Karou has two vastly different lives. In one she is a young art student in Prague. In the other she carries messages for Brimstone, who lives in the world of 'Elsewhere'.

Brimstone brought her up, is the only family she has ever known and she never questions when he sends her to find and deliver back to him teeth. All varieties of teeth. It takes the whole book to learn why he wants teeth, but it’s a worthwhile journey.

This is fantasy of course with a beautiful weirdness quite acceptable in two worlds elsewhere from the world of humans. These are the warring worlds of the angels and seraphim against the world of the chimaera, creatures half human, half animal.

Even Brimstone is animal, as is his messenger Kishmish the almost-crow, who delivers instructions to Karou. But what happens when a chimaera meets an angel and a spark ignites between them? Then all worlds begin to turn upside down.

Meanwhile, Karou spends time with best friend Zuzana in their art classes and the coffee shops of Prague. That city and others Karou visits are described with such apparent fondness that you’ll find yourself wanting to pack up and go there, angels and chimaera notwithstanding.    

Verdict:  A beautifully written book, just made for non-lovers of fantasy. 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor, is published by Hodder & Stoughton, Price $24.99.

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