Children of Blood and Bone

Tomi Adeyemi's #1 New York Times bestselling novel is about a quest to restore magic and working against a tyrannical ruler, as well as the effects of oppression and cruelty, the power empathy, and the strength of people working together. Although I thought it had a fantastic arc and the author did an excellent job with characterization and making her characters' feelings palpable, I did find large parts of the middle rather tedious.

Rating: 6.5/10 (Very torn between a 6 and a 7 because there are parts I loved but I also found parts of it dull between the strong beginning and ending sections)

Full Review on My Website

We are all children of blood and bone.All instruments of vengeance and virtue.I've had this book since March and I finally got around to reading it because I was halfway through [b:Siege and Storm 40794768 Siege and Storm (GrishaVerse, #2) Leigh Bardugo https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1531432398s/40794768.jpg 19699752] and dear god, it was annoying the hell out of me by being so slow with all the whiny characters (except Nicolas). Anyway, I picked up this book at B&N (special edition) even though I had already seen it at Amazon Books. Now, before buying a book from a new author, I always try to read at least the preview on Kindle, and a random page from in between the book. The special edition had an annotated chapter from the author, which really sold this book for me. I loved the small notes she had written on one of the cutest chapters in the book. Also, I have a thing for books with maps, especially if they turn out to be posters. Oh, and the book cover is so intimidating. I love the color scheme there.As for the plot, the starting was not slow like other fantasy novels. I though it would take time to set the backstory, but it took like one chapter, and we jump right into the action which none of the characters understand either. The characters were all so natural. So we had two pairs of siblings: Zelie and Tzain, whose family has suffered because of the King oppressing the Maji, and Amari and Inan, the children of said king, who, by the way, was like the worst father ever. He tops the bad father list. I wanted somebody to slap him in the face in the book. He was such an ass, not just to the people of his kingdom, but to his own children. Spoiler I understand your first family died and you killed your emotions with them, but why the hell are you making your son hurt his own sister, your daughter, with a freaking sword. What point are you trying to prove here? Amari and Inan both need serious psych treatments considering they had a shit father, and a useless mother. Where the hell was she when Amari was hurt? I really liked Inan's character. I was really banking on him to do the right thing by the end. He did what he thought was right, but till the end he sought his abusive father's approval even after realizing his methods were wrong. This is one of the things I liked in this book. It was mentioned by the author in the notes that all the characters have to make choices and think about where to draw the line when someone hurts you for reasons you can understand, and would've done the same in their shoes?Amari was a badass. She started off as a slow and gentle character, but by the end she really did become a lionnaire. Her last line to her father, “Do not worry, I will make a far better queen” was an amazing point in character development for her. Because near the end of the book I was thinking this myself, that Amari would make far less stupid decisions than Inan and should rule instead.Zelie and Tzain's relationship was so warm. They argued back and forth a lot like siblings, but when the time came, they were always there for each other. Something Amari and Inan should take notes of. Zel's powers as a reaper were well written. I liked the arena fight where she summoned souls. Oh, also have to mention the dreamscape here. It was one of the favorite parts of the book for me. You guys are enemies and you keep meeting each other in a dream?! Also, how Zel's presence had an effect on Inan's magic controlling abilities by calming him down. Does it get any sweeter than that? I'm a sucker for cute, love plots like that. Even if it all went to hell in the end. (Fingers crossed for part 2) Also, I was mad a bit at Inan near the end because he could have used his powers on the King to control him and get Zel out. Maybe? Poor guy endured too much trauma at the hands of his freaking father to be able to do anything against him.I usually don't like cliffhanger endings if the next book is not out yet, but I really liked this one. Zel gave everyone magic powers by performing the ritual so I'm hoping Inan will have less of a moral dilemma in the next part. The only other solution to destroying magic was to give everyone powers but I didn't think the author would go there. But would you look at that? Consider me shocked and satisfied. Cue everyone going berserk in the next part. I can't wait to find out what Amari and Tzain's powers are. Also, is Inan okay? Dear God, the cliffhanger I can handle but he got stabbed by a freaking sword, majacite sword? He better not be dead or in a coma (looking at you [b:Monsters of Men 20758105 Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking #3) Patrick Ness https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1423863391s/20758105.jpg 7160343]).List of things I liked:* Two pairs of siblings, each one being the opposite's love interest. So well written!* Dreamscape! I want more of it.* Amari, being considerate and a badass, depending on the situation* Inan's powers – being able to feel Zel's pain more prominently than anything else* Zelie and Inan together (I don't know what happened in the end. I'm in denial till it gets fixed in the next book)* Amari and Tzain being playful and teasing each other. More please!* Zel's hair getting tangled up the more she used magic :D* Roen was a nice addition near the end. I liked his small, easy going talks with Zel.* The God's being one of the central themes in this book. Never thought fantasy would take me there.* Love the way the characters curse, Skies! Sky Mother! Hahaha, thank you for appealing to my soul so much. I love this book far too much. It's like the way Newt curses in [b:Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay 29363501 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them The Original Screenplay J.K. Rowling https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1481542648s/29363501.jpg 50435175], Merlin's beard :D

Have you ever reached the end of a book and yelled “NOOOOO!!!”? Because I just did. Children of Blood and Bone ends on a HUGE cliffhanger, and I'm even more upset about that than I would be normally - I got this book as an advanced reader's copy through Goodreads. So not only do I have to wait for the sequel to come out, THIS BOOK ISN'T EVEN OUT YET. screams internally

That massive frustration aside, I LOVED THIS BOOK. African-inspired fantasy novels are starting to crop up, along with other non-European based fantasy, and I'm loving it. (You can find Russian inspired fantasy that I've read previously here and here, and Jewish/Arab fantasy here.) Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American author, and this is her debut novel. It definitely shows some hallmarks of a debut novel - the dialogue is a bit stilted in places, and it's a little bit formulaic - but the world building is excellent.

Children of Blood and Bone is a story of oppression, and the sparks of a rebellion. I assume the rest of the trilogy will deal with the actual rebellion, but given the cliffhanger it ends on, I'm not actually sure of that. When Zélie, the main character, was very young, magic failed, and the king, who was afraid of maji, took the opportunity to kill every maji in his kingdom before they could find a way to regain their powers. Since then, every person who could have become a maji as they grew (they're marked by their white hair) has been treated as a second-class citizen. They're forced into slums, used as slave labor, kicked around by nobility and guards, made to pay higher taxes, and forbidden to breed with the other classes. They don't have magic - and they have no way to get it - but they're treated as trash by the king that hates them, and accordingly by the rest of his subjects.

At the beginning of the book, a magical artifact resurfaces that restores magic to any diviner (potential maji) that touches it. This, of course, is not okay with the king, and most of the book is about the race to use the magical artifact while being chased by the king's son and his guards who are trying to destroy it. The conflicted prince has secrets of his own, though, and as the book weaves through jungles, mountains, and seas, he wavers in his mission.

It's always difficult to review books without giving too much away about the plot, so I won't say much more about the events. I really enjoyed that they rode giant cats - leopanaires. Zélie and her allies ride a lion leopanaire, which is apparently somewhat unusual. Most of the guards ride leopards or cheetahs, while the royal family rides snow leopanaires. The magic is unique, the gods and religion are beautifully fleshed out, and overall I just really loved this world, and I'm very sad it will be so long before I can dive back into it.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.