Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor

Synopsis

Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers' souls:

Goblin Fruit: In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?

Spicy Little Curses: A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse.

Hatchling: Six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons?

Having spent this year catching up on Laini's back catalogue ready for the release of Daughter of Smoke and Bone I put this on one side for short story month but often looked at the amazing illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo that run throughout. The hardback edition is a gorgeous book to look at and it's been staring at me from the shelf for quite some time. I settled down to read Goblin Fruit, a story about Kizzy and all those other girls who are sixteen and filled with longing. This isn't a story about the pretty girls or the popular girls - it's about the ones that skirt in the shadows and stare at the floor. Kizzy lives with an extended family out on the edge of town on a farm with scores of stray cats. Her family keep to their traditions and take them seriously so much so that when Kizzy's grandmother dies she kills a swan so that one wing can be placed in the coffin so her soul can fly.

Kizzy's coasting at school, disinterested in her studies. What she wants, yearns for, is to be desired in the same way that the popular girls are. So when a beautiful boy turns up at school one day her grandmother's stories fly from her mind. She told Kizzy about her sister, how she'd eaten goblin fruit and nearly wasted away until she managed to save her. As the story progresses the signs that Kizzy is in danger become more and more obvious. By the last couple of pages I was almost screaming at her. I won't tell you any more so as not to spoil it but Goblin Fruit is beautiful. Laini's words wrap you up and I fell straight into the dark and dangerous world she'd created.

I laughed at the perfect dialogue between Kizzy and her two friends, Evie and Cactus which was snarky and wonderful. I especially loved the grandmother and her beloved knife. Kizzy coveted this knife with its mother-of-pearl handle so much so that she hoped that it would be left to her. These hopes were dashed as the grandmother's last words were, "Don't you dare steal it out of my coffin." The most heartbreaking aspect of Goblin Fruit is that Kizzy is special, far more so than the girls who she watches. She's smart, fearless and funny. I can't tell you what she decides to do but if you get a chance please read this wonderful book.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Competition Winners!

Yes, I've said "Winners" - even though I was going to give away only the hardback finished copy of DoSaB I have had such an overwhelming response on Twitter about this competition, I have decided to throw in proof copy of DoSaB to another winner.

So, thanks to random.org who chose the following:

Zoe Marriott from Twitter as @zmarriott - gets the hardback

and

Alex Mullarky from Twitter as @ajmullarky - gets the paperback proof

Hope you both love your wins! I am taking the books with me to Monday evening's Laini Taylor event and will get her to sign and dedicate them to you both.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Errand requiring immediate attention. Come.

The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it. Karou read the message. 'He never says please', she sighed, but she gathered up her things.

When Brimstone called, she always came.

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance. On the one hand, she's a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family. Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole.

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.


When we meet Karou she's walking through Prague, in the snow, on her way to school.  This immediately resonated with me as I had been to Prague earlier this year for my birthday and it had been very cold and snowy.  I snuggled down to read the rest and was so quickly immersed in the story, I forgot where I was.

At school it transpires that Karou is a bit of an enigma to her school friends.  She has blue hair, her art is crazy and she makes up stories about the characters and creatures she draws and everyone probably thinks she's suitably odd and bohemian but what they don't know is that these stories she makes up and the creatures she draws are in fact real.  That although she upholds this facade of being a slightly eccentric human, her life is indeed very odd.  She travels via doorways all over the world to collect teeth (human, animal and other) from various sellers, and brings them back to the creature who raised her who goes by the name of Brimstone.  I say creature as Brimstone is part human, part something other.  A minotaur like creature, he rules over the shadowy home he shares with Issa, who in turn is part human/part snake.  There are other creatures too that exist in Karou's world but right now we just need to know about Brimstone.

As Karou gets asked to visit various places, running these tooth collecting and buying errands for Brimstone, she notices that the doorways she usually uses are being locked against her.  When she comes face to face with an angelic creature who tries to kill her Karou's world tilts on its axis and she has to fight for her life to survive.

Back in Prague things get out of hand and Karou is unable to gain access to the house she grew up in and her life crumbles around her.  To make matters worse, the angelic creature followed her to Prague and is actively stalking her.

Things spin out of control after this and we are swept away in an adventure full of magical realism which I adored.  Laini makes use of various mythologies with a splattering of Judeo-Christian religion thrown in for good measure, and spins this incredible urban fantasy which you can't help but falling for.  It moves from our own contemporary times, back into the past where the storytelling becomes even more high concept and Laini's writing swells into this crescendo of voice and characterisation and superb storytelling.  She plays with archetypes, myths and legends, half-remembered truths and lies and gives us something utterly unique that can only ever be written by someone called Laini Taylor.

Having read a lot of urban fantasy - both "old school" (de Lint, Emma Bull etc) and the newer urban fantasy (Patty Briggs, Kate Griffin, Mike Carey) Laini manages to be a bit of both.  Thinking about DoSaB made me realise that it is a very European novel in the sense that, not only is it set in Prague and other cities in Europe and the Med, it also has this distinct feel of being European, like Carlos Ruiz Zafon's books feel European or the way Guilermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth and The Orphanage feels European.  There is a slight bit of discomfort under your skin when you read or watch these movies because even though you know the mythology, and the story beats are familiar, the way it's being presented is different and unusual and you aren't entirely sure what's going to happen next.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone will be on my list of top 12 books for 2011.  It is beautiful, unusual, charming and has such a strong voice, I still think about it months after reading it for the first time.  It's a keeper and a re-reader.

In fact, I was wondering how I could show my love for this book in a visual way... and found this epic picture last night.  Now, you will have to read the book to "get" the in joke, but it is still pretty cool.

And this is the part I'm super excited about:

You can win a copy! I have one completed hardback copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone to give away.   If you're on Twitter, go tell me you want to win this book.  Find me at @LizUK.

If you don't have a twitter account, leave a comment for me here.  I will choose a winner via random.org  and announce it tomorrow morning, Friday 30th September. This is for the UK only, I'm afraid!  The book will be posted out next week after I've had it signed and dedicated to the lucky winner on Monday night by Laini who will be in the UK.  Cool, or WHAT?

Go!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Final Trailer

Tomorrow is the release date for Laini Taylor's superb Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  But today, we have the final video trailer the publishers had created for the book. This trailer introduces us to Karou's best friend, Zuzanna.



I will also be giving a way a finished hardback copy of DoSaB tomorrow, so make sure to stop by and also follow me on twitter as @LizUK as the competition will be run both on the blog and on Twitter.

And more than that, if you win, I will take the hardback with me to an exclusive evening with Laini Taylor on Monday night and get her to personalise and sign it for you too.

Trust me on this, if there is any book that is worth the hype, Daughter of Smoke and Bones is it.

Dreamdark Silksinger

Spoilers for Dreamdark Blackbringer

Synopsis

One faerie, the last of her clan, must fight to complete her sacred duty.

Whisper Silksinger is the last of the secret guardians of the Azazel, one of the powerful Djinn who dreamed the world into being. Relentlessly pursued by bloodthirsty devils, she flees to the city of Nazneen to restore the Azazel to his temple. At the same time, Hirik Mothmage is also on a secret quest, to find the Azazel and restore his disgraced clan's ancient honor.

And behind them all flies Magpie Windwitch, first champion of the new age of faeries, desperate to rescue Whisper and the Azazel alike before they fall in the clutches of a sinister hidden enemy.

I left a bit of a gap before starting book two in this series and the main reason for this is that I know, at the moment of writing this, there are no other Dreamdark books in the pipeline. Laini explains why on her site and I'm crossing everything that one day she'll be able to finish the series. Leaving this bit of sad news aside it goes without saying that it took me moments to immerse myself in the world of Dreamdark again. We left Magpie as Magruwen's champion and on a mission to discover the rest of the Djinn in her quest to protect the Tapestry of Creation.

Meanwhile a fabulous new character called Whisper is in deep trouble. Her grandparents, the Silksingers, have been killed protecting one of the Djinn called Azazel. Now Whisper is the last of her kind and has nothing except the teakettle that she keeps Azazel in. Whisper, like Talon in book one, is a scamperer and can't fly but uses a magic carpet. Even this is destroyed by the devils and she's left on foot. Determined to bring Azazel back to life by putting him on his throne in Nazneen she begins her journey on foot, alone and afraid. Fortunately for her she meets up with a fairy called Hirik and he helps her. Magpie is also seeking Azazel so it isn't long before the two stories share a common ground.

I wasn't sure if I would bond with a new set of characters but I needn't have worried. Whisper is so appealing and I was willing her along, holding my breath as the devils drew closer. Laini weaves a wonderful spell and the tension mounts throughout. The city of Nazneen is so richly described that I wished I could visit it: spice and silk stalls, fortune tellers who use smoke as a means of divination, food and music. The underside of the city is alive too and terrible secrets are waiting to be unearthed. Every character, no matter how small, is wonderfully imagined. Each different fairy clan has it's own characteristics and strengths, the amount of mythology in these books is stunning. As always, Laini doesn't shy away from the horror or unkindness of her world no more than she does the kindness and beauty. In a world that is in danger of unravelling there will obviously be hateful characters and there were plenty within the pages of Silksinger. But also, some of the most gorgeous passages I've ever read are to be found too.

I could quite happily read many more of these books and I only hope that the success of Daughter of Smoke and Bone will mean that I can eventually get the chance.

Dreamdark Blackbringer by Laini Taylor

Synopsis

Magpie Windwitch is not like other faeries, most of whom live in tranquil seclusion. When she learns that escaped devils are creeping back into the world, she travels all over with her faithful clan of crows, hunting them down. The hunt will take her to the great forest of Dreamdark, where she must unravel the mystery of the worst enemy her folk have ever known. Can one small, determined faerie defeat the forces that threaten to unmake the world?

I started to read the Dreamdark series while I was waiting for copies of Daughter of Smoke and Bone to come out. I wanted to get a feel for Laini's writing style and was also won over by the amazing reviews. Books about fairies nowadays tend to be about life-size ones striding around making trouble in the human world. While I love many of those I was interested to read about a fantasy take on more traditional, tiny fae. Magpie is the granddaughter of the West Wind and lives in a travelling, flying parade of caravans which are pulled by talking crows. Come on, what's not to love there? She's small, independent and quite happy travelling with her friends, seeking out escaped devils to trap them back into bottles that unwitting "mannies," (humans) have freed them from. Magpie is pretty much the only fairy who is performing this vital task. Most other fairies live a peaceable life but have turned their back on the old stories of their rulers and enemies.

Magpie discovers an enemy so fearsome that it is capable of literally unravelling her world and bringing it to an end. She has to travel back to Dreamdark to try and find a solution. Along her way she meets a scamperer (fairy without workable wings) called Talon. He's a prince to the Rathersting clan, many of whom have been wiped out by the devils. He's determined to not let his lack of wings hold him back and with the help of healer Orchidspike he learns how to meld magic and knitting to fashion himself a way to fly. He's also working towards finding out what has upset the balance of the world. The two meet and work together to solve the mystery. I was instantly swept up in the world that Laini Taylor has created. There are so many wonderful characters and a way of life that is both idyllic but also flawed.

This book is a joy to read and a fresh take on fairies, hobgoblins and the such. Once (and it only took a couple of pages) I got used to Magpie's language I was happy to follow her anywhere. She was a constant figure of hope throughout. There's plenty of dark and horrific material in this book (I hated Batch - in a good way) but there's also plenty of beautiful magic too. I could have spent hours with Orchidstrike as she healed or with the wonderful Poppy. I was willing the Magruwen to see Magpie as I did, to see the strength in her soul rather than dismiss her as yet another fairy who had forgotten the old ways. Laini doesn't hold back either with characters who get their just deserts. When Lady Vesper claims to be an ancestor of the legendary champion Bellatrix, Magpie is so incensed that she turns her hairs to worms - real worms. I couldn't stop thinking of this, the imagery of, "… living worms, rooted at the scalp and wriggling." How disgusting is that?

The world of Dreamdark is so wonderful. I'll be reviewing the sequel on Wednesday and could quite happily read another handful of these books. If you'd like to lose yourself in a new fantasy world try this - it's a thrilling story that touched my heart too.

Cover Reveal - Daughter of Smoke and Bone

We don't do this often, but in this instance we're doing the cover reveal for Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor because

a.  The book is awesome
b.  The cover is wow
c.  We have become smitten with Laini Taylor
d.  We have to share it because it is just so gorram pretty


Hardback Cover

 

Full Cover - Hardback

Daughter of Smoke and Bone will launch on September 29th and is the first in a trilogy of. The book tells the story of an angel who fell in love with a devil. It did not end well.

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.


Meet Kaoru. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters and demons that delight and enthral those around her; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages – not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that colour.

Her life straddles two worlds: the human and a place that is Elsewhere. She has never really known which one is her true home, but now the doors to Elsewhere closing . . .Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out..

Fans of well written urban fantasy, this book is for you.  It has great characters, an amazing setting (Prague and ... other places), action, adventure, the battle between good and evil, the blurring of lines between good and evil, angels, fallen angels, devils, creatures from mythology, a heroine you fall for 100% and a story you will yourself to be true.  It's been a long time since a book has stayed with me this long.  I cannot wait to share it wtih you.

Pre-order it, you won't regret it.