Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book passes my ultimate litmus test.

I have slightly higher standards for YA books because so many of them repeat the same tropes all the time. It's like I'm just reading the same book over and over and over. And the baseline story here is as classic (or banal) as they come. Girl meets boy, boy tries to kill her, they fall for each other, have a moment of happiness, and then the realization sets in. Have you heard this one before?

Well, no worries, this book falls into the same category. BUT, and here's a big difference: It's good. Very good. And with all the bone magic, the Chimeras, the Angels, and most importantly: the hope... it has the option of either being a clever twist or something that transcends both.

I'll leave that up to you. But for me, for someone who has read this kind of story about a million times, to have the desire to put aside all my other reading plans, including books I've been looking forward to for MONTHS, or series that I get so giddy over that I can't even sleep the night before the release?

Well, SOMETHING is definitely going on here that I can't quite put my finger on. I'm hooked. I'm super invested. And after that doozy of a reveal, I'm really tempted to sweep everything off my table and finish the whole series. :)

It passed my litmus test of being COMPELLING. :)

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