Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun!

I found the world-building and the Nigerian-inspired Fantasy world very interesting! The plot was intriguing as well as amazing magic, twists and turns, and fated mates! The lore and plot was really interesting and engaging and I will definitely be eagerly waiting for the sequel!

I would recommend this book to anyone who also loves YA Fantasy!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Forged by Blood' by Ehigbor Okosun

'Forged by Blood' is an interesting first novel with a lovely writing style and intriguing plot. I didn't fully fall in love but I'd happily read book 2 to see how it goes.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

For me, Forged By Blood falls into the category "great idea, not-so-great execution".
I enjoyed the book but it ultimately fell flat for me, even though there were aspects of it that I really loved.
The worldbuilding and setting are amazing. Out of the Nigerian-inspired fantasy books that I've read so far, this one had my favorite world. It did such a great job at balancing the sad reality of colonization while also showcasing the magic, richness and beauty of Nigerian culture and mythology.

I think the idea of the novel was great and I certainly see where the author was going with it, it just didn't fully work for me.
The plot felt convoluted at times with everything that was going on. There were also a few scenes where I was a bit confused how we got there. In my opinion, there were too many plot strings that didn't feel woven together.
I also didn't love the romance, it felt quite forced, especially the progression between the "prologue" and then their re-union in the now made little sense to me, mostly in regard to the FMC's reaction. (I know this is very vague but I can't really say more without spoiling anything).

Overall, I think it just comes with some issues that are common in debut novels, but I see a lot of potential and will definitely be interested in the author's future work.

It was really great to read a YA book inspired by Nigerian mythology, and thus being introduced to aspects and concepts I hadn't been familiar with up to now.
The book starts out with the MC being 8 years old, and already she's a fully formed characters with a strong will to fight. Later on she's 17 and still on a mission to fight for her people.
The magic system is great and the characters are interesting enough. The first third of the book was really fast paced and intriguing. However, then I got thrown out of the book, and I'm not sure why. It might be the love triangle which I'm really not a fan of, but more than that I think it was the pacing that was off. The plot also seems to jump here and there, and while I usually enjoy court intrigue, bloodlines and such, this was just not quite there.
I can still recommend the book, but I can't give it more than 3/5 stars at this point. I'm not sure if I'll finish the dilogy, but for now I'll just let it sit.
Sometimes stories have a way of catching up with me when I'm least expecting it.

Thank you @netgalley and @harperbooks for the eARC!

Thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing an eARC for me to review!

There was just way too much going on at the beginning for me to settle into the story, and something about the writing wasn't gripping me. The first few chapters don't really give you time to acquaint yourself with this fantasy world, and while I like a fast-paced book, I feel without this foundation you spend the rest of the book still catching up. There was a lot of 'telling' in the worldbuilding that there was, which also didn't help.

It also leaned more YA than I was expecting - perhaps like The Gilded Ones this reads like older YA that may require some content warnings rather than true adult. I found that even though characters were of very different ages, they all kind of blurred together in terms of actions and tone, which made it hard to place everyone's relationships. Dèmi is under 10 years old for the first little bit, but she then reads the same when she's 9 years older.

Fated mates also just isn't my thing, so I don't really see this panning out in a way that's up my alley. I think fans of The Gilded Ones or Blood Scion might really enjoy this though!

Thankyou to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, HarperVoyager for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.

I want to start off by saying that despite this being labelled an adult fantasy, it really doesn't fully read that way. Other than some very adult and horrific topics it looks into at times, everything else in my opinion lends itself to a younger audience. With this in mind, I don't think i am the proper target audience for the book.

I wanted to love this but i really struggled staying in the story at times and felt as thought the pacing was a little off. I struggled with the desire to pick it up.

I think ill still read the sequel as the story and characters do show promise.

(Gifted ARC) This book was SO good! It’s the first book in a duology inspired by Nigerian mythology. Let me just say, it hit all the marks for me! Amazing plot, fascinating magic, twists, turns, heart wrenching discoveries - and my favourite; FATED MATES! It has such rich and interesting lore, I loved all the different elemental sprites! I’m so excited for the second book already - and this one isn’t even published until the 17th of August! (I can’t wait to get it in hardback, the front cover is gorgeous, and I’m super excited for the second one in hardback!) Super grateful to @harpercollinsuk and @okosunreads for letting me dive into this world! It’s a 5 star read from me ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

3.5 stars rounded to 4

While I enjoyed this read for what it is - an interesting fantasy which has YA vibes and hits a lot of tropes and plot points (found family, fated mates, forbidden magic) that any YA fantasy fan will enjoy - it let me down a little as I'd been expecting an adult fantasy.

At times the writing is excellent, and I was very engaged with the story, but I just wasn't vibing with it as I'd been in the mood for an adult fantasy with an adult protagonist and instead I got a book entirely from a reckless and young-sounding teenager's POV.

I'd still recommend this to anyone who loves epic high fantasy and well-developed world building, because this book certainly has all that. I just think it's a disservice to the book to be marketed as adult when it is upper-YA.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would, though I can't specifically put my finger on why. The characters were strong and I thought the love triangle element was as well done as it could be. Perhaps the plot was slightly meandering but the world-building was good. I would definitely recommend it to any YA readers I know, just not quite hitting the spot for me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. The standout strength of this book is without doubt it's rich and intriguing lore and magic system. However, several things about it limited my overall enjoyment. One was that although this is marketed as Adult fantasy it is much more young/new adult in content and tone. Second the characters behave rather naively and something I really do not enjoy in any book is situations where other characters repeatedly lie/betray/withhold information etc. and yet the receiving character always forgives this behaviour. I am also not a particular fan of love triangles/fated mates troupes but this is a personal preference. Thirdly the pacing was off for me in certain sections, particular where the book introduces multiple concepts and characters in a very short time, but then the plot moves away just as quickly. I would recommend this for YA/NA fantasy readers who enjoy the troupes mentioned in this review.

2.5⭐
Forged By Blood started off quite fast-paced. I sped through the first quarter of the book and found myself quite intrigued by the world and the characters. Unfortunately, the ending felt quite rushed, and I kept thinking that I had missed something. This book was penned as an adult book, however, It felt quite YA and borderline New Adult.

In terms of the romance in this book, I'm really not a fan of love triangles and the one In this book felt quite odd and forced and did not feel necessary to me at all. I believe if the author had simply gone with the fated mates trope it would have been quite strong.

Overall it just wasn't my cup of tea which was slightly disappointing as I had high hopes for it with how it started.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

My thanks to Netgalley, Harper Collins and Ehigbor Okosun for the eARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

I loved the fact that we weren't getting another Greek/Norse/Chinese mythology inspired book - not that they aren't good, but it was just nice to see something different coming out. With all the different mythologies around the world that are just as rich and as interesting, I was really pleased.

The book has a lot of my favourite tropes; fated mates, found family, love triangle, forced proximity - it was a great read.

There were some pacing issues, but I didn't mind it all that much. My biggest gripe was that it was definitely not an adult fantasy in my eyes, as it felt very YA. Even down to character age, it didn't feel like it was an adult fantasy.

That being said, I did enjoy the book and I am looking forward to reading the second boo in the duology!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Forged by Blood is a truly magical YA fantasy that throws you head first into Nigerian mythology. It’s a rich learning curve, but truly enjoyable as you read the story of Demi and her journey.

First, I would like to thank the author & NetGalley for the eARC opportunity. Like always, this review is voluntary & honest

Enjoyable read

The settings in this book are really great, it has strong characters and a solid world building

There were some parts I struggled to read and connect with...
I felt like many things were missed, or we just didn't get back to them, but the plot line kept me interested.

It had everything you could want from a YA fantasy
- Vivid magic
- Family
- Grief
- Loss
- Murder
- Prejudice
- Folklore and myth
- Blood magic

Well, this was a surprising hit for me, considering the blurb didn’t originally grab me. I know it is going to be covered by a book box in the UK though, so thought I would give it a try.

The book follows Demi from childhood through to the brink of adulthood, as she suffers the loss of her mother, the sins of her father and struggles to survive in a world that has forbidden the type of magic she wields. It blends together Nigerian mythology with an African inspired fantasy setting, where people are grasping for power and she is a pawn in it all. She bears a grudge against her mystery childhood friend who she believes betrays her and gets her mother killed, but when she is tasked with kidnapping a prince as part of a revolutionary plot, who does it turn out to be, but him?

Despite the unfamiliar setting, it had enough tropes in it that it felt almost like a comfort read. Fated mates, forced proximity, a love triangle, a world that seems quite dystopian - it had it all. I am quite a fan of the fated mates trope so I am biased towards a certain pairing, but the love triangle did seem a little superfluous because it was really obvious where her feelings lay from the very beginning so I wasn’t necessarily invested in the love triangle aspect. My only other criticism is that this is being marketed as an adult fantasy but it reads very YA, the main character is a child or a teenager for the whole book and there is nothing in it that distinguishes as adult apart from some teasing around sexual promiscuity.

I really enjoyed it, even if I have some criticisms and I would rate it 3.75 stars rounded up to4. It completed the main story arc to a satisfying conclusion while leaving enough breadcrumbs for a sequel.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e-ard of this book in exchange for an honest review.
"Fear is a strange master. It makes monsters of the simplest of men."
Rating:3/5
We'll, this was a disappointment. After looking at the gorgeous cover and reading the synopsis, maybe my expectations were too high.
Let's start with the good. The world building was rich, vibrant and interesting. I liked the magic system as well. The found family trope was quite good. The author weaves Nigerian culture and mythology in the book, creating a magnificent tapestry that is a feast for the imagination. I loved the setting! The book has a fun, adventurous vibe to it that many fantasy readers will enjoy!

Now, onto the bad. The book suffered from pacing issues. Some parts were a drag to get through, and I found them quite repetitive. The love triangle (not sure if you can call it that, though) was completely useless and I did not get why it existed in the first place. The love triangle and fated mates clashed with each other, which was not really needed. I do not like either of the tropes, so.....😐.

Also, this book feels VERY YA. The MC is 8 years old for the first three chapters and 17 years old for the majority of the book. This was not a drawback for me, personally, but I don't think it should be classified as adult fantasy since readers might jump into it with the wrong expectations.

A fantastic read with plenty of magic and action as well as a whole heap of tension between the characters. Dèmi really throws herself into dangerous situations, determined to help others even when it isn’t the easy option. She’s strong and skilled, with a great sense of justice that catches the attention of a few people and a few spirits. It was interesting watching her journey, both the emotional one and the physical one, and the different obstacles and risks along the way kept me reading on. I wasn’t expecting any of the twists at the end and it definitely leaves me wondering whether Dèmi made the right choices but that just means I’ll have to pick up the next book to find out! I loved watching Dèmi selflessly fight for her people and that she chooses peace for her land when there’s so much violence. She’s one tough cookie!

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.