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Hi fellow readers! The year 2019 is coming to an end. There's a big chance that I won't achieve my 2019 reading goal to read 36 books, lol. I only manage to read 3 books in November but it's a series which is one of my reading goals, to finish 5 series. So that's fine. Not to mention that the last book in the series is about 600-ish pages. Let's just say finishing a book with over 500 pages is a huge accomplishment for me. So here are the books I read in November.
Books read in November
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Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor (★★★★) |
Daughter of Smoke and Bone is the first book in Laini Taylor's fantasy young adult trilogy. It follows Karou, a 17 year old art student in Prague. Aside of being an art student, she leads a different and strange life. She collects teeth for creatures called Chimaera in exchange for wishes. Nobody actually knows who Karou is, where she came from, and how she became involved with these creatures including Karou herself. What she found out later is she caught up in a war between Chimaera and angel-like creatures called Seraphim that has been going on for hundred years.
Since this book is the first in a series, it's mostly focused on character introduction, how the magic works, and world building. As the first book, I like the pacing of this book. The romance in this book is tolerable for me, because sometimes I just want to read a full-on fantasy without the cringy romance. Thankfully, this book doesn't have that cringy romance. Overall, it's a good series opener. I've written a full review of this book which will be up later on this blog.
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Days of Blood and Starlight - Laini Taylor (★★★★) |
Days of Blood and Starlight is the second book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. It takes place after the event in the first book. Karou's identity has been revealed and she's missing. She's now all in the war between Chimaera and Seraphim. She became the resurrectionist helping Chimaera fighting the war. Without spoiling anything, the second book dig deeper into the war and the consequence of Karou's past. Aside of being set in our human world, it sometimes shows the Chimaera & Seraphim's world or Eretz. Karou's best friend, Zuzana and her boyfriend Mik play bigger part than in the first book. Action wise, this book is definitely more exciting than the first one. The war on the seraphim side gets more complicated. The Emperor is getting greedy and the war escalates to another level. All in all, it's a thrilling continuation of the series. If you've read the first one, I recommend to continue with this one.
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Dreams of Gods and Monsters - Laini Taylor (★★★★) |
This book is the last in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. For the last book in the series, you'd think that it will have all of the answers for the questions from the previous book. It does, but Taylor added new ones also. For example, there's a new character who we've never heard of before but turns out to hold important piece of the puzzle. Dreams of Gods and Monsters reveals a new side of the world and magic system in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone mythology that I didn't know from reading the two previous books. Since this is the last book, so everything have to be concluded. The result is although this book has 600-ish pages, it still feels rushed because of the new addition that I mentioned before. Even some plot points don't leave marks because there's no build up to it. I wish a portion of this book is written in the second book instead.
The interesting thing about this book is although it gives out a fairy tale vibe, unlike most fairy tales, this one doesn't end with a conclusive happy ever after. The ending of this book is a work in progress. It goes towards a happy end but as a reader we can't know for sure if it will be one. I guess you have to read this book to know what I'm talking about. Despite of the shortcomings that I mentioned earlier, I still think Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a good fantasy series. If you like urban fantasy with a little touch of fairy tales, I recommend this series for you.
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Review Posts in November
November Favorites
Music
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago & Bon Iver
Bon Iver is one of my favorite musicians. His music has been accompanying me since those final project weeks in uni to my undergrad thesis phase then my master thesis nightmare up until now. His music holds a special place in my heart. I read in an article that Vernon uses the word winter to describe For Emma, Forever Ago. Although there's no winter season where I live, perhaps the cold rainy weather and Christmas celebration preparation at public places are what drives me to this album. I've been listening to For Emma, Forever Ago and Bon Iver a lot lately. I promise you his songs are atmospheric, perfectly suitable for this time of year. I have no specific song recommendation because all of the songs in those two albums are divine; or maybe if you haven't heard of him at all, try Re:Stacks, Skinny Love, Holocene, and Perth.
There you have it! For December, I'm not sure if I'll write the usual monthly wrap-up or do an end of the year wrap-up. We'll see. Any exciting plan for the holiday season? Or do you have a particular reading tradition during the holiday season? I know some people read Harry Potter at this time of year. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope you all have a joyful December!
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