{Short Story Sunday} Review: Night of Cake & Puppets by Laini Taylor

Short stories are awesome.  They give us in-depth insight into characters, providing anecdotal proof of why some characters are they way they are.  They entertain by creating a certain mood or focusing on a singular effect...some instance in a previous body of work (or one to follow) that might have been glossed over or ignored completely in a longer novel. 

And so I would like to highlight some short stories and novellas set in worlds I've already come to love and learn a little more about some of the secondary characters in my favorite novels.   In addition to offering up a mini review of these short works of fiction,  I'll be underscoring some of my favorite aspects.

This week I'm featuring a companion novella from Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke & Bone series:

Title: Night of Cake & Puppets
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone, book #2.5
Publisher: Little, Brown BFYR
Publication Date: November 26, 2013
Source: purchased
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

In Night of Cake & Puppets, Taylor brings to life a night only hinted at in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy—the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik. Told in alternating perspectives, it’s the perfect love story for fans of the series and new readers alike. Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her “rabid fairy,” her “voodoo eyes” are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or “Violin Boy,” her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to meet him, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It’s a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter’s night before finally leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy’s not going to know what hit him.

Oh, wow.  I didn't think it was possible to love Laini Taylor or this series any more than I already did, but this short story was absolutely adorable.  It was beyond cute and sweet and completely romantic.  If you've never been swept up in a love affair like this, then this is exactly what you're hoping for one day.  Or, at least, you should be.

Zuzana and Mik are some of my favorite secondary characters, and this novella just served to emphasize why they're so beloved.  It's been awhile since I first read Daughter of Smoke & Bone, but honestly, I can't remember a time when it wasn't Zuzana & Mik.  It feels like they've always been together, that they've always been part of an ampersand.  Which makes their little adventure in Prague even more delightful.

"I mean, who would I be if I'd been raised on milquetoast bedtime stories and not forced to dust the glass prison of a psychotic undead fox Cossack?  I shudder to think."

I adored reading from Zuzana's point-of-view.  As I said, she's a favorite side character of mine, but actually getting in the Rabid Fairy's head was something else.  It was almost as if we were kindred spirits, the way her mind works.  And oh, all the trouble she went to in order to actually "meet" Mik!  I love her even more now.

"I've seen Zuzana out of her outermost layers at least, at the theater, but I've only known her in winter, so:  sweaters, scarves, jeans, boots.  Nary a glimpse of ankle or clavicle, those miracles of girl geometry.  It's very Victorian, but in the depths of a girlfriendless winter, a glimpse of ankle would probably excite me."

And I felt like I really got to know Mik with this story.  He's sweet and perfect for Zuze, but he's also a guy, and he isn't pretending like he doesn't have those "guy nature" type impulses.  A fact for which I am very grateful because even worse than a bad boy who only thinks about one thing is a too saccharine-sweet guy who acts like he never thinks about it. Mik is the perfect amount of guy for me...er, Zuzana.

And, oh, the writing!  The writing is as brilliant as I've come to expect from Taylor, but maybe it's just been so long since the last book that I've forgotten just how brilliant it is.  I mean, she's got these two kids on a collision course of love, and they're feeling the same things and doing the same things, but both sound completely different as they describe the experience, and there's no lack in originality in how they do so:

Mik:  "A little war commences in my brain, "rational self" versus "hopeful self," cage match.  I'm not religious; I don't believe in things -- not out of any determination not to.  It's more like a default setting:  My brain is an inhospitable environment for belief, but I've always said -- and really meant -- that life would be more interesting if those unseen things were real (and dragons, too, please), and of course death would be less of a bummer if there were a heave (hell not so much).  I've just never been able to believe any of it.  Right now, though, to some small detectable degree, it feels like the pH balance in my mind is shifting.  Like my skepticism is being neutralized.  Hopeful self is sitting on rational shelf's chest."

Zuzana:  "I know it's all brain chemicals -- everything is brain chemicals -- but my excitement and dread feel like tiny wrestlers in my heart right now.  I picture Excitement choking out Dread and gently, almost lovingly, lowering his intert body to the ground."

I mean, they're not even describing the same thing here, but they both use the same basic metaphor, and it is delightful. Wait, I think I've used that adjective already, but it's true.  Also, they use poetry and Latin and a treasure map, and it's all just so damn romantic.  They even made me google lines of a poem:  'anyone who's woken up to find the wet footprints of a peacock across their kitchen floor.'  I mean, what?

And what it all boils down to is this:  these two are just so unbelievably in love, and they have been from the very beginning.  There's just no stopping this kind of love, and I hope the elation I feel after reading this short story bodes well for the final book in the trilogy.  Pleasepleaseplease let Karou and Akiva get an ending reminiscent of Zuzana and Mik's beginning!

the Daughter of Smoke & Bone series

About the author:

Hi! I'm Laini Taylor. I am a writer-artist-daydreamer-nerd-person, and simultaneously a mom-wife-sister-daughter-person. I can do a lot of things at once, like for example: I can sleep and dream and also lie very still, all while also breathing and ever-so-slowly growing ten distinct toenails.

I write books for youngish people, but they can also be read and enjoyed by oldish people, aka grown-ups. You know grown-ups? They tend to be a little bigger and hairier than kids. But not always.

I live in Portland, Oregon, USA, with my husband Jim Di Bartolo, who is an amazing illustrator and who I'm always begging to draw me things, and with our wee droll genius, Clementine Pie, age three.

Find Laini:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

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Labels: angels, daughter of smoke and bone, fantasy, favorites, hachette, laini taylor, must-read, novellas, reincarnation, short story sunday

Waiting on Wednesday: Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

Title: Dreams of Gods & Monsters
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone, book #3
Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Publication Date: April 1, 2014

By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

I've been anxiously awaiting this final installment from the moment I finished Days of Blood & Starlight. This is one of my favorite series, beautifully written and full of compelling characters.  Of course, I'm still hoping for a happy ending for Karou and Akiva, but any ending for these two will be epic.  I just hope there's plenty of Zuzana, too.  =)

In case you, too, are dying for more of this fantastic world, with its heartbreaking angels and chimera, check out the excerpt The Hollywood Reporter posted.  Seriously hoping the best for the adaptation.  And how lovely is that cover?  I'm so glad there were no changes on the covers in this series!

Now that you know what I'm dying to read, what are you waiting on this week?  Feel free to share it in the comments or leave a link so I can stop by!

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Labels: angels, daughter of smoke and bone, demons, excerpts, fantasy, favorites, hachette, laini taylor, must-read, reincarnation, souls, waiting on wednesday (wow)

Judging a Book By Its Cover #14: A Kid's Perspective on Asunder by Jodi Meadows

Okay, so I totally stole this idea from Sara at Forever 17 Books, who got the idea from an article on Babble called Judging a Book by Its Cover: A 6-year-old Guesses What Classic Novels Are All About.  I just discovered her lovely segment, and I immediately requested forced my own four-year-old daughter Katie to provide me with some of her own cover art artwork and then asked her what she thought the book was about.



This week, Katie gave me her take on the following book:

"I think the girl with blue and red hair went walking outside and two butterflies got by her eyes and made her a mask."

Cover Art

Asunder as envisioned by Katiebug

I really liked the cover for Incarnate but I think this cover is even more stunning.  I've only had this book on my shelf for a week or so, but Katie loves flowers and butterflies, so it was only a matter of time before she discovered this one and asked to recreate it.  =)

Have you read this book?  What do you think of Katie's guess at the premise?  Did your little darling create a work of art based on a book this week? If so, be sure to link up with Sara over at Forever 17 Books.

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Labels: beautiful covers, cover art, fantasy, jodi meadows, judging a book by its cover, katiebug, newsoul, reincarnation

Audiobook Review: Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

Title:  Days of Blood & Starlight
Author:  Laini Taylor
Narrator:  Khristine Hvam
Series:  Daughter of Smoke and Bone, book #2
Publisher:  Hachette Audio
Publication Date:  November 6, 2012
Source:  purchased
Purchase:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Karou must come to terms with who and what she is, and how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, mysteries and secrets, new characters and old favorites, Days of Blood and Starlight brings the richness, color and intensity of the first book to a brand new canvas.

Ermigawd.  Um, yeah, so this is probably going to be an incoherent ramble, but here goes.  Days of Blood & Starlight was not what I was expecting, if you can ever really come to expect anything from a story such as this.  While it had brief moments of levity -- mostly thanks to the witty banter between Zuzana and Mik -- it was, for the most part, a very dark and melancholy tale.  I won't spoil anything from Days of Blood & Starlight or from Daughter of Smoke & Bone.  But if you haven't read the first book in this series yet, I must ask, Why the hell not?!?

Laini Taylor must be made of pure genius.  This author has created the most imaginative, most fantastical world I've ever had the pleasure of transporting myself to.  But what Laini Taylor does for words, Khristine Vham does for narration.  I love this narrator.  It's that simple.  She does accents, and she does them well.  She conveys so much emotion and her narration is so in tune with the story that I never had to wonder who was speaking or if what was being said was aloud or in thought.  Pretty much, any audiobook narrated by Khristine Hvam is sure to impress and delight.

So, speaking of accents, there is quite a large cast of characters in this series, all with different languages and interesting sounding names.  Even so, none of them are shallow or underdeveloped like you might expect due to the sheer volume of characters presented.  Each has his or her own story and background, and some even maintain their own third person point-of-view for small spurts at a time.  I found this method of presenting the story thoroughly engaging, but I most enjoyed when it was Zuzana's turn.  Her exchanges with Mik are the one bright spot in this whole story, as they provide the frivolity that serves to make Karou and Akiva's perspectives slightly less bleak.  But only slightly.

If Daughter of Smoke & Bone was about the search for answers -- Who is Karou? Where did she come from? Why does she collect teeth for Brimstone? -- then Days of Blood & Starlight is about the search for peace.  A war rages between the inhabitants of her world, Eretz, and Akiva and Karou are battling the odds to end it.  A never-ending cycle of retribution has befallen the Seraphim (Akiva's people) and the Chimaera (Karou's people), but Karou and Akiva dare to dream, to hope of peace between their species.

It's not often that a sequel lives up to its predecessor's reputation, but Days of Blood & Starlight is most definitely just as beautiful, lyrical, and poignant as the first book in this series.  Not only is this book not a filler to prolong the story, but it is full of stunning passages brimming with imagery that only Laini Taylor could incorporate into a book.  I devoured this story like warm cookies straight from the oven, and I'm already salivating for the next installment.  And I'm going to stop talking now before I go into fangirl-mode.

Favorite quotes:

"Please tell me you have to pee."

"What?  No.  No, I do not.  Don't even ask."

"Oh, come on.  I'd do it myself if I could, but I can't.  I'm a girl."

"I know.  Life is so unfair.  I'm still not going to pee on Karou's ex-boyfriend for you."

"She spun on her heel and walked on.  Mik gave the huge puppet a tug to get it rolling again, and followed.  "So," he called to her back, "just out of curiosity, you know, purely conversation and all, at what age will you be entertaining offers of marriage?"

"You think it'll be so easy?" she called back over her shoulder.  "No way.  There will be tasks.  Like in a fairy tale."

"That sounds dangerous."

"Very.  So think twice."

"No need," he said.  "You're worth it."  And Zuzana's face warmed with pleasure.

"Who was that?" Zuzana whispered as Karou led her and Mik out of the big courtyard where the monsters were gathered.  "The other white meat?"

Karou's laugh sounded like a choke.  "Oh god," she said when she could breath again.  "And now that's what I'm going to think every time I see him.  Watch your step."

"Karou regarded them with that hardness she'd shown when she shoved him -- it was anger, Akiva thought, that he had again forced her to decide his fate.  She had changed so much in just a few months.  The sharpness, the bleakness.  He remembered how she had been back in Prague and Marrakesh, in the little time they'd spent together before the wishbone:  the softness and mobility of her expressions; the shy, incongruous smiles; and the rapid-flare flushes that had spread up her fair neck.  Even her anger had been a flashing, vital thing, and he hated this new carved-mask hardness, and he hated his part in bringing it about.  But at that moment, if he was given the choice, he would still have said he wanted to live."

Rating: 

Trailers for Daughter of Smoke & Bone:

My review for Daughter of Smoke & Bone can be found here.

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Labels: angels, audiobooks, book trailers, daughter of smoke and bone, fantasy, favorites, hachette, laini taylor, must-read, reincarnation, reviews, souls

Awhile on the Pile #14: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Awhile on the Pile/From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday but was also inspired by Rachel at My Reading Pile/Fiktshun. The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review -- or any book that you own and really want to read/review -- but haven't yet got around to reading in order to give the book some extra publicity.

Here's the book I chose to give some extra love this week:

Title:  Unraveling
Author:  Elizabeth Norris
Series:  Unraveling #1
Publisher:  Balzer + Bray
Publication Date:  April 24, 2012
Source:  ARC

Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she’s opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn’t possible, Janelle knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.

But her reincarnation, and Ben’s possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI-agent father’s files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what’s right in front of her: Everything that’s happened—the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben’s sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she’s going to need to uncover Ben’s secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.

From debut author Elizabeth Norris comes this shattering novel of one girl’s fight to save herself, her world, and the one boy she never saw coming.

Sounds pretty awesome, right?  Yeah, I thought so, too.  I really can't tell you why I haven't read it yet, other than I just haven't had the time.  But I really need to get to it.  I've read some really varied reviews, anywhere from this being one of the best end-of-days novels to others that indicated it was very formulaic and contrived.  I love when a book garners such mixed reactions from readers.  And I can't wait to see which camp I end up in!

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Labels: awhile on the pile, elizabeth norris, harper-collins, mystery, post-apocalyptic, reincarnation, sci-fi, unraveling