Forged by Blood was a fast paced and fun read! There is never a dull moment, and I flew through the story. I loved the magic system and the world that the author created. The author did an amazing job world building throughout the book and explaining history as you read.

I really enjoyed the main character, Dèmi. She was always trying to help others, and she’s very resilient.

While I did enjoy how fast paced this was, there is A LOT that occurs in this book. I do wish some areas of the book were slower. There is a lot going on, and it was sometimes hard to keep track of everything and every character that is involved.

Overall, I am giving Forged by Blood 4 stars! I overall really enjoyed reading this, and I did love the characters and the overall plot of the book!

I wanted to love this book but I just kind of liked it. I really enjoyed the world building and the magic caste system, both of these give the book the opportunity to be great but some things were just off to me. I know that the characters are between 17-19, but a lot of the times it felt younger. There is also a love triangle that was unnecessary, Colin would have been better as an older brother/cousin role than a love interest. The pacing was also off in some parts of the book. In sections were we should've been given more time with something big happening or being revealed, we moved past it too quickly. And some parts just dragged out when they could've been a lot shorter.

With the way the book ended, I have hope that the second book can be better and I'm hoping that it is.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. I have never before read a nigerian fantasy novel, and was glad for the experience! This was such a unique book, I loved the romance, and you guys should definitely read it!

I read this book a lot slower than I normally do, due to school and life getting busy, however, I loved the world building and the magic system that was in place. I enjoyed Demi’s character and her desire to save her family, I do think that the ending felt a bit cluttered but otherwise enjoyed the story and the writing style.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I really enjoyed this I can’t wait to see what happens in book 2. Dèmi is a badass MC absolutely loved it 🥰

„Fear is a strange master. It makes monsters from the simplest of men.“

Book: Forged by Blood
Author: Ehigbor Okosun
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: YA Fantasy

This Nigerian mythology inspired book brought me back to my teenage reading years! In a good and bad way!

Dèmi just wants to survive: to avoid the suspicion of the nonmagical Ajes who occupy her homeland, to escape the King’s brutal regime of her people (the magic wielding Oluso) and to live peacefully with her secretive mother while learning to control her blood magic.

But when Dèmi’s misplaced trust costs her mother’s life, survival gives way to vengeance. She bides her time until she gets an opportunity she can’t say no to. Kidnap the Aje prince, Jonas, and bargain with his life to save the remaining Oluso.

➕I’m very interested in the magic system and the world in general.
Dèmi as a MC is great, because she can be absolutely ruthless and caring at the same time. I love that she makes mistakes, but learns from them.
I’m a bit scared for her best friend Colin though. I feel like he is going to make a huge mistake in the Sequel.
Love Jonas and I hope I won’t regret that sentence.
The last 100 pages or so were without a doubt the best thing in this book.

➖There was a lot of untapped potential with the world building, that sadly just didn’t happen. I feel like the author didn’t want the reader to be bored, so she filled each chapter with pointless „action scenes“ or „plot twists“ instead of letting us experience the world as it is.
I wanted to know so much more about the past kingdom and the magic system, but hopefully the sequel will answer any questions about that.
The writing was sometimes very cringe („I let go of the breath I didn’t know I‘d been holding“), but it got a lot better towards the end.

All in all, I still found this debut quite impressive and enjoyable. I will definitely pick up the sequel.

I’ve gone back and forth on whether I wanted to rate this book 3.5 stars or 4, but I decided to round up for the purpose of goodreads and my review. I think that Forged by Blood had a ton of potential. The story was so unique and the characters were well thought out and developed. The biggest problem that I found was that there was a lot of information delivered in a very curt way and I was having to backtrack quite a bit to figure out exactly what was going on and why it was happening. I am still a bit confused as to the difference between Oluso and Oyo Oluso and I got a bit turned around with some of the terms, especially in the spirit realm. I do believe that this duology has a ton of potential and I’m hoping that the finished copy has a glossary of terms to streamline the reading experience. I did already preorder a copy and I’m looking forward to the next!

Beautiful and powerful are two words I'd use to describe this book. It was original and written wonderfully. I rooted for the main character until the last page, and now Okosun has me begging for the next book.

Absolutely loved the Nigerian mythology. I think learning about that in the beginning made me way more into the beginning compared to the end but I’d be curious if rereading would change that.

"Forged by Blood" started strong for me. I thought it was going to be a 5⭐️ read; however... I really struggled from 30-70% of this book. There is a love triangle that is unnecessary and a lot of the world building felt... jumbled. You know the animation where a cartoon has scribbles above their head? It felt like that for me.

I think I'm interested enough to read the next in series, but at the same time, I'm not really interested. 😂 Confusing, I know. Honestly, it sums up my feelings for the book perfectly.

This is a brand new fantasy, the first to a duology and it’s inspired by Nigerian mythology. It’s following a strong female centered character who is on a path for revenge. She loses her mom early on because both of them have healing magic, and they got discovered so she’s on a journey to make right all the atrocities that have happened to her. She gathers some friends to kidnap the prince because they think that is the quickest way to get in the back door essentially. I love the idea of a character having healing magic, we don’t see that too often and it didn't disappoint.
Full review to come on YouTube.

Forged by Blood is a solid debut with good writing, creative use of Nigerian mythology, and engagingly fast pacing, but is regrettably yet another victim of the blurred line between YA and adult in publishing. Much of this book's faults - in my eyes - lie in its miscategorization. From the narration to the tropes to the pacing, this book reads as a YA manuscript despite its adult billing. Though the themes of colonial violence are certainly mature, there's a juvenile tone in Demi's narration not helped by the first-person POV that creates an end product less mature than the sum of its parts. This added with the fated mates element of the romance did not have any of the emotional depth and complexity I would expect from adult fantasy.

Ultimately, Forged by Blood is a good debut but simply meant for a much younger audience than me, and I fear this may be a common theme among those expecting something other than what they'll get.

2.5 stars rounded up.

I'm honestly not sure why the publisher listed this book as "epic fantasy" when it's clearly just YA fantasy. Because of that, I expected so much more. I'm glad at least Goodreads was correct (for once) when it came to labeling this book as YA fantasy.

Anyway.

Forged by Blood is your typical YA fantasy with all its tropes and plot points. The characters are older teens/young adults. The worldbuilding and magic weren't fully developed. The FMC was very impulsive and extremely short-sighted. Nothing screamed "epic fantasy."

Honestly, it read like a rough draft instead of a final draft because nothing really made sense logically. It felt like the author threw in a bunch of YA tropes hoping that it would make a story. There were so many deus ex machina solutions to every single problem, so nothing really felt high stakes.

The only thing that stood out to me was the Nigerian folklore and mythology. That was done really well. You could feel yourself immersed in a Nigerian-inspired fantasy world, especially during the sequence in the spirit world with the spirit beings.

But everything else was so lackluster. The worldbuilding made no sense. You could tell that the author wanted to touch on colonization, but it felt wishy-washy. The Eingardians/colonizers were the bad guys, but yet the FMC was super cool with teaming up with their prince? (I haven't even touched on her decisions at the end of the book.)

The politics were weirdly convoluted in an attempt to make it more adult/epic fantasy. I had to wait until 85% through (when the bad guy explained everything) for me to understand wtf was going on. (Turns out it was partly family drama that included a not! Luke Skywalker reveal. Wtf lol)

The magic system was also underdeveloped. I had the sense that certain people had certain magic skills, like healing, teleportation, clairvoyance, etc. But the FMC had elemental powers AND healing? I was so confused, but there was no other choice but to roll along with it.

Another HUGE issue I had were the deus ex machina solutions to every single problem. Our heroes would be in trouble but ofc, they'd be saved somehow.


***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Around the midpoint, when the FMC and other Oluso are about to be burned at the stake, her adopted family just shows up to save them? What? How? They're not even in the same part of the country/territory.

I had so many issues with the ending... What was the author even trying to say?? The FMC didn't believe in Ekwensi and the Oluso's cause, so she stayed with the prince and the Eingardians in order to find a diplomatic solution? Even though the Eingardians wouldn't recognize her as queen and the FMC didn't fully trust the prince, but since they were ~fated mates, it was totally okay? So we're cool with colonizer romances these days?

Also, the final battle made absolute ZERO sense. The FMC is fighting the king, who's a trained soldier, and she's not supposed to use her magic in order to make it an even match. But how tf does she even know how to use a sword? This was never hinted at or alluded to at all.

So she breaks her iron bracelets in order to use her magic to defeat the king, which didn't make sense because at first, she didn't want to "cheat" using her magic, but now she realizes that it's totally fine to use her magic because she's about to die?

Also her dead(?) father's spirit appears out of nowhere during the death match to give her a weapon? And I'm not sure she even used that weapon? What was the point of that scene???

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.

***END SPOILERS***


I was so lost. I finished this novel a few days ago and I'm still lost.

I'm definitely not picking up the sequel.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this arc.

Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun is unlike anything I have read before. Ms. Okosun creates a refreshing and entertaining story through her use of Nigerian mythology, stories that I guarantee most readers are unfamiliar with. These myths are entrancing in their unfamiliarity, and I want to learn more about them.

This vibrant Nigerian mythology sets the stage for a more familiar plot about magic, power, race, and class. While the story elements are recognizable, Forged by Blood retains its air of unfamiliarity because of a few key points. First, the forbidden magic Dèmi and her people must hide is unusual, as no two people have the same powers. They fit into generic categories regarding the origins of their magic. However, each user has a different power among people in their category.

The second aspect that keeps Forged by Blood from feeling familiar is Ms. Okosun's use of Nigeria to create her fictional world. Ms. Okosun uses real-life Nigerian city and town names for all the places Dèmi, Colin, and Jonas visit. I can only assume that she also uses their topography as well. Still, there is no doubt that the kingdom Dèmi is trying to save is fictional. The result is an unsettling, otherworldly feeling which throws the story off-kilter, making the familiar unfamiliar and bringing to mind the idea of multiverse possibilities.

I finished Forged by Blood and immediately wanted more of the story. Dèmi is so sweet and naive but also very angry and determined. I love characters with fiery tempers, and Dèmi fits that bill to a tee. Plus, her relationship with Colin is bittersweet but still fun to see. As for Jonas, I need answers there. Ms. Okosun threw a bomb during the last chapter that had me scrambling for as much information as I could glean from the pages.

Forged by Blood is an epic fantasy with everything you love about the genre plus the bonus of being told by a BIPOC author. Ms. Okosun's use of Nigerian names, places, and mythology is a refreshing change from the Greek/Irish/Viking mythology that tends to dominate the genre. Plus, her use of race and class as part of the overarching conflict creates great discussion topics. Fantasy fans would be remiss to ignore Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun. I have a feeling hers is name you are will see often in the future!

FANTASY REVIEW: ★★★★★
Absolutely phenomenal. I loved this beautiful new world. The world building is as nuanced and layered and beautiful and culturally rich as any P. Djeli Clark novel. The magic system, so interesting. The different groups in the society had me wanting to learn more about these people. The action scenes? I couldn't put it down. The ending was such an intense, wild ride.

ROMANCE REVIEW: ★
What the hell was this? Not every book needs romance and this book would've been so ELEVATED without the mess these characters were put into. Not only is there a LOVE TRIANGLE but mixed in with that is fated mates, “forced” proximity, AND enemies to lovers. These characters were such a hot mess that beyond our FMC messing around with them both, there never really was any character development. They all remained flat outside of the plot and this poorly done romance. The FMC also was a ’my way or the highway’ main character and never really chose to see outside of her own thoughts until the plot forced her to, which made for an uncomfortable reading experience at times. In the end this unnecessarily complicated mess of a 'romance' made my reading experience of what could've been an absolutely fantastic & immersive novel nosedive into what is at most, an overall 3-star experience.

AVERAGE / OVERALL RATING: ★★★

This book was intriguing to me from the start. A beautiful, eye-catching cover with an initial hook that led me to have high expectations for what was to come. I appreciated the premise and overall lessons within the story, however it did seem a little young for my typical taste. The main character being young and inexperienced herself led to this overall feeling while reading.

I think I would’ve been happy to read this book without any romance element, but again I’m not typically a fan of love triangles.

I rated this story 3 stars because it was a world I was glad to experience, but would recommend it for young adult readers.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC!

I really loved the description of this book when I first got an ARC copy of it through net galley. I wanted to first thank Harper Voyager for also sending me a finished copy before release date for an honest review. I enjoyed the initial plot of this book. What I loved about it was the world building and the unique magic system. I also loved the main characters Demi and and the strong ethics and morals that she had throughout the book. I also loved the main plot line of Demi taking the steps to fight the oppression in plaguing her world but I think I am a bigger fan of Ekwensi because I think realistically his mindset is where I am at when it comes to fighting oppression. The I think that the love triangle between Demi, Jonas, and Colin was not necessary, I think that the book would have been more enjoyable if the focus was on the relationship between Jonas and Demi. Overall the world building was spectacular. The last 30% of the book there is a lot of info dumping that was rather enjoyable and increased the drama of the book. I do recommend reading this book if you love books with great world building, and breaking down oppression, and also a little bit of romance.

Thanks to NetGalley & Avon and Harper Voyager for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, I DNF'ed at 20%.

I was really annoyed at how this book had really cool worldbuilding but the MOST BORING romance. Why is there even a romance in this fantasy dystopian world?! I was hoping for a more straightforward fantasy adventure with a protagonist toppling society but instead, it was just blah blah about who likes who. and fated soulmates...judging by other reviews there seems to be a love triangle deeper into the book. Snore.

Weird romance aside--the pacing was really off too. The protagonist immediately trusted the Eventual Love Interest despite her mother warning her not to and gee what happens...ha. I was also getting really confused with how much time had passed--due to strange pacing--it felt like only seconds passed by but apparently, it had been longer than that.

Despite it all I can tell this author really has great ideas for worldbuilding--I just hope they fix the pacing issues in their next book.

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=3? | 😘=2.75 | 🤬=2 | ⚔️=5 | 14+; T

thoughts: this is fine?? I’m not super impressed and nothing really stood out to me I guess. just meh.

***Thank you to Harper Voyager for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

I struggled so much with this book, but there were some things that I really loved. The mythology and culture were fascinating, and I really enjoyed learning about it over the course of the story. The exploration of themes related to colonization, racism, and colorism was thought-provoking and gut-wrenching. The author painted a vivid, grim picture of what life is like for those who face systematic persecution at the hands of a colonizer. I also appreciated the nuanced examination of revenge versus justice and the difficulties inherent in deciding how best to change a corrupt system.

Despite having some great themes and an impressive backdrop, the execution of the story was rough. I was hooked in the beginning and completely invested for the first few chapters. Then the nine year time jump happened, and I hated it. All the momentum of the first chapters came to a screeching halt, and it felt like I was back at the beginning of the story. Everything just sort of meandered around from there until the climax at the end. The pacing was all over the place with so many lulls my eyes glazed over. The end was okay and set up some interesting conflicts for the next book, but all of the supposedly shocking backgrounds and connections between the characters just left me unsatisfied and a little bit confused. I came away from it all not really caring what happens next, largely because I can sort of guess how it will go. So, I don't think I'll pick up the sequel.

Now on to the thing I disliked the most about this book: the characters and their relationships. I didn't hate the main character, Dèmi. She was fascinating and had a life full of trauma she was attempting to overcome. She just wanted to do what was best for her people, and I really liked how her character was used to explore the ethics of revenge and justice. The problem was the boys, Colin and Jonas. They dragged her character down into a stupid love triangle, and I hated it, especially since both of the boys lacked depth. Fated mate pairings can be riveting, but this book did that trope dirty. Everything was so obvious and insta-love. I was cringing. The sad thing is Jonas could have been used to explore class and race privilege in such fascinating ways because of his unique position. Instead we got a bit of shallow lip service to that topic, and he and Colin were largely reduced to making googly eyes and fighting over Dèmi. It felt juvenile and was so frustrating to read.

All in all, this book was not for me. It had such a vividly imagined setting, but the story was a let down. The tropes were just a little too tropey, and the annoying love triangle had me rolling my eyes so much. I'm going to be generous and rate this 3.5 out of 5 stars because I appreciate what it was trying to do even though I didn't love it.