Children of Blood and Bone
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Release Date: March 6, 2018
Publisher: Henry Holt
Format: Paperback ARC
Pages:525
Source: Raincoast Books
Summary:
Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir.
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and 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 the enemy. (Goodreads)
Review:
*I received a copy of this book from Raincoast in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion.*
Hyped books are dangerous because you build them up so much in your mind that it’s super easy for them to fall flat. Well let me tell you something…Children of Blood and Bone doesn’t fall but grabs onto that hype and climbs all the way up it like Zélie and crew.
Pacing was the biggest win right off the bat with this one (at least for me). I remember when I received the book it was super intimidating (the ARC is 600 pages, my friends) and wondered if I’d ever be able to finish it. I started reading on my way home one night and all of a sudden was 120 pages in and it felt like no time had passed. There’s a great mix of exciting action scenes and more ‘basic’ activities that allowed Children of Blood and Bone to feel balanced; you weren’t racing through the story but it didn’t feel like you were crawling either.
Another strong point of the novel was the writing and world building that came of her mastery of the craft. The descriptions are beautiful and make the world come to life in your head; I felt like I was reading in colour (if that makes sense to the rest of the world..it’s all my brain can come up with to describe it). It was flush and descriptive without being excessively frilly which had be a hard line to toe sometimes. The world comes to life beautifully and coupled with the map in the hardcover finished copy you start to feel as if Orïsha is a place you can actually go and visit.
Adeyemi excelled at her character building as well. I love that two of the trio setting out to save magic are girls. The growth of certain characters when things happen (no spoilers) is also great to see. I don’t need a person to be perfect to be one of my favourites in the story; I actually prefer the flawed ones. What I love to see is how they learn, adapt, and become better people in reaction to what they go through during the novel. I even became overly attached to secondary characters like Lekan and Mama Agba which is a sign that I’ve been fully ensnared by a story. Children of Blood and Bone offers up a good mix of characters you love, ones you love to hate, and the ones you just want to shield from what the cruel, cruel world has done to them/turned them into.
Final Verdict:
Believe the hype. Children of Blood and Bone is gorgeous, exciting, and will have you shirking all your responsibilities in favour of reading. (Seriously, my mountain of laundry is proof) If you didn’t preorder this one I suggest you head to your nearest book store and get a copy ASAP.
GIVEAWAY
Raincoast books was kind enough to offer up a copy of Children of Blood and Bone for me to give away to coincide with this tour! Head to @BBBblogCA on Twitter to enter.
Brains, Books, and Brawns 