aquietglow's review against another edition
4.0
This is a beautiful book. The imagery, the connections made to current events and our own history, it's all so rich.
I liked it a lot and am eagerly awaiting the next one. I was surprised at how quickly things moved! I thought for such a series, things would take longer, be more drawn out. The world is so big and the challenges the characters face are so compelling and huge, it's exciting!
I think that my expectations were too high and I wasn't quite immersed in it the way I expected to be. The characters are wonderful and I love them and want to protect and help them, but some of the wavering that goes on is incredibly frustrating. (I own that as a personal thing; characters are allowed to have flaws and doubts, it's realistic, etc, it just really got to me.) I can see how these characteristics could be built upon in the coming books and I have high hopes!
I liked it a lot and am eagerly awaiting the next one. I was surprised at how quickly things moved! I thought for such a series, things would take longer, be more drawn out. The world is so big and the challenges the characters face are so compelling and huge, it's exciting!
I think that my expectations were too high and I wasn't quite immersed in it the way I expected to be. The characters are wonderful and I love them and want to protect and help them, but some of the wavering that goes on is incredibly frustrating. (I own that as a personal thing; characters are allowed to have flaws and doubts, it's realistic, etc, it just really got to me.) I can see how these characteristics could be built upon in the coming books and I have high hopes!
rkorevenge's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
hapritch's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
o_aristeidis's review
4.0
This is a tough one. 5 star book all the way through to the last couple of chapters. The ending left me cold though. Maybe I will re-read at some point.
jyb's review against another edition
DNF’d at the beginning for entirely subjective reasons. The prince showed up with magic powers he’s obviously going to hate and turn into self loathing, and then he might or might not fall in love with the MC. I like enemies to lovers, but I just wasn’t feeling the former trope at all. Not a big fan when I didn’t think I cared about the prince anyway. Might come back to it at some point to try and get over my dislike.
emma_jane_reads's review against another edition
5.0
So I didn’t know what to expect coming into this book but I fell in love with the universe and the characters. Once I started I couldn’t put it down as I was pulled into a frightening and beautiful new world.
jimmothy's review against another edition
5.0
I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of female characters and inter-female relationships. While the two main girls don‘t have a good relationship in the beginning they do bond over the time and become friends. It‘s nice to see a friendship grow and not be the instant „ugh i hate her“ or „i‘ve known her for one second and i decided she is my new best friend“.
While the story did it‘s fair share of tropes, I didn‘t feel like the entire plot was predictable. The „magic ceremony that only happens once every hundred years and we only have a month left“ bit was very trope but it did it‘s job in raising the stakes and making the journey desperate so I don‘t see a big reason to complain. The magic system was pretty cool as well.
While the main villain of the story - king of the country- seemed like a Evil McEvil kind of character at first, he did have an actual motive which was nice. Like ofc, he‘s a piece of shit but I can see that if someone took the wrong turns in certain key events in their life would end up there. Didn‘t excuse his actions but made him believable as a villain.
The tragic sad boy of the book is the forever tortured Inan who is a bit of a mash up of What‘s-his-face from We hunt the Flame and That-other-dude from Six of Crows. Man, I wish I remembered those fools names. He likes a girl he‘s supposed to hate and he needs his dad‘s approval and will do everything to keep his favor. At one point I felt a bit of whiplash of how often Inan changed sides but he had more of a spine than other tragic-sad-boys so I give him that. Despite me being lowkey annoyed at Inan half the time, I had a heck of a time reading.
While the story did it‘s fair share of tropes, I didn‘t feel like the entire plot was predictable. The „magic ceremony that only happens once every hundred years and we only have a month left“ bit was very trope but it did it‘s job in raising the stakes and making the journey desperate so I don‘t see a big reason to complain. The magic system was pretty cool as well.
While the main villain of the story - king of the country- seemed like a Evil McEvil kind of character at first, he did have an actual motive which was nice. Like ofc, he‘s a piece of shit but I can see that if someone took the wrong turns in certain key events in their life would end up there. Didn‘t excuse his actions but made him believable as a villain.
The tragic sad boy of the book is the forever tortured Inan who is a bit of a mash up of What‘s-his-face from We hunt the Flame and That-other-dude from Six of Crows. Man, I wish I remembered those fools names. He likes a girl he‘s supposed to hate and he needs his dad‘s approval and will do everything to keep his favor. At one point I felt a bit of whiplash of how often Inan changed sides but he had more of a spine than other tragic-sad-boys so I give him that. Despite me being lowkey annoyed at Inan half the time, I had a heck of a time reading.
rosiethespy's review against another edition
4.0
The first half was a little slow, but I'm SUPER glad I stuck with it because the second half was amazing. I absolutely loved the ending and I can't wait to find out what happens next!
Spoiler
Inan is one of my favorite characters of the year. I think he is honestly trying to do what is right by his people, even when he's poisoned and blinded by misinformation, guilt, and self-hate. I love being able to feel for a character and understand him while still rooting against him. If he's really dead, it'll big a loss.laurieisreading's review against another edition
5.0
I was sent a Dutch copy (out March 20) by Harper Collins Holland in exchange for an honest review. My opinion and rating are NOT influenced by this!
I am not shy to admit that I had some struggles getting into the story at first. This was not because of the book, but because I was facing a small reading slump and I was not feeling that well. However, that small reading slump completely faded away when I got into the story. The moment the story really got to me, I couldn't put the book down.
The story is exciting. Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American writer and that shows of in the storyline. Orisha has quite some elements of an African country. For example the city of Lagos. In the book it's the capital of Orisha while in real life it's the capital of Nigeria. Furthermore, you see some more elements as the language, markets and different races. The use of the word "mama" was a bit confusing for me as it has multiple meanings. Zélie's mom (in Dutch we say mama instead of mom), mama Agba and it is used in multiple spells. However, that did not affect my joy of reading the book.
Besides the culture, current themes as oppression and racism play a key role in Children Of Blood And Bone too. Zélie and the other Maji have to live in constant fear because they are not accepted by the Kosidan, the majority of the Orishan people. They get oppressed just because of their white hair and their lost magic.
A very strong side to the story were the different point of views. The story is told from Zélie's, Inan's and Amari's point of view. This way, you sometimes relive an event again, but you understand more of the other people's thoughts and feelings. At some points, the story continues, but those are spoilers. However, I missed a point of view from Tzain as he plays a major role in the story too. But again, that didn't affect my love for this book.
The cliffhanger is terrible, I need the second book already! Children Of Blood And Bone is a fantasy novel with current events which puts you on the edge of your seat multiple times whilst reading. Seriously, you guys need to read this book. And Dutchies, don't forget to pre-order this masterpiece! In my opinion this is one of the best books of the year and ACOFAS still needs to be released so that's enough said.
I am not shy to admit that I had some struggles getting into the story at first. This was not because of the book, but because I was facing a small reading slump and I was not feeling that well. However, that small reading slump completely faded away when I got into the story. The moment the story really got to me, I couldn't put the book down.
The story is exciting. Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American writer and that shows of in the storyline. Orisha has quite some elements of an African country. For example the city of Lagos. In the book it's the capital of Orisha while in real life it's the capital of Nigeria. Furthermore, you see some more elements as the language, markets and different races. The use of the word "mama" was a bit confusing for me as it has multiple meanings. Zélie's mom (in Dutch we say mama instead of mom), mama Agba and it is used in multiple spells. However, that did not affect my joy of reading the book.
Besides the culture, current themes as oppression and racism play a key role in Children Of Blood And Bone too. Zélie and the other Maji have to live in constant fear because they are not accepted by the Kosidan, the majority of the Orishan people. They get oppressed just because of their white hair and their lost magic.
A very strong side to the story were the different point of views. The story is told from Zélie's, Inan's and Amari's point of view. This way, you sometimes relive an event again, but you understand more of the other people's thoughts and feelings. At some points, the story continues, but those are spoilers. However, I missed a point of view from Tzain as he plays a major role in the story too. But again, that didn't affect my love for this book.
The cliffhanger is terrible, I need the second book already! Children Of Blood And Bone is a fantasy novel with current events which puts you on the edge of your seat multiple times whilst reading. Seriously, you guys need to read this book. And Dutchies, don't forget to pre-order this masterpiece! In my opinion this is one of the best books of the year and ACOFAS still needs to be released so that's enough said.
mochimustreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Racism