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Children of Blood and Bone

Children of Blood and Bone

byTomi Adeyemi
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Top positive review

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Richard Lewis
5.0 out of 5 starsChildren of Blood and Bone
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 1, 2022
My rating for Children of Blood and Bone is five stars. This is probably one of my favorite fantasy books I’ve ever read, which is saying something, considering I read tons of fantasy. When choosing a book out of the few options I was given in my English class, Children of Blood and Bone was my final decision. The first thing that caught my attention with this book was simply the title. This title really spiked my curiosity and made me wonder what the book could possibly be about to warrant such a title. Though the real reason I ended up picking it was the summary. As a fantasy and romance reader, the summary had a variety of aspects I look for/enjoy seeing in the books I read. The summary had the perfect amount of mystery and drama and really made me want to read the book and hear the whole story. After reading the story I thought it still kind of held the same amount of mystery and excitement to it as it did when I first read the summary, especially with it ending on a but of a clif hangers. The Author (Tomi Adeyemi) did a brilliant job of developing an entirely unique world and culture as the background and setting for her book. With the sheer amount of fantasy novels with magical worlds, it can be very hard at times to create something unique, but I think Tomi Adeyemi was able to do just that, her world was unlike anything else I’ve read in other books. This was helpful to me because it prevented me from feeling bored when reading the book, there was always something new and unexpected to discover. The other thing this book did insanely well was the background and development of each of its characters. Each of the characters in this book was not only unique, but each had their own traits, triumphs, and trauma. I thought that each character was well-balanced and wasn’t super standard or stereotypical. I think something that really helped with seeing each character's development throughout the story was the way it was written from different characters' points of view in each chapter. Writing from multiple different characters’ points of view helps us understand the decisions and actions of each character on a deeper level, rather than just seeing them from the viewpoint of another character. I especially liked reading Inan’s point of view, seeing as how he is kind of the antagonist of the story, and it gives You a better understanding as to why he acts the way he does and why he’s on the antagonist’s side of the story. My one criticism of the story is that there were a couple of plot holes throughout the book. Due to how detailed and complicated the book was, it left a couple of things unexplained at times, though none of the things I noticed were super major or overall important to the story. Meaning they weren’t super detrimental to the general story or my experience. Overall I think this book is certainly something I’d recommend to any reader, especially those who enjoy fantasy, adventure, and a little romance as well (enemies to lovers to be specific.) It was certainly an experience reading this book and I have already bought and started reading the second book as well, can’t wait to see how this story continues to play out!
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Fast 'n' Bulbous
VINE VOICE
3.0 out of 5 starsReign In Blood: A rich fantasy world bogged down by brutality.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 2, 2018
When this debut novel rocketed to the top of the bestseller list and author Nigerian-American Tomi Adeyemi is featured on magazine covers asking, “The next J.K. Rowling?” I was cautiously excited. With credentials of a Harvard literature degree and further studies in West African mythology and religion in Brazil, I expected some well-planned world building, savage social criticism and sparkling writing. I believe the book succeeded in at least two of those expectations.

Adeyemi does indeed create a compelling world called Orïsha a fantasy world that draws from the rich traditions of West African folklore and mythology, particularly the Yoruba religion based on Nigerian oral traditions, which calls the various manifestations of spirits Orishas. While there are at least 400 + 1 manifestations of Orishas, in Adeyemi’s fictional Orïsha world, there are ten deities, each with a clan of followers, the once powerful maji possessing abilities specific to the deity they follow. However, King Saran had a major beef with magic, and we piece together the story of how the King obtained a black metal called majacite that cripples the maji’s powers, massacred them, stole three key artifacts, and managed to wipe out magic from the lands. So what once was a vibrant world where magic was a part of everyday life is now a dreary society where diviners, the descendents of majis, are subjugated, heavily taxed second class citizens that resemble countless colonialist and Jim Crow situations throughout real life history.

So far so good, this is a compelling setting that can educate young adults about African culture while adding a refreshingly Afro-centric fantasy world. Many are aligning Adeyemi with the Afrofuturism canon alongside Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler and more recently Nnedi Okorafor and Tochi Onyebuchi. While this could be a future world, to me, the complete lack of technology suggests that this is a fantasy universe, though one tied to Yoruba traditions. Either way, the potential for this fantasy world is awe inspiring.

While the pacing is brisk, exploding into action within a couple pages, and the writing is economical, there’s some significant issues. Throughout the book the first person narrative switches off between Zélie Adebola, descendent of a powerful Reaper maji of the Iku clan, Princess Amari and Prince Inan. Each character has been traumatized, and they re-live the moments of brutality in their dreams and inner voices. Repeatedly. Constantly. Over and over, to the point where both Zélie and Amari would likely be diagnosed with PTSD in real life. Zélie ruminates on the horrific murder of her mother during the maji massacre from when she was a young child, while Amari is haunted by her friend/servant Binta’s murder at the hands of her father. Inan, conflicted between his loyalty to his father, sense of duty (the “duty before self” mantra is repeated 37 times in the book) to the kingdom, and the obvious evil intentions behind his father’s orders (“Kill the girl. Kill magic.” is his second favorite mantra, repeated nearly as often).

The obsessive single-mindedness of each of these characters is so similar that it’s hard to keep track of which point of view we’re reading at any given time. The tone is uniformly overwrought, with the characters experiencing primarily extreme emotions of fear and hatred, with extra helpings of distrust and betrayal. Adeyemi does attempt to bring a couple lighter moments of respite later on, and even some romance, but both are thoroughly unconvincing, since the primary mission of the book seems to be to convey just how hopelessly grim and harrowing life is with the relentless violence and even torture. Clearly this book also operates as an allegory for the Black American experience. It’s hard to read about fictional suffering. It’s even harder to live in the real world where you’re judged by an essential quality like the color of your skin. This isn’t the place to compare James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time” to a work of fiction, but Baldwin (for example) empowers his readers while also laying out the oppressive racism of his times. The thing I hoped to see beyond strength in suffering, power in enduring, is the hope for a better or different world found in so much Afrofuturist writing. Post-magic Orïsha shouldn’t have to be a completely joyless world in order to convey the struggles of the characters. Take N. K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, for example. The book’s heroine Yeine, like Zélie, mourns the murder of her mother. While she too struggles with the allure of hatred and revenge, here inner life is much more complex and rich, and her story ultimately more uplifting.

So what will be the lesson for the intended young adult audience? Life is a horrible, neverending parade of violent ordeals to be suffered through until you meet a brutal death? I get that life is hard and often unjust, and we’re enduring a particularly dark period in politics and racism. Real life reminds us of that daily. We don’t necessarily have to be bludgeoned with these truths. Even in times like this when issues are reduced to the most simple extremes in tweets and headlines, it is still possible for literature to address serious, important issues while still retaining hope, wonder, and if they choose, humor. There are brief glimpses of a better future within Legacy of Orïsha #1, but not enough where I’m sure that I feel compelled to see what happens in the next two books. However it seems this series is destined to be a cultural milestone, with a movie already in the works, and the next book will certainly be greeted with massive anticipation and popularity. Adeyemi clearly has talent and potential, so on the chance that she grows as a writer, I’ll mostly likely read the next one. We’ve been bathed in blood, now how about throwing us a bone?
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From the United States

Richard Lewis
5.0 out of 5 stars Children of Blood and Bone
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 1, 2022
Verified Purchase
My rating for Children of Blood and Bone is five stars. This is probably one of my favorite fantasy books I’ve ever read, which is saying something, considering I read tons of fantasy. When choosing a book out of the few options I was given in my English class, Children of Blood and Bone was my final decision. The first thing that caught my attention with this book was simply the title. This title really spiked my curiosity and made me wonder what the book could possibly be about to warrant such a title. Though the real reason I ended up picking it was the summary. As a fantasy and romance reader, the summary had a variety of aspects I look for/enjoy seeing in the books I read. The summary had the perfect amount of mystery and drama and really made me want to read the book and hear the whole story. After reading the story I thought it still kind of held the same amount of mystery and excitement to it as it did when I first read the summary, especially with it ending on a but of a clif hangers. The Author (Tomi Adeyemi) did a brilliant job of developing an entirely unique world and culture as the background and setting for her book. With the sheer amount of fantasy novels with magical worlds, it can be very hard at times to create something unique, but I think Tomi Adeyemi was able to do just that, her world was unlike anything else I’ve read in other books. This was helpful to me because it prevented me from feeling bored when reading the book, there was always something new and unexpected to discover. The other thing this book did insanely well was the background and development of each of its characters. Each of the characters in this book was not only unique, but each had their own traits, triumphs, and trauma. I thought that each character was well-balanced and wasn’t super standard or stereotypical. I think something that really helped with seeing each character's development throughout the story was the way it was written from different characters' points of view in each chapter. Writing from multiple different characters’ points of view helps us understand the decisions and actions of each character on a deeper level, rather than just seeing them from the viewpoint of another character. I especially liked reading Inan’s point of view, seeing as how he is kind of the antagonist of the story, and it gives You a better understanding as to why he acts the way he does and why he’s on the antagonist’s side of the story. My one criticism of the story is that there were a couple of plot holes throughout the book. Due to how detailed and complicated the book was, it left a couple of things unexplained at times, though none of the things I noticed were super major or overall important to the story. Meaning they weren’t super detrimental to the general story or my experience. Overall I think this book is certainly something I’d recommend to any reader, especially those who enjoy fantasy, adventure, and a little romance as well (enemies to lovers to be specific.) It was certainly an experience reading this book and I have already bought and started reading the second book as well, can’t wait to see how this story continues to play out!
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R. Rousseau
4.0 out of 5 stars The Hype is Real!!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 13, 2018
Verified Purchase
When reading books that are as hyped as this one, I really try to go into it with as little preconceived notion as possible so that I can form my own opinion and experience the story with a fresh mindset. So I tried to read as little as possible when review after amazing review would pop up for Children of Blood and Bone. I didn’t really know much about it other than it was a fantasy based on West African culture, some tribal magic, and a fight for freedom.

The world building in this book is fantastic. Its completely original from most all YA stories out there with a rich feel of the actual culture it is based around. I did spend a lot of time looking up specific Yoruba words to understand what I was reading, but that just added to the unique experience that this book enveloped me in. The magic system was also very different from most, based off of each of the ten gods in their religion, each god provides its children with a specific talent or gift. I really liked this and found it very easy to follow as we learned how it worked throughout the story.

The characters were all well fleshed out with very different personalities and I found that each one had their own role that played into the plot in its own way. While Zélie was our first character we were introduced to, there were three others that played very important roles in how this story would unfold. The other three were Tzain, Amari, and Inan. Mostly the chapters are told from Zélie, Amari and Inan, but Tzain is a constant throughout the entire book. I felt that in the beginning we see how closed minded most of the characters are, but over the course of the book they grow through many difficult tasks and battles that eventually open their eyes to how they need to make big steps in order to change their kingdom for the better. Diviners (magic wielding people) are very much looked down upon to the point that they are given a number of racial slurs, the worst of all being “maggot”. It broke my heart to see how cruel they were treated because of the way they were born.

Zélie was fierce and a fighter at heart, but somehow always found a way to mess everything up. I can relate Zél, I can relate. But with her brother Tzain by her side, she was protected always. I loved their relationship and how strong their family bond was. Losing their mother at a young age, Tzain swore to protect Zélie always, and he stood by that promise through thick and thin.

Amari might have been my favorite character (aside from Roen) but as far as main characters go, Amari went from being a quiet and timid princess to the fierce Lionaire. Her character growth was amazing, reading about her breaking out of her shell and to defy her despicable father so that she could help those who needed it most made my own heart grow. The friendship that formed between Zélie and Amari was beautiful in the way that they brought out the best in each other. While it started with a bit of hatred, it quickly grew, and eventually they were the ones who helped each other through even the toughest of times.

Inan was a mess. Poor, poor Inan. He just couldn’t catch a break. Brainwashed from birth by his father the king, he was taught that all magic was evil, and that if magic came back it would be the death of all those he loved. So when he finds out that he is also a Diviner his self loathing began to eat him alive from the inside out. I started out really disliking him for is ignorant way of thinking, and how he would do anything to please dear old daddy. But I will say he grew on me towards the end of the book. He still had his downside, but it was better than his bullheadedness from before he felt the fear of what it felt like to be a lowly diviner. The fear of being found out, that he was a maggot. But he grows a lot because of this, and he was actually good at heart under all the lies he had been told all his life.

My only complaint would be the romance. UGHHH! I can handle love triangles, teen angst, sappy love stories, forbidden love, even some instalove, and all the other crazy tropes there are out there, but when you start pairing couples off for the sake of everyone having a love interest, it starts to take away from the experience. Sometimes its okay for there to be a character that doesn’t have a lover. That doesn’t make them less interesting, it just means that wasn’t part of their story. I got to a few parts in this book where I was laughing at how ridiculous and forced the relationship was starting to feel. With how powerful and moving the rest of the story is, this just seemed so out of place that I lost some of the emotional investment I had already put into the book thus far. Had this not been the case, this would have easily been a five star read for me.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. Its moving, cultural, powerful, intense, and fiercely passionate. I can feel the love that went into the writing and the message behind the story. I wanted to fight along with these characters for their freedom. I loved how connected you start to feel with the characters and their world, and the emotions this book provoked in me while reading. I can NOT wait until the second book is published, that cliffhanger of an ending will keep me wondering for the next year. Let the torture begin! This book really did live up to the hype and I’m happy I can finally know what it’s all about!
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BookLover132
5.0 out of 5 stars Magic, Justice, and Relatable Characters - what more could you want?
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 30, 2018
Verified Purchase
As I recover from binge-reading this book, a few words circle around in my brain: this book was amazing. Not only does it have magic, complex characters, and a cause many of us can relate to, but it also has amazing world-building and a plot that will pull at your heartstrings.

A quick summary of the world: Orïsha is a country where magic used to roam. The kosidán, those without magic, were afraid of the maji’s power, and as such waged war against them. But as long as the maji had power, they were able to keep the kosidán at bay. Until Saran, a zealous king, figured out a way to break off the connection the maji had with the gods. Then Saran ordered all of the maji killed—sparing the ibawi (those who cannot yet do magic but will be able to once they turn 13) since they were not trained in the ways of magic.

This is where the story comes in. It’s been eleven years since magic disappeared from the world, and Zélie is treated like a maggot—a derogatory term for Divîners, those who were born with white hair and the ability to do magic (although magic no longer exists). She gets thrown into a quest to bring magic back, but is almost thwarted at every turn by the king’s forces.

Zélie is everything I want in a protagonist. She’s stubborn, smart, empathetic, and has got flaws. Adeyemi’s writing makes her such a relatable character, with a backstory that drives her to succeed in her mission. I love getting to know her and I love that she’s not perfect. There are a lot of books out there where the hero is always right and never really doubts themselves and Zélie isn’t like that. She reads like a human being, with real inner and outer struggles. She’s lost so much and that makes her even more compassionate towards others. She doesn’t hesitate to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves and it’s that strength and stubbornness that gets her into trouble, but also makes her a kind soul. She’s also super quick with her comebacks and a little snarky, which adds some lightness that is needed.

Zélie isn’t the only one with a backstory. The main antagonist, Inan, isn’t pure evil. Because of the rotating POVs, we get to see his struggle—his inner monologue—and we get to, while not relate, at least understand why he’s making the choices he’s making. I am not one for the “pure evil” villain, and Inan is certainly not one of those. While I don’t always agree with Inan’s choices, I can’t truly hate him because I see what drives him. His intentions are mostly pure, and he does care about his people. He just tries to protect them in a way that ends up hurting most of his people. (His dad, Saran, doesn’t seem to care for the Divîners at all and doesn’t hesitate to hurt anyone with magical abilities).

I absolutely loved seeing Amari grow. While I didn’t really feel a connection with her in the beginning, the way she grew into herself made me smile and really proud. I loved it when she chose to stay and fight for what she believed right, even if it meant going against her family. Towards the end we got to see more of her and a little bit more of how she stepped up into her role as an active fighter against injustice. While in the beginning a lot of her choices were made in the heat of the moment, we see her own up to her choices and choose to stay in the fight to get magic back. There’s a scene towards the end where she helps Zélie through a traumatic event, and it makes me really happy that she took her experiences and turned them into a way she could help Zélie heal. Amari and Zélie’s friendship is my favorite relationship in this book because while they didn’t start out as friends, they bonded because of their experiences and were able to truly understand each other.

Zélie’s brother, Tzain, is the only one of the four main characters that doesn’t have a POV in the story. But even so, I really enjoyed reading scenes with him in it. He’s compassionate and really cares for his sister, and will do anything to protect her, even if it means getting the aftermath of his sister’s choices. His role is the protector in the book, and it’s hard for him to do what he wants because he’s driven by his need to take care of his family. His relationship with Zélie is most definitely a sibling relationship, because even though they fight, they are still willing to die for each other.

(And I can’t forget Nailah—Zélie’s Lionaire! I loved that animal!)

Adeyemi’s world-building was off-the-charts amazing. Her world’s mythology—influenced by Yoruba culture—was beautiful and I truly loved the stories of how magic came to be. Her writing sucked me in and had me flipping the pages to find out what happened. The plot is so smooth and a lot of people aren’t merely good or evil. Most of the time you can see why certain characters acted the way they did, and it’s that writing that made me love the book.

Adeyemi’s book is absolutely beautiful and I recommend it to people who love good world-building, magic, coming-of-age stories, and complex characters. This book not only has amazing writing, but it’s got fully fleshed-out characters that you can relate to.
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Kween Pen
5.0 out of 5 stars Impeccable, Implicit, Immaculate, Innumerable
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 22, 2022
Verified Purchase
There are no words to explain the importance of this book to African American culture. It is rich in our African history. It is blessed with lessons abundant. The words that no one in history has been able to compile to explain the true fears and feelings of every person of African descent on this planet… This author has found them and put them together beautifully in this book. As someone who has studied West African culture and the religion of the Yoruba, this book of all books I have ever read spoke to me the most. Its words are poignant. Even the punctuation and the establishment of new paragraphs within the work speak volumes. They say even more than the words, and yet, they reinforce, emphasize, and enlarge the words as well. This book is a must read. It is essential reading. It is a new age classic, and it is my new favorite book.
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Jheanell H.
5.0 out of 5 stars A phenomenal, compelling, urgently paced young adult fantasy that left me in a state of immense wonder.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
Let me list the things I loved about this book:

The characters are divine.

I LOVED the different perspectives. Every one of them. Zélie is the perfect protagonist because she’s vibrant and projects real vulnerabilities and a ferocity that’s easy to identify with and root for. Amari is a gem and a sweetheart and her character’s growth was my favorite of the three leads. And Inan, he was the most compelling character for me since he’s so tragic, with his conflicted beliefs and destructive actions. Aside from the leads, there are many secondary characters that pulled me into the story. Zélie’s brother is a hero and a true prince and I would’ve loved a few scenes from his perspective. The king is a great villain, and I enjoyed reading about his backstory. Actually, I loved reading about all the characters’ backstories and how their stories were connected to Orïsha. My only complaint, and it’s a tiny one, is that there were a few characters who...left too soon and I would’ve loved more scenes with them. But hell, it’s the first book in a YA series and already 525 pages so everyone couldn’t have gotten a POV, right?

The story gripped me and the pace thrilled me.

I found CBB to be a quickly paced read bursting with action (and violence!) and magic. The chapters are relatively short, and each and every scene grabbed my attention. Seriously, every one. There isn’t excessive world building which I loved since I think it helped the story move along at a pace that matches the urgency of the stakes the characters face. I had to force myself to slow down and savor it, and I still felt like it ended too soon when it was over. Not to say there aren’t a few quiet moments, because there are, and I loved those moments since they allowed me to get to know the characters and for the characters to know each other. (Loved those dream sequences!)

The message and themes are profound and universal.

This is a story about fear and intolerance and how that leads to violence and oppression. Orïsha is a fractured nation with a horrific past, and a hopeless future for too many who live without freedom. This is a fantasy land, but it’s clear it draws from real life atrocities that occur daily in the world around us and that allows this novel to have weight. The stakes are high, and the trauma is real and personal. It’s also a story about faith and believing in a power greater than yourself. It’s about believing in people and how we’re all connected as one. Yes, it tackles some tough and distressing issues, and the characters experience so much pain and strife, but there is hope and there is love and moments of joy and humor.

There’s also romance.

Though it’s not the central theme of the novel, and when you look at the novel it doesn’t take up much space, there is romance for a few characters. One romantic plot is intense and fast, and the other is more slow burning, but they both added depth to the story and softer layers to the world filled with terror and rage. It also provided sweetness and relief from the urgency to succeed in their quest.

The more intense romance could potentially be unsatisfying for a few readers since its intensity builds quickly over a short span of time. For me, I loved it for the way it unfolded and how—I’m trying not to give too much away—the author uses the magic to allow these characters to connect on a deeper level than would be possible in a different setting.

The other romantic plot line didn’t delve as deeply into the characters’ feelings, but there’s much room to grow for that love story and I’m so excited to see how it plays out.

The possibilities...

They’re endless, and I’m sure they’ll be torturous. This is the first in a series, so it’s not a spoiler to say it ends with a cliffhanger, and I’m so happy to say it ends on one of the better cliffhangers that I’ve read. The journey that these characters travel throughout the story does climax in the final chapter, but it’s the type of bang that is really a beginning. I have re-read the epilogue a few times and my mind is dizzy with different possibilities. I’m going down so many different roads, and my excitement continues to build because I just know the next book is going to be amazing. It must be—this world is amazing. I want more. I WANT MORE.

CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE is all that I hoped it would be. It’s all that I hoped it would be. How often does that happen? It’s a wonderful feeling.
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Me
5.0 out of 5 stars Good if you like magic
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 25, 2023
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It's a really good and interesting book I really like it if you like books about magic it's for you
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Harry C. Bryant IV
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, inspirational Black characters, and a peak into the culture of the people of Yoruba
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 4, 2020
Verified Purchase
This is a great book. I'll talk about what I like before I talk about what I didn't care for.

The #1 thing that I like about this book is that it gives us an inspirational cast of characters who are Black and many of which are strong Black female leads. I grew up reading Harry Potter. As a little Black kid, if I had the opportunity to read this instead, my childhood heroes would have looked more like me and that means a lot. The cultures of my childhood heroes would have been my ancestral heritage. Even the scenery in the book is that of Africa. Cityscapes, the jungle, and the people and animals that inhabited them were all images that I just enjoyed imagining.

Don't get me wrong. This is a book for people of all racial backgrounds. If you like fantasy, this book will give it to you but will base it in West African culture and religion. Most of the fantasy books that I've read were based in various European or Asian cultures. If that's a genre that you enjoy, this will be a healthy change of pace. The authors ethnicity is Nigerian and she does a great job using her heritage as source material for crafting the elements that build the fantasy and magic in the realm of this story. I had a lot of fun researching the people of Yoruba and their religion, customs, and deities and comparing them to this book.

The last thing that I would like to talk about is the magic and I do use that term generically as in the unbelievable element that separates fantasy/sci-fi stories from ordinary action or adventure stories. The force in Star Wars or the chakra in Naruto. In this book, Tomi Adeyemi does a great job describing how this magic works, the limitations of the magic, and the origins of the magic. I believe this is critical in making a fantasy or a sci-fi story believable and she did a great job with it. When it appeared in the plot, it was very exciting and it kicked up the intensity of the action scenes. It even made some of the minor in-between scenes more exciting.

There is one more thing that I love about this book but it'll give away the plot. It is a very relevant social commentary. I challenge all readers to finish the book in it's entirety and then read the Authors Notes. What the author speaks on, I picked up on about halfway through the book.

What I didn't like about the book:

It's a lot of story. Tomi Adeyemi still wanted to tell the full plot while building her World and developing her characters and the interactions between them. It made the scenes drag on. I can see this bothering most people. As you can tell by this review, I'm longwinded so I appreciate an author taking the time to tell the story in it's full extent.

The second complaint is that the story is aimed towards a younger audience. Preteens and teens will probably find it more exciting. Young adults and anyone older will probably find it a little predictable. Having said that, I appreciate the author for making this story more appropriate for younger people because I feel like it would be very beneficial to the development of a young person. It offers Black heroes for them to look up to, a peak into West African culture, and most importantly, a social commentary that will help them develop social and political ideas that they will take into adulthood.

If you couldn't tell, my cons are pros to the right audience and I'm part of that audience. It's a 5/5 book. Check it out.

To the author, thank you for giving us this story and I look forward to reading the sequel.
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Fast 'n' Bulbous
VINE VOICE
3.0 out of 5 stars Reign In Blood: A rich fantasy world bogged down by brutality.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 2, 2018
Verified Purchase
When this debut novel rocketed to the top of the bestseller list and author Nigerian-American Tomi Adeyemi is featured on magazine covers asking, “The next J.K. Rowling?” I was cautiously excited. With credentials of a Harvard literature degree and further studies in West African mythology and religion in Brazil, I expected some well-planned world building, savage social criticism and sparkling writing. I believe the book succeeded in at least two of those expectations.

Adeyemi does indeed create a compelling world called Orïsha a fantasy world that draws from the rich traditions of West African folklore and mythology, particularly the Yoruba religion based on Nigerian oral traditions, which calls the various manifestations of spirits Orishas. While there are at least 400 + 1 manifestations of Orishas, in Adeyemi’s fictional Orïsha world, there are ten deities, each with a clan of followers, the once powerful maji possessing abilities specific to the deity they follow. However, King Saran had a major beef with magic, and we piece together the story of how the King obtained a black metal called majacite that cripples the maji’s powers, massacred them, stole three key artifacts, and managed to wipe out magic from the lands. So what once was a vibrant world where magic was a part of everyday life is now a dreary society where diviners, the descendents of majis, are subjugated, heavily taxed second class citizens that resemble countless colonialist and Jim Crow situations throughout real life history.

So far so good, this is a compelling setting that can educate young adults about African culture while adding a refreshingly Afro-centric fantasy world. Many are aligning Adeyemi with the Afrofuturism canon alongside Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler and more recently Nnedi Okorafor and Tochi Onyebuchi. While this could be a future world, to me, the complete lack of technology suggests that this is a fantasy universe, though one tied to Yoruba traditions. Either way, the potential for this fantasy world is awe inspiring.

While the pacing is brisk, exploding into action within a couple pages, and the writing is economical, there’s some significant issues. Throughout the book the first person narrative switches off between Zélie Adebola, descendent of a powerful Reaper maji of the Iku clan, Princess Amari and Prince Inan. Each character has been traumatized, and they re-live the moments of brutality in their dreams and inner voices. Repeatedly. Constantly. Over and over, to the point where both Zélie and Amari would likely be diagnosed with PTSD in real life. Zélie ruminates on the horrific murder of her mother during the maji massacre from when she was a young child, while Amari is haunted by her friend/servant Binta’s murder at the hands of her father. Inan, conflicted between his loyalty to his father, sense of duty (the “duty before self” mantra is repeated 37 times in the book) to the kingdom, and the obvious evil intentions behind his father’s orders (“Kill the girl. Kill magic.” is his second favorite mantra, repeated nearly as often).

The obsessive single-mindedness of each of these characters is so similar that it’s hard to keep track of which point of view we’re reading at any given time. The tone is uniformly overwrought, with the characters experiencing primarily extreme emotions of fear and hatred, with extra helpings of distrust and betrayal. Adeyemi does attempt to bring a couple lighter moments of respite later on, and even some romance, but both are thoroughly unconvincing, since the primary mission of the book seems to be to convey just how hopelessly grim and harrowing life is with the relentless violence and even torture. Clearly this book also operates as an allegory for the Black American experience. It’s hard to read about fictional suffering. It’s even harder to live in the real world where you’re judged by an essential quality like the color of your skin. This isn’t the place to compare James Baldwin’s “The Fire Next Time” to a work of fiction, but Baldwin (for example) empowers his readers while also laying out the oppressive racism of his times. The thing I hoped to see beyond strength in suffering, power in enduring, is the hope for a better or different world found in so much Afrofuturist writing. Post-magic Orïsha shouldn’t have to be a completely joyless world in order to convey the struggles of the characters. Take N. K. Jemisin’s The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, for example. The book’s heroine Yeine, like Zélie, mourns the murder of her mother. While she too struggles with the allure of hatred and revenge, here inner life is much more complex and rich, and her story ultimately more uplifting.

So what will be the lesson for the intended young adult audience? Life is a horrible, neverending parade of violent ordeals to be suffered through until you meet a brutal death? I get that life is hard and often unjust, and we’re enduring a particularly dark period in politics and racism. Real life reminds us of that daily. We don’t necessarily have to be bludgeoned with these truths. Even in times like this when issues are reduced to the most simple extremes in tweets and headlines, it is still possible for literature to address serious, important issues while still retaining hope, wonder, and if they choose, humor. There are brief glimpses of a better future within Legacy of Orïsha #1, but not enough where I’m sure that I feel compelled to see what happens in the next two books. However it seems this series is destined to be a cultural milestone, with a movie already in the works, and the next book will certainly be greeted with massive anticipation and popularity. Adeyemi clearly has talent and potential, so on the chance that she grows as a writer, I’ll mostly likely read the next one. We’ve been bathed in blood, now how about throwing us a bone?
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Ari
3.0 out of 5 stars Courage does not always roar. Valor does not always shine.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 28, 2018
Verified Purchase
I have mixed feelings about this book... At this point, the rating is instinctive.

Bottom line? It's a good story. The plot is interesting, it's fast-paced, it's adventurous, it's thought-provoking, there are moments of stirring emotional tension...

And then there are moments that left me thinking WTF.

Sometimes a novel's shortcomings don't matter because I still fall in love with the book, sometimes I see through the rose colored lenses.

One of the things that annoyed me the most about this novel is the lack of explanation for certain terms. The names given to things like their animals and gods were fairly common sense. The animals were very similar to real life animals (extremely); the gods' names were very reminiscent of the Caribbean religion of Santeria's gods, which I have a rudimentary understanding of (not getting into the origins of this religion and whatnot, because that's a whole other topic and I'm not dipping my toe into that one at the moment). When you write a book for an audience that, for the most part, might not understand the world that you're building (because this is fairly different from your average fantasy world in fiction lately), you need to give an explanation to what certain words mean.

And yes, those words can make themselves understood as the story progresses and their meaning literally falls into place...but sometimes that just doesn't happen and we're still left guessing. Take agbon, for example. I'm guessing this is similar to...football? from the size of the players and the fact that it seems to be a violent sport. But we still don't know how it's played, or where, or when, or with what.

But that aside—the romances. Amari and Tzain's I did not mind. There's a slower build there, and it's sweet, and hasn't exploded into a burst of confetti and hearts and singing birds yet. Inan and Zelie's? I have a difficult time comprehending.

So you hate this prince, because he's hunting you down to kill you, he's the son of the man who gave the order to kill your mother, destroyed your people, destroyed your father—emotionally at least—yet because he does one single thing in your favor...you...forgive him fairly easily and start to fall in love with him. That does not, never has, and never will work for me. It's not realistic and it makes no sense. The entire time that these two were thrust together throughout the story having romantic rendezvous—be it in the waking world or in Inan's dreamscape—I cringed. I don't know how this will play out, depending on whether or not Inan is dead or not. But frankly?

...I'm rooting for Roen at this point, and he's not even in the running. Yet, at least. We'll see how this story continues.

But I did like Roen, hint hint, wink wink.

And then pace-wise, things just played out too conveniently. Problems, situations, enemies were dispatched more easily than they should have been. Whenever an obstacle was put in the protagonists' way, they managed to very easily get around it. More easily than, again, realistically they should have. And they also got over emotional trauma really well. I'm talking deep, scarring emotional trauma.

Zelie is tortured and within...what, two, three days? She has a little chat with Amari, throws that issue right off her back, and she's ready so that she can fight and bring magic back in the final ritual. Okay then. This is the same thing that happens when she falls for Inan and forgets the years she has spent suffering over the death of her mother...whom, again, Inan's father ordered killed.

I mentioned that already, right? Yeah, I did.

The ending? I didn't understand it. I re-read that thing six times, and I still don't get it. The blue light in Amari's bleeding palm. It reminds me of Inan's. Is she..maji now? Did she...inherit Inan's gift? How could...this be possible? What is...going on? I am blindly guessing here? I no know, I give up, now I wait for book two.

BY THE WAY! How is/was (again, don't know if he's really dead or not) Inan a maji? What is the history in his background that makes him one? Through his dad's side or his mom's? I still have no idea. Hopefully we find out in the next book? Though, call me crazy, but I think the first book should have clued us in.

It wasn't all bad, it wasn't all confusing. As I said, it's a very exciting story. I'm totally playing devil's advocate here, but I have to in this case. If nothing else, the author does know how to keep the reader's attention baited. I wanted to know what would happen and I was actually really fascinated by the explanation of the religion's pantheon in the book. The scene where Lekan shows the history of the gods through that gorgeous mural in the walls of Chandomble to Amari, Tzain and Zelie? Gorgeous, lovely, beautifully explained. I loved to read about the struggle that diviners are going through to get their magic down, it's admirable; the beauty of their culture and their history, the fight in them, their spirit. I'm a sucker for those kinds of things in a novel.

There are things that are very worthwhile about this novel and I overall feel like the author was still getting into the groove of the story with this first book and figuring out where everything goes and how her characters are shaped. I am going to read the second book, and I am crossing my fingers very tightly hoping and praying that light will shine on it a lot better for some clarity.

We shall see. For now, I liked Children of Blood and Bone but I don't yet call myself a fan of this series.
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Kitty M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Stunning Debut
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
I’ve been putting off formally writing out this review for a couple weeks now, writing bits and pieces as they came to me. This is mostly because I have trouble with the idea of being able to write a review worthy of this novel. I hope I at least come close to doing it justice. Before I dive in completely, here are the TW/CWs that I noticed and remembered to write down. While many of them are confronted on the page, that isn’t always enough to make a TW/CW unnecessary so I’m listing all that I know.

- Police brutality
- Racism
- Attempted genocide
- Attempted rape
- Blood/Gore
- Child abuse (physical and psychological)
- Torture (graphic)
- Partner abuse (psychological)

Oh my goodness the characters. They are so well developed that not only are they real, but I feel as though I know them. Each and every character is given so much detail that it’s simply impossible to think of any of them as fictional characters. Zélie is so strong and she tries so hard, but she is also so very human. She makes mistakes and suffers the consequences of them. She’s not your typical heroine, receiving magical amounts of good luck around every turn. Her journey is a struggle and that is reflected so well in how she behaves. She is one shining example of how much depth each character in Orïsha received.

Speaking of Orïsha, WOW. I can’t remember the last time I read a novel where it was impossible not to be immersed in the world it’s set in. Orïsha is like nowhere I have any actual experience with, so from the beginning Tomi Adeyemi had her work cut out for her with the world building. She took my expectations of the world and blew them completely away. From the hierarchal system to location description, the world was tackled perfectly and I am left in awe of it.

The story itself was really well thought out and executed. There were plot twists within plot twists and I loved it so much. The story is such an epic journey, which for some reason I wasn’t quite expecting? I knew it would be a deep plot because of what I heard from reviewers who received ARCs of the book, but I was not prepared. There is so much happening within these pages. Journey, coming-of-age, and smashing of the patriarchy all combined into this one intense and magical novel. I will say one thing though: Your faves are definitely not safe. I triumphed, cried, and screamed (mostly internally) through this story and I would have it no other way.

I thought I was done crying, and then there was the author’s note. Tomi Adeyemi’s note shows directly through her novel how she’s taken the common challenge “fantasy is fantasy, not rooted at all in reality” and turned it on its head. The author’s note moved me to tears and I felt it was worth at least mentioning here.

There could not be a more perfect narrator for Children of Blood and Bone than Bahni Turpin. Her warm voice and brilliant storytelling style brought this amazing novel to life. She added another layer of depth to an already perfect novel through her inflection, tone, and accent. I will be disappointed if anyone else is allowed to narrate the other novels in this series and I look forward to hearing more of her work.

I’ve seen Children of Blood and Bone referred to as ‘Harry Potter set in Africa’. Anything being compared to Harry Potter tends to make me both excited and wary, and for good reason. To say that Children of Blood and Bone is like anything else is an insult to Children of Blood and Bone. Children of Blood and Bone is like Children of Blood and Bone. It’s own unique entity. Its own start to something larger even than its creator. I foresee stories in the future being compared to this novel, this series as it continues, and inevitably being found wanting. I very much look forward to the next novel in the series and anything else Tomi Adeyemi deigns to write.
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