I have some seriously mixed feelings about this book. It's difficult to read a book that has been as hyped as this one without being affected by your own high expectations, despite trying very hard not to be. I liked parts of it, but overall I found it to be a regurgitation of cliched YA fantasy tropes, pasted onto a fresh setting. The Goodreads summary is pretty accurate: this is basically the classic Hero's Journey tale of Ye Olde Fantasy, complete with chosen one, sacred artifacts, gods and goddesses, and a magical destination. Which could have been fine, given that the setting is so original - in fact, the West African inspired setting was probably my favorite thing about the book. But despite this, everything else just fell flat for me.

However, just because I personally wasn't wowed, doesn't mean this book doesn't have appeal. To be honest, you've got thousands of YA fantasy books out there that regurgitate the same plot over and over onto the same vaguely Anglo-French medieval setting and they do fine, so it's nice to see something like this that features black and brown characters. It's kind of like when people say, oh, paranormal/urban fantasy is over and done with, when POC haven't gotten their chance at it yet. Just because white people have gotten all their shots at something doesn't necessarily mean it's been played out. I'm glad this book exists for POC teens to see themselves in the types of fantasies they have been reading about for years.

With that being said, I had a lot of problems with this book. I think the main reason I struggled with it was the writing style. It just felt very young; though the subject matter is mature, at times I felt like I was reading a middle grade book instead of a young adult book. The writing is incredibly melodramatic, littered with phrases like "something inside me broke" and "I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding" and "I should have known you were the monster all along." More than once I found myself cringing and rolling my eyes at just how Extra the writing was. Furthermore, even the expressed themes are presented in such a simplistic way, and the reader is beaten over the head with every little thing. I would recommend this to teens on the younger side of the spectrum, but I think more mature readers might not enjoy it as much.

Another issue I had with the writing style is that it is written in first person present, which is probably my least favorite tense. It takes a really subtle hand to make first person present work, and this book's writing is not in the least bit subtle. I also found it confusing at times, since there are three different POVs, all in first person present, and their voices are not all that different, so I often found myself forgetting whose perspective I was supposed to be in.

As for the plot, well, as I said, this is classic Hero's Journey, played almost completely straight. So, Zelie is chosen by the gods to bring magic back to Orisha, and she goes on a journey that takes her to various places in the country to collect the sacred artifacts she needs to conduct the ritual that will return magic. Alongside her are Princess Amari, who has defected from her father, and Tzain, Zelie's older brother. They are being pursued by Inan, the Prince and Amari's elder brother who is determined to stop Zelie's ritual. The plot is essentially a series of strung-together YA fantasy tropes maximized for commercial appeal, but the result is a narrative that lacks much depth. (One of those tropes is Enemies to Lovers, which features the Inexplicable Heterosexual Romance, in one of the weirdest character flip-flops I've ever seen. It was just...very abrupt and unbelievable.)

While the book started off quick and engaging, the plot quickly slowed down. I found that the book was much longer than it needed to be. In fact, there was a huge chunk in the middle where the gang has to compete in these arena games that felt completely tacked on just to be able to say the book included it. I think this particular plot point, along with a lot of other instances, is where the story could really have used a firm editorial hand. A lot of things seemed random, chucked into the book to just to make it seem more exciting, but it was all way too much, especially when combined with the juvenile writing style. Probably about a hundred pages could have been cut from this book to make a better, tighter final product.

At the center of the narrative is the oppression of the maji, which in a lot of instances seems to be written to directly mirror real-world racism. I'm not sure how well that worked given the portrayal of magic users here; that is, their powers are portrayed as world destroying, and it almost seems understandable that those without powers would want to wipe magic out to level the playing field. On the other hand, certain people's potential for magic is used to exploit them for economic gain even though they have no magic to hurt anyone, and that certainly speaks of baseless, irrational racism. The book certainly tries to have this complicated conversation, but it just falls short, and by the end I wasn't entirely sure what exactly the book was trying to get across. Perhaps later books will address this, but...the ending makes me suspect that later books are going to circumvent this problem entirely.

I know this has been very negative so far, but there were some things I liked about this book! The worldbuilding is fantastic: all the characters are black or brown, and much attention is paid to the various hues of their skin and the textures of their hair. That was super refreshing to see, especially since POC in other books are often cut from the same cloth, appearance wise, so it was great to see so much diversity while still having a cast made up entirely of POC. The West African setting is fresh and wonderfully detailed, as is this world's creation myth and the legends of their gods and goddesses. Something else I liked is that there's two leading ladies here, and by the end they become excellent friends (now this is an Enemies to Friends situation I can actually stand by). There's still not a lot of positive female friendships in YA, unfortunately, so it was great to see that. Zelie, the main character, is written to be fierce and fiery, and I liked her a lot, though I wish her internal (and external) monologues weren't so melodramatic.

Generally, I just wanted some more nuance and maturity, with regards to thematic points and writing. Also, and I've said this several times before, but I've started to really, really hate "journey" stories, and that's certainly a strong personal preference that affected my enjoyment of this book. However, I can certainly see how this would appeal to people, particularly the younger YA generation. Also, I can definitely see this book's blockbuster quality, and I'm super excited for the film! I'm not sure if I'll pick up the second book in this series, however. I might just wait for the movie.

I received 6 chapter so, this is just a partial review. And from what I have read so far, one can understand the hype for this book. Children of Blood and Bone is one of this year's most highly anticipated book in the YA genre...and it's good.

Let's be honest here ok? There is only so much I can 'review' considering that I've read so little... only 6 chapters... but that alone has reignited my anticipation for reading this book. 6 chapters in and it's jam packed with EVERYTHING!!! It surpasses everything I wanted this book to be... How is that even possible?!
I can't wait to read the rest...I highly recommend you to add Children of Blood and Bone to your TBR list...
PS: I know we aren't suppose to judge a book by it's cover but come on! Look at that?! Won't you want to buy that?!!

Since this is only a review of the excerpt, I can only really go off initial impressions of this deeply atmospheric and magical novel, which promises to immerse the reader in a fantasy world like no other they've read before. It's no wonder that every reader who has got their hands on this book has not been able recommend it highly enough. From what I did get to read, the imagery is vivid, from sophisticated and descriptive writing, and immediately there is a new world you are thrown into. Now that I've also read that this may be made into a film (when Tomi Adeyemi is just a debut author!), you know this novel has a magic story on its pages. Apparently this IS a must-read!

Copy provided by Net Galley.

7/10, rounded down.

This is a fairly polarising book for me. It's my first YA in a while, and there was a lot I liked. There was also a lot I didn't, but I think positives first.

Adeyemi certinaly has a way with words. She has created a refreshingly different world to what I'm used to reading. None of that medieval rot, no knights and the like. No elves, orcs, or hobgoblins. Just a secondary fantasy world with a unique magic system. Honestly, I would have liked the world to have been fleshed out a bit more, because the bones that were given seem great. Set in the land of Orisha, we are told the story of Zelie, a devîner, the child of a magi. Sometime in the past, the king made magic disappear and in the ensuing chaos killed all those who could wield magic. From that, we have the story of a girl trying to reach up and discover how to restore magic and free her home from tyranny. Fairly standard quest type stuff, just with a different take.

The writing was about what I'd expect from YA these days. Which is to say, fairly good, with a few bits and pieces I think could have been done better. By and large, I don't think there was that much need to expand upon the ideas and histories involved, however the pacing was very fast, almost too fast I'd say. It's one thing to another and you're sitting there going "When will it stop??". So pacing. Could have used some work. We're given three different perspectives; Zel, and the royal siblings Amari and Inan. Each of the different characters were suitably well done, enough to know why they were doing what they were doing, and you had a pretty good idea on where they were heading. I liked all these characters, with each undergoing a decent amount of character growth during their journeys.

And with that, I guess now we come to the stuff I didn't like. Romance. Why, why, why does YA always need to have romance shoehorned in? I know people bond in highly stressful situations, and if you spend weeks on end with the other sex things can happen, but there were just points in the book were characters did total one-eighties and were suddenly friends++. I don't mind it when it's done well (romance, that is), but this just felt...mmm, unnecessary. Also. Kids make stupid decisions. It bugs me. Seriously so many times, things could have been averted if they had just thought a bit more, moved a bit faster as their situation demanded. There was one moment at the end where the protag just made the worst decision. I understand why she did it. Chances are I would have done the same. What I don't understand is why everyone else let her do it! Ugh.

I'm getting a little bit ranty there. I should stop. Final thoughts: I did quite enjoy this book, however a few large parts of it did take away some of my enjoyment and left me a bit frustrated. I could reliably pick what was going next due to the simplicity of the plot, although I did misjudge how the finale would take place. Would I recommend this book? Yes, but with a few caveats.

I thought this book was well written, but it was so long. Then the magic stuff was just too much for me. I generally love magic, but I don’t know! It also felt like a blend of other fantasy books. The setting was awesome, though. I’m pretty sure most people will love it.

This book drew me in immediately. The mythology was so rich and there was so much world-building and character development. It was impossible to put down.

4.5 stars

This was a fast-paced, action-packed book - that I could not put down. Although this was a pretty big book - it was easy to devour - because the world building was fabulous, and so much was happening in this story! This book was super dense - not just in size, but because of how much is packed into its pages - which, when the story is this good, is exactly what you want!

The world building was really well done - but there is a lot of detail to know and understand.

The characters were interesting - in that they were super complex - you would feel one way about one character, and then learn something new about them, and totally re-evaluate your perception of them. I feel like some of the characters were really well developed, but other (secondary) characters did feel a bit rushed (e.g. Kaea, Kwami, Zu) which left me hungry for more.

Overall, I was so impressed with how Adeyimi wove such a gorgeous story, with such a fantastical world - and managed to root the whole story into some powerful real world concepts, like oppression, race, prejudice, and the nuances of politics and war.

I really loved this book - and I’m looking forward to the next one!

This. Book. Is. Amazing.

The writing is amazing. The characters are amazing. The setting is just, so... amazing. There is very little I have to complain about with this book, and I read an uncorrected proof. It's not really a fault, but I'm not really sure how to pronounce most of the names in this book.

This book was everything I was looking for. It is so diverse, so magical but also harsh sometimes. I've loved the setting and Zelie is such a powerful and resiliant character. I cannot even describe my feelings while reading this book but I am so grateful I got to discover it.

This book reminds me of a cross between the Monstress graphic novels and ATLA in YA form. It was well written, deeply thought out, vivid, and entertaining. There was a heavy chunk of romance about 75% of the way through and the ending frustrated me a LOT but I still loved it.

How to even begin reviewing this incredible book? CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE wasn’t just gorgeous…. It was GLORIOUS. The immersive world is so full and vibrant, and the characters’ internal and external conflicts were explored with so deeply and realistically. I loved how thick it was and the large range of emotions it brought me: fear, anger, hatred, love, and justice. Y’all better pick this up for one for the most divine YA fantasy.

The book follows the legends and gods of Orïsha, a land that used to be scattered with different maji who could control the elements based on their god. But with this power came violence and rebellion, and eventually a small group of maji took their powers to try to reign over the people without magic. This led to the people without magical potential, or kosidán, to start their own hunt to get rid of maji. Eleven years ago, the maji lost their powers and could not defend themselves, leading to a huge massacre known as the Raid that left the maji dead and their children lost. CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE follows the first person POV of several characters: Zélie, a divîner with the potential to become a maji if only the gods gave back magic; Inan, a conflicted prince who grew up listening and learning his father’s prejudice against the magi; Amari, the princess that tries to help the divîners re-discover their hidden powers. The world is written so well, and there are numerous settings that make for an incredible journey for these characters. They travel through the tangled jungles, dry deserts, expansive seas, and tall mountains of Orïsha. Adeyemi also writes in beautiful Yoruba chants of the maji, creating a wholly immersive world that readers want to stay in.

Zélie

“Sky Mother chose me. Used me. Took me away from everything I loved. She can’t abandon me like this.
She can’t throw me away with nothing but scars.”

My heart goes out for Zélie, who has gone through so much. She saw her mother getting killed and her father abused during the Raid as a small child. She also has the potential to become a Reaper, a maji with the power to control life and death. (SO COOL) My favorite part of Zélie was her conflicting emotions of hope and despair. She’s just so... REAL, considering what she has gone through. Some events make her feel resilient and ready to battle against the tyranny of the king, while others give her a sense of defeat and failure. These emotions are written so raw and real, she practically came out of the pages. Despite her powers, she has weaknesses and is not afraid to show it - especially in terms of her capricious and reckless nature.

I loved seeing her sibling relationship with Tzain, her brother. I’m surprised he didn’t get a POV in this book but would really like to see one. He’s the older brother who’s used to cleaning up Zélie’s messes. But their love and bond for each other are strong and fierce. She has a developing friendship with Amari despite her initial distrust of the noble girl, and even a hate-to-love romance with the crown prince Inan even though he’s out for her blood. Things change when his big secret is revealed, though.

Inan

“That is the type of kingdom I want to lead.
A land in which a prince and a maji could coexist. A land where even Zélie and I could be a ‘we.’ That is my true duty. It is for that cause that I must fight.”

Inan is also a character full of doubts and hidden weaknesses. Raised by his vengeful father, Inan hates all things maji. But what happens… when he discovers that he HIMSELF has powers? This is a scary moment for Inan as he treats his magic like a curse and virus. But his interactions with other divîners bring a gray side to his originally black-and-white world. He’s constantly caught between the duty of his crown and the interests of his heart. Within these interests of heart also encompasses his burgeoning romance with Zélie, who he originally seeks out to capture and kill. This hate-to-love romance also comes with a forbidden aspect, as he is nobility in contrast to Zélie’s fugitive status, as well as a slow-burn as both characters learn more about the other and their own sufferings. Let’s just say Inan’s character was… a wild card. He’s volatile and aims to please his father, but also wants to create a better Orïsha. He just doesn’t know how, especially after finding out about his own magical abilities.

Amari

“No.
No more. I have lived that life before and lost my dearest friend because of it. Now that I’ve escaped, I shall never return. With my escape, I must do more.”

Amari is sweet and meek in contrast to her take-action brother, Inan. But throughout the story and her own self-made adventure, she starts seeing her own strength and the difference she can make. I loved her character arc so much and the way she goes from privileged and sheltered princess (even as there was no love in her life) to someone fights for what she believes in and is surrounded by people who care about her and love her for the way she is. She has a delicate relationship with her brother, as they were raised in a cold family. There is also a very small romance - again slow burn - with Tzain, who has a big heart and unwavering loyalty.

Adeyemi writes the world of maji so well and so beautifully. Her exploration of the power of magic and fear of safety is so touching and raw, especially when she manages for readers to see through the thoughts of both sides of the conflict. The discrimination against the divîners are gutting to read sometimes, but also so necessary. Despite the failures, the drawbacks, and the obstacles, our characters stay strong and true. There’s a cliffhanger ending (a killer one at that) that continues the continuous action of the book and IT JUST MAKES ME WANT THE SEQUEL SO MUCH. TAKE ME. Fantasy readers CANNOT miss the Legacy of the Orïsha series. ALSO, I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE MOVIE TO DEVELOP. MY EYES ARE ON YOU!

Content Warning: torture, self harm, abuse, explicit violence, mild sexual content, gore

Even though this was a sampler, this is one of the best stories that I've read all year. Rich in detail, heart, and action, CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE will definitely be a story that will latch readers from the very beginning and won't let go even after it ends.

I loved it! I'll definitely buy this book as a paperback! The magic, the fighting scenes even from the start and the freaking lioness riding made me want to read more!

-------------------------------

This is one of the books which has been quite the hype ever since its cover reveal and the movie deal. I had the chance to read this at the end of 2017 and, honestly, this book was a fantasy that reminded me why I love the genre.

There's adventure, humor, angst, romance and tragedy all wrapped up in a nice gift of emotions! Zélie, her brother and their people live in an African-inspired fantasy world, where magic has disappeared and their people, while considered to be quite powerful in magic in the past, now are treated as animals by their conquerors.

When Zélie saves Amaris, the runaway princess who has stolen a powerful secret from her father, a manhunt will begin with her older brother in tow. Apart from the plot, I have to point out that the world-building, the language, the scenery and the character development made me remember of Sarh J. Maas. NO, I am not comparing the authors' styles but as a debut novel, I want to point out how amazing Tomi's style is!

The book is big, yet you can easily lose yourself in reading it! Even towards the last page, you are horribly aware that something terrible will happen and then the book will end! Which happened! This book had one of those cliffhangers that will make you remember them for the rest of the year as you'll wait for the sequel! (this is how I feel after a Jay Kristoff book!)

If you love a well-written fantasy with a touch of the mysterious and divine then this book is for you!

By the time I hit the halfway mark I was already dreading the end. This world was so well created that I didn't want to leave it. Adeyemi's use of the 3 character POV was so smooth, it never interrupted the story's flow. I could probably rave about this book for hours. I loved it all, the characters, the world, the writing style. I was immediately enraptured with the Adeyemi's creation and I can't wait to get my hands on the next instalment.

Isn't it so satisfying to find a book that looks fabulous, seems interesting, and actually IS insanely good?

It's one of the best feelings in the world.

I will admit that I went into CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE with high expectations. How could I not have? It's been hyped quite strongly, the synopsis sounds like a challenge, and high fantasy is my favorite genre and the one I judge the harshest. There are a lot of good fantasies out there, so CoBaB (I just looove how that acronyms) had expectations to live up to, and a reader to satisfy.

I must say, I enjoyed this immensely.

One of the aspects that stand out is the super-detailed world-building. I'm not sure if the final edition will have a map, but the settings were described so fluently, so effortlessly (and without any info-dumps, may I add. *cough*TomiAdeyemiIsAMasterWriter*cough*) that a map was simply not necessary. I could truly see all the places that the characters were going, and it's extremely rare that I find this feasible without a printed map to guide me. In short? I'm impressed. Much-ly.

Zelie, Amari, and Tzain made a delightful trio. I love fabulous squad dynamics, okay? I love 'em. Zelie is the 'main' main character, the one who starts us off, and I liked her POV, I did. Amari is the 'rogue princess', a softie who can wield a sword, defy her father, and still be soft-spoken and kind. Amari was my absolute favorite in this, honestly. And the last narrator is Inan, Amari's brother, who embodies the whole 'nature-vs-nurture' conflict, and all that entails. He and Zelie had a Nina/Matthias-style relationship, and that's all I'll say about that.


The pacing was marvelous, marvelous, marvelous. Tightly-packed, fast-paced, one action sequence after another after another. I love this. Yes, characters had ample time to be developed, and scenes were lushly described, and yet this never happened at the expense of the pacing. This is undoubetly the trickiest part of any book, and the fact that it was handled this professionally, and in a debut (!!) at that, is fascinating. We start off with adrenaline pumping and end the same way, making a 500-ish page beast of a book go much faster.

So why the missing star? This may be a case of me being overly nit-picky (I warned you about me and high fantasy!), but because three characters all narrated in 1st person, I found the three voices a bit too similar to each other. There were times were I really need to flip back to the opening chapter page and double-check the name at the top. Again: I may be nit-picky, and this may never be an issue for you, but I pay really close attention to characters, and I couldn't help but notice.

But all in all? Guys, this was a monster of a book. I devoured this and am still wanting more (that cliffhanger! *shakes fist*). I love this, I do, and you bet I'll be buying myself a finished copy when this releases in March.

Thank you, Henry Holt, for the ARC!

This sampler couldn't have been more amazing. I can't wait to read the whole book in March.

This. Book. Has. It. ALL!
I want to gush forever, but I simply think you need to experience it for yourself.
Suffice it to say, you will be yearning for the sequel!

PHEW, okay, that was a journey. A really long journey. I was very excited to get the full ARC after reading the six-chapter sampler which I adored, but I think, ultimately, this series isn't for me. It reminds me of other popular YA series that I tried and couldn't get through - Young Elites, An Ember in the Ashes - in that it feels like a blockbuster hero journey with characters and themes laid out for the reader. If you're into that, you'll probably like this. There's definitely a place for it in YA lit.

It's fine. Tropey but executed fine. The characters are competent and consistent 90% of the time. I love how Zelie's fierceness is written. I love the direction of Amari's arc. I love the worldbuilding surrounding the gods. But I was waiting for more nuance. There's a lot of great stuff and strong, memorable moments - but much of the story is an action-packed journey, and there's no space for the story to breathe and reflect. There's no chance for the reader to figure things out. Emotions and themes are spelled out, and they whip back and forth suddenly; and I get it - there's so much conflict going on in every single of one of the characters - but the writing doesn't always convince me, especially in the most important moments. The pacing stunts moments of emotional growth, and some of the tropes never rises above being tropes.

I'm iffy about the oppression of the diviners/maji somewhat being due to the fact that they hold destructive powers that other people fear. There's baseless oppression - the idea that diviners are not even human, never seen or discussed like humans, exploiting them for economic gain, the excuses used to mistreat them that don't make sense but don't have to - that part is done well. Racism doesn't have sensible reason, and it's rooted in capitalism. But there's also conflict over whether the way maji are treated is "necessary" for the safety of others, which contradicts that. If the story wants to present that kind of conflict, that's fine, but I don't think it was handled with enough depth. Later books might explore this more, so I'll give some benefit of the doubt on that.

My criticisms might just be because it's a really long journey happening in present tense. I think I'd be more forgiving if it was shorter, but it's a long story with plenty of pages given to action - it should have taken some pages to breathe; whirlwinds of sideplots are left in the dust. It's certainly a Type of YA fantasy series as well, a type I've never historically liked, but may be more palatable to someone new to the genre; I liked it better than any of the ones I've tried before, and I'm glad it's tackling important topics head on.

I. Love. This. Book! I was so excited to receive an ARC for this book! This was definitely one of those stories where I was pleasantly surprised by how long the book was, but found myself dragging out my reading because I did not want it to end!

Children of Blood and Bone is a beautiful, engaging West African fantasy about magic and power in the kingdom of Orisha. In Zelie Adebola's world, magic has disappeared and all maji (magic-users) have been killed, save for the very young who had not awakened their magic yet at the time of this genocide. Zelie has grown up with the knowledge that though she is maji, she will never know her magic as her mother before her did.

"One day magic breathed. the next, it died." Only the gods know why."

Not only are maji no longer able to use magic, they are the most ostracized group of people in all Orisha. Looked down upon by the powerful and ruthless King of Orisha, maji are subjugated into fixed roles within Orisha society. They are the poor, the homeless, and the enslaved. And then one day something happens that could change the fates of all maji and Zelie must make the choice to step into a powerful role for her people. This event initiates a journey for Zelie and her magic, she must set out to discover how to bring magic back and defeat the king. Along the way she wrestles with her own magic and self-discovery, questioning herself and the gods, but ultimately growing into her role and empowering all around her.

"Gods are nothing without fools to believe in them."

I cannot gush enough about this book! It met and surpassed all of my expectations. The journey that Zelie and each main character go through is handled beautifully and realistically. I love that Adeyemi presents her characters with flaws and weaknesses and they are all still lovable, despite those flaws and weaknesses. I loved seeing how each character grew into their own as the story progressed. Not only within the realm of the magical, but also emotionally and socially. Often I feel like many young adult novels rush through a character's growth to make room for the rest of the story, and I did not feel that way with this novel at all. Children of Blood and Bone felt fleshed out in every way for me. It is a heartbreaking, beautiful, shocking story full of vengeance and hope, belief and disbelief, love and hate. It encompasses all of this while also introducing the reader to a fantastical new world and the use of magic in this world. Here's hoping there's a sequel!

"We are all children of blood and bone. All instruments of vengeance and virtue."

We NEED more books like this! Books with beautiful, diverse, flawed but growing women, women who are empowering themselves and standing up through their fear. We need more books that embrace other mythologies and cultures in the fantasy world, especially for youth.

Alright, I'll stop myself there before I continue gushing. Read this book as soon as possible!