Daughter of Smoke and
Bone by Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter
of Smoke and Bone #1
Publication Date:
Sept. 29, 2011
Source: Purchased
Summary:
Karou has always been interested in drawing. Her sketchbook his filled with half-human
creatures that only she knows are real.
One of them, the trader Brimstone, raised her as his own, sometimes
taking her on his journeys to collect the teeth that he pays for in
wishes. Karou’s secret life and her
normal one as a student in Prague suddenly come together when black handprints
start showing up on all the portals that lead to Brimstone’s shop. And an annoying but sometimes charming angel
starts asking Karou questions as if she is the key to everything.
Conclusions:
There are some obvious mentions of sex in this book. In the beginning, the reader learns that
Karou slept with her ex-boyfriend. Her
guardian Brimstone tells her: “I don’t know many rules to live by.
But here’s one. It’s simple. Don’t put anything unnecessary into
yourself. No poisons or chemicals, no fumes or smoke or alcohol, no sharp
objects, no inessential needles – drug or tattoo – and… no inessential penises,
either.” Pretty decent advice,
actually. Later in the book, two main
characters have sex. Nothing graphic.
Another one of the opening scenes takes place in Karou’s art class with
a nude model. This is generally a more
amusing scene than an offensive one, however.
The angels and demons in Taylor’s world have some interesting relations
to those of Christian theology—basically humans saw these paranormal creatures
and built religion around them, trying to explain what they saw. But the angels and demons really are not in
any way close to the divine, nor do they have any sort of mission relating to
humans or their spiritual welfare.
Expect interesting species, but little theology.
Marked by Kim
Richardson
Series: Soul
Guardians #1
Publication Date:
March 18, 2011
Source: Free
e-book
Summary:
Kara Nightingale is dead.
But when she woke up, she was not in Heaven, she was in Horizon, where
the elevators are run by grumpy monkeys—and she is supposed to train to become
a guardian angel. With the roguish Petty
Officer David McGowan as her supervisor, she takes on the job with some
success. Yet more demons show up on
their missions than is normal, and David suspects that Kara herself is calling
them.
Conclusions:
Relatively innocuous, if a little weird. Kara briefly laments the fact she is
flat-chested, using such fun expressions as the “boob-fairy had never visited”
and “her feminine curves had been flattened by a giant spatula.”
On the angel-side of
things, these particular beings have little relationship to those of Christian
theology, barring the fact they have appropriated a few terms like “cherub,”
“archangel,” and “guardian angel” to classify themselves. (God here is the
“Chief” and only really high-ranking angels even get to see him.) In fact, the angels tend to be quite human,
including experiencing emotions like selfishness, anger, and hatred. They also occasionally swear, employing mild
works like “crap.”
Unearthly by
Cynthia Hand
Series: Unearthly
#1
Publication Date:
Jan. 4, 2011
Source: Purchased
Summary:
A few years ago, Clare Gardner discovered she has angel
blood. Now, as she strives to uncover
her life’s purpose, she is dreaming of a boy in a forest fire—a boy she assumes
she must save. Her family packs up and moves to Wyoming, where they
believe this mysterious boy lives, but discovering what Clare is supposed to do
with him or even becoming friends with him proves harder than she would have
thought.
Conclusions:
This book is effectively clean and has a very sweet
romance! It is also the only one of
these three novels where the angels are very obviously called to a higher code
of conduct than humans. Angels have a link with God and are supposed to fulfill
a “purpose.” When they start doing
questionable things, their white wings begin turning gray and can eventually be
completely black. The angels have been
somewhat humanized for the purposes of the story, of course, but Hand does a
nice job blending this with the divine.
