Spectacular and original fantasy incorporating many intertextual elements while inventing in the genre. Exciting enough to keep you awake but layered enough to also return to more slowly and take in the details of the world.

Children of Blood and Bone is a really memorable fantasy book that I feel like influenced a lot of books through it. While it has been some time since I have read the story, it is one that I still remember how it made me feel and I still remember a lot of the plot. I have not read the sequel yet, but I can't wait to as I am sure that it will be as good as this one, Children of Blood and Bone is a well-written and immersive fantasy story that everyone should read.

This is one of those books you definitely reread over and over I can't wait to read the next one! Great world building, loved it!!

I was expecting to be blown away by this book given the 7 figure advance, the frenzied hype and the glowing reviews. I was not blown away. In fact, I was left wondering if I'd read the same book.

The writing is immature and riddled with clichés. The characters are shallow and tedious. The plot, well, let's say I've encountered similar elsewhere. The world building is flimsy. The system of magic is unconvincing. And as for the romantic relationship - predictable, formulaic and a touch problematic. The allegorical aspects of the book are worthy (inequality, racism, genocide) but it as subtle as a house brick to the forehead. The action is so high octane and unrelenting without actually being interesting or exciting that it becomes exhausting and, ultimately, boring. There is so much killing that it loses all poignancy and becomes meaningless. It's all just so overwrought. I thought the use of graphic torture was out of place in a YA novel. It's just not very good.

The opening of Children of Blood and Bone was great we meet Zelie, who is a diviner. A diviner is a child of a Maji, the Maji are a magical race of people who were all but wiped out in the Raid including Zelie’s mother. She has been training with Mother Agba despite not having magic, they are trained to protect themselves. The maji were killed on the orders of King Saran and the children of these fallen Maji are still being persecuted today, when the guards raise taxes for the diviners, Zelie must travel to Lagose to trade fish to pay their taxes and her brother Tzain is going with her, but they must leave their father with Mother Agba. We are also introduced to Princess Amari whose best friend and handmaid Binta has been summoned before the King. When she tries to help her friend, she uncovers that magical items have been awakening the abilities of some magi including Binta and they are killed for it, deeply scarring Amari to the point where she questions her father’s rationality. While I was enjoying the story so far it seems like a ton of exhibition and not a lot of plot at the moment.


As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Zelie enters Lagose to sell her fish which she does but she also comes across a fugitive who she helps escape the city putting her own life in danger in the process. When then learn through Prince Inan’s perspective that the fugitive is his sister Amari and that she has stolen the scroll that gave Binta’s power, that caused her death and now it is in Zelie’s possession. Things pick up a notch when the guards track down Zelie and aim to kill her and retrieve Amari despite her traitor status and obviously her brother Inan is given this task. When they group bring the scroll to Mama Agba she tells them that they must travel to the sacred temple and bring back magic for good to give them a fighting chance against the King and despite being scared all agree. However, Zelie get sucked into Inan’s dream and she learns that he is a connector, a maji with power of the mind especially in dreams, because of his father’s views on maji Inan knows that he can’t allow Zelie to live know she knows his secret but with his gift he can pinpoint her location, now it is a race against time. As the group travel together, they slowly begin to learn about one another putting their prejudices aside although it is hard for Zelie. While they are being hunted by Inan nowhere and no one is safe especially since Inan is desperate because he knows he can’t go home or he is a dead man.

As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, the group reach the ancient temple and feel the magic within it but they are also confronted with the guardian of the temple; Lekan. Having been cheated once before Lekan has to make sure that the group are not going to steal from or harm the temple and Zelie does this with her magic. They learn they have to bring back the magic by going to the sacred island, the island of the Gods and performing an incantation that only a female maji can perform and Zelie has been chosen for this. They learn that 2 of the 3 object they need to perform the ritual they have, the scroll and the bone dagger but they need the sunstone and they only have one moon cycle before the island appears. In order to do this Lekan uses blood magic to awaken Zelie’s full power as a reaper; a maji who has power of death but doing this unknowingly leads Inan to them whose own power is awakening not matter how much he tries to supress it. So far, despite the info-dumpy opening I was really enjoying where the story was going, and I can also see a possible romance developing between Amari and Tzain and maybe one between Zelie and Inan.

As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, both Zelie and Inan are struggling to control their abilities but it does affect Inan more especially when Kaea, his father’s lover finds out about his abilities and tries to tell others causing his magic to lash out and kill her. He knows that his father can never know the truth, or it will spark a war once more, but he wants desperately to be rid of the magic by killing Zelie now the novel has become a game of cat and mouse against the clock. In order to get the sunstone, they have to compete in a fight to the death and despite Zelie’s magic it is Amari who wins the competition for them and now they have all the pieces of the puzzle they can restore magic once and for all, but I have a feeling that it isn’t going to be that easy especially with Inan shadowing their every move.

As we cross into the second half of the novel, fate force Inan and Zelie to work together to rescue Tzain and Amari but the people that took them are diviners and they want the scroll too. It is now up to them to retrieve their loved one as well as the items that will bring about a new era of magic which is nice as Inan is starting to see the errors in the way his father has run the land and might be slowly changing his views of maji considering he is one. Together they train, and she learns why Inan hates his magic but after seeing Zelie’s memories he is convinced that she, her brother and his sister are doing the right thing and offers to help, and she accepts but her brother has already been injured, however, using the power of the sunstone to enhance her own she summons an army of the dead to attack.

As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Zelie begins to develop feelings for Inan, the same way Amari and Tzain begins to develop feelings for each other but Tzain refuses to trust Inan despite the fact that Zelie trusts him. In one stunning scene Zelie and Tzain get into a huge argument over her feelings for him and her magic lashes out injuring her brother casting a rift between them and she knows that everything isn’t going to go as smoothly as she wants it to. After giving in to her feeling for Inan, his father’s men attack scattering the maji and killing others ending with Zelie being taken prisoner and being tortured. We learn that Inan caused this but not for the reasons we assume, he is torn between his duty as Crown Prince and his feelings for Zelie. Meanwhile, Tzain and Amari are working on a plan to get Zelie out and complete the ritual in only two days’ time, but they might not make it considering the extent of the torture Zelie is being put through.

As we cross into the final section of the novel, we see Zelie rescued and they make their way to the sacred island only to be followed by the King’s men. In the final showdown between the maji and the monarchy we see some loyalties change and some deaths that meant everything. However, the ending was so unexpected I need the sequel now and this book has only just been released I don’t know how I am going to cope.

A thrilling fantasy novel influenced by African traditions. This is a thrilling hero's quest filled with magic, violence and the struggle for individuals to affect change.

What. A. Book. Right from the start you are drawn into this world that has been deprived of magic. The ruling King has taken magic away and the maji are looked down on as the lowest of society.

The main character is Zélie, she is feisty and empathetic. She never developed magic powers and relives the day her mother was killed by the King's army. One day she visits Lagos to sell a prized fish to a noble when she bumps into a rebel princess and helps her escape. The princess is carrying a scroll that when touched gives a maji their power back.

The magic system is based on west African mythology with different types of magical powers linked with a God. It's a wonderfully, visual magic system.

As much as I liked this book there were some negatives. I hate books where the characters travel. HATE HATE HATE it. I find it incredibly boring and unfortunately there was a large chunk of journeying in the middle. I also didn't like the romance in the book, you could feel the tension but they were enemies and it just didn't work for me. There were better choices like Roën or Amari.

However, I did really enjoy the book and I've bought the second book already. The author's created a fantastical world, which definitely draws parallels with the world we live in today and how people are treated by others.

I didn't want to like this book as I often don't like over-hyped books but I found it strangely addictive. I liked the central characters and the elements of magic and folklore played really well. Just wish they had left out the soppy love theme in it- the book doesn't need it. Looking forward to the next one.

This was okay, but someone I know pointed out that it was basically the plot of Avatar: the Last Airbender, and it stopped working for me -- I couldn't stop thinking of the parallels. Maybe one to try again someday... when I've forgotten that!

I loved the world building, I loved The action and the newness to this book, I loved so much about this book - but what I struggled on was the characters making unlikeable choices that were hard to follow and the romance just felt inappropriate.

A lush fantasy inspired by West African culture with engaging worldbuilding, a truly unique magic system and characters you can't help but root for.

The author did herself few favours when she chose to attack Nora Roberts on social media with an accusation of ripping off her title. Nora's title is Of Blood and Bone, Tomi's is Children of Blood and Bone; it seems Ms Adeyemi is unaware that Nora Roberts is a HUGELY successful author, one of the bestselling authors in the world in fact, and has no need to rip off anyone!
I was excited to read a fantasy from a non-Western viewpoint, it was exciting but for me I found the violence and implied sexual threat to all female characters difficult to stomach in a young adult novel.

If you are looking for some different fantasy this is a very good choice. But I would absolutely recommend it for those people who are starting on the genre as, for people who know the genre, it may be a bit predictable in terms of plot.
The highlights for me are characters and world-building. Absolutely amazing and gripping. The style is very easy going and not challenging at all, even if you’re not used to read fantasy. It reads very quickly and once you have started it, you wont be able to stop reading until you reach the end.
And what an ending!

A series that I will be definitely continuing reading. Can’t wait for the next one.

One of my favourite YA fantasies, this novel has everything; magic, romance, wonderful characters, it has everything I need. It is totally absorbing, and the world is so well crafted, it is a pleasure to read.

Wow! What an imaginative well written world using different mythology and culture than usual adding the unique richness of the world. Zélie was well written, flawed and relatable as were all the other characters. Truly exquisite background and geography.
In love with this world, series and author.

Decent young adult fantasy and so refreshing to have one loosely based upon Nigerian mythology. I found it a little too angsty and chaotic at times, just like most other teen fantasy novels I've read lately, but definitely worth a read.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

Because I want to support the author's future writing, I don't want to be publically negative about this book. It simply wasn't for me and it, in my opinion, is very obviously a first book rushed through publishing. It needed a lot more work, it was jam-packed with cliches, cringy scenes (especially that rope-bridge scene) and was so predictable I just didn't care. The worldbuilding was underdeveloped and relied too heavily on the context of our own world to stand on its own as another world all its own with its own history and culture. I won't be posting this review anywhere but here because I don't think it's necessary - plenty of other people enjoy this book, even if I didn't, and I'm keen to see how she further develops as a writer.

I really enjoyed this YA fantasy novel. Steeped in West African mythology, the book follows the fortunes of two sets of siblings on either side of the social divide. Zelie and Tzain are caught in the aftermath of the massacre of majis, including their mother, and anyone with magic powers by a king hellbent on eradicating any form of magic. Amari and Inan are the children of the King, who have been brought up to believe that all magic is wrong and could destroy their kingdom if allowed to return. When these four meet, the fallout is devastating.
Although the differences between the two sides are specific, the events, attitudes and prejudices could be applied to any conflict situations. Fear, bigotry and the desire for power results in total inhumanity again and again.
This debut novel is tense, exciting and full of adventure. I’m not surprised it’s being made into a film.
My thank to Netgalley for this copy.

It took me a while to get into this book but, once I did, I was swept away by its incredible world-building and complex characters. The premise of the story might seem like a typical YA fantasy but the African inspired history and mythology makes it something special, reflecting contemporary racial issues and socioeconomic divides. I can't wait for the sequel as I'm sure it will be just as gripping.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi was one of my most anticipated reads of the year - an #OwnVoices West African inspired high fantasy! And it was absolutely incredible!

Zélie is a divîner, a person with the ability to become a maji once they turn 13. But Zélie is 17 now, and still a divîner, because magic has gone. King Saran of Orïsha, out of fear and hatred, took away magic, and killed all the maji - including Zélie's mother. Now divîners are persecuted and oppressed, forced to pay taxes to keep them down. If they can't pay, they go into the stocks and become slaves. Zélie and her family try hard to make ends meet as fishermen, but with the ever increasing taxes, it won't be long until Zélie becomes a stocker. When Zélie helps a young woman escape from the guards, she doesn't realise she's helping Princess Amari, King Saran's daughter. A conflicted Amari has escaped from the palace with a scroll that can bring back the maji's power, after witnessing her father kill her divîner best friend after touching the scroll awakens her magic. She has seen what her father can do, and wants to bring it to a stop. Together, along with Zélie's brother, Tzain, they must take the scroll to Châdomblé, a shrine to the gods, where they will discover just what it takes to bring back magic. But hot on their heels in Inan, heir to the throne and Amari's brother, sent by the King to hunt them down. Time is ticking by fast, with only so much time left to complete the ritual, and Inan close behind. Zélie only has one chance to bring magic back to Orïsha, or doom the divîners to a life without magic for good.

Aah, Children of Blood and Bone was so good! I loved the world building! It has it's own creation story, with Nana Baruku - a kind of Mother Nature type figure - creating humans and creating the gods. And as Nana Baruku created both, the relationship between divîners/maji and their respective gods was a sibling relationship. They're still gods, powerful and not exactly present, but Zélie thought of her goddess, Oya, as her sister deity. There are ten different clans of maji, each with their own magic and abilities, each with their own god or goddess. Or there were before King Saran took away magic and murdered all the majis. Now, for the divîners, life is one of oppression, and they live in constant fear. If a divîner is to put one toe out of line, they're beaten by the guards. If they can't pay their taxes, they become stockers - slaves - to work out your debt. But of course, the taxes keep rising, so you never work out your debt. Once you're a stocker, you're a stocker until you die, and conditions are so bad, that you don't last that long.

This is the world Zélie lives in before she meets Amari. Mama Agba, an elderly woman in her town, teaches divîners how to fight in secret, but they can't really fight back if they don't want to be killed. But then she does meet Amari and everything changes. Zélie is such an incredible character! She is so strong and so resilient, even though she struggles and doubts herself and whether she can do this. She has already been through so much; she witnessed the guards taking away her mother, her father being beaten to near death, and her mother murdered, strung up from a tree by a chain, along with every other maji in their town. None in her family have been the same since. But when she hears about the scroll Amari has, and tells Mama Agba, she discovers she is the only person who has a chance to bring back magic, and it's no easy feat. Children of Blood and Bone is action packed and extremely fast-paced, and it doesn't let up. Inan is never too far behind, and the three - Zélie, Amari, and Tzain - have to time to rest, recover and regroup when life throws them a curve ball.

The book is also narrated by Amari and Inan. I really liked Amari. She's quite innocent, having never left the confines of the palace due to her father's overprotective attitude and fear of the divîners. She takes a great risk when she runs from the palace with the stolen scroll, but she can't just sit back and do nothing after she sees her father kill her best friend, Binta. And it's such a courageous thing to do, because she knows what her father is like. Maybe not the full extent, at first, but she knows if she's caught, there will be more than hell to pay. But she never fully realised what it would mean to run away with the scroll. Now she's on this quest never wanted, experiencing hardships she's never had to before. She doesn't complain, but she is scared and she's finding it difficult, and she fears she's going to be a hinderance to Zélie and Tzain. Tzain shows her kindness, but Zélie can only see the daughter of the man who murdered her mother, and has nothing but contempt for this pampered princess who knows nothing of the world. Watching Amari grow into her strength, become more confident, and actually become an asset - and for her to realise that - is wonderful. And seeing the friendship between Amari and Zélie develop was beautiful.

However, I absolutely hated Inan. He is such an ass. And I mean that in the British donkey way, not the American backside way. He's just an idiot. Yes, he's a Captain in the army, and he knows how to fight, is big and strong and pretty deadly. But as a person, he's an ass. What Adeyemi does so well is that she makes him this complicated person. I mean, I understood why he's an ass. He's been fed his whole life all this rubbish from his father about how maji are dangerous, and if they have magic, then everyone will suffer. He's also, as the heir to the thrown, had "duty before self" drummed into him. Things happen along the way that make him doubt what his father has told him. He discovers things, he experiences thing, and it makes him question everything he's ever known. But then he sees other things that completely back up what his father has told him. But it's like he is completely unable to think for himself. It doesn't matter how much he discovers or experiences, he's been brainwashed by his father so much that he dithers back and forth so much, and oh my god, I hated him. I know I keep saying it, but he was such an ass! And when it comes to his actions towards the end of the book, I have much stronger words to describe him. His character and his narration are important to the story, but I just wanted to shake him. Give him a hard slap around the face and tell him to wake up.

As well as being an action packed, fully formed high fantasy, Children of Blood and Bone also touched on real world issues. It touched on colourism and skin bleaching. The divîners/maji tend to be quite dark skinned, and the nobility lighter skinned, so there's this desire to be lighter skinned. Although divîners/maji have white hair, and if you don't, it's clear you're not one, there is a sense that being darker skinned is quite an issue, and Amari has suffered her mother's treatments in trying to make her skin lighter. The way the oppression the divîners experience seemed, to me, to be a clear mirror of racism in our own world; every character in Children of Blood and Bone bar one is Black, but the similarities between racism in our own world and how the divîners were discriminated against are just to obvious. I could potentially be reading too much into things, but there's a possibility that Inan is supposed to represent the white person who is says they're against racism and aren't racist, yet believes what they're told about Black people and other people of colour, and want to keep the status quo as it is. There's also slavery, with the divîners becoming stockers. So there's a lot going on here, and possibly elements I may have missed due to my privilege.

I do have one little issue with Children of Blood and Bone, and that's the cliffhanger ending. I literally have no idea what happened. It just ends. I know something happened, but what that something is, I don't know. I just wish we had a little more to go on. However, it's done it's job, because I absolutely need to know what happens next. There were a number of things that happened that are going to have massive consequences, and the sequel is going to be huge! Children of Blood and Bone was just awesome and pretty damn epic, and I'm so looking forward to the second book in the Legacy of Orïsha series, children of Virtue and Vengence!

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Books via NetGalley for the eProof.