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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully Crafted - Not Really for Teens, July 14, 2010
This review is from: Lips Touch: Three Times (Hardcover)
This collection of novellas is beautifully written and the accompanying artwork is stunning to say the least. (I call them novellas because they are technically longer than what is traditionally labeled a short story.) The prose is perfectly paced and expertly constructed. It's obvious a great deal of care and thought was put into the crafting of these stories, which is evident in the rich imagery, the lush metaphors and the aesthetically woven sentences. The stories were deliberate, engrossing and brilliantly written. Though some might disagree, I found the endings to be thought provoking and fitting - the haunting resonance I'd expect in the modern day literary short story.
That being said, this collection is not really for young girls and teens, unless they are of a an unusually high maturity for their age. There are three stories contained in this collection that are ordered progressively in length, complexity and morbidity. It is important to note that these stories are very dark and unsettling. This is particularly true for the last story, which depicts a rape. The girl and the boy involved are not in control of their own bodies, making them both victims, and they are conscious while the rape is occurring. It is later told that the rape recurs almost daily until the victimized girl is impregnated. This is a rape despite its unusual nature and young people ought to understand that while reading this story. Despite its inherent tragedies toward humanity, which is central to the plot, the last story is undoubtedly the most interesting of the three in that its premise is wildly creative and it delivers a more meaningful punch to the reader. But, in my opinion, it is geared toward adults, not teenagers.
These days, it seems that stories involving young women in supernatural circumstances are automatically given the Young Adult stamp, even when it doesn't necessarily fit. This collection is a case in point. I understand that young people are probably subjected to worse on TV, but I think parents ought to be forewarned and that adults ought to know that these stories are enjoyable works of fiction and not of the cliched teenage-girl-pop variety. So, adults, enjoy without fear!
I will definitely be checking out more works by this author. I can't say it enough. She really is that good.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark & Beautiful, October 24, 2009
This review is from: Lips Touch: Three Times (Hardcover)
Last spring, I fell in love with Laini Taylor's first novel, Faeries of Dreamdark: Blackbringer, and its recently released follow-up, Dreamdark: Silksinger was equally wonderful. I was very excited about Lips Touch for two reasons: 1) I wanted to see what Taylor could do with a slightly different genre aimed at a slightly different age group and 2) I had hopes that a successful YA book would bring new readers to the Dreamdark series.
So, what DID Taylor do with that slightly different genre? She aced it, of course. This woman can write. Period. She is a master storyteller who weaves richly detailed worlds, fully developed characters and carefully crafted plots flawlessly together, creating stories that I'm confident will prove over time to be completely unforgettable. Taylor's writing touches me in ways the writing of other authors - even very gifted authors - has not done for many, many years. [[I'm aware that I sound like a gushing fangirl, but honestly, Taylor's writing is totally gush-worthy, so I'm learning to accept that I AM a fangirl. And, with several grandkids, I really thought I was too old for any title with "girl" in it! Huh.]]
Lips Touch is a trilogy of unrelated stories all of which have to do with a kiss. They are darker and more adult than the Dreamdark books and proved to be just as impossible to put down. The first, Goblin Fruit, is the shortest at only 40 pages, has the most modern feel to it and more amusing moments than the other entries. ("You could have his mouth baby!") The second, Spicy Little Curses Such as These, takes us to hell and back in more ways than one and gives us curses and sacrifice along the way. The last of the three is my favorite, the gorgeously dark Hatchling, an incredibly original tale of love and humanity and souls. It moved me to tears. All three tales have an edge to them and I found the ending of each to be perfect, if not necessarily perfectly happy.
Taylor uses language beautifully, but it all seems to flow without effort. When I'm reading her stories, I never get the feeling that she is trying to hit me over the head with her talent as a wordsmith. Her descriptions, while lush and often lyrical, never cross over into the land of overblown. In my very humble opinion, she is a writer to watch, one that has a brilliant future. I'm thrilled that I've already discovered her and can watch that future unfold.
Do I think Lips Touch will earn Taylor new readers that will, in turn, read her Dreamdark books? I think it will. And I couldn't be happier. They deserve to be widely read.
Finally, I simply have to comment on what a visually beautiful book Lips Touch is. Taylor's husband, Jim Di Bartolo, is a gifted artist whose work is a wonderful addition to his wife's tales. The cover is his, but better yet, he has lavishly illustrated each of the stories within - and with color! (So unusual!) The first two stories have 13 pages of art each, the last 15 pages. I especially appreciate that, because Di Bartolo is Taylor's husband, we can be relatively sure the characters and settings are depicted as she imagines them - something that is not always the case with a book's artwork. The jacket and book design by Christopher Stengel is also lovely. I have something of a love affair with great book covers and design so would enjoy seeing the work here recognized for its excellence.
Highly, highly recommended!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Made of dark, potent magic that leaves you wanting more, September 18, 2011
This review is from: Lips Touch: Three Times (Hardcover)
I was so taken by Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor that I immediately read her collection of three stories about young women, each of which involves a kiss: Lips Touch, Three Times .
With Lips Touch, Three Times, Taylor has cemented her place as my new favorite author - she is nothing less than an enchantress of fantasy. Each of the above stories bewitched me with worlds both familiar, as well as unique and never before seen. Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market" clearly influenced the first story, "Goblin Fruit," but Taylor weaves a lush and seductive new tale out of her inspiration that translates to so much more than a retelling.
"There is a certain kind of girl the goblins crave. You could walk across a high school campus and point them out: not her, her. The pert, lovely ones with butterfly tattoos in secret places, sitting on their boyfriends' laps? No, not them. The girls watching the lovely ones sitting on their boyfriends' laps? Yes.
"Them.
"The goblins want girls who dream so hard about being pretty their yearning leaves a palpable trail, a scent goblins can follow like sharks on a soft bloom of blood. The girls with hungry eyes who pray each night to wake up as someone else. Urgent, unkissed, wishful girls.
"Like Kizzy."
You see?
The depth and breadth of Taylor's influences are vast and diverse, from Rossetti to Indian folklore and the culture of British Raj. I read fantasy to escape, and to my joy each story here took me to a completely different place from the others.
Taylor's writing, like goblin fruit, is made of dark, potent magic and so enthralling that once you have a taste, you will desperately want more.
I must mention that as visually stunning Taylor's writing is, the accompanying illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo are equally beautiful. They tell the background of the stories, not the stories themselves so they're distinct narratives on their own.
It looks like the publisher is going with a new cover for the paperback to be released soon - which is a prime example of idiocy. Why the hell would you prefer a generic, banal cover over spectacular artwork????
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