Book Review: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Author: Tomi Adeyemi

Series: Book #1 in Legacy of Orïsha series.

Cover: Love the cover of this book. I love the tribal ink that is on her face. It brings a nice touch to her character.
Rating: 4/5 I really enjoyed the world of Children of Blood and Bone, but I didn't connect to the main character as much as I wished I could have. Still can't wait to read the next book of the series!




Review: It has been a while since I read this book. I finished reading this book in June and I didn't get a chance to write my review on it. If I get some facts wrong, feel free to correct me. This will be a short review! Overall, this book deserves a 4/5 because part of me wishes that Amari was the main character instead of Zélie. Other than that, perfect book!

Children of Blood and Bones, takes place through the eyes of Zélie, one of the few maji who had their powers awaken. Zélie and her brother, Tzain, lost their mother many years ago when the King decided to wipe all magic in the land. Now, magic is returning to those decendants of maji. Princess Amari wants to help the maji while Prince Inan wishes to stop them. Who will succeed in the end?

I love the world that Adeyemi has created. There is so much African culture in this book that I haven't been able to explore in Young Adult books. I also enjoyed seeing all the different types of magic and tribes within this world. I would love to hear more about African mythologies and beliefs in the future and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book. Hopefully in the next book, we get to explore more on how magic works and other types of magic.
  

As for the characters, I didn't like Zélie as much as I hoped. She just seemed so whiny and not to mention that she always messes up everything by not listening. I prefer Amari much more. She is much more knowledgeable and knows the sacrifices she's making. She really thinks about other people rather than herself. I also feel bad that out of the four main characters, Tzain didn't get his own POV, but I understand that it would have been very repetitive though.

My favorite part of this book would just be the diversity. I believe this is the first YA novel I read that takes place in Africa. Also, those mounts that Zélie and Inan have sound really cool. Like how awesome would it be to ride into battle with a leopard? I am curious if there is magic everywhere else in the world. Did the King destroy all magic or only in his kingdom. (If this is answered in the book please let me know).

What I dislike about this book is the romance. It all felt so....forced? Like, I think I would have enjoyed Children of Blood and Bone more without all the unnecessary romance. Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy YA books with romance in them, but this one wasn't written well... Also, I didn't like how clumsy Zélie is, but everyone has to learn and I'm sure she'll grow in future books.

Overall, I think everyone should give this book a chance! It was a fun read and my siblings both enjoyed it. The next book is coming out next month. Can't wait to see what is in store for Zélie & Co. If you're interested in magic and African myths and cultures, this book is for you!

!!!!!!!!!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!!!!!!

Like I said above, I really did not enjoy the romance. Also, isn't it weird that Zélie & Inan are together and Amari and Tzain are together? Your sibling is dating your significant other's sibling. I don't know haha it was weird for me. That's probably what I didn't like the romance much. Also, I felt like Inan and Zélie's romance moved so fast. They went from like killing each other to eating each others' faces in like 2 chapters LOL.

Also what was that ending? It all felt so rushed. First 200 pages were so slow. Then the next 200 pages were moving so fast. Next thing I know, the ending appeared haha. What a cliffhanger. 

Audiobook Rating:

Bahni Turpin - YOU ARE A GODDESS. Your voice acting was so amazing. I loved that accent and the way you portrayed the characters were so amazing. I hope to hear your voice again in the future! I believe I can listen to you talk 24/7. You get a 5/5!

Top 3 Favorite Characters

Amari - I feel like she is the only character I truly liked in this book. The ending when she says that she'll be the queen? Holy smokes. Bless her soul because she is amazing.

Tzain - Man, I feel so bad that he has to take care of  Zélie. She caused so much problems in the span of a week. You had to put up with this for like 15+ years lol...

Zélie - Zélie is third because the other option was Inan and I'm not a fan of him. Basically Zélie won by default. I hope her character grows later on. 

Womp womp. It has been a while since I wrote a review. Next review is going to be on Fatal Thrones: The Wives of King Henry VIII Tell All. Did you guys read Children of Blood and Bone? What did you think?