Reread for the second time on 11/11/12, to get ready for Days of Blood and Starlight. (Still just as good the third time around.)Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!love. love. love. this book. It's a rather large understatement to say I had high expectations for Daughter of Smoke and Bone. It was - and still is - pretty ubiquitous and lauded everywhere you find it mentioned. I was so keen on reading this novel I preordered it. I rarely preorder anything; bookbuying before seeing/touching the actual novel is one of the few area I can exercise some patience in. For example, the last book I preordered was George R. R. Martin's [b:A Dance With Dragons|10664113|A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)|George R.R. Martin|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327885335s/10664113.jpg|2936175] after nearly six years of anticipation. But, lo and behold, even before the promised release date of September 27, a beautiful copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone appeared on my doorstep. I devoured it in two days, only stopping because of a headache so bad I literally couldn't see straight. Laini Taylor's amazing novel more than met my high hopes: she exceeded them in every way. It's a novel that delights and entertains, neither stinting on the drama and humor nor on acutely attractive brooding male characters.It's hard to review something you love - I've had trouble reviewing this as well as [b:The Night Circus|9361589|The Night Circus|Erin Morgenstern|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320508797s/9361589.jpg|14245059] by Erin Morgenstern, [b:The Book of Blood and Shadow|11378763|The Book of Blood and Shadow|Robin Wasserman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334338932s/11378763.jpg|11095627] by Robin Wasserman and Kate Morton's epic [b:The Distant Hours|6746018|The Distant Hours|Kate Morton|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1287702015s/6746018.jpg|6942439]. I sat on this particular review for over a week trying to analyze how I felt about it and how to express my opinions other than just fangirl squeeling ("Oh my god, I wish I was Karou. Oh, My. GOD. Akiva.
