review; children of blood and bone

Title: Children Of Blood And Bone
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Genre: YA, fantasy
Type: Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
Series: Legacy Of Orisha

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.

Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were 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 an enemy.

I received this copy in exchange for an honest review from Definitely Books (Pansing). All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you Pansing!

This book is available where all good books are.

I finished this book a few weeks ago but I haven’t been able to corral my thoughts into a coherent mess instead of just a complete mess. But I’m going to try.

It took me a while to get through this book even though I was sucked in almost immediately because we had company and then we were traveling, but when I did? Oh when I could sit and read uninterrupted? I was blown away.

First things first, the characters are all so well-fleshed out and believable. You have Zélie’s rage and fear and thrumming energy under her skin. You have Amari’s doubt and her fear but also her perseverance and her faith. You have Tzain’s love for his sister, all-encompassing, and his positivity but also his strength. And you have Inan’s conviction and his fear and his confusion.

They are contradictions and they are messy and they are flawed and they are human, and even when you want to be angry with one, you can still understand, and that is a treat to read. The way the characters interact and learn and grow, the way their relationships change, it is all done so well.

And on top of that you have such an intricate world. The magic system is so interesting and rich. The politics of the kingdom and the brutality of the authority are so in your face with the parallels to how minorities, particularly black people, are treated in America. It hurts to read about because this might be a fantasy world, but it mirrors real life in the way those in power treat and abuse those they see as lesser, and the way the highest powers don’t just turn a blind eye but actively encourage it.

One thing I loved while reading the novel but on looking back am unsure about is the development of Zélie and Inan’s relationship. Was it understandable in the novel? Yes, definitely. Does it, on looking back, seem a little rushed? A bit.

It might have been a while since the novel came out but I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone so can I just say I did not see those twists at the end coming, and I cannot wait for the sequel.