While the angels call on higher powers to help rescue Bethany, Jake decides to play dirty and goes after the one thing she loves more than anything. But to spare Xavier's life, Bethany must make the ultimate sacrifice.
Will she make a deal with the Devil?
And what will happen to an angel in Hell?
What a disappointment.
My expectations for this book were at a fair height. The calm, small-town-by-the-seaside feel and orderly, sweet, though fairly uneventful plot of Halo were reasonably enjoyable, and at the time that I was reading it I was in love with it (later reflection has changed my opinion, but c'est la vie).
Hades was original, definitely. I really loved the whole deal with the seance, and the interpretation of Hell (or Hades) was refreshing and horrifying. I literally felt sick and panicky when I read about the tortures in the fiery pit and the demon orgies. Scary. Also, despite how overdone angels are in Young Adult fiction, it's rare to see a novel where the angels are actually a traditional, religious interpretation and on the God-side. It's not as sexy as FALLEN angels or whatever, but refreshing.
Character-wise, this had nothing going for it. Bethany is among the most annoying main characters I've ever read. She is silly and dependant. Her every thought is of Xavier and she always considers him when she makes a decision. She often says she can't live without him. She's an angel, not a human with wings. Yeah, I know the idea is that she is supposed to feel what humans feel and understands them, but she goes one step further than that- she's twice as oblivious as them.
I also hated the fact that she was always assuming that Xavier was thinking of her, like "I knew he was thinking about me...". She talked like she was omniscient, but she wasn't, and it really bugged me. Xavier himself was alright. He talks like a teenage boy. He acts like a teenage boy. But teenage boys usually aren't so deeply committed to their high school girlfriends (not being sexist, it works vice-versa too). I guess he's in too deep with Bethany to just be devastated but useless, like a normal teenage partner when the other goes missing. But still.
I don't understand how Molly could have a crush on Gabriel. He does not sound crush worthy. He sounds really "beautiful" and all, but also too distant to become attached to. I never saw the attraction. Ivy was more bitter this time, it wasn't consistent with the previous book.
Jake was the best character, because he has the most depth. He is unpredictable, selfish and cruel, but truly seems to care for Bethany.
As for the plot...well, it was original but completely ridiculous. It's the kind of plot where complications are solved too easily. There's not much more to say about it than that, not without giving too much away, except that stuff did happen in it. The storyline was never dull or idle, and that was enough to make the book "alright" instead of "not good". The "climax", however, was laughable. Literally, laughable.
Bethany's POV is irritating a lot of the time, because of her naivety and weak character. So, when she is still able to narrate what happens to Gabriel, Ivy, Xavier and Molly while she's in Hades and they're on Earth, you start to get fed up (also a product of "easy-problem-solving" mentioned above). If the book was split perspective, which I usually find annoying, it could have been improved.
All-in-all, I enjoyed the action in the plot, disliked the characters, liked Jake, thought the resolutions were too easy and thought that the whole thing was alright. I'll still read the third title in the series, "Heaven", because I like to finish things.
I would only reccommend this if you have already read Halo.
2/5
Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.
W-O-W
This book is totally different to anything I've ever read. I first heard about it when I watched a video recording of an editors' convention, where people from different publishing houses talked about books they were editing. Daughter of Smoke and Bone was one of these and I was absolutely ready to jump into it when the presentation had finished. Alas, I had to wait many months, but I have read it now and can tell you all about it.
Karou, the protagonist, is an amazing main character. She has a personality that definitely stands out from the Mary Sues and depressed girls that dominate the romantic young adult fiction scene. She's so independent and strong. She's good with knives and combat but isn't just a fighter girl. She's beautiful, but isn't incredibly shallow or vain. She wished for blue hair and the disappearance of skin afflictions, but we never really hear about her clothes. Her loyalty to Brimstone, the chimaera (more on that later) who raised her, is remarkable, though she still has the natural urge to disobey his orders so that she can satisfy her curiosity. Her background story is interesting and heart-breaking and makes perfect sense.
Akiva is not as good as Karou, character-wise. He's the typical guy-with-wings that you have to fall in love with because he's gorgeous and shows the ideal boyfriend material with his deep, brooding thoughts and amazing love for his girl. However, his story with Karou and his history with a girl called Madrigal are soulful and very non-boring.
Plot-wise, it was incredibly original. Apart from the fact that there were ANGELS, which we know are somewhat overused in young adult fiction these days, the mythology was basic but unique. Pretty much, there are the chimaeras- creatures that are a mixture of animal and sometimes human body parts- and the angels- who are simply winged people with great combat skill and some magic. These two races are at war in their world, Eretz. Humans aren't really essential to the story, except for the fact that Karou lives among them and Brimstone has portals leading from the human world to his magical shop of wishes. The wishes are the main part of the story, along with the fact that Brimstone buys teeth of all sorts from people in exchange for wishes. We don't find out a lot about the trades until the end. It follows Karou's search to discover who she is and to find her loved ones.
This story focuses on the idea that "magic" is dangerous and painful and that the real magic is in human will and hope. This theme is reiterated at regular intervals through the book, the power being demonstrated more and more as it occurs. It's incredible how characters can solve their problems through hope. Romance is explored, particularly the idea of love and fate being intertwined, but the good thing is that the plot doesn't focus on love entirely. It's sort of a secondary theme, in between the foreground and the background where it looks really quite nice. The lovers in the book have a beautiful chemistry and are pleasant to read.
This is an amazing read for teenagers and older. It hasn't got any flaws that I can conjure from the top of my head. There isn't really a lot that happens in this first book, except in some flashbacks, but you don't notice because of how engaged you are. If you like books with magic, romance and mythological creatures, this is a perfect addition to your "To Read" list.
I rate it:
5/5
Laini Taylor is epic!
