Children of Blood and Bone
Tomi Adeyemi
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating: 
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.
Children of Blood and Bone has been on my book radar for MONTHS. Every corner of the bookish internet was praising it and shouting about how great it is. And you know what? It’s worth every ounce of hype it’s received. It’s one of those wonderful cases where the inside of the book is just as gorgeous as the outside!
Seriously. I was hooked from just the first chapter. Her African inspired fantasy world is so detailed, her characters so rich; the world building and character development in just the first couple chapters was so well crafted. It was so subtle, but so engaging and not once did it feel like an info dump. I can see why the movie rights were snatched up well before the book was even released.
The book alternated between the point of view of three characters. Usually when there’s multiple POVs there’s always that one character whose chapters you have to force yourself to get through, but not in Children of Blood and Bone. Each character is integral to the plot progression and each character has their own unique story to add to the overall arc.
Tomi is a naturally gifted writer. She created a book where you think you’ll just sit down and read for ten minutes but before you know it an hour has passed, you’ve read a hundred pages, and you’re unsure what year it is and what’s real.
At more than 500 pages it’s on the long side for the first book in a YA fantasy series, but I could have easily read 500 more pages. Not once did it drag or slow down. It’s 525 pages of “I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!” And it looks like everyone agrees with me since it debuted at #1 on New York Times Best Sellers List. I can see it staying at the top for many weeks to come!
Do yourself a favour and read it! It lives up to the hype.
Book Links: Book Depository | Amazon US | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK
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I am so excited to read this. I got my super pretty edition on release day, and have been waiting for a time when I can just sit down and devour it (I have a week off this week, so timing!) So glad to hear so many people say that it lives up to the hype!
Thanks for a great review!
Oooh hope you like it as much as I did!
The Waterstones edition is GORGEOUS
Fantastic review 🙂
I loved how distinctive each of the characters were, and I loved Amari.
Cora | https://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk