Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC!

This was a solid foundation for what I know will be an epic fantasy series. The world was rich and fascinating, and the narrator brought it all to life—they did an amazing job. Think (I say this loosely) An Ember in the Ashes meets Masquerade. Those were the vibes. High-stakes, devastating, and massive world-building with dystopian themes. Though there was action, I wouldn’t say it was entirely action-driven. The first half of the book was a bit hard for me because I expected and wanted more action. On top of that, our hero and heroine are VERY young, I was begging for a huge time jump. By the end, this felt like a prerequisite for what’s to come. A prequel, if you will. It sets the scene, gives you time to settle into the world, get to know the characters, and see them grow and develop. There’s also all the backstory you’ll need, instead of it all being dumped in increments. The characters lie in wait and so does the reader. This is one of those books I would recommend immersive reading and wish I had, because there is a lot to take in. It’s multiple POVs, supplemental stories, fables, and decades of beef intertwined. So either you slow that audiobook down and lock in, or grab an ebook/physical to go with it. You’re gonna need to pay close attention to this one.

4.5/5
Amazing story. This is a great buildup to an amazing, complex transformation in this world. Where 2 young children are prophesized to change the world and those in power trying to do their best to stop it.
The book centers around 2 11 year olds, I kept forgetting they were children and not teenagers. The book creates them in a way they are mature but still have the innocence of a child. The add-in chapters (in adult POVs) help round out the story very well. The world building is there and easy to follow and the plot keeps moving with scheming and betrayals. I did listen to this book and the narrator did an amazing job bringing the characters and world to life! Great first book and can't wait for more.

An African Inspired story of political intrigue with a sprinkling of fantasy and coming of age. It follows M'Kuru/Khalil, the last surviving son of the Mukundi family, is hidden away and portrayed as the bastard son of a general, and Zikora the only daughter of the Nnamani Noble family.

This is a story of survival at all odds in and has flares of Game of Thrones type scenes with Chinaza Bado refusing to hold back on the realities of war and political unrest. While dynamic it is clear that this is a set up for a series as the two primary characters are not brought into the same environment until the last 10% of the book. I will be interested to see how it evolves.

What I loved: the dynamic characters, the raw truth of coming of age with a history of trauma and strength, as well as the building of political mayhem.

Where I got lost: I listed to the audiobook and the multiple POVs had me get lost a few times in who was ""speaking"" and how the characters were all related. Personally, it would have been better to keep it to two point of views OR have different narrators for the different POVs to be able to keep them more straight.

I enjoyed Birth of a Dynasty by Chinaza Bado the worldbuilding is rich and the story is full of political intrigue and magic inspired by African culture, which felt fresh and powerful. M’Kuru and Zikora are both compelling characters, but honestly, I wish they’d been a bit older by the end. I think a little more time for them to grow up would’ve made their choices and the story a more interesting.

That said, the story does a great job setting things up for the next book, and I’m genuinely excited to see where it goes from here. If you’re into epic fantasy with complex characters and a unique cultural vibe, this one’s definitely worth picking up! Just be aware there is a significant amount of mature themes despite it being categorized as New Adult.

This is definitely a series to watch! This is a slow, character-building start to what promises to be a fantastical series. Based on the synopsis, I feared learning too many names and places at once but this story allows you to immerse yourself in the world and learn things slowly, at the same pace as the characters. This type of storytelling isn't for everyone and is reminiscent of Game of Thrones.

By following the characters from when they are young allows for us to see that growth and opening their eyes to what the world around them entails. I think this really matches the magic system and how people use their ancestral magic and prophecies to become stronger. There is a lot of information that is weaved into the story and I found some of it difficult to keep track of on audio, but think this would be something solved by reading a print version or utilizing the PDF.

The magic system seems well-balanced and even with the prophecy element, the story didn't fall into the trap of being "the chosen" versus everyone else. I think there is a lot of room for M’Kuru and Zikora to grow and develop throughout this trilogy.

I wasn't a fan of the multiple perspectives on audio since it was only one narrator but did like getting the story from different perspectives. I think having multiple narrators would have elevated the audio experience.

TLDR: A lot of setup for the future of this series in this one which made it a bit dry sometimes; however, it was lush with worldbuilding and character study which makes me excited to see where it goes next! If you're looking for a start to a promising series, this is the book for you!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and chose to review it. This in no way impacts my opinion. Thank you to Harper Voyager for the opportunity to review!

I think I've moved on from fantasy books. I have a hard time with world-building and magic systems and creature similar to real creatures but named differently. I'm just not as into it as I used to be and I don't have the time to be confused in a book lol. It's not a bad book but it's not for me. And the main characters were YOUNG but did not read as 11-12 years old. I won't be continuing this series. I did enjoy the narrator though.

I understand that this book was meant to be an incredibly powerful story, one born in African folklore and mythology, but I had an incredibly difficult time investing myself in the story.
Much more blood thirsty than I had anticipated from the very first page, from hands getting cut off and families getting murdered. I understand the authors mission, the want to make known the difficult hand that the main characters had been given, one born to royalty and wanting to use that to their benefit and the other forced to watch this atrocity take place, the murder of his entire family and being the only one left alone, seeking retribution and fighting for his rights.

One thing I found really difficult to follow along was the magic system that was in use- I felt that that could have ben expanded upon further, or explained in a way that didn't leave me rewinding the audio to make sure I heard them properly.


The narrators did a very poor job with their tone and their inflictions that it made me so disinterested in listening to the book.
I was hoping it would help with the pronunciation of the character's names and in that respect it did fine, but did very little to capture my attention otherwise

This audiobook is probably one of my favorite that I have ever listened to. The way that Adenrele captures the story, and brings it to light, is truly a beautiful to have witnessed. I enjoyed the book itself but I really think the audiobook made it even better. It made me want to go find more of her work and continue to listen to more books with her as the narrator. I hope she continues the trilogy and does the narration for the rest of them. I am super excited for this trilogy and the narration had a very big influence on that.

Something out of my wheelhouse and I am pretty glad I chose to listen and read this book. It was overall a great story

I finished the ARC/ALC of Birth of a Dynasty by Chinaza Bado, and boy was it a nice ride! The narrator takes you on a journey in this African inspired fantasy! If you enjoy audiobooks, this one is for you.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What to expect:
-Prophecy
-Rebellion
-Politics
-Hidden identity
-Children and adult main characters
-Magic
-Rich in culture

Favorite quote: “And good men should not have to die because of the whims of bad men. But that is the nature of the world.”

Characters. There are a lot of characters with their own self-serving motivations. The ways that the characters are introduced works well; They enter a couple at a time, allowing the reader to get a sense of who they are before more characters join the cast.

M'Kuru’s POV was by far my favorite because it felt like an epic journey and contained most of the action. The other POVs—and there quite a few—are important, but they feel more like a mix of backstory, setting, and plotting. I’m not much of a political girlie, so thankfully the politics weren’t overwhelming and supported the plot progression.
Plot. The plot was intriguing and pulled me in. However, I think the pacing is a little drawn out—especially from Zikora’s POV. Her POV was distanced, like what happened around her was more important than what was happening to/within her. Shit doesn’t really hit home for her until the end of the book.

I didn’t care for the Queen/Princess/concubine drama. It didn’t feel integral to where the plot was going.

I’m not sure about Khalil's mom yet…or her part in the plot other than being a helpless mess.

I’m still curious about the “real Khalil.” I wonder if he died or if he is playing a bigger part somewhere else in Ahkebulin and will enter the scene later to cause some chaos.

Pros. I loved passage of ancestral knowledge. Book starts in the action.

Cons. The ending packed a punch, just not as big as it built up for. It did, however, reenforce the Zikora and Khalil’d goals and set them up to be potential allies.

Zakora’s family is all “Z” names and sound similar. While I think it reflects family tradition, it made it confusing and hard to follow.

ALC. The narrator felt more like a voice actor and submerged me into the story. She was excellent and felt authentic. I listen to the audiobook via NetGalley Shelf App on 1.25 speed. The narrator really brought this story to life. 100% recommend buying the audio version. I think I will forever hear the narrator say, “who are you?” Love, love, love.

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for my copy!

I can't wait to see how book two unfolds!

Birth of a Dynasty is book one of an African-inspired political fantasy series about revenge, rebellion, and the fight for power. The story follows two main characters, M'kuru, a boy who has gone into hiding after the assassination of his high-born family (and village), and Zikora, the young daughter of a lord who finds herself taken as a "tribute" to the reigning king after receiving mysterious powers from her family line.

The incredible talents of the narrator and the quality world-building create an inviting story for the reader. I loved experiencing this kind of magic system and the Game of Thrones like political intrigue out of the "standard" fantasy setting. While I enjoyed meeting all of the main players in this world and their links to one another, this book had a feeling throughout the entire story of being the set up to an even more interesting book 2. The first 50-60% of this story flew by with action and interest, while the back half could have given more of a punch to build anticipation for the next story. Despite a slower end, I am so looking forward to following M'kuru and Zikora as they move into the next phase of their tale.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the audiobook copy for review!

Wow, wow, wow! If the first book is that good, what about the rest of the series?

This book got my attention from the prologue to the last chapter. I was fully invested in all the characters, the multiples POV allowed us to see the story from so many perspectives, even those we wouldn’t even think of and they were all important! The political intrigues reminded me of Games of Thrones (but make it black, yes!). The writing was fluid, even for an epic fantasy. It was easy to understand, and tbh that’s what I’m scared of when I start a new epic fantasy series that it would be too heavy and complicated. But this is not the case for Birth of a Dynasty!

I can’t wait for the second book in the series, and I hope it’s a series of multiple books(at least 3 please : i'm begging). I can’t wait to see what will happen to M’kuru and Zikora. I’m happy to have started with them when they were young so I can enjoy their character developments!

A big shoutout to the audiobook narrator. I really felt like I was watching a movie. 10/10! Some scenes I had to listen twice because they made me emotional. You could feel all the emotions of the characters. It was amazing acting. I need all my audiobooks to be like this one.

Thank you, Harper Collins, for this ARC copy. I am forever grateful! I will recommend this book to everyone I know!

Love the multi POVs the world is so interesting and the magic is awesome! This hit all my favorites vengeance prophecy and the price of power. This was a slower morally gray epic that I was excited to read and will be recommending to all my book friends!

Birth of a Dynasty was a book sent to me by the publisher that I had never heard of. I decided to give it a try and I’m so glad I did. I LOVED this book. This book had me hooked from page one. The pacing was incredible and it was so well done. I saw a creator say “game of thrones, make it black, sprinkle some black panther in there and inspired by west African culture” and this was spot on.

Birth of a Dynasty follows three families - Mukundi, Nnamani and Zenzele. After the Mukundi family gets murdered and only the youngest son survivors, the Nnamani family knows they are next. There is a prophecy that the Zenzele don’t want to come true that is still possible with the survival of the youngest son and the Nnamani youngest daughter. The book is building to the collision of the three families and is really well done. Over the course of the book we see small acts of rebellions, the impact of war and revenge, and the importance of waiting for the right moment. All of the book is perfect set up for what I anticipate to be an amazing trilogy that I absolute cannot wait for! Thank you SO SO much Harper voyager.

First of all, let me just say, this is my first NetGalley review/ book. I had no idea what to expect with this book as I went in blind, but it was beautifully written! Lush and rich with cultural details and epic political intrigue; I felt like we never knew if someone was about to die, was someone about to betray someone, WHAT IS ABOUT TO HAPPENNN?! 😱 Very much like Game of Thrones, hahaha.
That plot twist? Babyyyyy. Jaw = dropped.

Now I will say- I do think I should’ve read this with my eyeballs instead of doing audio because I did struggle with differentiating between some of the names, but that was a me problem.
Also, the narrator? PERFECTION!! She was incredible! Absolutely crushing every single character and delivered 100% on the story. Top marks!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this ALC/ARC!

The audiobook had one narrator, Adenrele Ojo, and she did AMAZING! She had the ability to take the characters off of the page and not only bring them to life but GIVE them life. The sotry was well paced as she added a wide range of emotions, the cries and wailing of ailing characters, and the whispers of suspense which supplied an invigorating mental movie in my mind as I took it all in. Adenrele did well supplying voices to the characters that I believed fit their description or how they are portrayed in the story. What's also important is that I was able to differentiate between the characters as well (male & female, adult & child). I have not had much personal experience with the accent(s) she had given the characters, but her ability to supply it gave me an idea on what area the characters come from without needing looking at the book's description. With that, I believe the audiobook was impactful for my personal experience with the story

By looking at the cover and the title, one would think the story would take place somewhere is Asia and not a place like Ahkebulin. The fact that it does take place in Ahkebulin is what caught my attention as I haven't had enough exposer to these types of stories and I really like it! The story of a young boy and a young girl that both hail from high nobility at odds against those around them, fighting to stay alive. They both have hard and trying personal experiences and it is only a matter of time until they end up before one another as their paths cross. It is fair that in their encounter they do not trust one another because they don't and shouldn't trust the people around them. The flow of the story was good and it did seem a bit long, but that particular thing is not something I would complain about. My only complaint is needing to wait for the second book because now I need to know what happens next. Is there character growth? Do "Khalil" and Zikora form an alliance?? Because they are a boy and a girl does fate play a bigger part in the storyline???

Thank-you to NetGalley & Harper Voyage

"We shall not forgive. We shall not forget. We will have our vengeance."

From the moment I turned on this audiobook, I knew I was in for something epic. I usually shy away from epic fantasies, often settling into the more niche categories because the world building can get so vast to the point of losing myself into the story.
It did not happen here.
From the beginning, we are thrown into the fray of political war, rivaling Game of Thrones levels of deception. Bado does not shy away from the cruelties of war and the wrath of its oppressors, allowing us brief moments where we are inside of their heads.
Our protagonists, however, are M’Kuru and Zikora. Two young individuals who must face the world and the cruelness that has been dealt to them on the basis of fate and prophecy. The one thing I loved was the way each individual storyline converged, bringing the narrative together and presenting a beautiful stepping stone into an epic fantasy series.
I adore the weaving of African folklore and that we were able to grow with each of the characters and seeing how the world shapes them to be wise as well as strong in the wake of what is to come.

Thank you, Harper Voyager and Netgalley for an e-arc as well as an ALC. I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful work of art.

I probably should have done this review right after I finished it, but I guess I gave myself a little bit of time to simmer on this book. I honestly could not get into this book. I wish it was for me, but it wasn’t my favorite. I literally don’t even remember the characters names that’s how disengaged I was.

Thank you NetGalley for an ALC and ARC in exchange for an honest review. A lot of good reviews for this book so take this review with a grain of salt! Just my two cents.

Rating: 2⭐️/5

I went into this book with relatively high hopes, and I wasn’t disappointed. Birth of a Dynasty is truly such a strong debut. It’s ambitious in its themes and rich in cultural detail, and I really had a great time with every part of it. I did have a few minor pacing issues along the way, but honestly? The experience overall outweighed any of those issues completely. This is one of those stories that makes you feel proud.


Characters:

There’s something so refreshing about characters who are complicated in the right ways. No one here is completely good or evil, and it’s the murky in-between that kept me interested. I especially loved how the story never tried to simplify their motives—it trusted us to sit with the nuance.

The Mukundi clan deserves a specific shoutout. The moment I saw their name, it reminded me of my own language and culture. That moment of recognition? It honestly made me pause. It was beautiful to see that kind of representation in a fantasy story that’s also so well written.


Worldbuilding:

The world was so layered—every time I thought I had a grip on it, another detail would unfold. The political system, traditions, historical wounds—it all felt real. You can tell that Chinaza Bado put a lot of thought into how power works in this world, and how that trickles down into people’s everyday lives.

There were moments I wish we lingered more in certain locations or customs (especially early on), but the richness of the culture made up for it. I’m hoping for even more expansion in the next book because this world definitely has more to give (and I’m just desperate to see more).


Writing Style:

The writing struck a balance I really appreciated—it was poetic when it needed to be, sharp when it had to be. I never felt like it was trying too hard. Some of the lines really stuck with me, especially the way emotions and tension were handled. There’s this grounded confidence to the writing that makes you trust the story.


Audiobook + Narration Notes:

I was lucky enough to also get the audiobook, and it added such a layer to the experience. The narrator’s delivery gave weight to certain moments, and the pronunciation of names and terms brought the culture to life in a really vivid way. I highly recommend pairing the audio with the physical copy if you can. I enjoyed the narrator’s touch on the character accents as well. The addition of slight differences in accents to show the different families, truly tied it all together for me.


Overall Thoughts:

This was such a powerful debut. It’s rich, emotional, and full of pride in what it represents. It’s not just a story about legacy, it feels like a legacy being written. It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be. What it is is impactful. I completed the book and immediately wished to start it over all over again.

4.25 stars from me (and that’s saying something because I rarely rate above 4). I’m so excited to see where this series (and author) goes next. If you’re looking for fantasy that celebrates culture while still delivering political tension, strong characters, and a gripping plot, then this one’s worth picking up.

Things I really enjoyed:
– Multiple POVs that added depth and layers to the story
– Solid political intrigue
– Game of Thrones vibes, but with African-inspired storytelling
– A great plot twist that genuinely caught me off guard

While I appreciated the concept and the twist pulled me in, I wasn’t as quickly hooked as I expected. I don’t think I’ll be continuing with the series, but I definitely see the appeal and admire what the author set out to do.