Lips Touch by Laini Taylor Book Review

Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor
(Hardcover, Scholastic, October 2009)
Rating:

"Kissing can ruin lives. Lips touch, sometimes teeth clash. New hunger is born with a throb and caution falls away."

Lips Touch offers a trio of fairy-tale-esque stories, centered around the power of a kiss. In "Goblin Fruit," beautifully different Kizzy is tempted by a boy who is not all he seems and whose kiss could mean her ruin. Anamique's voice can kill humans or sway devils in "Spicy Little Curses Such as These." In "Hatchling," Esme's eyes change colors and, all of sudden, she has memories of kissing a fanged hunter.

Reading Lips Touch is like slipping into a dark fantasy, one where the lines between truth and fiction blur and magic taints every breath. Whereas Laini's first novel Blackbringer was for a middle grade audience, this collection is geared towards a teen audience. Temptation, lust, and love seep into each story, and it's easy to imagine yourself as one of the main characters...ordinary girls who are faced with extraordinary circumstances. Each of the three stories are short enough to read in one sitting; although, I would recommend rereading each one because of all the rich details. It's very hard to pick a favorite story of the three. Currently, I'm leaning towards "Spicy Little Curses Such As These" because the mythology of India fascinates me. All three stories could easily be spun into their own novels but I enjoyed the short story form used. It leaves the endings (and even some beginnings) open to the imagination which makes the stories all the more interesting.

p.s. The book that I read is an ARC and doesn't have the final artwork on the inside pages. However, Jim Di Bartolo's sketch art looks amazing and I can't wait to see it in its final color form!

p.s.s. Laini is expecting a baby girl any day now! Go visit her blog to see all her cute baby clothes and toys, and make sure to say hi while you're there!

Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer by Laini Taylor Book Review

Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer by Laini Taylor
(Putnam, Hardcover, 2008)
Rating:

Magpie Windwitch is an unusual faery. She flies around the world, catching devils. Something that hasn't been done since the Djinn's champion, Bellatrix, disappeared thousands of years ago. When her latest adventure leads her back to Dreamdark, the place of her birth, Magpie is reunited with her old friends Poppy Merryweather and Snoshti. As Magpie tries to catch Blackbringer, the devil that is wreaking havoc on Dreamdark, she is confronted by a forgotten past and a task that will determine the future of the faeries.

I have to say that this is one of the best fantasy stories that I've ever read (and I'm not just saying that because Laini was on the Cybils panel with me!). This is the type of book that I would have carried around with me everywhere at the age of 10. I would have dog eared the pages and written spin-off stories of Dreamdark. Magpie's story is drenched in magic - the characters, the setting, the spells, it's all so carefully crafted and fantastically wrought. Magpie herself is just the type of spunky character that I love. She's brave, modest, and full of heart. In addition to the wonderful Magpie, this story is brimming with many fascinating side characters. From Talon, the warrior prince who can't fly, to the band of crows that Magpie flies with to the scavenger imp that sticks his toes in his nose for safekeeping, each character was fully realized and added much to Magpie's tale.

Another wonderful aspect of the book was the drawings. Blackbringer is illustrated by Laini's husband, Jim Di Bartolo . (How do you have enough creative control to pick your illustrator? I want to know!) The illustrations are so detailed and perfect for the book, I just wished there were more. Every time I came to an illustration in the book, I would think, Wow, wouldn't it be awesome to have a framed print of this? Jim is also doing the illustrations for the sequel, Silksinger, which will be out this fall. The picture at the top is of the hardcover version of Blackbringer and the picture down below is of the paperback version. Both are really cool and I especially love the title drawing on the paperback version.

In short, add this book to your collection now! And put Silksinger on your wishlist. While you wait for Silksinger, take a look at Laini's blog . It's full of fun posts about writing and life.