Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Children of Blood and Bone

Top positive review

"Mom - this is the exact book my librarian recommended to me just yesterday

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2018

After hearing Tomi's interview on NPR I ordered the book immediately, My 11-year-old daughter grabbed it upon arrival. "Mom - this is the exact book my librarian recommended to me just yesterday!" (So, I get mom points for being "in the know.") She started reading it before bed. At two in the morning I woke to lights on. She hadn't stopped reading! We talked this morning about it and her favorite word to use was "WOW." She is in love with the heroine (a young girl) who fights for her beliefs without fear. When I told my kiddo that she might want to think about how this story is somewhat of an analogy to race relations in America her eyes went wide (and I got another "wow). "Mom, that's true! Ok - now I have to go finish it this morning....."
Thank you Tomi for bringing a story to my family that has so many levels: strong female characters, a worthy struggle, and a clear method of analogy to discuss the difficulties of race in our country.

578 people found this helpful

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Nicole Shepard

Hmmm

Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2018

I completely expected to love this book. Then, after a few chapters, I wanted to like this book, but, ultimately, my reaction is kinda... Somewhere between "meh" and annoyance. The characters were a bit flat. They started out promising but were never lived up to their own promise. In fact they declined, steadily mostly because they mostly stayed the same and had the same inner dialogue the ENTIRE book. Even the character that seems to "change" the most is so wishy-washy in his "change" that I found myself rolling my eyes more than anything. And the magic seems mostly arbitrary and flimsy and used to the plot's convenience to be rendered wholly uninteresting and arguably annoying. The pacing is weird. Is this supposed to be action-packed or cerebral? It tried to be both, but I found myself skimming through action scenes and mentally tuning out most of the time. I'm so bummed because the premise was so interesting and intriguing. But for me, this was wholly disappointing.

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Nicole Shepard

Hmmm

Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2018

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235 people found this helpful

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MammaSnarky

"Mom - this is the exact book my librarian recommended to me just yesterday

Reviewed in the United States on March 12, 2018

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578 people found this helpful

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Disappointing!

Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2018

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I'm befuddled by all the positive reviews. Did these people actually read the book? Adeyemi has created a world with great potential, but she fumbles so badly I found myself dragging through most of the book. If I hadn't had to read it for work, I would have given up. The "strong female characters" are not strong AT ALL; they're just violent. I'm all for violence when it serves a greater purpose, but here it is gratuitous and even at times confusing. Adeyemi is killing off little kids and describing graphic torture of a mother and of the main character, among others. The naval battle/gladiator part is equally odd--it doesn't even really make sense, and since it is already abundantly clear how horrifically the magi suffer at the hands of their oppressors, it doesn't move the story along at all. In the end, a father kills his son due to pure bigotry, then the daughter/brother kills her father because she recognizes that her father is purely evil. (So purely, in fact, that her brother comes off as an idiot for ever being loyal to him, much less staying loyal when he's trying to kill his love interest.) The whole thing is so forced it's almost funny! Meanwhile, though several women do wield some form of power in this book, many others are quite pathetic, e.g. Zelie's mother, who we only see tortured and victimized until the last chapter, the Queen, and even Kaea, who though high up in the military is merciless and full of hatred (like many in this book). As for male characters, they are pretty lame--there's the vicious, hateful king Saran, his son, Inan, who is a blind follower until he falls for a magi, at which point he promises to betray his horrid father, after which he backtracks and ends up destroying the girl he's been ogling and smooching. Tzain, the heroine's brother, is better, but he seems angry and powerless through much of the book, and as a character he never really comes alive. Lastly, what is with the pseudo African tribal elements? An attempt to copy The Black Panther, maybe? There were tons of chants in some sort of dialect, but since we never get more information, it wasn't at all clear where that language came from. (I think it might actually have been a real language, perhaps? But it came off like a cheesy fake magic "tongue.") Bottom line: Children of Blood and Bone seemed to involve Adeyemi listing the things she thinks young adult readers would like (violence, fantasy, revenge plots, sex), then dropping them haphazardly into a narrative that might have been compelling in the hands of a more skilled creator but, alas, Just. So. Wasn't.

170 people found this helpful

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Amznlvr

Black Magic at its best

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2018

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Such a good book! I'm an adult. Like, grown. I am also a fan of Harry Potter and Tahereh Mafi, which I read as a child through college, and last year, respectively. To be fair, I buy books 'for my niece' and read them quickly before I give them to her as gifts so we can discuss them together - an activity I enjoy immensely. As a black woman who loves the fantasy genre, Adeyemi is my new hero for creating a world that draws its richness and depth from West Africa. We have a class of oppressed people who have gifts that the oppressors are afraid of - a theme so relevant to life today as a Diasporan in America. I remember reading an article that spoke of implicit bias and the belief that some people have that black people are magical and have almost super-human strength, and that those were seen as reasons to justify fear of black bodies. Adeyemi throws that on its head, and I can't wait to read (and see!) what happens next in Orïsha, and I can't wait to hear what my niece thinks of the book! #blackgirlmagic

194 people found this helpful

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SayItLikeItIs

I really, really wanted to like this but it was a meh.

Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2019

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Well phooey! I really wanted to like this one, really, really. It started out strong, and kept me turning the proverbial page since I was reading on my kindle. Unfortunately, there were a lot of plot holes. Example without any spoilers: Heroes escape danger in the form of X, X is delayed in pursuit a few days, but somehow X not only catches up but heroes had no obstacles to overcome to keep them within catching distance. X just magically (no pun intended) catches up. That is a small sample, but I really, really wanted to like this so I plugged along. World building was ok, not vivid and, I'm sorry, adding weird endings to animals (lionaire, panthraene or some such thing) doesn't really change them. Yes, she added horns and such, but they were still big cats. I was super interested in the African folklore but didn't get enough to make it part of the story, bits and pieces. If you're going to give us a world that is really here on earth and are using real folklore then give it to us, don't shred it.

I always hate when I have a better connection to the secondary characters rather than the main. I liked Tsain and Amari much more than Zel and Inan, honestly, I didn't like Zel at all. Like Tsain pointed out, she was always making stupid mistakes getting them in trouble.

All those things aside, I still really, really wanted to like it, but the kicker that really made me stop reading at 75%? (And dang missed my refund by one damn day) I kept asking myself if a publishing house is going to pay big-time-bucks for a series (purportedly the biggest ever paid for a YA series) why in heck don't you pay an editor to do their job? If one more thing would "fill", the air, her nose, the sky, the night, the etc, or "ring" through the air, the sky, the night, I might just slit my wrists, my throat or maybe even my stomach. Sometimes there would be two of those on a page. Even worse? Her metaphors and similes. Just. Shoot. Me. "My legs quake as if made of water." Huh? (You never want your reader to go, huh?) That's an actual quote, water doesn't quake, leaves can quake, the earth can quake, legs can quake but not like water. Water ripples, waves, sloshes, it does not quake. Oh and back to "ringing through" "Horns ring through the night." (yes, seriously another actual quote) No, just, NO! Horns do not ring, they BLARE, or they honk, they do not ring-ting-a-ling, bells ring. For heck's sake that's like saying, the horses hooves chime, no they don't.

Again, I really, really wanted to like this but in the end I just couldn't.

So, stick a fork in me, I'm done and I didn't even talk about all the cliches.

61 people found this helpful

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Teri S

Sorry, did not like this book

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2018

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It started out interesting with characters nicely defined. The chapters are all told by one of the main characters and they interchange that lead role. About half-way though, I began to think why is the character saying the same dialogue over again? I get the motivation already! It was downhill from there. I persisted, thinking it would get better. But it didn’t and the ending was just an unresolved cliff-hanger for the sequel. Would not recommend.

77 people found this helpful

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Jason Dippen

A seriously over hyped book.

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2018

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I heard about this book on NPR and then read some glowing reviews. I was pretty excited to read this book.
What a disappointment.
This book has many of the same concepts, storyline events and main characters as the ‘Throne of Glass’ series by Sarah J Maas with minor changes and a slight racial tone added for flavor. No mention of Sarah J Maas in the acknowledgements either.

73 people found this helpful

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Kara Bay

Amazing, Multi-layered Fantasy!

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2018

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I have been anticipating Children of Blood and Bone since I heard about it last fall. I was a little worried that I would be disappointed because I was looking forward to it so much. I finished it this morning and if anything, I was too reserved in my excitement. It is exactly the kind of sweeping fantasy that I love, and it has so many layers that give it much deeper meaning. I hate spoilers, so all I will say about the plot is that I love Tomi Adeyemi’s choices and where she took each of the characters. Unless you’ve seen or read interviews with the author, it’s important read the author’s note at the end of the book, which gives the story a modern context. That context makes the story even more meaningful. I really enjoyed her writing, and I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book. Even when things seemed to be going well, I felt like I couldn’t let my guard down, which is surely intentional.

I love that women were central to the story, and I appreciate the way that the relationship between Zélie and Amari developed. It is an empowering story on many levels. I don't think I've ever read a fantasy or science fiction book where ALL the characters were Black, and I tried to make sure I pictured the characters as the author intended, occasionally catching myself and having to re-draw a character in my head.

As someone who pretty much never re-reads a book, I will be reading this one again. And of course, I am already anticipating the sequel. I can’t wait to find out what happens and I'm hoping we get to meet more of the different clans. I also really hope they get the movie right, because it could be amazing on the big screen.

I've read some pretty good books in the past year, but this is without a doubt my favorite.

260 people found this helpful

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Cristal H.

A phenomenal, compelling, urgently paced young adult fantasy that left me in a state of immense wonder.

Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2018

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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.

67 people found this helpful

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B H

Not for me- lousy writing

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2018

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Wanted to like it- but the writing and storyline was tedious

38 people found this helpful

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