Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor 418 pages

You know that old adage, "you shouldn't judge a book by its cover?"... this book has a GREAT cover, a person wearing a harlequin mask seems to promise intrigue and atmosphere. Also, right above the author's name: "by National Book Award Finalist". It could have been that I was too tired when trying to read this book, it took forever to finish and just about the time I was ready to give up, I thought "but I read over half"...There are great elements: it is set in Prague, there is a mysterious collection of human teeth and a dandy heroine: blue-haired Karou. She is an artist and more, much more. She collects teeth for an unusual foster parent, Brimstone in exchange for money and magic beads. Each bead can be exchanged for a small wish, like to instantly learn a language, or grow blue hair. She travels through portals to collect the teeth. Her best friend Zuzana helps save her from depression after her bad breakup with Kaz. I guess it was the chimera and seraphs that lost me. I will not move on to book two no matter how great the cover and reviews are.