she moves on with little memory of the details.

However, this time it's different. She wakes up as Carmen, a soprano singer on a bus traveling to a neighboring town to rehearse with a group of schools. She's staying with a family who is dealing with life after a tragedy. The daughter was kidnapped two years before. The parents are still deeply sad, but are trying to move past the incident. The brother, Ryan, is still searching for his sister, Lauren. He insists he can still feel her presence. She is not dead; she is calling to him for help.

Mercy believes Ryan. She feels like Lauren is still alive too. Mercy wonders if she was sent there to help Ryan find this missing girl. Then when another girl goes missing, she feels even more certain that she was sent there to help. Another interesting aspect of the story is that Mercy discovers Carmen is a remarkable singer. Everyone is stunned at her angelic quality. Mercy realizes that the other two kidnapped girls were also sopranos with unmatched talent. What is the connection? Is Mercy herself in danger?

This intriguing novel is part mystery, part supernatural, and part romance. I was immediately drawn in to the story. I want to read more about Mercy and the mysterious boy she dreams about. Fortunately, more books are coming. It was released already in Australia as a trilogy, and the second book should be coming out here in the U.S. soon. For more on the series, go to the Facebook page here.
Also, check out the trailer:




Don't be confused if you go looking for the book and see several different covers!

The Australian cover is on the left. There is another US cover that looks like the one on the right!

Fortunately, they are all beautiful.