This was an excellent book but a hard read. I have some trouble reading through characters experiencing strong emotions, particularly when it appears that they're going to allow the emotions to push them into an (immediately) more harmful than good activity, and Zélie is definitely a character who feels emotions strongly, and is at least sometimes pushed to act unwisely as a result.

The world has an excellent balance of grim and hopeful, and the story does a superb job of balancing between ending on a cliffhanger and providing a complete and resolved arc (without spoilers, the story can be made essentially completely standalone by not reading the ~1-2 page epilogue).

I find it hard to talk about the plot or events without spoiling the book, but I can say that the main characters are very well-drawn, act in ways that obviously derive from their individual histories whilst still allowing them to grow over the course of the series (although, as is realistic, not every character grows from every experience).

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the story was that I felt as if I was being set up for a romance between Zélie and Amari, and I still feel as if that pairing would have been stronger or healthier than the relationship that either character eventually ended up in. Still, recommended, and I will definitely be reading the sequel when it arrives.

A wonderful addition to the YA fantasy canon...my students will love it. Can't wait to read the next installment!

Thank you so much for the chance to read prior to the Hugo’s! I loved the book and I’ll be reviewing during a Hugo week in July.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was incredibly well-developed, in characters, in world-building, and in plot - to the point where I was very surprised it was a first novel. I enjoyed watching the character growth along the way, and especially enjoyed the realism in the fact that there were no easy answers. The way the characters behaved in the end confrontation was developed through their character arcs and there was no last minute change or abrupt about-face to create a happier ending. I respect that.

This is a really well done story. The settings and characters are much more developed than almost anything else I've read recently, and the plot is very well placed.

The only thing that kept it from a 5 star rating for me was the romance for the main character. It felt shoehorned into me, and the trope of using a romantic choice (which partner to choose, whether to get involved with the bad boy, etc) as a marker or proxy for deciding what direction to take in life (especially when used for female YA main characters) is just plain boring to me at this point.

Children of Blood and Bone has to be one of the most popular/hyped books I've ever reviewed on this blog (after maybe The Stone Sky I guess, but that's more niche) - it debuted in its first week after publication as #1 on the New York Times YA Bestseller list. A Fantasy YA Novel based on African mythology, this is the first in a trilogy that already had its movie rights optioned before the book had even been finished. Which of course isn't a guaranty of quality, especially for a first novel from a brand new author.

But I liked Children of Blood and Bone a bunch. It's far from perfect - it's probably a bit too long and definitely could use some editing - but it's a very solid start to a new trilogy, with some very interesting characters and some excellent worldbuilding. I also was happy to see that, while the book does have a mild cliffhanger, it works very well as its own complete story. I expected to get through this book in 3 days, and managed to do so in 2, which is a pretty good sign of me enjoying it, and while I wouldn't necessarily rate it among my favorite books of 2018, I'm definitely interested in where it's going from here.

More after the Jump:
--------------------------------------------------Plot Summary----------------------------------------------
In the land of Orisha, the Gods granted certain people, identified by white in their hair, the powers of magic. Each god granted a different magic, with powers ranging from the calling of fire (burners), to dealing with and using dead spirits (reapers), to magical healers. The people with the potential to use the magic were known as Diviners, and the actual users of magic were known as the Maji and their skin was darker than the other Orishans. The nobles and royalty of the land feared the Maji and their powers.

And then one day, ten years ago, the magic disappeared. It was followed by The Raid - a slaughtering purge led by the Orishan King Saran, which murdered all the Maji and many Diviners. And since that time, the Diviners have been treated as second class citizens - subject to additional taxes and cruelties, called "Maggots" to their faces, and not allowed any freedoms.

Zelie's mother was a Maji - a reaper - cut down in the Raid. She is a diviner, although her father and brother are not, and she wants nothing more than to fight back. And when Saran's daughter, the princess Amari, flees the palace with a Scroll that can restore magic to Diviners and Zelie is shown a vision of her, Amari, and her brother, Tzain, going on a quest to restore the land's magic, she jumps at the chance. She can give her people the chance to fight back by restoring the land's magic, and save her father and brother...as well as her people.

But Zelie is being pursued by Amari's brother Inan, who seeks to return Amari to the palace and obtain the scroll. Inan however, has a secret: while he was instilled with the belief from his father that magic was too dangerous to exist and that its existence would cause nothing but death and destruction, he has magical powers himself that were awakened by contact with the scroll. Conflicted by his teachings and by the powers he hates within him, he and Zelie find themselves drawn together.....and the result will change Orisha forever.
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Children of Blood and Bone is split into 80+ chapters (yes, 80+, so some are very short), with each one being written from the point of view of three of our four main characters: Zelie (who gets the bulk of the story), Amari, and Inan. For the most part, these characters are very well done, with both Zelie's and Inan's drives and conflicts seeming natural and well written. That said, both characters' probably go back and forth on their desires a bit too much for my liking - I've seen one review suggest that this is natural for teenage characters, and maybe that's true, but it still felt a bit like their wavering convictions at times felt off and pointless and could have been reduced to make a tighter novel.

Amari is easily the most conventional character in the book - her plotline is simple and the most unoriginal: She's the princess who doesn't realize how bad things have been for the lower class (the Diviners), who wants to change things and act against her father, but is scared to fight directly for herself and must find the courage to do so (Guess what she does by the end of the book!). She could have been taken straight from another book, honestly. And yet, the simplicity of her character arc actually made me like her more than Zelie - sometimes these tropes work for a reason.

Oddly the fourth main character, Tzain, never gets a point of view, and just sort of tags along with the others, and his reactions are only seen from the perspectives of the other three. The story doesn't need his input, but it just felt kind of weird for him to be so omnipresent while never getting to experience his thoughts and internal conflict directly.

The worldbuilding is also in general excellent, taking us far and wide through this new land. The magic is intriguing where explored, and while the plot is predictable in beats, it has enough surprises to intrigue. And while I felt the book was too long at times, I was generally always interested in reading the next chapter (hence me blowing through the book in 2 days instead of 3-4), which is a good sign for its pacing. And while the ending does have a cliffhanger/sequel-hook element, it is a satisfying wrap up to this opener of the trilogy, leaving me interested in the next book without making me feel unsatisfied by the effort to read this one.

There are some other issues with the book besides what I highlight above. The book seems to try for small bits on rationalizing the behavior of the main antagonist, but for the most part he's just one-dimensional and evil and cruel, which makes that kind of a waste. This wouldn't be that big of a problem, except that Inan is supposed to be wavering between sides (the primary antagonist being his father), and it's hard not to want to yell at him when you see how clearly his father is evil, and so Inan's story, particularly his ending, didn't really work for me - Inan's story and conflict is essentially that of a man born from privilege discovering he might lose that privilege at any moment and trying to rationalize away his prior actions and find a path forwards without rejecting his teachings....but when those priors are so blatantly evil, it's kind of hard to feel the conflict as he learns more (There's one sequence in the final third where Inan is confronted by his father's evil so blatantly that it seems bizarre given his prior characterization that any conflict is left after that at all and yet.....without spoiling, he goes in a different direction that is pretty hard to believe).

The book also introduces a side character about 60% of the way through who plays a part in the final sequence who didn't work at all and felt way too much like a plot device (getting the characters from Point A to Point B) than he should have. If the sequel picks up right after this book left off (not a given), he might become a more relevant character, but he was significant enough in this one to be kind of annoying in how little depth he had.

Overall though, this is an excellent start to a new fantasy trilogy, especially one that isn't from a typical White European culture and that deals with themes of fighting against oppression and power. Will be looking for the sequel whenever that comes out.

Holy crap. This book is absolutely incredible. I don't think I have read a book this good in a long long LONG time!
I will be writing a full review of this book in the next couple of days. But... wow.

I need to collect myself.

The writing style, the world building, the characters and my GOD the magic in this book. Absolutely breathtaking. I cannot get over how this is a debut book and I NEED to know what happens next!

I need the sequel! Tomi Adeyemi has created a masterpiece that will capture millions of readers! I loved all the characters and the plot was amazing!

This is the unpopular opinion but this book just wasn't for me. I know it was very hyped up and many, many people loved it. I was excited to read it too. But I felt like it was just the same old YA storyline and for some reason, it just didn't hook me in. But I hate leaving negative reviews, so maybe it was just me. Maybe it wasn't the right book at the right time for me.

Regretfully, this was a DNF for me. Just one of those hugely popular things that didn’t work for a particular person, I guess. Nothing against Ms. Adeyemi!

Where do I even begin?! Tomi Adeyemi is a phenomenal writer! Her world building is fantastic and her magic system was awesome. I loved everything about this book from start to finish. The pace was great, the characters all complex and intricate and the plot just kept twisting and turning. Gripped from beginning to end!

Zélie was such an amazing character! As the protagonist of this story I never had a moment where I didn't like her. She was spunky, bossy and confident when need be. She knew what she was capable of and she never gave up. Zélie is definitely my favorite character of all the others. She matured throughout the journey to restore magic to her people and as a maji she was just like her mother. I predict that she may even be more powerful than her mother.

Prince Inan was a shocker for me! I did not expect him to be what he was. I always considered him to be a spoiled brat, but learning about his upbringing and knowing that his father was a grade A dick, I felt bad for him. I didn't like how he played the fence between good and evil.

Princess Amarai was a character I saw as weak the whole story up until the end chapters. She is a spitfire and a beast. She may seem weak and fragile, but when the girl needs to kill she goes all out. I loved her boldness and how she stood up to her father and her brother. She complained a lot, but seeing as she was a sheltered princess it made sense for her to. She grew into herself throughout this whole story and I can't wait to see how things change her even more in the sequel.

Tzain, Zélie older brother, was a funny guy. I don't know whether I liked him or not. He was totally overbearing and seemed to blame Zélie a lot. I feel as if he has a lot of growing to do within himself. He was too serious and didn't know how to live and have fun.

The romances were so stinking cute! Tzain and Princess Amari I didn't care for at first, but I loved how they helped one another bring out their quirky sides. Tzain was too uptight and Amari was too reserved, but together they had fun and laughed. Now, Zélie and Prince Inan was a romance I was all over! Sort of the hate to love trope, but it worked considering they were enemies, but technically on the same side. I adored those two love birds together and their little stolen moments together.

Mama Agba was like a sweet old granny to me. I loved how fierce she was and how she encouraged Zélie throughout the story. She was essential to Zélie's upbringing and I loved it. King Saran is an evil twisted bastard. I did not like him one bit. He played the part of a villain perfectly. He was a terrible leader, a horrible husband and an even worse father. The way he treated his kids killed me. I'm glad he met the end that he did.

That ending left me a bit hollow. The ending definitely was what I wanted, but not how I expected. Is Inan dead? Is Amari a maji? I need the sequel right now!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eArc I received!
So this took me about 3 weeks to read, which is really strange for me. I'm not sure why...since It's definitely exciting and well written, I just think I struggled to stick with it when something crazy was happening every chapter. I was in the mood for a more relaxed read and so I read romance novels at the same time as reading this. Also, it's the first in the series so chapter hangers don't affect me as much as they do with characters I adore.

That being said, I did really love this! I was in between a 3 or 4 though given that it let me down at some points. But I went with 4 since the emotional aspects of this book are so so strong and well done.

Things I loved:
-Amari!! I just love her so much. She's so fierce and I adored how it ended with her (view spoiler)
-Zelie and Tzain have such a well developed sibling relationship, that is complex and layered.
-The emotions! Especially having to do with friends and family. Very deftly done and made me cry a lot.
-Inan is (view spoiler)
-There is like, one white person in this book maybe. It's nice because the prejudice isn't coming from white people towards the diviners, but other people of color. And that's obviously a very realistic issue but isn't done in many books! Tomi discusses the issues of colorism, racism, and police/military/state brutality so...clearly but also subtly. I can imagine someone reading this and not knowing it was going to tackle these issues and just absorbing the messages and lessons she communicates so well. It is both an intense fantasy whirlwind and a loud cry for social change and racial justice. It's brilliant. It does both of these things so so well and I'm impressed by how Tomi handles it. Sometimes it can feel like fantasy authors are being too obvious with their social messages or beating the reader over the head with them, but in this book it feels natural. She lets you see multiple sides to the story, with narration from Zel and Amari and Inan, and I think most readers will end up on Zel's and Amari's side and be slightly angry at Inan for not fighting the system as he should, or using his privilege in the right way. Anyways, one of the best parts of this books is how the author tackles real world issues in a fantasy setting.
-The twist at the end is great! And made me really excited for book 2, which I feel like will be even better.

Things I had problems with
-sometimes it moves TOO fast. There is something happening at the end of every chapter and sometimes i just wanted a break to see the characters be more introspective. The pace means that the emotions are also intense and then resolved quickly. That's an issue for me. Despite enjoying the family emotional stuff, I felt as if some relationships lacked depth because they just happen too quickly.
-namely, Inan and Zel. I can't get behind this ship. Maybe that's the point since all the stuff that happens at the end but I can't tell for now.
-I really felt as if the more interesting relationship was Amari and Zel..in a friendship way but also as a potential romance. There is no LGBTQ rep in this at all, which is fine given how much other great rep there is, but the chemistry between Zel and Amari is palpable and they would make a great couple.
-The magic system is...not as developed as it could be. The ending bit and how Zel does the ritual didn't make a lot of sense. Things got explained too quickly. I think some of my disappointment is that the reviews for this say that the world building takes a lot to get through but I felt as if it was the opposite—a bit too shallow at parts and very easily understood. I thought this was a world with a huge amount of depth but the magic system just seemed simplistic at points.
-The plot is fairly repetitive. It's basically like the classic characters go on quest to recover magical objects thing. Except...they are captured twice, not once, and rescued twice, not once. Basically this just meant that the climax moments lost momentum because similar situations had already happened. Im not explaining this well, but the plot wasn't innovative or particularly surprising, at least until the last 20 pages.

Overall, this was a mixture of things I really enjoyed and love, and some minor annoyances.

This book was certainly not what I was expecting it to be. It was very intense, but I found it so empowering. I loved reading all about Zelie, and the way she kept fighting through everything, no matter what hit her. I didn't really think the romance was a necessary part of the book, but I know how most people love a good romance so I totally get why it's included. The magic, the inventiveness of the story, the way they really developed Zelie, it was a wonderful read.

This sampler was awesome! Adeyemi's writing is superb, and the complex world building had me from page one. Read this book if you haven't already!

It was full of heartache, sexual tension, betrayal and magic! I loved every second of it and can’t wait to read the sequel.

I was very excited to be able to read this book. I had heard so much about it, so when I was able to get the book here I was over the moon. My daughter had also got to meet the author and get the book signed. So, we decided to read the book together.
I was not aware that I did not get the whole book and was beyond disappointed. I am giving he book 5 stars, what I read was incredible and I love the story line. I will now have to wait until my daughter is done to finish the book.

Even though I didn't get to read an ARC I still wanted to share how amazing this book was.
The most impact impression made by this debut novel is that the characters are all POC AND author as a POC getting such high levels of attention. Keeping in mind , despite all the long history of publishing, the dismally small fraction of authors of color getting published, this novel took steps for more YA authors and readers to expect to see them selves in book son the best seller or at least hard cover fiction shelves!
he playing field is not level. I hope this novels's success, whether everyone who has read it agrees with its purported fabulousness, pushes the door that much father open and demands that much more attention paid to authors, characters, stories, and readers of color from The Big Six .
If you have read vast quantities of fantasy you may be slightly disappointed after all the hype this book has received. Yes, it is not 100 % original, but how many novels are these days? The originality in this book are the use of non-western cultural elements and word building treatments given to a basic magical adventure plot.
Humans can only imagine magic and adventures, drama, romance and epics, so many ways, all based on our own past legacies and experiences-- this novel uses elements of Nigerien mythology, mysticism, and magic, something many westerners will find new hence some of the excitement.
The underlying message about systemic oppression ( in this instance because of who has power and who wants to keep them from using it) and fighting back against it is not new but we all enjoy our stories of young adults and children learning their power and standing up for light against dark--again not original but still entertaining and inspiring.
For a debut novel? This is a strong start. I look forward to reading more of Adeyemi's work.

The first time I read this book I blew through it and afterwards felt as though I missed a few things, so I decided to go back and read it again and take my time. And boy did I miss a lot.

Adeyemi creates two strong female characters Zelie and Amari and I love them both. Granted at times they both got on my nerves. I loved how Adeyemi had a "character" reversal. In the beginning Zelie is strong and outspoken while Amari is meek and soft spoken; then after Zelie's torture Amari's strength really starts to shine through and Zelie becomes meek and soft spoken. The reader still sees Zelie's strength, but she is definitely not as forceful as she was.

Now let me talk about <b>Inan</b> for a moment. I sooo wanted to punch him in the throat. He got on my nerves. Prince Inan (say that sarcastically).

He discovers that he is maji, but is afraid of it because of what his father, King Saran, has said about the maji. He carries this pawn around that came from a game he and his father used to play. And I kept thinking, "when is he going to let this dang thing go?" To me it was a symbol that his father is using him to further his agenda, which is true. Although he was on a quest to find his sister, Amari, and bring her home he was also on a quest to find Zelie and . . .

<blockquote>Kill her. Kill magic.</blockquote>

I love Adeyemi's descriptions. They are vivid and really pull you in - makes you feel like you're there. One of my favorite descriptions is of the Gombe River Valley.

<blockquote>After the six days traveling through the hell of the desert, the lush forests of the Gombe River Valley are a welcome sight. The hilly land breathes with life, filled with trees so wide one trunk could fit an entire ahere. We weave in and out of the towering giants, moonlight spilling through their leaves as we travel toward a winding river. It's quiet roar hits my ears like a song, soft like the crash of ocean waves.</blockquote>

At the outset of the novel I was intrigued. Bisi one of Mama Agba's students asks: "Why do they hate us?" And Mama Agba's reply was. . .

<blockquote>They hate what you were meant to become.</blockquote>

I thought about that and thought that no truer statement could have been made. People don't like you or they hate you for all sorts of reasons. Some of them valid, but most often they aren't. Most of the time the reason someone is not liked is based on ignorance, fear and/or misunderstanding. And the reality is just because someone doesn't like you doesn't mean you should stop being the best you you can be. And I'm done. Off my high horse I get.

Overall, I’m honestly so surprised Children of Blood and Bone was a debut: the characters, the pacing, the writing, and plot were all practically perfect. I would highly recommend it.

I received this book in return for my honest opinion ~ Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read a great story.

expected an intense hate/love relationship or... any intense feelings between the two main characters. I expected strong characters. Here is neither. I know, it’s only 23 % of the book but.... I just keep finding reasons why I don’t like the girl.

DNF at 23 %