Thank you to YALLFest and Henry Holt Books for Young Readers for making this book available to me.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir.

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

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and 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 the enemy.

I understand why Tomi Adeyemi received the biggest advance for a YA debut novel ever. I understand why the movie rights for this books sold almost as fast as the book did. I understand why every YA author in the community is praising this book. I understand why this book has a giant billboard in Hollywood. This book is EVERYTHING.

I was so worried about starting this. I thought there would be no way it would live up to the hype, and now I’m mad it took me so long to start it. Seriously, this book is everything. Say goodbye to the antiquated fantasy novels we have been seeing lately, and welcome the bright sunrise of African mythological fantasies.

YA fantasy has been following the same pattern for quite a while now. You couldn’t pick up a YA fantasy novel without figuring out exactly what would happen. The characters were just slightly different versions of the same person.

Children of Blood and Bone is so unique and amazing. I can’t believe we have been blessed with this book. The characters were incredible. I loved all of them. Zélie is so freaking amazing I CAN’T. She’s so unbelievably flawed and perfect at the same time. She is trusting and cares about the people she loves, but she is also so brutal and fierce because of all the pain she had to endure. I absolutely loved her story. Her brother was also amazing. Sometimes I wanted to shout at him, but most of the time I wanted to protect this precious cinnamon roll. Amari is probably my favorite character (#BisexualAF). I have a soft spot for royals and bisexual princesses okay, let me live. SPeaking of royals, Inan….. Oh man….. Do I have a weak spot for princes who want to be in the army. Oh lord. As soon as he was like Captain of the Guard and prince, I was like SIGN ME THE FUCK UP. Zélie could do better though, just saying.

The plot was so amazing. I can’t believe how many places we went. Like I thought we would go on a journey and then that’d be it, but NAH FAM. We go to so many different places. We see the world because of how much they travel. And it’s really amazing.

I can’t wait to learn more and more about the magic and land of this world, and basically WHERE IS BOOK 2?

But for real with that ending Tomi?!?! Are you trying to kill me?

It was seriously amazing, so go buy it!

Halfway through reading this title, I went on and pre-ordered the book for my library. It is absolutely captivating and, I think, a timely book for my students who recently viewed the Black Panther movie. Similar in feel to Akata Witch, I feel like this book gives prominence to an African mystique that my students will appreciate.

Disclosure: Partial Review

I got to read the first six chapters of what will probably be the most talked about YA Fantasy of 2018, and, damn, it’s good.

I’ve been fangirling over this book for a couple of months now, and the moment that cover was released I practically salivated, because just look at that cover. Just look at it.

And after having read the first six chapters, I’m even more intrigued. I like all three of the POV I’ve read so far (not sure if there’ll be more), and I’m already impressed with both female leading characters.

It took me a few pages to get behind impulsive Zélie, but once I got a better sense of who she was and what she’s lost, then I was all in. And, yes, please, gimme more of non-white leading female characters who aren’t just written as this “perfect” person because apparently some people think you can’t be a woman of color and have a personality and flaws.
4.5 “Bring Back Magic” Stars

ARC via NetGalley!

Thank you, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers!

Edit: Full Review Now!

First thing I’ll say, it’s been MONTHS and I’m still obsessed with that cover. Obsessed. That is all.

Now, I’m keeping most of my original review from the excerpt, but also adding more thoughts on the rest of the book, because (a) can you believe I was lucky enough to get a partial ARC (first six chapters) and then the full ARC? I still can’t; and (b) I stand by my thoughts at the time and tons of people had already liked the review, so it’s only fair.

If you’ve been keeping an eye on the YA book world, then you know Children of Blood and Bone will be the next big thing in YA. Tomi Adeyemi’s debut was one of the most talked about stories when it sold (for a LOT of money!!!) last year, and the publisher has been promoting it non-stop since then. Guess what? It’s about damn time the publishing world starts investing in stories like this. After all, when was the last time you had a chance to read an #ownvoices West African-inspired YA Fantasy with black characters???

I truly hope Children of Blood and Bone’s inevitable and well-deserved success is the start of another time in publishing. A time when diverse voices are heard and paid just as much as white-focused narratives. We’re real people and we deserve attention! It’s time you realize that, publishing world!

*Rant over*

So, yeah, I’d been fangirling over this book for a long time, and I was honored to get the chance to read it before its official release.

After having read the first six chapters, I was even more intrigued and impressed with both female leading characters. Those feelings stuck around for the rest of the book.

It took me a few pages to get behind impulsive Zélie, but once I got a better sense of who she was and what she’d lost, then I was in. And, yes, please, gimme more of non-white leading female characters who aren’t just written as this “perfect” person because apparently some people think you can’t be a woman of color and have personality and flaws.

Zél had tons of flaws, but she was a warrior. A freaking warrior who fought with magic and her staff and her heart. So much heart. I have to say Zél’s overall development was a bit slow and I felt she didn’t get to the place I wanted her to by the end of this book, but this is just the first title in the trilogy, so I’m willing to oversee that, especially because she did grow, even if it wasn’t as much as I would’ve liked.

Now, there was something about Amari that just spoke to me from the moment I met her. I could say it was her worry about Binta, or even the way she seemed to be able to see past her father’s hatred and her mother’s prejudice, but I know it was before that. Amari had me with that little bit of sass that I got from her line about her Mother’s ability to hiss so many critiques in one minute.

It was something small, but I loved it. And then, OMG, Amari!!! She was by far the one who had the most fulfilling arc as far as personal growth is concerned. I loved how she went from insecure, but brave princess to “I’m about to be your Queen so you better respect me”.

After the excerpt, I was sooo excited with the promise of a friendship between Zél and Amari. I got some of that from the rest of the story, but not as much as I wanted. There was a super special scene toward the end that gave me all the feels, so I’m hoping for more Zél+Amari time in the next books.

Okay, so now we get to third POV (yes, the story is told from Zél, Amari and Inan’s POV)… Inan is Amari’s brother and the future King of Orïsha. He’s a guy raised to put duty before himself, the kingdom before his wants and dreams, and he was also the character that took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride. For most of the book, I was rooting for him. I wanted him to understand how his upbringing damaged him and his people; and I was dying for him to free himself from his desire to please his father, because boy, OH, boy that never goes anywhere good--especially when his father was a freaking monster. But, after a while, Inan’s arc felt redundant. He kept going from “I understand” to “Oh, but maybe magic is really, really bad” to “I think I understand now” to….You got the drill. So I ended up rolling my eyes hard at him, and going from liking him to wanting him dead.

My feelings for Inan also represent my feelings for the romance subplot. I mean, the minor subplot because this book is about lots of other things, so the romance plays a small part. By the end of the excerpt, I was super, super, super excited because chapter five and six gave me major hints on what was sure to be a hate-to-love romance, AND OMG THAT IS MY FAVORITE ROMANCE TROPE. When Zél's spirit clawed onto Inan's spirit (you’ll understand when you read it), I was confused but ecstatic because I saw a ship ready to sail.

And while the ship sailed for most of the book, I felt like Tomi Adeyemi pulled an ACOTAR/ACOMAF on me. I wasn’t unhappy about it, but I also wasn’t happy, because I wish she had at least waited until the next book to bring that on. Having said that, I yelled Rhysand when a second love interest for Zélie showed up, and I'll never be mad when a character reminds me of Rhysand. Not ever!

Having said that, I can’t exactly complain because the romance was never meant to be the focus of this story. Not at all. This is an action-focused tale that draws parallels with the real world and the constant fight against racism. It's about prejudice, about POC's constant fight to be treated and seen as equals or at least have enough power to fight against those who want them gone. And it’s brutal at times. So be warned: there’s violence, there’s death and there’s blood. There’s also no time to be bored, because everything happens and it happens fast.

Another great aspect of this story is the world Tomi Adeyemi created. It felt fresh and unique. Orïsha is a rich land and the characters explored a lot of it in this book, so readers get to travel and explore its richness alongside Zél, Amari and Inan.

As to the author’s writing, I found the style simple, but with a poetic tone to it. My main worry, though, was that the POV’s were identical. Writing first person multi-POV is hard, but the voices were the same. I expected at least Inan’s voice to be a bit different, since he was a boy, but nope. So there was that.

That aside, I think Tomi Adeyemi did a great job with her debut, and now that I’ve read it, I can understand all the hype associated with Children of Blood and Bone. I have no doubt this book will be as huge as everyone expects it to be, and the fact that it ended with a great cliffhanger will only help keep readers eager for the sequel.

Now, all I have to say is: GIMME MORE OWNVOICES EPIC YA FANTASY BOOKS, AND DO IT NOW!

If you’ve somehow made it this far in 2018 without hearing about Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, I have one question for you: How? If you haven’t seen the video of Adeyemi holding the first copy of her book (and seriously, her excitement is too sweet and pure), then surely at some point you have heard the early reviews praising this book as the best book of 2018. And let me just say—wow. Considering that it is only March, that’s quite a lot for this book to live up to.
In Children of Blood and Bone, Zélie Adebola is left to grow up in a world without magic, which is a tragedy because she remembers what it was like before. She remembers when there was magic was throughout the Orïsha. She remembers her mother. She remembers when the king destroyed both magic and her mother, changing her world forever. She remembers—and she will get her revenge.
Amari is the princess of Orïsha, raised to be the king’s regal, proper daughter. There are countless rules Amari must follow, regarding actions, words, and appearances. But when tragedy hits close to home, Amari must decide if she will continue to cower in the corner or rise to the occasion.
Inan is the captain—and prince. He’s faithfully followed his father’s orders without question, despite whatever consequences follow. As Orïsha is faced with the possibility of magic returning, Inan works to follow his father’s commands—or will his heart lead him elsewhere?
I was intrigued from the moment I heard about this book, and when I was granted an early copy my excitement was audible—which may be the understatement of the year. I could not wait to dive into this book to see if it lied up to the hype.
From the beginning I was hooked. Adeyemi creates a fantastic world, rich with history and magic. Her writing is lyrical and poetic—and just plain beautiful. She’s at her best when setting up the world and the physical such as when early in the story Amari comments on the fellow nobility: They were their secrets like glittering diamonds, embroidery woven through their lavish iro tops and long buba skirts. Their lies and lily-scented perfumes taint the honeyed aroma of sweet cakes I am no longer allowed to eat.
Then there are the characters. I applaud Adeyemi for creating and presenting us with characters that are complex. Even in a work that is told through multiple points of view, it was difficult to really guess what they would do. At times, however, I felt the characters would flip-flop on their decisions too frequently and too quickly.
My major issue stems from the pacing. I jumped into the book, ready and excited for everything that was to come. I slowed down for the middle, feeling like I wasn’t making any progress plot-wise. Then suddenly the last quarter of the book began and everything happened. As the first book in the series, there is understandably a lot to build up, but overall I felt the middle lacked the impact of the beginning and the ending.
All in all, Children of Blood and Bone was a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be looking forward to further books exploring Orïsha. I can already tell there’s a lot to cover and much more to be revealed.

Reminiscent of the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard, but with the roles of nobles/peasants reversed in who has the special powers. There are a lot of twists in this book, and sometimes, as much as you're hoping things work out for the main characters, you can't help but want to shake them because of their poor choices.

Wow. Just, wow. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi is a fantatastic piece of fiction. I was drawn into the narrative with the first words that my eyes took in; the story is instantly engaging and poetically written. The story unfolds at a masterful pace, Adeyemi brings the reader into the world of Orïsha both all at once and slowly, satisfying an unknown craving for more lore while dropping breadcrumbs along the way for more. I can see this book and subsequent series being adapted for film and being as impactful for this generation as Harry Potter was for mine.

Orïsha is a kingdom without magic, but it wasn't always that way. Before the Raid eleven years prior there were 10 clans that were gifted by the gods, each specializing in a different type of magic. But hatred, fear, and vengeance led King Saran to cleanse Orïsha of maji and eliminate magic. But it seems that the gods have something else in mind, and a small group led by Zélie Adebola has the chance to bring magic back.

This book delves into the act of growing up and reconciling what one has been taught growing up with how they perceive the world. Faith and in believing in yourself. Power. How power corrupts. Important themes for YA (and arguably for everyone since as an adult these themes still resonate with me).

Children of Blood and Bone is a breakout start for a series that I cannot wait to devour with fervor. With excellent pacing throughout the entire book, lovable characters with immense depth, and writing that is so poetic it is tough to put down, I cannot recommend this book enough.

OH MY LANTA! This book was the best read I have had this year. We do not deserve all of it's amazing. I was blessed enough to meet Tomi at yallfest, she is so beautiful and eloquent in person. Due to that I knew I had to get my hands on this. Shout out to Netgalley for making it possible.

This book had so much EMPOWERMENT. We self, women, culture, and so much more as far as empowerment. It was beautiful and rich to see the strength Tomi put into this book.

It follows the POV of three characters Zèlie, Princess Amari and her brother Prince Inan. Through them we see the entire story from every point of view. What do I mean by this? Prince Inan is our antagonist, it is not very often we get to see that side of the story. I am also in love with him. No one can tell me it is wrong! Amari has one of the best character arcs I have ever read in a book. She grows from a broken girl into a strong proud woman. Seeing it happen is so rewarding. Zèlie so many perfectly imperfect things about her. She carries a wait of so many things on her shoulder from the start of this book. She is a little crass and insubordinate with the government because they do not deserve her respect. From the start, she knew her people deserved more than the pain and suffering they received. She was strong, she ever gave up but she was not always sure she could win BUT be damned if she wouldn't try. That was one of the best most human things about her. Her brother Tzain is also on this journey with them. He was an amazing character to follow as well and his arc connects the story in so many ways.

While this book is set in a fictional land it has so many undertones of things happening our world today. My booktube partner said it better than I could see passage below.

"Even though the book is supposed to be written in a different world than ours, it is clear to see some of our current situation reflected in this book. Even though every character in this book is black, there's a lot of racism against the maji, which are noticeably distinguished by their white hair. The maji are treated like the worst of society, they are made into slaves, captured and tortured all because one day their magic might become powerful enough to eradicate the kingdom. There's also a serious correlation with the BLM movement, which I don't know if the author did that on purpose or not, but after I read this quote, BLM immediately came to mind, (Not Spoiler, I promise),

"Your people, your guards--they're nothing more than killers, rapists, and thieves. The only difference between them and criminals is the uniforms they wear." "

You can read her full review here - https://deniareads.wordpress.com/2018/03/04/non-spoiler-book-review-children-of-blood-and-bone-by-tomi-adeyemi/

I feel like this book also applies to the way our government is being run on late the same way it corresponds with what Denia wrote.

This is a BIG first book 448 pages of big. Denia and I called it a bible due to size. I usually am of the mind your debut first book of a series should be shorter SO NOT THE CASE THIS TIME. I would have been happy with 448 more pages. The wait for the next book is going to hurt! I recommend this book to every breathing human in the world. Best read of this year.

I have so many feelings it's hard to decide where to begin, but I'll say this first: Children of Blood and Bone is the epic fantasy novel I've been craving for years.

I read and enjoy many genres, including many subgenres of fantasy, but epic fantasy is what I always come back to in the end. I love the sheer scale of it--the breathtaking worlds, the larger than life characters, the heroic quests that send ordinary people on a life-changing journey to meet their destiny. And from the very first chapters, I knew this book would deliver on all of it.

The strongest thing about Children of Blood and Bone, for me, was the characters. I instantly fell in love with them--from the very first pages, sometimes right at the moment of meeting them. They are all different from each other, with distinctive voices and a wide variety of strengths, flaws, and challenges. But what I loved the most about them wasn't simply that they were wonderful, relatable, poignant characters--it was the fact that, from the beginning, I could see the arc of their growth. And I immediately knew--these weren't just people acting out a story and growing a bit through it. Adeyemi was setting them up, from the very start, to be completely transformed, and in doing so, to irrevocably change everyone and everything around them, too.

I just got chills writing that and thinking about it again, and I don't think my words can do justice to the astounding work Adeyemi does with her characters. She weaves together each character's strengths and weaknesses, demons and fears, greatest hopes and deepest desires, and she ties all of that into the world--the magic they can or can't wield, the world's history and legends, the gods and fantastic creatures and sacred artifacts and everything else in between. Not a single detail is irrelevant--nothing is left to chance. The build up is slow at first, then accelerates, and by the end of the book, the payoff for each of them is everything I'd hoped for and more. One of my favorite things about epic fantasy--characters fulfilling this destiny--is done so artfully in this book I'm very close to calling it perfect.

The payoff doesn't wait until the end, either. There are little amazing moments peppered throughout the book, from the very first chapters, where things that have been set up are brought to fruition. Each of these tiny epic moments made me scream a little with delight--or horror, or surprise, or fear. And when one of these characters reaches the end of their journey in the final chapters, I screamed more than a little--fist-pumping may have been involved.

This is not to say that the characters' journeys are linear or predictable. Far from it. Adeyemi takes them--and the reader, along with them--through hell and back on a bumpy road whose twists and turns left me breathless and disoriented multiple times. Not even the twists that I did see coming failed to send chills through me as I saw them unfold on the page. Every setback felt necessary, every victory earned.

Adeyemi also doesn't shy away from exploring dark but all too real themes. Juxtaposed with the wonder and epic scale of the fantasy world, the book holds up a mirror to the heart-wrenching cruelty of our own. Among other things, Children of Blood and Bone speaks directly to racism, police brutality, and systemic oppression. And as someone who believes in a higher power, I resonated strongly with the parts of the book that deal with faith and its meaning in the face of injustice and senseless suffering.

Another all too real, and deeply moving aspect of the book is the way it handles issues of morality. While the setting is one where gods touch the world and magic is real, there is never an easy answer to questions of right and wrong. Without falling into the relativistic extreme of a "both sides" fallacy, Adeyemi does a masterful job of showing us the fragments of truth hidden even in the antagonist's worldview, and making us empathize with him without ever romanticizing or excusing his actions.

As far as the "good guys" are concerned, I've rarely read a book that strikes such a powerful balance between pure characters serving an unequivocally good cause (see: Lord of the Rings), and morally gray characters in a story where there is no such thing as a good cause (see: A Song of Ice and Fire). In Children of Blood and Bone, I never had a doubt that the heroes were doing the right thing, to the very best of their ability. But as the story progressed, it also became painfully clear that even the right thing could lead to devastating consequences, and that the best of their ability might simply not be enough in the face of the complexity of the real world--and humanity's potential for both boundless good and unspeakable evil.

The one weaker aspect of the novel, in my view, was the overarching plot, especially in the first half of the book. I found it at times confusing (like when they find out what's going on and what they're supposed to do--even after reading the entire book, I'm not sure I fully understand) and at times contrived. The latter may simply be a matter of taste, as it's not surprising the plot felt forced when the reluctant heroes were pushed to embark on their journey by external circumstances. I recognize that this is a very common trope, and almost a staple of the genre, but in a book so adept at refreshing conventions and taking them to new places, I found this one aspect a little disappointing.

The succession of events that sets the heroes on their path and directs them to the next steps of their journey are all, quite literally, instances of Deus Ex Machina. The gods themselves take a hand in the plot, forcing the characters into action and sometimes quite pointedly telling them what they need to do. It seemed at times as if the overarching quest was more of a convenient plot device than an organic part of the story--a less-polished vehicle whose sole purpose was to contain the beautifully woven themes and epic character arcs that shine through the book.

Most of these issues, however, disappeared in the second half of the story as the characters gained more agency and started driving the plot instead of being driven by it. And as I kept reading, the book quickly became unputdownable. At the end, I cried--and I left the world of Orïsha with a dull ache inside me, craving more.

This was such a refreshing book that was so different than most of the YA fantasy that dominates the best seller lists. Not only are all of the characters POC, but the magic is different and interesting and the world-building was really well done. My only real issues is that it felt a little long and for the first few chapters of the book I thought Zelie was actually much younger than she was (she struck me as 12-13, not as a late teen). Some of the internal dialog of the different povs sometimes felt a little too repetitive, but otherwise it's a very engaging and unique story.

I read a lot of YA. I read a lot of fantasy. It has been a long time since something has captivated me as much as Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone. I had a lot of expectations going into this book, and usually that means I’m silently pleading to not be let down, but this time it lived up to my hype. A thrilling adventure with a group of compelling protagonists, this book left me spellbound and desperate for more.

Children of Blood and Bone is the first in a series of West African-inspired fantasy novels set in the fictional world of Orïsha. Orïsha used to be a land of magic, but then one night the magic disappeared. The king sent out his army to slaughter all of the maji in a blood-soaked night known as “the Raid”, and the survivors were left to pick up the pieces without any hope for the future. Zélie Adebola saw her mother die that night, and ever since then, she and her family have had to eke out a meager existence, trying not to draw the ire of the royal guards and struggling to pay the increasingly harsh taxes levied on all maji children. But a chance encounter with the princess Amara sends the two of them – along with their brothers (Zélie’s brother Tzain and Amara’s brother Inan) – on a quest to bring magic back to Orïsha.

I absolutely devoured this book. It’s almost 450 pages and I think I read it in two days. I couldn’t put it down. It’s fantastic. Orïsha is such a finely-crafted world, totally visible in my mind’s eye. Adeyemi is truly a master of words; her writing is poetic without being overly flowery and is just a delight to read. The four main characters (three POV characters) are well-written, flawed individuals. Their relationships are complex and diverse, exploring friendship, family, and romantic feelings. Their adventure is engaging and will keep you on the edge of your seat with its constant ups and downs. (And the cliffhanger at the end will probably make you shout, “NO!” the same way that I did.) There is a lot to love about Children of Blood and Bone.

It’s an excellent look at racism and classism. Diviners (maji without magic) are quite often sold into slavery, but even those who escape that fate lead miserable, fear-filled lives. They are easily recognizable by their white hair, and though there are some who dye theirs, it never truly can be hidden. Underneath the main story of bringing back magic is the discussion of whether or not magic should be brought back at all. We as readers see both sides of the issue, but I hope in future books we will learn more about the Orïsha that existed before the Raid. The information we learn comes from unreliable narrators, so I don’t believe we truly know what happened to cause it. I’m fascinated to discover what’s truth and what isn’t, and whether or not that will change my opinion of the characters and their quest.

It’s not perfect. At times, the pacing can be an issue, with the story either moving too quickly or too slowly. One of the POV characters gave me whiplash at how fast (and often) he changed his mind. Even with the limited perspective in narration, sometimes I felt like we weren’t getting the whole picture. I’m sure some of that is intentional, so that we don’t know the whole plot before it’s happened, but at times it can be frustrating, because you just don’t know where certain characters stand.

For the most part, though, Children of Blood and Bone is a breathless, action-packed adventure. It takes an underutilized topic — West African mythology — and evolves around it, creating a new world that is engaging and dangerous. It is not for the faint of heart. It may make you question your ideologies; you hear both sides of the story, and you find yourself wondering who exactly was in the wrong in that situation. Or, perhaps, were they both wrong?

An amazing fast paced fantasy that will have you begging for more. The rich magic and spectacular world will have you at loss for words. A group of flawed and fascinating individuals that will capture your heart with ease. This is definitely a book everyone needs to read.

A group of badass rebels fight a dangerously prejudiced tyrant to return magic to the land. I don't know about you, but this fantasy novel is exactly what I needed in today's political landscape. There's a lot to unpack in this book about race, ability, genocide, power politics, and fear of the unfamiliar.

Tomi Adeyemi is a masterful world builder. This book is so thorough, with a range of memorable characters and magical locations the reader can envision from her descriptions. The three narrators are well balanced and tell the story in a compelling way. One of my biggest struggles with action-packed fantasy novels is the lack of respect for/acknowledgment of loss of life, so I really loved Zélie's powers and the way battle scenes are depicted. I can't wait to read the next book. OMG, that cliff hanger!

Epic fantasy! Totally riveting! Loved all the details and the magic and just everything!! I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in this series!

I was lucky to get a chance to read this one! It came at the perfect time, right after I watched AND LOVED Black Panther. I had been hearing from absolutely everyone how amazing this book was, how much they were looking forward to it, if they hadn't read it yet, and on and on.

I really liked it.

And that's it. I didn't LOVE it; it wasn't AMAZING. It was good. Maybe really good. But that was it.

It started off really well - this horrible oppressive nation with a rich and complex history. Zelie's back story is really compelling, and the secondary characters were very likable. The magic system is really interesting, and I loved the world building. I would love to see a leopardaire. I loved Princess Amari and absolutely hated her father. He is just horrible! 

It was Zelie that I didn't really love. I felt like the romance there was weird and it just didn't work for me. But I could have kind of gone with it, maybe it was just that it was the first book and thinking about it more would have changed my mind. But Zelie was not as a great a character as I was hoping for in the beginning. I felt like she didn't learn and grow much over the book. She was still impulsive, still getting into the same fights with her brother. 

When I compared this to Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older, which I also read recently, I liked Sierra more. I felt like she really had that moment when she came into her own power and really transformed into this powerful, strong woman who was ready to fight the world and win. Maybe it was because this book was split between Zelie and Amari, but I didn't feel like Zelie had that moment of transformation in quite the same way. Don't get me wrong - I think this was a good book and I'm glad I read it. But I think it could have been even better.

It's possible that it was just me, that I read it at the wrong time and I would have enjoyed it more if I were in a different mood. If you are looking forward to reading this one, I'd say go ahead and give it a try. But I'm not in a hurry to read the next book.

It was definitely a mistake getting this excerpt because the book isn't coming out until next MARCH! How am I supposed to wait that long? Anyway, I was hooked right from the beginning. I can't wait to read the rest of this book.

ETA (2/25/18) Soooo I only recently realized that the whole book is up now??? AHHHHH!!!! This book is AMAZING. The world building! The plot! EVERYTHING. This book is very long but it is definitely worth the time it takes to read it. What a fantastic debut!

I was interested in Children of Blood & Bone from the moment I first heard about it and I sort of forgot the title for a while. Then I found it again and I was so excited! A West-African inspired Fantasy? Sign me up! This book was/is hyped. So much. But there's no book that deserves the hype more. Children of Blood & Bone is absolutely amazing and Tomi's Adeyemi's writing style is beautiful. One of my notes says "This feels like the book you just finish in a day" and now I've finished it, that's still true. I usually wouldn't be able to read a big, full fantasy novel in a day, but that's seems different with this book.

I found Children of Blood & Bone quite complex, yet easy to follow. It was so easy to get lost in Zélie's story and I just couldn't put it down! That hadn't happened to me for a while, which made it just a bit extra special. It really got my out of my reading slump! The plot can quite easily be explained as "an adventure to restore magic" but it's so much more than just that. The way magic works in this world is incredible. There's this entire system in place and I guess in a lot of books it wouldn't work or I wouldn't like it as much, but Tomi made it understandable and explained it perfectly well. Besides that, the "race against the clock" element kept me captivated in the story.

I absolutely loved every character in Children of Blood & Bone. I genuinely don't think there were any that I disliked (except maybe some of the bad guys, of course!) Zélie is such an incredible main character. I love how she describes her world and the magic in it. She's also such a realistic character. I really liked Amari as well. I didn't really "see" her as a princess for a while but her character development was amazing! Sometimes I struggled a little bit with Zélie's brother, Tzain. But in the end he was such a great guy! My favourite has got to be Inan. He was so terrifyingly unpredictable and that's really what I loved most about the book. I also loved how much he loathes magic. I feel like we never really read about characters who hate the magic of their world, it was refreshing. All these characters really kept me on the edge of my seat. It was so interesting to follow everyone and see how they developed and changed throughout the story.

The end of Children of Blood & Bone was epic, to say the least. My heart was racing and it was just so good and unpredictable and it really left me wanting more! There's a cliffhanger which can be the worst thing ever, but this one is done so well that I'm actually loving it. I really cannot wait for the sequel!

Right off the bat, I want to give a big thank you to NetGalley for providing me with the sampler and US Macmillan for the entire e-arc copy. I can already say, hands down, Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi is the best book of 2018. In all honesty, I don’t have anything negative to say, which means this is most likely going to be a relatively short review because I don’t know if I can put ALL of my feelings into words. It’s partly due to the fact that I’m still in awe of how amazing this book was.
Zélie, one of our main characters, is absolutely everything and I love her. The book starts off with her fighting with her beloved staff and just being amazing. But soon after, we get an insight into the oppression the maji go through when some of the palace guards show up to collect a tax specifically for households with maji. Throughout the entire book, we get to watch as Zélie is broken and rebroken over and over again as she fights to save magic which will ultimately give the maji their power back.
Magic was extinguished before due to an event named the Raid, ordered by the current King. The Raid caused Zélie’s mother to be hanged right in front of her and this ends up being a reoccurring event in her mind and ultimately acts as a motivation a lot of the time. It leaves her alone with her father Baba and her brother Tzain.
Tzain was the only character I was kind of neutral about the entire time. I liked him, but he wasn’t my favorite. However, the story definitely would not have been the same without him there. It’s clear he would do anything for his sister, even if she pulled reckless stunts constantly. Even though he isn’t a maji, he is still passionate about getting magic back.
The third prevalent character and my literal wife is Amari, the Princess of Örshia. She and Zélie were probably the most iconic characters in the entire story. At first, I was apprehensive about her character, but her development was incredible. After the first few chapters, I knew she was going to be one of my favorite characters in the story, and I was right.
The last main character is Inan, the Crown Prince of Örshia. I don’t have much to say about him because I’m still mad at him. He needs to have a very long time out. But, I did really love his character and the internal conflicts he suffered throughout the book, it added a new layer of interest to it.
It’s true when people say that to expose someone’s true character, you have to break them. I believe each character went through this in some way, there were some that were more drastic than others, but no matter what happened, it altered their lives and let their true colors to shine through as their character developed.
The world-building in this novel was truly incredible, just like everything else about the book. Tomi Adeyemi did an amazing job with descriptions of the world surrounding her characters. At some points, it felt as if I were truly there with them.
I also enjoyed the fact that the events in the book were heavily based on the events that took place in the past. Getting to learn some history about Örisha made things interesting and gave another aspect to be able to understand why the characters were doing what they did.
I cannot wait to have the physical copy in my hands soon and everyone NEEDS to buy this book. Go preorder it right now because it is definitely worth it because it will no doubt be one of your favorite reads of 2018.

“We are all children of blood and bone.
All instruments of vengeance and virtue.”
**All quotes are subject to change in the final copy**
Happy reading and go order Children of Blood and Bone!

This book is going to be big – and I’m excited for it. It has the epic fantasy saga feeling of An Ember in the Ashes. I received an arc from netgalley.

A big strength of Children of Blood and Bone is its world building. There’s a lot of complicated magic, and a lot of ritual and culture to back it up. I am glad fantasy books are expanding beyond white, European settings and it was wonderful to see that play out in this story.

This book is told from 3 points of view (although I’d argue there are 4 main characters): Zélie, Princess Amari, Prince Inan and Zélie’s brother Tzain. I’m not the biggest fan of multiple first person POVs, but that’s really personal preference (and it wasn’t jarring here). My larger problem with the 3 POVs was that it sometimes made the chapters short and choppy, jumping from one character’s thoughts on a situation to another. This is probably personal preference—but I often felt like just as I was getting into the swing of a scene and a character, the chapter would end, and the scene would pick up from one of the other players in that same scene.

This is a long book. That’s great in some ways, because it means more can happen, the characters can go on longer journeys, but I felt like the first half was a bit slow. The opening chapters are thrilling and hooked me, but then things slowed down. It felt like there were really two inciting incidents, and that there was a whole other opening before the main characters began their quest (which is the central organizing element of the story: find the artifacts, complete the quest, etc). It’s not a bad thing per se—I see what these scenes early on do to help establish the magic system of the world and the central conflict—but I kept reading a chapter and then putting the book down for a bit. It took me a while to read that first half, but once Zélie began to really come into her magic, in the arena, I was hooked again. After that initial slowness, I finished the second half of the book in a single day.

I don’t want to go too much into the plot details because the book isn’t released yet, but I especially thought the final act was well done. There’s a new character introduced who’s so much fun. And the story slows down enough for some really good character moments. (It had been so fast paced before I sometimes wished there were more moments of rest. More moments where Zélie could process what had happened, etc). It also paid off in terms of character growth. (I especially found Amari’s arc throughout the book surprising and compelling).

And the ending left me awaiting a sequel—there are still many parts of this world to explore, many questions to think through, and a lot of room for character growth—should be exciting!

This took me a minute to get into and understand the world/world building. But this book is pretty fantastic. It’s going to be a favorite among teens at the library and it’s exciting to have a fantasy title that features a fantastic group of black and brown skinned characters - something that’s truly needed in YA Fantasy right now. This truly lives up to all the hype that’s been going around about this title.