Review: Children of Blood and Bone – Tomi Adeyemi

Posted 9 July, 2018 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 16 Comments

Review: Children of Blood and Bone – Tomi AdeyemiChildren of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Series: Legacy of Orïsha #1
Published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers on 6 March 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 525
Format: Kindle
Source: Kindle Purchase
4 Stars

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.

Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.

Dark - (un)Conventional Bookviews

Children of Blood and Bone is a complex fantasy novel, in which one people fight their way to win magic back in order to stay alive. There is a corrupt and vicious king, a credulous young prince, a very strong young woman, and a lot of action.

Review - (un)Conventional Bookviews

Story:

Children of Blood and Bone managed to tell a compelling story, build a complex world, and include magic that was quite different from other stories I’ve read. There was a dictatorial king, and he would kill the smallest flutter of magic he could find – to keep his people safe, or so he said. Zélie was learning to fight, to survive, to keep the former magic users – dîviners – safe. And she had a very strong sense of right and wrong.

There was quite a quest to go on for Zélie and her cohorts, and Children of Blood and Bone took the readers on a long trip. It included both magic, fights, action, a little romance, and scenery that was lush in some places and completely desolate in others.

Some of the fighting scenes in Children of Blood and Bone were gruesome. The total lack of empathy some of the characters showed made my skin crawl. And the fact that those who might be able to use magic had white hair made it easier for the ruling king to get rid of them as he wished. Because of the racial / ethnic aspect, I felt that the story is also very much current with all that is going on in the real world right now,.

Characters:

Zélie is a strong female lead, but she doesn’t always think through her actions fully, and that makes for some messy situations. She is definitely relatable, though, and she carried a lot on her young shoulders.

Amari is a sheltered princess, hardly ever allowed out of the castle, and only dreaming about traveling the world, making it better.

Inan is the future king, and he is almost as ruthless as his father. Magic scares him, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep it away from the kingdom.

Zélie’s brother and father are both present at the beginning of Children of Blood and Bones, and her brother follows her on her quest to re-ignite magic to all.

Writing style :

Children of Blood and Bone is written in three different points of views, Zélie has the most chapters to her name, but both Amari and Inan have an important part as well. First person point of view, present tense made the action appear immediate, and I was right there with the characters through their trials and tribulations.

Feels :

Excitement has to be the top feel, however, I also felt disgust because of some characters actions. And I felt anger! Thankfully, I also felt hope and a little bit of light.

Fave Quotes - (un)Conventional Bookviews

“They don’t hate you, my child. They hate what you were meant to become.”

“I teach you to be warriors in the garden so you will never be gardeners in the war. I give you the strength to fight, but you all must learn the strength of restraint.” Mama turns to me, shoulders pinned back. “You must protect those who can’t defend themselves. That is the way of the staff.”

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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16 responses to “Review: Children of Blood and Bone – Tomi Adeyemi

  1. I’m on a waitlist for this book, and I’m so impatient! I want it now. I’m glad that it’s different from other fantasy books. I was hoping that it’s a little unusual. Great review!

  2. I really enjoyed your review. I haven’t gotten a clear picture of what to expect from this one out of the other few reviews I’ve read. Sounds like I’ll enjoy it. Thanks, Lexxie!

  3. Your review is definitely convincing me that I really want to purchase this book soon. I’ve been on the fence about it so far because lately books that seemed awesome like this one that I bought have been disappointing. I didn’t know it was written in three different points of view so I’m liking that a lot. 😀

  4. Ailyn Koay
    Twitter:

    i read it too! I think it’s more about coming to accept who you really are rather than underlying racial issues. from what i read, it’s more extreme reaction to an event of the past, rather than discrimination per se. but of course ultimately that’s how people act once you segregate

    • It did become discrimination, though… as it was a way for the king to recognize the people he was scared of. Accepting who we are is also an important theme, but that was more for one character than the others in my opinion 🙂

  5. RO

    Even though this is a novel I may not normally read, your review really makes me want to check out this fantasy. Hugs…RO

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