Basic Overview:
Title: Children of Blood and Bone
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Book Format: Hardcover
My Numeric Judgment:
♦SPOILER ALERT♦
This has nothing to do with the movie Blood and Bone.
Summary:
THEY KILLED MY MOTHER.
THEY TOOK OUR MAGIC.
THEY TRIED TO BURY US.
NOW WE RISE.
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for an enemy.
Judgments:
I have been thinking about exactly how to write this review for a couple of moths now. No, it wasn’t so bad that I had to find the words. I just had to really ponder if the book was as good as I was expecting and why I felt kind of let down after reading it.
I was one hundred percent on the hype train for this book. I am unapologetic-ally supportive of all minority authors, with a strong bias in favor of African authors. After all the amazing young adult science fiction and fantasy books I have read by Nnedi Okarafor, I was geeked to find a new African young adult author who focus on the fantastic aspect of literature. The opening of the book had me floored. I was here for it, from the Yoruba Gods and Goddesses to the actual African names I was just sitting on my bed reading like
Then the story started to actually unfold and it was like the hype died down and my emotions cleared and suddenly the concept did not seem extremely unique. Now, if this is your fave…just follow me here. This book was an amalgamation of your favorite Nollywood juju (I love teaching you guys new words. Juju is from the Hausa word “djudju,” meaning evil spirit or fetish. Hausa communities are scattered throughout northern Nigeria and southern Niger, predominantly in the Sahara Desert.) movie and Romeo and Juliet. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It just means that while the story itself was entertaining, the romantic aspect was lackluster, predictable, and one hundred percent unbelievable. I most likely feel this way because I seriously despise Solomon Grundy love stories. The fact that the romantic aspect of the book unfolded as quickly as it did ended up making me feel like Jessie on that “Drugs Are Bad mkay” episode of Saved By the Bell
That is the sole reason I gave this book four stars. The writing style was still enthralling and fantastic enough to make me genuinely care about the next book as well as what is going to happen. This book is still a beautiful representation of Yoruba culture weaved with an amazing adventure. I just wish the pacing of the story had been better.
Have you read this book? What were your thoughts?
Ciao Book Monsters!
I loved this book! I read it a few months ago and I’m patiently awaiting the sequel. Loved your review!
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I enjoyed it too! I am very excited for the sequel.
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Same! I can’t wait to see how the story expands
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I’ve seen this book around a lot with great reviews. I’m keen to pick it up.
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I am currebtly reading Children of Blood and Bone and so far I adore it!
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I hope you enjoy It! Let me know your thoughts when you’re done.
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Great review! I have this on my TBR and hoping that Jimmy Fallon picks it for his new book club read – I am all in!
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Thanks! I voted for it too!
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I adored this book! Plus Tomi is literally the sweetest human ever.
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This one is getting a lot of buzz
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It is on my tbr, but after hearing mixed reviews I am confused to read it or not.
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You should most definitely read it. It is a great book, I just wasnt a fan of the romance portions. Go in it expecting a fun and slightly educational fantasy novel and you won’t be disappointed. If you go in expecting your world to be forever changed… it’ll fall short for you.
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I heard reviews like either is is mind blowing or just so bad or waste of time…two extremes 😐
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great review, I totally know what you mean with the hype factor. I have had many books that just failed to live up to the extremely high standards I was expecting based on the hype. I try to not get overly excited about books now and I am very cautious about hyped books, but then again some really live up to it, like Renegades which was amazing
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See that’s another one I am just circling from afar. The book was amazing don’t get me wrong, but it still fell short of my expectations…which is not the author’s fault
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That’s too bad it wasn’t all that good. It was hyped up!
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It hurt my feelings but I am still excited about it
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Everyone seems to be reading this book. Great review.
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