This is another case of: interesting world-building, boring characters. The main character seemed so young for her age, and she and her mother immediately fall into a trap even though they’ve supposedly been practicing magic for years without being caught. The main character is immediately trusting of the boy who is her patient and gives him WAY too much information for no reason at all. I could see the beginnings of a poorly-developed romance. Dnf.

In this novel, the character Demi must kidnap a prince in order to save her family. I thoroughly enjoyed most part of this book, but I will say that I did have a pacing issue. I also was not expecting the love triangle that came with this book. It did throw me off a little bit. However, I do look forward to the second installment in the duology!

I received this book through NetGalley for review

I would be lying if I said this book wasn't disappointing. I was excited to get this title and just had the hardest time getting into it.

The setting was AMAZING but I feel like the rest of the story fell a little flat for me. The beginning started out pretty promising, by the middle I almost had to force myself through the rest.

I'm sure a younger reader would absolutely adore this book, but I feel like for an older reader it may not work. I will still suggest this for young readers as again, I enjoyed the setting and the characters.

After Dèmi’s mother is murdered in front of her, she vows revenge for her and the rest of their murdered people, the Oluso. She and her friend Colin set out to kidnap the Aje prince, Jonas, and bargain with his life to save the remaining Oluso. bBit of course, Demi doesn't count on becoming attracted to Jonas.

Forged in blood starts off quickly and then...stalls .I feel that although it was billed as an adult fantasy, it reads more as YA. Nothing wrong with that, But I feel like that is why the pacing of this novel was all over the place

overall, it was a good story!

Thank you to Net Galley for the Arc. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
Do you want to read a hot mess of a generic YA enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance with a love triangle and thinly veiled race war commentary? Do you love info dumping and a magic system that doesn't even try to make sense?

Pre-reading:
Well, I just read romance and lit fic, so believe it or not, I'm actually in the mood for a fantasy. A Fairyloot pick. They made a pretty edition for what they were working with, but it’s not one of my favorite covers. Her belly button just weirds me out.

Thick of it:
calabash

Cue the Demi not Lovato jokes

Quite the infodump just then, but like I guess we needed it?

Here’s a horrible pacing issue. You’re fleeing guards, but you’re distracting the reader with culture and scenery descriptions. No no.

Why on earth would you make your heroine piss herself?

Lesbian hyena enemies? Fun. (Sam loves hyenas. Sam loves hyenas so much that she has a shower curtain with hyenas. You put a hyena in a book, and I’ll pay attention.)

These kids can’t pick an age. They’re simultaneously 10 and 18.

You can’t hate other women just for being prettier than you.

This book is ye old ACAB.

Magic people have glow stick tattoos. Noted.

Okay, baby Moana.

Not the fated mate trope.

Not the mate telepathy trope.

I mean, obviously, she’s going to be mates with the prince. Like this isn’t even a love triangle.

So they’re Nordic rulers, but their symbol is a lion. Yeah, that makes sense.

eba

suya

Fakeout make out

Bi Jonas?

There is so much info dumping in this book.

The pacing in this book is awful. The author keeps interrupting action with info dumping.

You know nothing, John Snow.

Dude, you literally got her mom killed.

Why are we spending time on this subplot? I don’t care about it. Oh no, some basically faeries were evil. Now they saved them. Who cares. To teach us a lesson about forgiveness and mercy? Girl, please.

I’m bored. I’ve zoned out.

Oh my god, more info dumping. There are so many fantasy vocab words in this book for no reason.

More faerie soup bullshit.

Mari is the only character I’m interested in. Lesbian hyena lady- like yes, please.

Is iron golden?

It’s like we’re supposed to care about her even though we met her a page ago. Like I feel nothing.

The magic system in this universe is so overpowered and makes no sense.

Girl, this is war. You gotta kill some people. Grow up.

Colin, horny jail.

Author, pacing jail.

This book is a hot mess.

For people trying to stay hidden, they sure scream a lot.

Why is there a song in here?

I mean, she definitely survived the explosion.

That was kind of a metal line

They’re like wait is this incest? And the author’s like no, no, everyone chill. Everyone’s fucking adopted in this book.

I still don’t understand why Jonas is taking the throne. Like why would his uncle give up the power of being king? That doesn’t make any sense to me. Oh update, he’s just making him his heir. I thought that was already a given because he doesn’t have any kids, but whatever. Go off.

That is an idiotic plan. That would not work.

Oh, now she’s got a secret sister. That’ll solve their stupid love triangle. The boys can just pick their favorite sister.

Why would she go to the ball with him? That doesn’t make any sense. But also, here’s your requisite YA masquerade ball scene.

makeover montage

How do they still have all her belongings after she was thrown in jail? You know what, I’m not gonna question it. I’m just gonna go with it.

I cannot keep up with all the names in this book. I’ve given up. I don’t know who anyone is anymore.

I’m sorry that’s a very misogynistic little saying right there. She’s done more fighting than him all book. Fuck off.

I genuinely feel like this book did not get content edited at all. They just copy-edited and published the rough draft.

They really said Colin’s mommy is such a badass that she has male whores in the midst of this patriarchy.

I will not stand for this pickle slander.

It’s the way my uncultured ass thought that they were talking about purple soup this whole time.

This book really said I believe in racism and classism, but not homophobia.

He said Squid Games, baby.

He always wears beeswax, but like he has no issue hearing people’s whispers to him. OK, that makes sense.

So all this is just anti-interracial marriage propaganda. OK?

I’m reading the finished copy and there’s still a bunch of typos and that’s very upsetting to me. Like even Grammarly would catch this shit.

Mari girl, stand up.

So his grand plan is to breed some iron magic users to defend the kingdom? That doesn’t even kind of make sense. What is he gonna do for the 20-odd years while the first gen grows up? Like this doesn’t make any sense.

What if she doesn’t want kids, boo-boo? Y’all ain’t discuss that yet.

I like how they’re villain monologuing to an arena of like hundreds of people and no one’s doing anything. They’re all just like yeah, we’ll watch this show. Anyone have popcorn?

She’s going to trial by combat the king to decide who can rule. Who would agree to this? Literally just shoot her right now.

And we’re interrupting the action with info dumping again. Oh my god, this book is a mess.

I hope we get an explanation for why Mari is so dick-whipped.

Can he even be your mate if y’all haven’t mated? Like I’m just saying.

I literally only care about Mari, and that’s terrible because she’s blatantly a villain and super underdeveloped, but I am ruined for hyena lesbian women. See Manhunt. See The Immortals.

Why are we interrupting the action with a description of food? Oh my god, this book drives me nuts.

So it is her dad? They just said it wasn’t really her dad. Can they fucking pick?

Somehow, they both just have gut wounds and are surviving and thriving. Make it make sense.

I won because I broke the rules of not using magic, and I didn’t kill the king. This is stupid.

Why do they always let the villains go in books? Just kill them. Be done with it. You idiots. Get a different plot. Oh my God.

Literally multiple people have stopped them from killing the king now, and that makes no fucking sense. Just kill him.

So did he just pull a Zeus and lightning strike the king? I’m confused.

Oh, they’re not just super special rare mates. They’re like extra super special rare mates true love bullshit.

That’s such a dick move to destroy the castle that she has to live in even though he wants her to be queen.

Respectfully-

I declare economic collapse.

And again with the misogyny. He has to make her a legitimate queen. She can’t be queen on her own, and make him her king to appease the dumb royals. Ugh.

I mean a castle isn’t soundproof, babe. They can hear you sobbing in the hallway.

That is a disgusting metaphor.

They’re really just having all this out in the hallway.

Are we really still dragging out this love triangle?

I hate how they’re making him out to be like crazy and a villain origin story, but like he’s making very valid points.

This book could be good. That’s what frustrates me. As it is, it’s fucking awful, but there’s little pieces here and there where I’m like I could whip this into a book.

Girl, you just took a sword to the gut. Let’s not take another one. Horny jail.

Y’all are so fucking naïve.

Not the character guide at the back of the book because they knew you wouldn’t have a fucking clue who anyone in this book is.

Did they never explain why he goes by Colin? Is Colin a nickname for Nicolas? I don’t think it is.

Wow, in the character list, they don’t say that Collin’s in love with Demi, but they do say that Jonas is. I wonder which couple’s endgame. You picked up this book and knew she was gonna be in love with the Prince like please.

Also, where is her fucking twin? You’re really gonna name the last chapter Twinning and not talk about her twin?

Post-reading:
Nothing makes me more frustrated than a book that could be good.

This book is a hot mess. It is bad. It needs such an edit that it would be unrecognizable.

Because there are those little kernels of a good story in it, I’m like two stars. You know wanted to tear my hair out reading it, but didn’t make me actively hate myself like the one stars do.

This is a YA book. There is nothing adult about this. The love triangle is so underdeveloped. The magic system makes no sense and doesn’t even try to. The plot has been done hundreds of times before. It’s still a plot I always kind of vibe with, but if you’re going to do something so unoriginal, shit better be polished.

I’m a little fixated on lesbian hyena warrior lady. Honestly, if she wasn’t in this book, I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through it. Even then, she’s a mess of a character. She really said let’s be evil to be evil.

The info dumping and the amount of fantasy vocab in this book make it miserable to read. There are so many character names in this book for people that don’t need names because they don’t matter to the story at all. On top of that, the names are all unfamiliar and very similar to one another. It is punishing to read. The pacing is a crime. Every single bit of action is interrupted with an infodump. Characters will actively be fighting, and the author is waxing poetic about food. It’s unbelievably annoying.

The main characters are naïve, and goodie two shoes, which is forgivable for a YA, but you’re marketing this book as an adult fantasy. I can’t even review it like that because there’s nothing adult about this book. If it wanted to be adult, it had to go way more Game of Thrones with way more political intrigue and sexier, darker plot lines. You can't write a war novel without killing people. It just doesn't work. I think it’s much better suited to be a YA novel.

It needs such an edit that I would say it’s skippable. You’ve read this book before.

Who should read this:
Diverse YA Fantasy fans

Do I want to reread this:
No

Similar books:
* Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem-enemies to lovers, secret queen saves her people from a corrupt kingdom
* Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas-secret queen saves the enslaved from a corrupt king
* A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas-fated mates save their people from a corrupt king
* Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson-enemies to lovers fantasy romance
* Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros-enemies to lovers, against a corrupt kingdom
* Now Before the Elf Queen by J. M. Kearl-generic YA fantasy romance, fated mates
* Sing Me to Sleep by Gabi Burton-enemies to lovers YA fantasy romance

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley and author Ehigbor Okosun for the chance to read an advance copy of Forged by Blood, book one in the Tainted Blood duology. This book is based on Nigerian mythology and follows a young woman as she fights to survive in a world where her magic is the very thing that could get her killed, just like her mother was. She is approached by someone in the government who can make life better for her and others like her if only she will help kidnap the prince. But is it really kidnapping when he willingly leaves with her? Needless to say not every thing is as it seems. It’s a very good book and I look forward to book two.

I really enjoyed this and can’t believe it’s a debut book, it really didn’t read like it. I found it so beautiful, almost magical in reading it. I really enjoyed reading this Nigerian mythology-inspired story , the world building and magic system are well done and so well constructed , I really appreciated the inclusion of discussions on colonialism something there needs to be more of, a thoroughly entertaining and impressive read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I received this email arc on exchange for an honest review from netgalley.
This story is about a girl named Démi. She lives in fear with her mother everyday just because they have magic. One day they help a dick boy and the aunt tells the guards. Even though she asked for the help.
Later that day dèmi loses her mother and runs for her life.
Fast forward nine years and she's with friends of her mother, other magic users like herself. She finds herself in an awkward position when she saves a few kids. A high official sees her from his ship and finds her to make a deal. She must kidnap the prince and deliver Jim to this man so he can turn him and take the credit for finding him. This man has magic and tells her that he can help their kind.
Little does she know that this man she has to kidnap is the same one her mother saved all those years ago.
This story contains Nigerian mythology. Which I was excited to read and learn about. It's an overall good book. Which I gave it a 5 star rating and can't wait for book 2 to come out.

Thank you netgalley for providing this arc.

Dnf at 52%. While I’m rating this pretty low, I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad book. I feel like I’m not following the story… it’s kinda confusing. I’m not enjoying reading it, so I’m going to move on. The first few chapters interested me, but after that the storyline felt blurred.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am obsessed with this magic world and cannot wait for the sequel to see where things go from book one!

Forged by Blood is the start of a Nigerian mythology inspired fantasy series. Dèmi is an Oluso (refers to the dark-skinned magic wielders native to the land of Ife) who embarks on a mission to kidnap the crown prince in a political move to strengthen the voice of the repressed Oluso.

Read this if you enjoy any of these:
>Rebellion/revolution
>Love triangle
>Fantasy as the main aspect, romance on the back burner
>Fated mates
>Nigerian mythology inspired

This novel kept my attention, and I was never bored. Dèmi is a strong character, even though some of her actions and attitudes make me want to shake some sense into her. What we got of the magic system and world were interesting and have me wanting more, which I hope will be expanded upon exponentially in the sequel, because better explanations on several aspects of the story are the thing I wanted from this book and didn't get.

I liked the journey aspect of the story; it allowed for us to get to know the characters, world, and magic system better. Sometimes things that should be extra hard or near impossible, our characters temporarily struggled with before some grand revelation came about or something else happened that just made it seem a little too easy. I don't mind love triangles, but I didn't enjoy how one of the love interests who has been a positive character towards Dèmi the whole book, became snide and rude when it seemed that Dèmi chose the other guy.

I think the story explores themes of colonization, (attempted) genocide, slavery, and racism/classism very well. The ending definitely makes me want to know more- about where things go, how things resolve, more about the magic system and the spirit realm, and more about the world. I think book one opened a lot of questions up, and I desperately need answers!

Forged by Blood is a debut fantasy by Ehigbor Okosun and the first in a duology inspired by Nigerian mythology. The main character is Dèmi, an Oluso, or magic wielder, with the power to heal and call upon wind spirits. Dèmi lives in a world where the Oluso are subjugated by the Aje - those without magic - and hunted and destroyed. She spends her early childhood hidden away with her mother, healing villagers and avoiding the detection of royal guards. When she and her mother are betrayed after healing a young boy with a deadly fever and Dèmi's mother is brutally killed, Dèmi commits herself to avenging the murder of her mother. She finds other Oluso to learn from and alongside and does what she can to protect other Oluso like her from brutalization. When she is given the opportunity to kidnap the Aje prince, Jonas, with the help of her best friend, Colin, in order to ransom him and support the appointing of an Oluso into a position of power, she jumps at the opportunity. What she doesn't expect is for the prince to be the boy who betrayed her and her mother a decade before. Loyalties shift and Dèmi must determine what price is too high to pay for victory. Does becoming like your oppressor in order to end oppression mean becoming just like them? Is peace ever a viable path to change?

I had such mixed feelings about this one! The setup was fascinating and I really liked the beginning of the story. The last 40% though was rushed and confusing and had a lot of information about parentage - it felt like a new twist was happening every other page. I also couldn't tell what genre this book was. It's marked on Goodreads as both YA and Adult and I think that sums up some of what didn't work about this book - it had some adult themes and adult characters, but the writing and decision making of the characters was very YA, as was the black and white moralization of the actions taken by characters in this book.

All in all, this was a fabulous debut from an author to watch! I loved the mythology, magic, and focus on found family.

Some quick takeaways:

✅ Debut Novel
✅ Fantasy
✅ Nigerian Mythology
✅ Love Triangle
✅ Fated Mates
✅ Found Family
✅ No Spice

Thanks so much to Ehigbor Okosun and Harper Voyager for this ARC through NetGalley. Forged by Blood is available for purchase now!

This book started off very strong but once the time lapse happened, it lost my interest. This was a story definintly meant for a younger audience. I would recommend this to someone who may have never taken time to read a fantasy because it's easy to understand. Just when it stands against the other novels I've read, it falls short.

This has all the makings of a really good story. Okosun, as a debut author, knows how to bring a reader into a setting, make you care for the characters, and want to know what happens next.
The pacing was off for me sometimes but not so much that it prevented me from following the plot well enough. The characters are likeable enough that I want to know how the story ends, even if the love triangle was a tad predictable, funny but predictable. I look forward to book 2.

For readers that want to delve into a story with mythology outside of the traditional Western cannon, then this book is for you.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.
I made it to around 35 percent but I ended up DNFin this book. I enjoyed the setting and elements of the story but I didn’t like the MC.

Although I haven’t finished this book - I’m about 70% of the way through it at the moment. But I’ve decided to DNF it as I’m just not interested in finishing the book at this point in time.

For me the plot was quite slow and the book seem to drag on in areas which made me not want to continue reading.

I did really like the plot overall though, and I am interested to see where it leads to in the last 30% of the book - just not at this point in time.

I thought the world building was most good, occasionally I would get a bit confused as to what the setting was and although creating your own way of reading time is fun, I did think it confused me more as I had no clue as to what each time represented in the real world.

The characters were loveable and the romance elements were really good

While not a bad book, Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun was a book that ultimately left me bored and like I was reading something I’d read a hundred times before, just simply in a different setting this time.

Featuring:
- A stunning and vast magic system
- A girl meets boy, boy is secretly the heir to the kingdom that overthrew hers, and they fall in love storyline
- and a girl determined to save her people and get back what was taken from her.

Forged by Blood is a book that leans pretty heavily into the YA fantasy tropes of books like Red Queen, ACOTAR, and similar YA fantasy books with love triangles and girls in a world where magic is banned. For me much of this book felt like a slog, and not a particularly enjoyable one. The pacing was odd, and for much of the story it didn’t feel like the characters were really <i>doing</i> all that much. More they were just trying to get from one place to another, and spent far too long doing so in aims of building up the love triangle and ultimate relationship between the main girl and her ultimate love interest. On top of which, the love triangle didn’t really work, because I knew how it was going to end from the moment it started, partially because one relationship was purely relying on the history we were being told two characters shared, while the other two’s history we were being shown. That being said, during the final fourth of the book, the pacing finally picked up, and I found myself enjoying the book. In the end, however much much of this book was actually a slog and not simply my tiredness at the commonplace plot is hard to place. If you enjoy YA teen fantasy, and have been wanting some not set in your standard western European fantasy world, then this book is absolutely for you. Unfortunately for me it was not.

Also I knocked off a star for a colonizer x colonized romance, which I think are always kind of shit.

Great book! The cover of the book is gorgeous which led me to want to read the story to begin with! Glad I got chosen to receive an ARC. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Since Raybearer, I am all in on African folklore inspired fantasy, so this one sounded right up my alley. I'll start off by saying, I liked the concept in principle. But I was definitely on the struggle bus with this one several times. I started it with the intention of posting on pub day. Unfortunately, there were several times I put it down and had to press myself to go back to it.

It's a kingdom based story where those with magic are oppressed and often killed. When Demi's mother heals someone with connection to royalty, she is murdered leaving Demi as an orphan to survive on her own. Her paths cross again with royalty and tensions run high as she tries to protect her people from oppression and torture. I loved Demi as a character and the world building was good, but I struggled a bit with the rest.

First, there was a huge time jump that I felt was unnecessary. I get the author wanted an older character for the full story but the way it was done was so jarring. Second, the love triangle was super frustrating. I liked Jonas and Demi's unusual history but Colin was a very frustrating character full of toxic masculinity throughout. Demi was supposed to be so clever and smart, she didn't need either of these boys - think Katniss. Some of the important plot points seem to happen off the page and are just recounted to Demi, I found that super frustrating. Also the pacing was very uneven, there were times where I was reveling in action and times where I was very bored.

In the end, the story got there but I'm not going to go out of my way to read the sequel. I get it was the author's debut, so if I see some positive reviews for book 2, I may give it a go, we'll see.

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

I loved this book. The world building was so rich and the flow was great. It did start off a little slow but once it picked up, I had a very hard time putting the book down. So many questions left unanswered though, can't wait to see where the story goes.

Thank you NetGalley/Avon and Harper Voyager/Ehigbor Okosun for the ARC and allowing me to review!

This book was a such a pleasure to read. The world and lore building was exquisite. I felt the pace was great and did not lull at any time. I know that this is a duology and I want to read the second book yesterday.