Me on Night of Cake & Puppets

Title: Night of Cake & Puppets
Author: Laini Taylor
Release Date: November 26, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her “rabid fairy,” her “voodoo eyes” are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or “Violin Boy,” her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to meet him, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It’s a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter’s night before finally leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy’s not going to know what hit him.

Night of Cake & Puppets is a short burst of a story, a sweet and magical tumble into love. During Karou's search in Daughter of Smoke & Bone, her best friend in the whole world, the puppet-maker Zuzana, decides to take action and claim the object of her desires, violinist Mik.

Taylor's prose is just as magical, just as lyrical and expressive and moving, as her novels. Reading her words is always a joy, they fill the pieces of my soul that crave fairy tales and monsters. But there's an added sweetness here that I feel is all Zuzana (and Mik as well, not to exclude him), all first love and falling snow and secrets lying in wait in the shadows.

This only serves to whet my appetite for Dreams of Gods & Monsters, for more Karou and Akiva, but also for more stories of Zuzana and Mik. I don't think I'll get the latter, but at least I only have to wait until April 2014 for the former.

(I borrowed a copy of this e-novella from the library.)