Review - "Daughter of Smoke & Bone" Trilogy

The "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" books are a great series of novels. I came across them just over a year ago when my friend Lorraine (  here's her blog ) brought them to my attention. She badgered me for days to read them before I gave in. I'm so glad I did!

Without giving too much away, the storyline basically revolves around a girl named "Karou" who lives in Prague and studies art. She lives daily life just like everyone else, attending class and hitting up her favourite medieval themed restaurant for bowls of goulash. She also harbours a suspicious secret. Karou was raised by a group of four Chimaera. She collects teeth for her father figure "Brimstone" in exchange for the wishes she uses to fund her cosy lifestyle. After an encounter with an other-worldly being, Karou and the Chimaera's lives begin to change forever.

Over the course of the three books, a celestial war rages and Karou and her friends must act in order to bring peace to both the human world and their own. Relationships crumble, lovers quarrel. A syzygy is formed. 

Authored by Lainni Taylor, this epic trilogy is recited in dreamy prose, intoxicating the reader and blurring the line between what is real and what is not. Taylor weaves an immense tapestry of suspense, mystical creatures and love, whilst grappling the harsh subjects of sexual violence, self mutilation and self understanding.

                                                                                                                google images

A must read for any millennial still mourning the loss of the Harry Potter series. I was entranced and engrossed entirely.

Ochre

I get lost in your eyes.
They are a barren landscape.
Darker than all my suspicions.
Darker than me.

I stumble over this rocky terrain.
Distracted by all this beauty.
Eager to explore some more.

I get lost in your eyes.
They are a barren landscape.
Darker than all my inhibitions.
Darker than me.

I stumble onwards.
Though I am so very lost.
I stumble forwards.
Eager, so eager.

Bore into me as I bore into you.

I get lost in your eyes.
They are a barren landscape.
Darker than all my suspicions.
Darker than me.

Mmmmhmmm

I engage in radical movements.

Vestigial amounts of my former self hinted.
All of me deceptive, retrospective.
All of me is printed.

I taste life through another's teeth.

I engage in radical thoughts.
Vestigial amounts of intent behind them.
All of me an illusion, a delusion.
All of me is them.

Awaken all the wrong in me.
Awaken all me.

I'm Not Yours / I Think.

I'm not yours.
I breathe all on my own.
I move all on my own.
I think, I think.

Are we all individual?
Or are we all predestined?
Have we all personage?
Are we predetermined?

This never ending circle...
Of love and greed and war.
Is it purely stressful?
Or is it spiritual?

I'm not yours.
I hear all on my own.
I feel all on my own.
I think. I think.

I'm not yours.
I breathe all on my own.
I move all on my own.
I think, I think.

I need to think.

Album Review: Låpsley - Long Way Home

7/10

It's difficult to believe that Holly Lapsley Fletcher (a.k.a. Låpsley) is only 19 years old. Her vocals convey a maturity far beyond her years. Her songwriting and abstract production intertwine to form majestic though sometimes numbing music.

Shimmering synths and thudding bass assist this young Brit in creating an experience both thrilling and somewhat lacklustre.

On her debut, listeners are treated to small glimpses of who Låpsley is. Her James Blake-esque crooning is complimented by her use of pitch altering software. Through out the album, she employs this gimmick to duet with a more mausculine form of her voice. This is particularly evident on the tracks Station, Tell Me The Truth and Silverlake.

Stand out track Operator (He Doesn't Call Me) depicts Låpsley in a more vulnerable light. Delivering her best Adele impression, Ms. Fletcher warbles along to the upbeat rhythm of an otherwise woeful song, lamenting the lack of attention she receives from a significant other. 

The LP explores the themes of heartbreak, angst and worthiness. Låpsley seems most optimistic on album highlight Love Is Blind, overcoming the struggles of self doubt to free herself from a malignant relationship.

Låpsley fails to display any genuine emotion on this electro-soul gem but showcases extreme promise. With more self assurance and less time invested in other artists' work, Ms. Fletcher could very well conquer her genre of choice and leave her stamp on the modern music world.

Alien-like, innovative and morose. A dazzling debut from an artist with huge potential.

***

For more reviews and posts: Follow my blog with Bloglovin