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Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha, #1)

Tomi Adeyemi

Start date: July 1, 2024

Finish date: July 31, 2024

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What Members Thought

Sep 12, 2018 ✨Skye✨ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-star-good

Well, now I get the hype. I am having some great luck with popular YA books lately, but this one is especially good! It really does something different.
This book follows Zélie, a diviner, which is the race that is oppressed in this West African based setting. Diviners used to be able to do magic but their powers were taken away by the oppressor King, who killed scores of majis in a tragic event called the Raid. We also follow Inan and Amari, the prince and princess and children of the awful King Well, now I get the hype. I am having some great luck with popular YA books lately, but this one is especially good! It really does something different.
This book follows Zélie, a diviner, which is the race that is oppressed in this West African based setting. Diviners used to be able to do magic but their powers were taken away by the oppressor King, who killed scores of majis in a tragic event called the Raid. We also follow Inan and Amari, the prince and princess and children of the awful King.
First of all, this book flourishes in it’s discussion of race and prejudice. Her author’s note at the end was emotional and poignant and really made what goes on in this book resonate even more. It’s an all black cast, which is sorely needed in the genre and the diviner culture is just as vibrant and wonderful as what we see in real life. This book is brutal-it was hard to read at times and had some very cruel characters.
The characters were good though. Amari had such fantastic development across the story as she became the Lionaire, Inan went through about 4 changes of heart and I am getting frustrated with him (holding out hope for him) and Zélie just broke my heart with what she went through. I’m ambivalent about Tzain-nothing wrong with him, but I wasn’t as attached to him as I was about the others.
I do have to say that I wasn’t a fan of either of the romances in this. They both happened a little too quickly for my tastes, especially (view spoiler) I also felt the pacing was a little off. It was action packed, but it sort of felt like long periods of time travelling were totally glossed over as it just jumped straight to significant events and ignored other developments.
Overall, I am very impressed with this book and with that ending, I am SO excited for the sequel. It was such a strong first book.
...more

18 likes · Like · see review

Dec 05, 2019 Rosaline (Rosaline's Rolls & Scrolls) marked it as to-read

Yet another Something of Something and Something book! Is this ever going to end or the lovely people in the YA business have found something else they'd like to cling to until the entire world starts hating it?

Well, vampires have disappeared, I guess this can too.
...more

11 likes · Like · see review

May 13, 2018 Celia Buell (semi hiatus) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: class-differences, coming-of-age, friendship, decisions, american-author, home, family, speaking-out, own-voices, owned

Review 1/17/20
As always when rereading something, I saw a lot that I didn't before in this novel. The main thing I focused on this time was the aspects of female friendship in the story. Both Zelie and Amari grapple with their feelings about each other, and both have to overcome a lot to trust the other. And yet, it happens. I don't think that's something you see a lot in fiction, and especially not in fantasy. Either the friendship is already there or it's not and doesn't happen. But the way To ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

May 16, 2021 KatiEllen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

“You crushed us to build your monarchy on the backs of our blood and bone. Your mistake wasn't keeping us alive. it was thinking we'd never fight back”

You can see my full review here

I read this back in May and filmed a review for it, but I wasn't 100% happy with it. But here we are!! I stupidly waited a long time to read this, but I can honestly say it was worth the wait. The world building/mythology/history was just lush, the multiple POVs were great and I went through all the emotions.

Won' ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 25, 2020 Damselflies rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy, ya, did-not-finish, 2020-tbr, high-on-tbr

Dnfed at 29% I might give this an other chance in the far future, maybe I don't know

This is going to be short review (short as in I normally write longer more specific reviews for books I rate lower then 3), since I didn't finish the book. I liked the idea, concept, also a bit of the worldbuilding. But for me there were issues. The writing was jumpy I felt, it missed a certain flow, concistency, there was a bit of world building but not enough, there's something lacking in it that I cannot pinpo ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 12, 2018 Patty rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: myths-and-magic, 2018, young-adult, also-a-film

"Your mistake wasn't keeping us alive; it was thinking we'd never fight back."

Great coming of age book, filled with magic, darkness, love, betrayal and deep friendships.
And even a lion companion! ♥

From the author's epilogue and appearances, you may already know that this book purposefully contains strong messages against prejudice/racism. This theme is so well done in this book and it's the reason I give this book the 5 stars, despite having a few little nit picky things about it. At times ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 27, 2018 Alicia rated it really liked it

Shelves: witches-sorcerers-mages, bipoc-author, bipoc-mc, fantasy, library-books

3.5 stars
Children of Blood and Bone is an amazingly accurate description for this book. There are children, there is blood, and there are bones. I was actually kind of surprised by the level of bloodlust in this book. It's not overly gory or graphically described, but if you aren't a main character, prepare to die. (Obviously I'm exaggerating, so not a spoiler, but pretty close) It did lessen the heinous nature of a lot of it though, reading it you became desensitised since someone was killed ev ...more

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Jul 22, 2019 Jasmine rated it liked it

*3.5 Stars

I finally read Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone last week and I had very high expectations based on the tremendous amount of praise it's received from so many readers. Unfortunately for me, and it really is unfortunate because I so wanted this to be my new favourite book like it is for so many, my expectations were not met. Though I liked Children of Blood and Bone and look forward to reading the sequel at the end of the year, I just didn't fall in love with it. Sadly, I came *3.5 Stars

I finally read Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Blood and Bone last week and I had very high expectations based on the tremendous amount of praise it's received from so many readers. Unfortunately for me, and it really is unfortunate because I so wanted this to be my new favourite book like it is for so many, my expectations were not met. Though I liked Children of Blood and Bone and look forward to reading the sequel at the end of the year, I just didn't fall in love with it. Sadly, I came away from the book feeling a bit disappointed. But let me explain myself in a minute...

First, a mini-summary if you don't know what this book is about: In his fight against magic in Orisha, a king destroyed hundreds of families, killing every living maji to purge magic from the world. At the time, Zelie was a young girl and witnessed her mother's murder. Now, years later, Zelie lives under the same king's rule with her father and brother, and there is little hope that the magic in any diviner's blood will ever return. But then Zelie meets a rogue princess and learns there may be a way to bring magic back, that perhaps her destiny is to become the Reaper she was born to be. But getting there requires pain, sacrifice and facing the king and the prince, both determined to stop magic from ever returning no matter the cost.

This book sounds incredible and in many ways, it is. I loved the magic, the heartbreaking history of the maji's and their families in Orisha and I loved Zelie, her family and friends fighting for a future they believe in. Most of all, I loved the setting of the story and how it celebrated African culture and people, and the right for freedom. Tomi Adeyemi's exploration of social issues in our world today through her depiction of discrimination and violence against diviners is inspiring, honest and full of suffering. Her writing is beautiful. The journey the characters go on throughout the story, the dangers they face and their search for belonging, was entertaining, heartbreaking and influential. There is no disputing how much passion and feeling there lies in this book.

However, I still ended up feeling underwhelmed. I'm not sure if it's because I haven't read a new YA fantasy release in a long time and have outgrown some elements of the genre, or just because I expected to be completely blown away by the story and wasn't. Whatever the case, there's no going around the fact that I didn't like Inan, that I didn't like the big romance and that I thought the plot was too simplified for a book that could have been so much more. Yes, there were some moments I really enjoyed in the story, but there were too many things that felt like plot devices that only served to create more suffering and derail the progress Zelie and her friends had made. I found Inan's character insufferable and the romance (to which I won't give spoilers) so under-developed I just didn't care about it.

I'm trying not to sound harsh because I hate writing any element of negativity in book reviews and I still think this was a good read and, as I said above, want to know what happens next for Zelie, Amari and Tzain in Children of Vengeance and Virtue. I simply just wanted something outside of those YA tropes I dislike and I honestly expected more from Inan's character based on what I'd heard. But hey, there are more than enough good points in this book for me to return to the land of Orisha, which I hope will soon be uplifted by the return of magic. ...more

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Oct 28, 2018 Uswa Tayyab rated it it was amazing

Holy shit that was some serious stuff happened in the book. A lot of information was given but at the same time, it satisfied me as well. I'd say well done Tomi Adeyemi ...more

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May 25, 2021 Elizabeth Emily Browne rated it it was ok

Okay I have been reading this for two months now and I am currently at the 72% mark and this is where I give up.

That’s right, more than likely an unpopular opinion but I am going to have to DNF this one.

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