kyrstin_p1989's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Torture, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Genocide, Grief, Infidelity, Police brutality, Violence, War, Suicide, Sexual assault, Animal death, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
micaelamariem's review
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, War, Cursing, Death of parent, Gore, Genocide, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
ericageorge91's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Children of Blood and Bone (CoBaB) is about a quest to restore magic to the oppressed dîviner/maji people in a Nigerian-inspired world. It’s a multiple POV book that follows Zélie (a dîviner that lost her maji mother one fateful night), Amari (daughter of a violent king that wants to rid all magic), and Amari’s brother, Inan (heir to the throne with secret maji abilities).
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Slavery
Minor: Fatphobia, Child death, Classism, Body shaming, Animal death, Child abuse, and Infidelity
trayslays's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, Child death, War, Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Grief, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Torture, Physical abuse, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Infidelity
lunep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Violence, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Genocide, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, Confinement, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
Another TW: Colorismdurrareadsstuff's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I have never found a character to be so relatable like Amari. Reading her povs, I mean, I don't know if I should laugh or cry.
Spoiler
I mean, she was practically useless on that ship. And the way she kept telling herself to freaking move and do something but remained frozen and how she kind of made everything worse, I FELT THAT. But it was so much watching her grow, seeing her embrace the "lionaire" that was inside her all along. It kind of made me have hope in myself. So, I owe this book one.Spoiler
And Inan? *sigh* I was really rooting for you man, and I'm sorry to say this, but I'm kind of relieved thar you died. Cause to tell you the truth, you were freaking stupid. And after you've come so far! Such a shame. I originally wanted to give this a 5 star, but Inan angered me so much I just can't. But you know, it was refreshing that the enemies-to-lovers crashed and the love interest died cause he was being an idiot anyways. Okay fine, I might give this a 5 star later. All that aside, I can see how Inan represents someone who grew with a horrible parentage, someone who was taught, from a very yound age to hate and be scared of the maji, and it was so nice to watch him fall in love with Zélie, and to discover his own powers which made him re-evaluate his upbringings. But sadly, the fear crept up on him again, and yeah, it was pretty devastating that he was killed by the one person he worked so hard to appease.Besides that, the writing style is so genius! I mean, I'm not and english or literature major, but the way she describes abstract things like feelings using physical symbolism(?) It takes my breath away every single time.
Now chaos surrounds me, pulsing through every breath and heartbeat. It sings as blood splatters through the air, screams as boats explode into oblivion.
Reading this was like watching a movie, and for a very long book, I can say for certain that I never got bored. Loved it ❤️
Bonuses - multi-pov and the chapters are super short!
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Death of parent
Moderate: Torture, Child death, and Slavery
Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Infidelity
sarah984's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Then I hit the halfway point and the plot ground to a halt to do this extremely generic reylo-style romance (complete with force bond and nonsensical insta love) and then just one stupid thing after another happened and all of the goodwill the first half had generated burned off immediately. There is an extremely graphic torture scene involving one of the female characters that is told through the lens of how the most boring male character in existence feels about it.
I also don't like books where the oppressed people are shown to be extremely dangerous, especially when the author is clearly linking their plight to real-world oppression, and this got worse in the second half.
I liked the plot twist at the end (though it was really unclear why that happened) but not enough to save the reading experience for me.
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Torture, Slavery, Police brutality, Physical abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Self harm
Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, Trafficking, and Sexual content
batwinggoth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Kidnapping, Murder, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Self harm, Slavery, Stalking, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cursing, Confinement, and Police brutality