I enjoyed this book so much! The storyline was so interesting with the world building easy to follow. I enjoyed that the main character had character development throughout the story. There was a little bit of slowness towards the middle but the end made up for any of that. This story was a rollercoaster ride that I enjoyed every page of.

This was such a great read. The characters I felt were very developed and you were truly rooting for them til the end. I loved the magic system and how it blended the use of folklore into fantasy with this story!

3.5 ⭐ rounded up to 4
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC

Forged by Blood is a story of oppression and hatred, and one girl, Demi, who has suffered greatly due to who she was born as, has lost her only family and is on the run, who is determined to save her people and free them. Okosun weaves a tale that is full of African mythology. She introduces a magic system that is fairly well developed.

We have our main trio: Demi, Colin, and Jonas. The three of them make up our "love triangle," though I'm not sure I would call it much of a triangle. Demi lets the readers know very early on that she does not believe in love and is not interested in Colin that way, despite what he thinks. It's very obvious from the beginning that Demi and Jonas would end up together, even just from their first meeting as children. Especially once the idea of fated mates came into play, there was no hope for Colin. I did not like the way that Demi seemed to lead Colin on, even though she had no intentions of being with him. That seemed just cruel and no wonder he was bitter at the end of the book.

The magic system was interesting. The different types of magic and then the use of harnessing a specific elemental spirit as well. I do wish that the lore behind the magic was a little more developed or the spirit world was expanded more. There were a few times were it seemed that the "laws" of the magic seemed to contradict each other or one thing was known to be true, and then at the end, someone had randomly been able to find a loophole to it (i.e. the whole fact that killing someone would make you lose your magic yet Ekwensi had been killing people for a long time but somehow that was ok because the spirits deemed it as "justice"?? Makes no sense to me).

Overall I did like the book and will be reading the sequel. There were some spelling or grammar errors but hopefully those will be fixed for the final publish. I would've really liked to see a glossary as there were a lot of new words that I had a hard time keeping straight what they meant.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

2.5 stars!

Ehigbor Okosun’s debut novel follows Dèmi, a young woman who is desperately trying to survive in an empire that wants her dead. Years prior to the story, her people—magic wielders—have suffered a brutal genocide by the King. Dèmi and her mother live peacefully in a village until one day the King’s soldiers murder her mother in front of her, setting her on a journey for revenge.

Forged by Blood started off zippy and interesting and does not spend any time meandering around in the world Okosun has created, but ultimately I thought this was a good YA fantasy and a middling at best adult fantasy. I genuinely loved the setting and aspects of the world like the Aziza, and I think Okosun’s grasp of this world’s culture is excellent. There were parts of this that were truly excellent, and I found this to be very readable with fast pacing that demands your attention. I’m quite curious about the prophecy that was given partway through this novel about Jonas and Colin, and I am generally curious as to how this duology shakes out in the end: the end of this novel leaves some interesting questions. Still, this wasn’t quite what I’d been expecting. Billed as an adult debut, while I think Dèmi’s reactions and thought patterns make sense for someone who has continually suffered under colonial violence, she and the rest of the cast read quite young and reckless and since this is told in first person (present tense), the entire story is filtered through her lens. First person is always a tricky point of view for me and I am significantly more sensitive to the voice; Dèmi’s voice is strong but the way she processes events makes it difficult to recommend this as an adult fantasy, but quite easy to recommend as an upper young adult/new adult fantasy.

The start was strong and readjusting my expectations to that of an older young adult novel helped me get into Dèmi’s POV, but while the ultimately plot was straightforward and made sense, there were too many reveals and tropes for me to really sink into this. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of fated mates or mating bonds and when this popped up I felt very hesitant about any potential romance, and there is a very odd love triangle that I didn’t quite understand the purpose of and felt wedged into the story. There’s also quite a bit of mysterious parentage going on and by the end it felt overworn, but I think I would’ve eaten it up as a teenager. There’s a bit too much going on in the conclusion for me: evil kings and a lot of monologuing and everyone shouting or yelling at each other, though I do think the way things are left leaves interesting questions. It just was kind of a bumpy ride to get there, especially because I thought the start was strong.

I really wanted to love this, however I went in expecting something older in tone and approach and there’s a handful of tropes I didn’t particularly vibe with. Forged by Blood is a fast, well-placed series opener that I think would primarily appeal to readers who enjoy young and new adult fantasy and readers who enjoy certain popular fantasy tropes (mysterious parentage, being a young person hellbent on revenge, fated mates, prosecuted magic, etc).

DNF - 12%. There was SOOOO much info dumping that I simply could not get into the story or any of the people in it. Maybe i'll get back to it but alas for now, it's over.

2.5 stars.

This book had a good start, but then I really started to struggle with it. The magic system, although initially very interesting, grew very confusing and scrambled. I felt like there were many random moments in the story and to be honest, I didn't really know what was happening in terms of what they were trying to do. I didn't know how they got themselves into half the situations in the book and it definitely didn't help that there were lots of terms that I wasn't familiar with. I would have loved a clearer image of the world without having it impact some of the action scenes since it felt very jarring. It was also really hard for me to like the main character. She was stubborn and lots of her thoughts were very repetitive. I'm also wondering what Colin's character was supposed to contribute because we learn right from the beginning that there's no potential for him to be a love interest. Also, Dèmi's relationship with Colin and with Jonas felt extremely forced and abrupt, and I think part of this is because of the pacing of the book. All the characters were honestly quite bland. Overall, this book had lots of potential but the writing felt more YA than Adult, and there were too many ideas pitched at once.

I ended up DNFing this book because while I enjoyed the plot, I felt like this wasn’t entirely different than other books I had read and therefore I had a difficult time getting into it.

Forged by Blood is a stunning series opener. Beginning with an unlikely friendship that might just turn around and bite down, this series opener is action packed. It's a book that asks you from page one if you can trust anyone. Okosun weaves a rich multi-layered world full of tension, love triangles, and trust which erodes and secrets which fester. Who will sacrifice in the end? Will it be the ones making the decisions or the ones on the ground?

I couldn't have loved this book more! Such a good story, and the character relationships were wildly perfect and fascinating. Will be purchasing a physical copy to add to my collection!

This debut was so good, this is probably my favorite read so far this year! The characters are extremely compelling, the romance worked really well for me (I'm usually wary of love triangles but this somehow worked for me, it gave me ACOTAR vibes), the world-building is amazing, and the writing itself was so strong, I flew through the book, I can't wait for the sequel!!

This was an amazing tale to read with a blend of the mythology of a different country and what some would consider magical. It can be so easy to stick with the literature of your own culture, so diving into a different one can be eye-opening.

Demi has to struggle with coming to terms with her place in the world, knowing her enemies, and figuring out which guy will have her heart. As a young adult novel, there are not super steamy scenes like you might find in

I hope to read more from this author.

this was good! it was so interesting to read nigerian mythology, as that's something i've never delved into before. the story was captivating and the characters were very well- written. i really enjoyed how Dèmi tried to make everything right and wanted nothing to stand in her way. i would like to read more from this author.

Forged by Blood is book 1 of a YA fantasy duology, and tells the story of a magic-wielding girl fighting to protect her people after a great personal loss.

This book was inspired by Nigerian mythology and that was probably the most interesting thing about it. The pacing was all over the place, at certain times I felt rushed and at others, I just wanted something exciting to happen.

There is a love triangle, but the fated mates trope was introduced so early that the other love interest never really felt like a possibility.

I think that the author has a unique voice and I would love to read more from her- I just struggled to connect with the characters in this book and felt that the plot was lackluster.

***I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A story with a wonderful start but that came to a halt at 60%. The beginning was slow paced, yet the ending was too fast paced and as a reader that felt jarring to keep up. There needed to be a steady pace. The world building was excellent. The characters fell flat for me. I can see the potential it is setting up for book 2. Will look forward to seeing how this story ends.
Thank you to Random House and Netgallery for the arc in exchange for review.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and was instantly intrigued.
The world and magic concepts are both unique and I wanted to love the book but I really struggled with the names and info dumping that happened. It seems like a lot of people are known as 1-2 different names but I might have just gotten confused.
I think a glossary and pronunciation guide at the beginning of the book would help a lot.
A lot of fantasy books will have different languages in them but I didn’t think it added anything to this story to have it thrown in there.
If those were added I think this could be a 4 star for me but it was a little too long and a little too confusing as it currently stands. Also, spelling errors and typos don’t typically bother me in an ARC but this book had more and more errors throughout that became distracting.
Rating: 3/5 stars
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This is a strong debut inspired by Nigerian mythology and full to the brim with magic and vivid descriptions. The broad strokes of the story are reminiscent of classic tropes—a young hero in a world determined to stomp out magic—but the details are fresh and exciting. The descriptions of food, clothes, and scenery come alive throughout this story, and Dèmi is a great protagonist to follow. I think a lot of young people will enjoy this story.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins, and Ehigbor Okuson for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

For a premiere I absolutely loved this first book. Fantasy is my absolute JAM and I love seeing how authors put their different spins on things. The Nigerian folklore aspect of this story just made it all the more captivating. Demi was such a great main character and following her through her struggles and growth was just beautiful. She kept her faith and fought for her people. Despite all of the obstacles that were in her way. Despite who her father was and what he did to the Oluso people. I would honestly recommend this book to any of my fantasy lovers who are looking for something different then the norm. Yes there's magic but there's also CULTURE and it was so beautiful to imagine it while reading this story. I truly hope there will be a sequel so I can find out how Demi will defeat Lord Ekwensi.

First and foremost. I’m for sure one of those readers that is swayed by the cover of a book. This cover is absolutely stunning and reading the synopsis about it dealing with Nigerian mythology was a double win.

We meet Demi. A young magic user in a land where it makes magic users are second class citizens. People come to them for help when they are needed but spit on them after the work is done. You could for sure draw parallels to real world history and it made my heart ache. No one should be punished for something that they have no control over. Not over something that is part of who they are on a cellular level.
The mythology and magic of this story is just pure magic. I found myself just lost In this world and was eager to learn more.
The romance was for sure a slow burn between Dèmi & Jonas is for sure complex since they come from two different worlds. Add on Jonas betraying Dèmi and for sure, becomes an enemies to lovers romance. One that can go either way with the betrayal being go as huge as it was. Add on top that Dèmi being from the darker skinned, magic wielding Oluso & Jonas from the oppressor, nonmagical Ajes.
I loved following Dèmi on her journey of self discovery, revenge and romance. She is for sure a strong character that had me aching with her throughout this story. Her romance with Jonas as a slow burn that made me curious to see how it would all play out in the end. Overall the story was a rushing River, pulling you along whether you were ready or not. Every bump a shock and every twist left me whiplashed. And the blend of Nigerian mythology for sure had me wanting to learn more about this it’s rich history. This book is a strong debut from Okosun and I can’t wait to see where her writing career takes her.


Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins publishing for a free ARC in exchange for a honest review.

4/5 ⭐️
“They’re willing to pay so dearly for illegal magical help….But after, when it’s time for drinking and dancing, they remind us we will never sit at the same table…”
Wow. This story does a masterful job at telling us the dark and complicated story of colonialism, but through fantasy. The world and magic was so rich here, that I could very easily believe this story was a folktale passed down through the generations.
This story had me on the edge of my seat, I couldn’t put it down. The intensity was high throughout. The magic system was interesting and sort of new. The complex relationship between the natives and the conquerors added so many layers. But I also liked that while the two sides were mostly separated by color, we did see the magical community accept that mates can be any color and gender.
The only thing I didn’t love was the ending of this book. There were moments where it felt like the story forgot it was being narrated by Dèmi and somehow was able to tell us details she definitely wouldn’t have been able to know. Also it was a little confusing and rushed at the end. However, overall, I really enjoyed this story and would definitely recommend reading it. I’ve already started telling my friends to add it to their TBRs.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

3.75/5 stars

+fated mated
+love triangle
+heir reveal

Forged By Blood is the first in a fantasy duology featuring Nigerian mythology and an intriguing magic system.

Dèmi must navigate in a world where magic users like herself are oppressed and some would like to see magic and their culture completely eliminated. She is sent on a mission that could change the outcomes of her people, but the journey is never simple. The story is a commentary on colonialism, racism, colorism, and ultimately revolution.

I’m not a fantasy novice, but I found myself having to stop and read certain parts several times or go back a few pages because of the pacing. The early pacing was great, but by the end, there was so much action and it felt rushed. There were sometimes so many characters in a scene that I was forced to circle back and make sure I understood their role and powers.

While I enjoyed it, I think I’ll feel more satisfied reading the second book in the duology. I didn’t quite believe the love triangle and I think my lack of buy-in of the romance made the ending feel unearned. I really hope the second book sticks the landing because Forged by Blood is a jewel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the ARC. Forged by Blood is available on August 8, 2023!