Around the world, black hand prints 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 Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real, 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 color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.
When beautiful, haunted Akiva fixes fiery eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?
This was a re-read for me. I love Laini Taylor (Strange the Dreamer omg read it everyone) and I’ve read this trilogy before and had a yen. First off, this WILL make you want to drop everything and visit Prague, so be ready.
For a YA fantasy with an almost insta-love main couple, this book is surprisingly deep and well-written. It looks at things like the nature of war, how there can be monsters on both sides with innocents caught in the middle, how the lies we are told growing up can be exposed, and more. Honestly, the romance is the weakest part of the lot, but Taylor is such a good writer it’s easily forgivable.
And the world building! Oh the world building. You guys, it’s a magic system built around necromancy and TEETH and it is soooo good. This book was my first exposure to Laini Taylor and it made me a lifelong fan. It’s a fast read and you won’t regret it.