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whatkireads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Oh my god this book was SO INTENSE!!
The audiobook for this is phenomenal, I'm convinced there is no other way to read this, the narrator really transported you into the story and the entire story itself?? Was so haunting and intriguing and devastating.
So much happens and it's such a good commentary on oppression and inequality.
The audiobook for this is phenomenal, I'm convinced there is no other way to read this, the narrator really transported you into the story and the entire story itself?? Was so haunting and intriguing and devastating.
So much happens and it's such a good commentary on oppression and inequality.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death
jennireadsmaybe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
Honestly, I don't think there are other books doing it like Children of Blood and Bone is. This is fantasy! This is dark and gritty and a big abcdefu to colonialism. The world building happens naturally throughout the book instead of all at once in the beginning, which I really liked. It's been weeks and I can't stop thinking about this book.
Every single character feeds the plot so well. Zélie is a badass, magical warrior from start to finish and you just want to root for her forever. Amari's character arc starts off strong from princess to rebel; her romance with Tzain adds a bit of sweetness to an otherwise intense book. Inan is a mess, but the kind of mess that makes you so invested in his story. Tomi Adeyemi captures the nationalistic system and the struggle to deradicalize when you are actively benefitting from said nationalistic system.
Read this if you like fantasy rooted in social issues, lush environments, real, honest to god enemies to lovers to enemies, messy teenage decisions, and intentionally causing yourself pain by reading a book.
Every single character feeds the plot so well. Zélie is a badass, magical warrior from start to finish and you just want to root for her forever. Amari's character arc starts off strong from princess to rebel; her romance with Tzain adds a bit of sweetness to an otherwise intense book. Inan is a mess, but the kind of mess that makes you so invested in his story. Tomi Adeyemi captures the nationalistic system and the struggle to deradicalize when you are actively benefitting from said nationalistic system.
Read this if you like fantasy rooted in social issues, lush environments, real, honest to god enemies to lovers to enemies, messy teenage decisions, and intentionally causing yourself pain by reading a book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Genocide, and Slavery
Minor: Rape and Sexual harassment
cosmicwillow's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- 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
2.5
the world and lore of this world is so interesting, and i loved learning about it! however this book suffers from being Extremely Predictable, and it took me out of the story. also the romance was dreadful. i'm going to give this series another chance with the second book, but i honestly won't be moving forward with it if the second book continues with the same issues as this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Genocide and Torture
corsetedfeminist's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My goodness, this book is incredible.
I love Zelie and Amari. They’re both so brave and sassy, while remaining very distinctive characters, with their own flaws and traits.
The magic system is deceptively simple in the beginning of the book, slowly gaining complexity and depth as the worldbuilding progresses in the story.
All of the characters, even those we only see briefly, are vivid and endearing, such that even the death of someone we only met in the same chapter is heartrending.
By now you all know that my great weakness is truly morally grey characters and generally complex characters, and this book has them in spades. Inan both tugged at my heartstrings and made me angry, and his decisions made sense even when he made the wrong ones.
I also appreciated that there is no detectable Western influence, including in the morality and the plot. It is West African through and through, without getting distracted by any white people.
I will be happily be continuing the series, probably within the week.
I love Zelie and Amari. They’re both so brave and sassy, while remaining very distinctive characters, with their own flaws and traits.
The magic system is deceptively simple in the beginning of the book, slowly gaining complexity and depth as the worldbuilding progresses in the story.
All of the characters, even those we only see briefly, are vivid and endearing, such that even the death of someone we only met in the same chapter is heartrending.
By now you all know that my great weakness is truly morally grey characters and generally complex characters, and this book has them in spades. Inan both tugged at my heartstrings and made me angry, and his decisions made sense even when he made the wrong ones.
I also appreciated that there is no detectable Western influence, including in the morality and the plot. It is West African through and through, without getting distracted by any white people.
I will be happily be continuing the series, probably within the week.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Racism, Torture, Violence, Murder, and War
pagecalico's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
I really liked this book! I loved the adventurous rush i felt when reading it! It felt a bit slow at first but after 150 pages i loved every scene!
Im glad that Inan is dead lol. He didn’t deserve to have redemption arc especially after he betrayed Zelie even after finding out about his powers. He just didnt GET IT.
Also, I really didnt like the idea of Zelie and Inan being together. Like I get its meant to be enemies to lovers but he burnt down Zelie’s village for God’s sake. It’s more oppresser x oppressed and just felt forced. Hell I prefer Zelie and Roen together more.
Also I really liked that the author didnt go the whole ‘we dont need a revolution and we can resolve systemic issues with peace and liberal debates’ route and reaffirmed the importance of liberation of the oppressed through fighting back and revolution, because i was really starting to get pissed off atZelie for reiterating the same BS the kosidans were spewing about ‘magic being dangerous
I wish the author would tone down the amounts of similes but i cant wait to read the next book!!
Also, I really didnt like the idea of Zelie and Inan being together. Like I get its meant to be enemies to lovers but he burnt down Zelie’s village for God’s sake. It’s more oppresser x oppressed and just felt forced. Hell I prefer Zelie and Roen together more.
Also I really liked that the author didnt go the whole ‘we dont need a revolution and we can resolve systemic issues with peace and liberal debates’ route and reaffirmed the importance of liberation of the oppressed through fighting back and revolution, because i was really starting to get pissed off at
I wish the author would tone down the amounts of similes but i cant wait to read the next book!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Grief, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
pheyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? No
5.0
Wow, wow, WOW! This is the best fantasy book I’ve read in years. I clapped when it ended and shed tears at the authors note. This was not an easy read. The lore and world building was a lot to learn about. The brutality and description of marginalization hurt, because ofc it mirrors so much of real life. However it somehow manages to keep an element of fun discovery, adventure, and romance. The characters are so well written and their dynamics with each other are nuanced. The climax was INCREDIBLE! I love when a story sets up a path with such fierce obstacles and makes you feel the fear and hopelessness. And getting to read how these characters navigate against all odds is a treasure. Can’t say too much more while keeping this spoiler free. But yes overall this book was a journey that is engaging from the first page, it’s intense, the world is so interesting reminds me of ATLA, the characters are amazing and that climax whew! 5 stars for Children of Blood and Bone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Torture
bubblybuttercup's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
this is how you start a series! this is how you introduce a world!! CBOB is a quintessential fantasy read that i will always recommend. Adeyemi masterfully writes the beauty of magic and the land of Orisha, action and adventure, the trauma of the characters, the generational pain of a people, genocide and societal oppression, grief, young romance, a love letter to nigerian spirituality, the wonders of YA, and i still might’ve missed something in this list! CBOB is everything and more. I will forever stand by this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
aclevela724's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Racism, Torture, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
sauvageloup's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
An engaging fantasy read with good writing and pacing.
pros:
- what set it apart the most I think was the Nigerian cultural influences, and how Yoruba and the gods made the magic and the worldbuilding different and interesting. There was hints of a larger world which was interesting, but it made a great change to be set in fantasy Africa.
- the writing was solid, imaginative and emotional and the dialogue was good. I didnt enormously connect to the characters, but I did like them and appreciated their complexities and back stories.
- I did like the romance between Tzain and Amari, that felt more natural, and I liked Amari's character and how she develops.
- I also liked that magic was shown through hair (as well as the usual eyes), which I think emphasised the importance of hair in Black peoples culture and how they have been the subject of racism and oppression because of it.
- Adeyemi draws attention to the parallels between the oppressive tyrant in the book and the police brutality in real life and I did feel that resonance in the book.
cons:
- throughout, I felt it very strongly had the YA revolution, fantasy, romance tropes going on. maybe it was fresher at the time, but the romance felt shoved in there for extra drama (esp between Zelie and Inan, Amari and Tzain's felt more natural), and I did roll my eyes a little at some of the plot points (getting a "quest" for a magic stone and scroll, the bad guy flicking back and forth in alliances, Zelie randomly losing her magic for maximum effect, magic being lost to the realm, having to do a ritual on one special day, dead parents fuelling all motivation, etc.). other things were tropes, like everyone being badass with a weapon and them riding giant beasts, but those were more fun.
- also, character motivations felt weird. why did Inan fluctuate so much in his loyalties? I couldnt rly understand that. Zelie too made some odd decisions which seemed to just serve the plot.
- the last line also confused me, not sure if it was meant to or not? clearly magic wasnt lost but why was it so shocking that Amari had magic.
overall, a bit mixed, maybe just because it was written nearly 10 years ago now so didnt feel as fresh. still want to read the 2nd one.
pros:
- what set it apart the most I think was the Nigerian cultural influences, and how Yoruba and the gods made the magic and the worldbuilding different and interesting. There was hints of a larger world which was interesting, but it made a great change to be set in fantasy Africa.
- the writing was solid, imaginative and emotional and the dialogue was good. I didnt enormously connect to the characters, but I did like them and appreciated their complexities and back stories.
- I did like the romance between Tzain and Amari, that felt more natural, and I liked Amari's character and how she develops.
- I also liked that magic was shown through hair (as well as the usual eyes), which I think emphasised the importance of hair in Black peoples culture and how they have been the subject of racism and oppression because of it.
- Adeyemi draws attention to the parallels between the oppressive tyrant in the book and the police brutality in real life and I did feel that resonance in the book.
cons:
- throughout, I felt it very strongly had the YA revolution, fantasy, romance tropes going on. maybe it was fresher at the time, but
- also, character motivations felt weird. why did Inan fluctuate so much in his loyalties? I couldnt rly understand that. Zelie too made some odd decisions which seemed to just serve the plot.
- the last line also confused me, not sure if it was meant to or not? clearly magic wasnt lost but why was it so shocking that Amari had magic.
overall, a bit mixed, maybe just because it was written nearly 10 years ago now so didnt feel as fresh. still want to read the 2nd one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
blckandread's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence and Murder