Where do I even begin with my review? There's so much to say! 
 I have an extremely hard time truly getting into the Fallen scene most times. I've liked a few books that I've read around the theme, but they haven't astounded me--perhaps with the exception of the vampire/fallen theme that Melissa de la Cruz has with her Blue Bloods series. I think it's difficult in the genre because there's so much background to build in a lot of cases, and a person's tastes varies too. 
 Another thing is I picked up a copy by word of mouth and so many recommendations by other blogger friends. After others kept begging me to read, I grabbed it and did. Boy, am I glad! 
 Daughter of Smoke and Bone absolutely blew me away. This was one of the best reads of 2011. I feel like shouting it from the rooftops and I tell everyone I know that they just have to read this book if they're going to read only one book this year. 
 The places that Laini Taylor will take the reader through her words are enough to take your breath away, let alone the characters that capture your heart from the first page. I was transported through her imaginative and detailed writing. Here I found romance I adored, I rooted insistently for. I could not tear through the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. Oh... Akiva...I felt so much of the pain and beauty. Ms. Taylor had my imagination running wild. 
 This took me on such an emotional roller-coaster ride. It really is hard for me to put all of my feelings out other than I just truly loved every bit of this book and can't wait until more. Everything was mystifying and gorgeous until the last page. 
 One of my favorite quotes: 
 "He can't see it. It is a condition of monsters that they do not perceive themselves as such. The dragon, you know, hunkered in the village devouring maidens, heard the townsfolk cry 'Monster!' and looked behind him." 
 5 glorious stars! 
 <3 
 Pixie