Only giving 3 stars for now, since I only read a sampler. Can't wait to read the rest of the book! :)

I had the pleasure of reviewing a sample of Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. According to Teen Vogue, Tomi scored a seven figure deal for her trilogy and a movie deal, so I am really excited because just from the sample, I can tell this will be a sweeping saga full of magic and adventure.

The story goes that Zelie is part of a dark skinned, white haired race of people who once had magic. They had powerful abilities to control the elements, read minds, and even peer through time.

Those who used their magic for evil had their powers stripped from them by the gods and their melanin was stripped as well- so now depending on skin tone we know which ones have no magic versus those who do.

Eleven years back, Zelie lost her mom and something else happened too: the dark skinned, white haired race lost their magic and now the hunt is on. A king is on a bloodlust quest to exterminate the dark skinned race for fear their powers will return one day.

Again, this is just a sampler, but I am already intrigued…

Even more interesting is that the author, Tomi Adeyemi is a 23 year old, Nigerian Harvard Graduate.

I am proud of her already and will definitely be keeping an eye out for the Orisha trilogy!

*Sample book provided for review from Netgalley.

I found this excerpt to be very interesting and honestly I really want to read the full book soon as I can.

I'll send a full review when I read the entire book, but I am beyond excited! This preview was awesome and I'm glad the publisher is hyping it up -- the author deserves it, and we need more #ownvoices books and authors of color in general!

I was able to receive a few chapters of this upcoming young adult novel through NetGalley. After reading it, I am SO excited for this book to release! 

Although the story takes place in a fictional place with fantasy superheroes, the author is able to tackle real-world issues, like racism, colorism, and the importance of caring for the less powerful. Within the first couple chapters, the story is told from the perspective of a young "diviner". The narrator introduces diviners as descendants of powerful beings that possessed dark skin and white hair. The first protagonist in the story is a diviner and tells the reader about her struggle to overcome the persecution of the government officials, who are threatening to sell her off as a slave. Her white hair and dark skin make her and her family more susceptible to abuse by the soldiers and fellow citizens.

The story also does a great job of utilizing differing perspectives to provide the reader with a deeper understanding of the issues it addresses. Besides the diviner perspective, the sneak peek also included a chapter told from the perspective of a princess living in the castle and a prince in a nearby kingdom. The princess' chapter introduces more depth to the issue of colorism, as the princess reflects on the common practice of skin bleaching among her royal peers. The princes' chapter provides the point of view of someone in power.

I wish that this book was available in time for me to purchase for my student teaching unit on societal issues, but alas... It would have been a great fantasy option for the students to use. After the whole book is released, I will be buying a copy. This book is high on my list of potential classroom materials!

This excerpt for Children of Blood and Bone is riveting.
I cannot wait to read the rest!!!
Tomi Adeyemi has some serious rich world building. The culture and the history of Orisha creates such a vivid stage for the protagonist, Zelie, to contend in and bring back the magic that was once lost.
One of the strengths from the beginning is Zelie's agency as a character. She is such a strong and emotional character that we care for her and her dreams, and her family, and her past, and her future.
Pacing is also very good. There was hardly a dull moment in the whole excerpt.
There are so many big expectations around this book, and I don't think we will be let down.

The first 6 chapters had me hooked!! I can't wait to read the full book. The writing is so beautiful and the world building and character development is amazing.

OMG THIS WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!! I WAS SO UPSET WHEN I GOT TO THE END OF THE SAMPLE!! PLEASE PLEASE GIVE ME MORE GIVE ME MORRRRREEE.

Since I only read the preview and not the whole book, I wasn't going to give a star rating. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free preview.

The cover is really eye-catching. The start of the book alternates mainly between 2 POVs, both young female protagonists. Zelie lives a life of prosecution, her mother was hung and her father beaten. She is in constant fear due to being a diviner, which is seen as being akin to 'maggots' in her land. Amari, in contrast, is a princess who lives in luxury but is under the strict control of her parents and station. Things become exciting when the two of them cross paths after Amari steals an important magical scroll artifact and becomes a fugitive.

Racial diversity is prominent in the book, with emphasis on dark-skinned people. There is even a short mention of how the darker skinned noblewomen bleach their skin or cover themselves from the sun to become paler. This is a little disappointing to me because in a fantasy world, why should the views from our world transpose there? Related to that, the author has written animals such as 'snow leopanaires', 'black panthenaires' and 'hyenaires' in her fantasy novel. Why not just call them leopards, panthers and hyenas instead of adding unnecessary suffixes since they're so readily recognizable?

Note that this is a YA fantasy novel. I'm sure Zelie and Amari will have interesting adventures for the rest of the book.

Review of the first 72 pages:

As a frequent fantasy reader, this book felt comfortably familiar to me, like returning to your hometown after a long absence, even as the author, characters, and location were completely new to me.

The book seems to follow two young women. Zelie is the descendant of a small minority that once wielded magic, but who has lost their ability and become a persecuted underclass subject to arbitrary harassment, abuse, and even slavery and rape. She struggles to take care of her brother and her brain-damaged father, secretly learning defensive combat.

Amari is a young noblewoman distressed by the treatment of Zelie's people, who runs away from her life of privilege and embarks on a dangerous adventure to try and make a difference. In her great escape, she crosses paths with Zelie, who protects her.

I'm looking forward to seeing what these dangerous and brave young ladies get into.

(Preview Excerpt only)
This sneak peek caught my interest and is on my to-read list. Magic and mystery combine to form a tantalizing peek at a new book that is first in a projected series. For fans of Harry Potter.

The first five chapters of Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone are the most stressful things that I’ve ever read. And believe me, they’re so worth it.

When I first heard of Adeyemi’s success and talent (the bidding war and the upcoming movie), people were comparing her to George R. R. Martin. I get it. I do. At this point, when faced with an epic fantasy series full to the brim with political intrigue and the kind of vivid writing that leaves you able to visualize the world, Martin’s works are kind of the “go-to” for that sort of thing.

But Adeyemi’s writing is next level amazing. (I’m not going to be like “She’s better than Martin” but like…)

In the five-chapter preview, we’re introduced to three very different characters in different roles of life. There’s Zélie, a diviner trained to fight against the guards that oppress her and others like her in the name of King Saran. Then, there’s King Saran’s two children: Amari, who comes face to face with ugliness in her family, and her brother Inan, a young man who appears to be torn between duty and desire.

All three of the POV characters introduced in the first five chapters are fascinating figures that I want to know more about. The world they live in is dark and distressing, but even in these five chapters, I got the feeling that we’re going to see so much more unfold as the book (and subsequent series) goes on.

I think that the best thing about The Children of Blood and Bone is seeing multiple characters on the page that look like me and my family. Epic fantasy series aren’t exactly known for their stunning racial diversity and it’s been hard to get into the subgenre of fantasy considering it’s yet another one that I can’t picture myself in.

But I can with this book. I can visualize the characters and the setting they live in without having to jump through hoops like whoa. I know that when the movie comes out, it’ll be like Black Panther where I sob all over the place from the first trailer on (but better) because Black people – especially Black women – don’t get to be the Chosen One. We don’t get to save the day or have a prince (maybe) fall in love with us.

We deserve that.

We do.

And Adeyemi delivers in a big way.

You can check out the synopsis for Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone on her website along with the first few chapters of the novel. If you read the preview and like what you see, consider not only pre-ordering the book, but spreading the word!

I really liked the sample of this story and look forward to reading the whole novel when it is available.

I really want the whole book now. This preview was not nearly enough!

First of all, let me say that this is probably the largest 'excerpt I've ever received: it's a 72-page PDF file, which is more than enough to tell you whether or not this book is for you. Luckily for me, I found the writing and story to be entirely captivating, and I can safely say that I will DEFINITELY be picking up the full book at the first chance I get!

More like 2.5 stars. This was quite a generous sized sample! The story has a really interesting plot and setting, but for me the execution fell flat. I wasn't a fan of the writing style; first person narration is not my favorite and takes a lot to be done well in my opinion. The writing felt novice and conflicts in the story were resolved too easily. The main character, Zélie, was flat and annoying: nothing special really about her. Amari and Inan have some potential for growth and are set up to be interesting characters. The King seems to be one of those villains who's evil for the sake of being evil; that doesn't make a good antagonist to me. The magic system and the mythology of this world are intriguing; further exploration would definitely add to the story. The setting was quite interesting as well and would benefit from deeper world building. Overall, this was an okay story, or at least the glimpse into the story we get from this sample. It does seem like the story will get better as it goes on, but the beginning isn't a strong one.

I requested this not realizing it was a preview excerpt, and I avoid preview excerpts like the plague, b/c they make my eyes twitchy.

Within the first pages, it's clear that Children of Blood and Bone is going to be fresh, brutal and powerful. A few POVs are introduced in this sampler, but rather than trying to squeeze them all in right at the start, each character's perspective is introduced as is naturally melds with the storyline. I'm eager to see how the magi culture develops as Zélie attempts to bring back magic and reclaim what has been taken from her people. The idea that the diviners' darker skin represents power and heavenly blessings is a powerful one. Clearly, every aspect of characterization and cultural development in Children of Blood and Bone has been meticulously thought out.

This book was so good! I can't wait for the full book to come out. I'm so excited!!