Certain aspects briefly captured attention, but the overall experience proved lackluster. The worldbuilding and setting were strengths, yet couldn't rescue a struggling narrative.
The convoluted plot left me frustrated. Interwoven events felt tangled, making it hard to follow.
The romantic element was underwhelming. Forced relationships were evident, particularly in progression. The transition from an initial encounter to a reunion lacked believability.

Thank you to HarperCollins, Net Galley and Ehigbor Okosun. For giving me the opportunity to read this book early.


• Nigerian Mythology
• YA
• Likeable Characters
• POC Characters
• Fated Mates
• Found Family
• Magic (that has to remain a secret)

I really enjoyed the world building and how it was Nigerian mythology. I liked the magic aspect. I found myself fully engaged in this book and couldn't put it down. It was a nice easy read and not too complicated like some books of the same genre.

The author is extremely talented and I don't feel it wrote like a first book! I feel they have done incredibly well and I'm definitely gonna read the next book when it's available.

I'm not usually a fan of fated mates but I think it was done quite well. This is definitely a YA, I don't think I would class it as an adult fantasy. So I think it does need to be changed and marketed as a YA instead.

Firstly huge thanks to HarperVoyager and NetGalley for providing me with an an eARC of this title.

So I struggled with my rating on this. I was very much hovering around the 2.5/2.75 stars mark and so I decided to round up. I want to say upfront that this does not mean I didn’t like the book, I just didn’t love it and I did struggle with parts of it.

To start with the things I loved…..I really enjoyed the world that Okosun created and the Nigerian mythology foundations it was set upon were brilliant and very interesting. I actually think that had more time been given to the world building and laying out the history more coherently it could have helped greatly with the things I struggled with.

Secondly, I loved the overarching plot. The politics of it was fascinating and is something that I love to see in fantasy novels. However, something fell flat for me and I think laying stronger foundations in terms of the world building would have helped here. I think we needed more grounding in the history of the kingdom and the background of the Olusu and their magic to really reap the pay off of that storyline.

My main challenge with this book was that I felt like I was jumping between different stories at times. Parts of the story just felt very disjointed and so it made certain parts feel unnecessary when in reality they did contribute to the overall plot but the structure and pacing just didn’t necessarily connect the threads adequately.

My other frustration was the romance / love triangle subplot. I typically love a romance subplot but it felt forced here. Especially with Colin. It didn’t feel right and didn’t feel entirely necessary. I also feel like the subplot involving Colin could have been better executed in order to really heighten the tension but it really fell flat.

Overall I did like big parts of this book and the ending was strong. Probably strong enough that I will pick up book 2.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I did really enjoy the world building and would have loved to learn more about it. The story premise was interesting and engaging. However, this was sadly not for me, I really thought it had potential and was very interested to see how it played out and the world sounded amazing. I just don’t think it hit the mark, mostly on pacing and characters.

First, Colin and Dèmi’s relationship just didn’t make any sense to me. Why was her ‘intended’ who said that he loved her, out sleeping around with multiple women? I think it would have been better if they were just friends. Love triangles aren’t usually for me, and this one felt like it was only put in to add tension and rub it in Jonas’s face.

The other characters were flat and lacked any real depth, and Dèmi I just found annoying (she was also way to harsh on Jonas for her mothers death, like she really blamed him for it and made sure to bring it up any chance she got)

There is a lot of telling, wording like ‘time is short’ and ‘somehow’ this happened…etc. and a LOT of world building/dialogue in places there shouldn’t be.

The world is interesting and the premise was what drew me in but unfortunately it just really read as the authors first book. I think it needed some more editing. The author is definitely talented and would be interested to see what they go on to write in the future!

Admittedly, I could round up but I'm not going to for a few reasons. I didn't hate this book, I want to start off by saying that, I just didn't...love it.

I've seen a few reviews of this so far that scored it similarly and honestly, I agree with a lot of what those reviewers have said even before I could properly put it into words like they had.

I really want to start with something good on this review because this is Okosun's debut and there really were some shining aspects of this book. The Nigerian lore and myths were amazing. I loved the magical world built into Nigerian cities, combining the real world with the created. The spirit world, Aziza, the gwylfin family, the tree spirit family (Chi Chi in particular was super cute), were brilliant scenes and Okosun should really be applauded for that alone. Parts of the story and Okosun's writing really gave me Children of Blood and Bone vibes, which I say as a massive compliment.

Now, as I said, there are a few reasons that I can't really round this up. I disagree this is Adult Fantasy/High Fantasy. It really is and feels like YA all through. And that's ignoring the fact Dèmi starts off the proper story at 17 years old.

First, there is a lot of typical tropes. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good trope but this at times felt like throwing as many in as possible to fill a bingo card. In particular, there's a love triangle but those are more effective if you don't know where things are going to go. Side note on this, the whole concept of Dèmi's relationship with her chosen love line is called 'mate' which (soft spoiler) since there's a whole section of a breeding centre and forced births, the use of this word just feels...gross. But that's just me and some wording. Anyway. I did like that Colin challenges this and in his defense he had a fair point about it not always being a good thing. It'd be worth revisiting that in the next book. (I also have to mention the early on cliché of "I let go of the breath I didn't know I'd been holding." - I suspect as Okosun's writing career goes on, she, like many other authors that wrote this, will cringe.)

Next, while I've seen some reviewers and bloggers mention the pacing, I don't wholly agree with this. The pacing was fine IMO for getting through the story, but the characters were the problem in this. Ok so Dèmi is 17 when it starts. We find out she has this adopted family and through details we find out her mother figure is 27. That means she was 17 when she took in Dèmi, so the sentence 'You're the child Will and I were fortunate to have sent to us.' seems really weird, maybe I just had other things happening in my life at 17.

We know from the blurb Dèmi's mother is killed, that's not a spoiler. But the whole thing happens nine years earlier (don't worry if you forget, the phrase 'nine years' comes up a few times). Soft spoiler here: Dèmi comes face to face with the woman who killed her mother when she kidnaps the Aje prince. The woman's first words to Dèmi are "Hello, darling. Grown up now are we?" Could someone please tell me how this woman recognises a near adult from the child she met once, nine years prior, for less than a day? This is also ignoring the part where people assumed Dèmi was dead from her encounter. And as anyone could guess, this of course has something to do with her misplaced trust and the Aje prince. In fact, when faced with the prince and an item he had from the day they met, again nine years ago for one day, she says 'You were always so good at taking others' things.' Which would sting a lot more probably if she hadn't known him for like half a day. It reads as a very longer term friendship comment. Also the amount of things an Oluso can do. "being Oluso, I can breathe a little longer underwater than Ajes can.', that may be true but after reading all the things Oluso can do up to this point it started to feel like in Winnie the Pooh when '[THING] is what Tigger's do best!' Like if you said 'being Oluso means we can put more flavour into porridge' I'd just roll with it cause why not.

The dialogue writing in some places was really what let it down for me. These tense scenes of fighting, knives are out, blah blah blah and someone, Dèmi or Mari, who's the King's right hand, shouts 'You promised!' My nephew also does that but he's 6 and there are less things at stake. This also ties in a bit to the fact that Dèmi is actually a really annoying character. She's brave but rash, she doesn't want Colin (which she says a few times) then she thinks 'and I want Colin,' - ok well why have we spent half this book with you saying otherwise? (Goes back to a love triangle only works if you don't know who they're going to pick.) She blames Jonas for everything but that's quickly resolved when some info comes out about his circumstance. She also knows that the kingdom doesn't consider her people human, that's the crux of things, them being killed and hunted. So why would she possibly think she could challenge the king under kingdom's rules, have it be valid and respected? That's without even getting into the problem of her going back and forth between 'let's fight' and 'no wait, choose peace'. Even more confusing, the king just went with it! And Mari, who tried to violate this challenge, somehow recognised Dèmi at first sight years later, has hunted her down since the prince was kidnapped and literally killed her mother, apparently just glares at the sight of Dèmi beating the king and leaves! Like, what?! She doesn't sneak out. She doesn't make some grand stand. This villain character just leaves??!?!

This is long enough as it is so I will just end on a sum up. There are some good aspects of this book and it has good bones to the story. That said, it feels like a not fully complete structure, dialogue and fully pieced together book before it was published. The tropes are many and not always well fleshed out so certainly there is room for improvement. If you're looking for a new author writing a YA world steeped in Nigerian fantasy, lore and myths, this might be your jam and you may look at everything I said and disagree. Certainly it's worth a read if you're interested.

Firstly a huge thank you to netgalley and the publishers for granting me an arc! I truly appreciate it.

So I got pretty lucky with this one. I started my arc read of Forged by Blood and was pleasantly surprised when I also received a physical copy of the book from my Fairyloot subscription box (the book is gorgeous!)

I'd like to give a personal thank you to Ehighbor for translating the Yoruba language. Having to translate dialogue yourself is fine, but it distracts from the story and you lose the immersiveness, at least for me.

The characters were wonderful. I adored Dèmi and Jonas. Colin was a little annoying in the way he constantly kept trying to get close to Dèmi. I know the two were close anyway but he was a bit... much.

As for side characters I absolutely loved Will and Nana and I would hands down read their story.

Ehighbor did a wonderful job at worldbuilding and bringing her story to life.

Absolutely stunning!

This book started off with such a bang and the adrenaline did not stop! Wow did I love the opening chapter as our two main characters meet and a betrayal occurs. I adored the writing, the plot and the characters. the magic system was well fleshed out, and the stakes were super high. This book is about acceptance and identity, as our main character comes into terms with her magic in a world where people like her are looked down on. I just loved this book so much, and am so happy for my special edition to arrive!

The writing and the characters were so flawed and I can't wait to read more by this author. Stunning!

I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a cool magic system, lovely and flawed characters, and whimsical and gritty writing! Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an e-arc!

Book Review 📚
Forged By Blood by Ehigbor Okosun - 4/5 ⭐

Imagine being magical and living life in a world where magic is not only forbidden but punishable? The story is filled with tragedy, heartache and strength! I definitely class this book as a YA/NA read but was still thoroughly enjoyable.

The characters throughout were absolutely brilliant. Okosun went above and beyond in the characters descriptions and growth throughout the book. As well as some phenomenal world building. I love being able to step into a book and my imagination takes me to the place the author describes. It's easy to do that when the author does all the work for you and Okosun definitely done a fantastic job with the descriptions.

Although the story started out quite slow and somewhat predictable, it really does take a turn quite quickly! And all predictions fo straight out the window. It was so amazingly written and I can't wait to read another book from Okosun.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

Forged by Blood begins by hooking you in with hidden magic and tragedy. Demi helps her mother heal people who are brought to them as a last resort, as magic is banned and persecuted. Guards discover their location and all hell breaks loose.

There are many tropes like fated mates, love triangle and found family. I enjoyed how strong Demi was but how much weight she put on that.

‘There is more power in my little finger than they have in their entire bodies. I am stronger than they’ll ever be.’

I really loved the forest scenes and the water nymphs it all felt really magical and I wish there had been more time in the forest. There was some hold-your-breath fight scenes in which I abandoned all life duties to read.

‘Fear is a strange master. It makes monsters from the simplest men.’

I really enjoyed this story and I think it would suit a new adult/young adult audience. I perhaps didn’t enjoy the love triangle as much as it felt a bit forced at times, but that is only my preference. There were also some reveals that weren’t explored which boggled my brain a bit, as if I had been the character I would have needed to know.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I would rate a 3.5 stars.

part YA afrofantasy, part allegory for colonialism, this novel aspires to be a sweeping, magical, coming-of-age epic. the world-building is rich and draws on nigerian mythology while the plot pivots on ancestral trauma, transporting the reader across time, up mountains, into rivers, and even between realms.

the story begins predictably: a fatherless african girl, dèmi, watches her mother get killed by evil colonisers for being a magic-user as part of a wider kingdom-wide genocide. the bigoted colonisers kill, enslave, and torture magic-users and view them as inferior. orphaned and bitter, dèmi trains hard to become stronger so that she can one day seek vengeance. she constantly recalls the teachings of her mother, who turned out to be famous and actually had ties to the palace. dèmi also ends up in a love triangle between a fellow magic-user and the heir of the evil king (who is, of course, a white boy). her relationship with the heir draws a lot of criticism because of their racial and status differences, but they share an undeniable bond that hints at unlocked secrets from their intertwined past.

the story may have started out quite simply but it quickly unravelled into a complex and action-packed tale of identity, betrayal, and love. it ended with a tentative victory and unresolved power struggle so i’m quite curious about what will happen in the next (and final) book.

Forged by Blood follows the story of Demi who is made an orphan after witnessing the murder of her mother. For Demi and her mother are Oluso which means they have magical abilities. After helping a sick boy Demi’s mother is murdered and Demi is on the run. The story fast forwards 9 years after this point and we meet Demi again living with a new family who have taken her in and are aware of her magical abilities.
After rescuing two Oluso children locked in cages Demi ends up being pulled into a scheme to kidnap the Prince for another’s political gain which will supposedly help her people.
I really enjoyed the world building and loved the magical abilities that the characters have. I enjoyed seeing the different abilities too. The world building at points was a lot of information but it was necessary for the story.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book but felt that I would like some of the side characters to have a little more depth to them. There was a little love triangle going on for a very short period before settling into a fated mate match.
The plot felt a little off page a couple of times but it did get back on track. I was able to read this book in just a couple of hours as once I started I found it hard to put down.

I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Thank you to Netgalley, Publisher and the author for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

“Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins Uk for providing me with an ebook ARC copy of “Forged By Blood” in exchange for an honest review”

★★★ ! Reviews • Opinions
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


— 📖 !! My Review

Forged By Blood is a debut novel written by the very talented writer, “Ehigbor Okosun” and follows a female character named Démi who scrambles through life as she struggles to survive among people who only want her dead.

There were parts of the story where I was absolutely gripped and the fast-paced storyline helped grab my attention as I turned the pages.
The start was especially interesting and not what I thought it would be in the best way possible but, as the story continues, I found that the massive amounts of tropes used ultimately threw me off. I love the fated mates trope but the love triangle confused me as it felt very forced and not needed in the book.
At the end it feels like a lot is just thrown into the last few chapters with there being a lot of monologue which I personally am not a fan of unless it’s done in a certain way.

I really thought I was going to enjoy the story but I think I went into it with the wrong mindset and expectations.


— 📖 !! Tropes

❥ Fated mates
❥ Fast-paced plot
❥ Revenge
❥ Unknown parent

If you are a reader who loves new and young adult fantasy and want a book full of popular tropes then Forged By Blood is for you.

I enjoyed this book a decent amount. There were parts where I wasn't really sure what was happening and it felt a little disjointed. Nevertheless I enjoyed my read and would pick up more books from this author.

I really wish I could rate this book higher but the overall execution wasn't great. There is promise here though so I await patiently for the second book.

This book had a good start, but then I really started to struggle with it. The magic system, although initially very interesting, grew very confusing and scrambled. I felt like there were many random moments in the story and to be honest, I didn't really know what was happening in terms of what they were trying to do. I didn't know how they got themselves into half the situations in the book and it definitely didn't help that there were lots of terms that I wasn't familiar with. I would have loved a clearer image of the world without having it impact some of the action scenes since it felt very jarring. It was also really hard for me to like the main character.

Dnf @ 34%

I really enjoyed the first couple of chapters where we got a solid look into Dèmi’s childhood. I can always appreciate a book where a character’s backstory isn’t shown in flashbacks scattered around the book, but actually on page, before the actual story takes place. I like to be able to explain and understand the decisions a character makes due to their backstory.

Sadly after the timeskip I was unable to reconnect myself to the story. Dèmi went from being a 8/9 year old to 18, yet she read exactly the same to me. Aside from that, too much happened in the first 33% of the novel for me to even try to fully settle into the story. Surprised to see this being marketed as an Adult book cause it definitely read very upper YA to me

Thank you netgalley and harpercollins for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

A brilliant start to this duology! The world EO has created is rich and detailed, with an intriguing magic system that, despite taking me a while to figure out, I enjoyed nonetheless. There were a few moments in time that I found some of the plot points a little muddled, and this book does feature a love triangle which I unfortunately am not a fan of as a trope, and it was these small things that just pulled my rating down from five to four stars. Regardless I am very much looking forward to finding out how this story ends in the sequel!

This is a story of hidden magic and family secrets. A strange mix of real life places and languages are scattered amidst the fantasy setting, which I found odd at first, but accepted as the plot rolled out.

There are some powerful themes here: injustice. Colonialism. Power and its various forms. There is a steady litany of Bad Things Happening and a great deal of hypocrisy and villainy, but there’s also some found family. And amidst all this, a girl strikes a bargain. To kidnap a prince - in return for safety for her people.

Ultimately this was a bit more ya than is my fancy and had some tropes I didn’t enjoy, but will be a treat for YA fans!

Features
- secret magic
- Rebellion
- Fated mates
- Forest spirits
- whom do I fancy more, my best friend or my enemy
- there’s only one bed

— 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4 stars as half-ratings are not available)
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

"Fear is a strange master. It makes monsters from the simplest men."

📖 | 400 pages
👤 | author Ehigbor Okosun
🏢 | publisher Harper Voyager
📅 | release date 17 August 2023

What you can expect:

• Book one in a duology
• Author debut
• Adult, high-Fantasy book inspired by Nigerian mythology
• First-person POV
• POC representation
• Complex magical-system
• Forbidden magic
• Found family
• Forced proximity
• Fated mates

Trigger warnings: violence, murder, death of a parent, grief and loss, prejudiced society, genocide.

Debut author Ehigbor Okosun brings us book one in the Tainted Blood duology which follows the story of our main character Dèmi. Forged by Blood begins with a prologue by introducing us to Dèmi, who at this time is younger than ten years old, as she assists with her mother who acts as a healer for young child that is suffering from poison. After her mother successfully extracts the poison with the use of magic, Dèmi forms a quick friendship with the young boy who we learn is named Jonas. Dèmi confides in Jonas about her magical abilities which goes against her mother's orders, as this is a world where to have magic is a death sentence. Unfortunately this trust is misplaced and tragically leads to the death of her mother, thus triggering the main plot for this book.

To start off this review I will say that the synopsis of this book immediately had me drawn to the very first page. Marketed as "a tale of rebellion and redemption, race and class, love and betrayal," I couldn't wait to dive into this story to learn more. I found the first chapter to be a strong beginning into this world. The writing read well and it feel introductory enough into a world filled with intense world-building. The magic system sounded really interesting, and that tragic turn of events broke my heart for a then child Dèmi. However I do have to say that for a book that is being marketed to an Adult audience, this book feels more fitting as a Young Adult. Dèmi is 17 years old throughout this book, and despite still being at a young age I would have expected more displays of maturity from her character. Dèmi and co. behave quite naively and immaturely throughout this book which was frustrating for me as a reader, which I would have better tolerated had I went in with the impression of this book being Young Adult. As a marketed Adult novel I go into the story with set expectations on how the character's should behave during conflict, how this is resolved and so on. The childish nature of their behaviour set the tone for me and made the characters difficult to like.

This book is filled with tropes that I love, which generally immediately boosts a rating for me as a reader. I'm a huge fan of the found family trope, and I love when Fantasy books include the forbidden magic trope. Fated mates is one that I also tend to enjoy when executed right, however unfortunately in this instance it fell flat for me as it also alluded to a love triangle. Love triangles are not my favourite to read as in my reading experience, the choice is dragged out as a source of drama. I personally did not connect with the romance within this book. The chemistry for me felt forced as it unfortunately fell flat, and it overall felt unnecessary to include the love triangle trope as there was a clear preference from the beginning. I believe I would've better connected with the romance plot had it simple been a fated mates plotline without the love triangle.

With any new Fantasy series, world-building can always be heavy to process which is something I always anticipate. At the beginning the plot felt very-well paced and I found myself immersed into the world and it's lore and politics. After the tragic death of her mother I was very excited to follow Dèmi on her journey of revenge whilst hoping to save the rest of her people from their tragic fate. However I felt the pacing began to slow down, speed up and then slow down again. I begin to feel a bit confused as I tried to keep up with what was going on. I also found some points to be quite repetitive which would work to act as a reminder for certain key points for the reader to note, however I did not find it to be the case in this instance.

Overall this book was unfortunately not what I was expecting and fell flat in certain areas. However when I felt able to follow, the storyline kept me intrigued and the book was filled with enough twists and turns to keep me engaged. I'm definitely interested enough to read the conclusion of this duology, and I'm willing to go into book two as an open mind as in some situations the second book reads far better than the second for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the DRC (digital review copy) in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! What an amazing book!!
Would love to read more from the author.
Thankyou netgalley for the Arc!