Chana:
Here’s a review that’s a long time coming (is a few weeks a long time? I’m going to say that it is). There was a lot of hype surrounding Children of Blood and Bone this summer due to it having been on Jimmy Fallon’s Summer Book Club list. How hyped you ask? There were 277 holds on the ebook alone. I think that says all you need to know.
Title: Children of Blood and Bone
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: Children of Blood and Bone takes place in in the kingdom of Orïsha where the maji, a special group of people who were gifted the ability to do magic from the gods, were wiped out on the night that magic disappeared. The king’s men stormed the houses of the maji, discernable from others by their bright white locks, and annihilated those who were able to perform magic. On that night, Zélie’s mother was murdered in front of her. Now, years later, she has the opportunity to bring back magic. Aided by the princess and hunted by the prince, Zélie and her brother travel through Orïsha in an attempt to bring back hope to an oppressed people.
Does this book live up to the hype? Yes, yes, and most definitely yes.
To start with, the world building in this book is so well done. I’m always scared to read books that take place in expansive worlds, especially those that have their own types of societies and objects, because if it’s not done well I’m just going to be uber confused for the entirety of the book. Like what are these words? What do they mean? This book had none of that confusion. Tomi Adeyemi crafts the world of Orïsha wonderfully, and though she didn’t elaborate too much on the different types of maji in this book, I’m sure there will be more of that in the sequel.
There’s an amazing balance of characters, from passionate angry Zélie to sweet brave Princess Amari, and I loved all of them. Well most of them. Most of the time. I’m shushing up, no spoilers. Family plays a role in this book, what with Zélie’s mother and her relationship with her father and brother, as well as Amari’s relationship with her brother (the prince hell bent on destroying all maji), mother (evil and controlling) and father (dude who ordered the original massacre).
Another thing I loved about this book was all the different perspectives. You get to see through the eyes of Zélie, Princess Amari, and Crown Prince Inan. It’s super interesting to see things through the eyes of the “enemy” (enemy is in quotation marks because I hate-love Inan), and I think the POV’s help you see the epic development that happened to all the characters in this book.
So much was going on in this book, but it totally worked. There are a lot of action packed scenes, battles, and just all around memorable moments. The plot flowed really well, and I am fully psyched for the next one.
Paper Procrastinators 
Great review! Thanks for making it non-spoilery. I’m about 350 pages in. The characters are wonderful and the world feels real. I found it weird that everyone but Tzain got a POV. OMYGOSH and the ships in this book are just 💯
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Thank you! I hate it when reviews spoil books even though it’s a super fine line between tell me about the book and tell me what happens in the book. I feel like a POV from Tzain might be kind of like “Sigh, not again Zélie.” for like the entire book, but maybe we’ll get one in book two. And yesss the ships!!
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I’m so glad this lived up to the hype for you! 🙂
I’ve had a copy for ages, but I’ve been so nervous in case I end up disappointed. Your review has got me pretty excited about it though, so I’m definitely going to read it soon.
Great review! 🙂
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Yay! Definitely read it, though I do understand the fear of reading hyped books. It’s always terrifying when you dislike something that the masses are obsessed with 😂.
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