Tag: tomi adeyemi

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi | Book Review

Posted December 16, 2023 by Haze in Book Reviews / 1 Comment

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

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.

The Reason

I’ve seen this book pop up a couple of times on Bookstagram, and then it was available on Libby while I browsed, so I thought why not? I was also looking for new series to try and this one sounded really good.

The Quotes

“As it fades, I see the truth – in plain sight, yet hidden all along. We are all children of blood and bone. All instruments of vengeance and virtue. This truth holds me close, rocking me like a child in a mother’s arms. It binds me in its love as death swallows me in its grasp.”

“When your opponent has no honor, you must fight in different ways, smarter ways.”

“You crushed us to build your monarchy on the backs of our blood and bone. Your mistake wasn’t keeping us alive. it was thinking we’d never fight back”

The Characters

I listened to this on audiobook, so if I misspell the names, I apologize!

The four main protagonists are Zelie, Tsain, Amari, and Inan. I find their characters all very interesting in how dynamic they are. They aren’t the same people from beginning to end, they are changeable, flexible, they have good and bad days, times when they are strong and fierce, and other times when they are weak and defeated.

For most of the book, it’s Zelie, Tsain, and Amari on the same side, and Inan who is the villain pursuing them. I loved the way that the individual relationships between Zelie, Tsain, and Amari evolved through the book. Love, hate, anger, support, etc.

Inan, however, is the most complex character. I heavily dislike him as a person, but I absolutely love him as a character. One that moves the story along and makes you really think about people and what makes them tick.

My Thoughts

I loved the story! I love the world-building, the lore, the history, the people. It feels big and vast, and I love how it completely transports me into that world. The people and relationships in the story are by far the most interesting thing though. There’s so much push/pull, ups and downs, rational thinking vs. emotional feeling. This book manages to evoke so much of that with the characters, and it extends to the reader.

My Feels

So many different feelings evoked. Anger and frustration, distrust and caution, hope, heartbreak, warmheartedness, fear, triumph, satisfaction. I felt it all. I must say that Inan evoked the most feelings in me. Again, I don’t like him, but I am in awe of Tomi Adeyemi’s understanding of people in order to be able to write a character like him.

There’s also a lot of prejudice and senseless violence in the book that angered and horrified me. And there are scenes in the book when you can feel the hopelessness, the helplessness, the feeling of not being able to do a single thing to change anything or make things better.

At the end of the book, Tomi says in her Author’s Note:

“Children of Blood and Bone was written during a time where I kept turning on the news and seeing stories of unarmed black men, women, and children being shot by the police. I felt afraid and angry and helpless, but this book was the one thing that made me feel like I could do something about it. I told myself that if just one person could read it and have their hearts or minds changed, then I would’ve done something meaningful against a problem that often feels so much bigger than myself.”

I feel like she achieved what she set out to do. She captures the human condition so well in this book, and all the complicated and irrational thoughts and feelings that come with prejudice and indoctrination of prejudice. Maybe that’s why I am so fascinated by Inan’s character. He encapsulates a lot of people we maybe know in real life, maybe even some of his flaws being things that we see in ourselves.

My Rating

5/5 stars. I loved it, and honestly, I think this is one I will come back to again and again. I cannot wait to read the next books, and apparently there’s a movie in the works too. I’d be all over that!

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Beginnings & the Friday 56 | Children of Blood and Bone

Posted December 15, 2023 by Haze in Book Beginnings, Friday 56, Weekly Book Memes / 4 Comments

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Gilion @ Rose City Reader for sharing the opening lines of the book you want to feature.

The Friday 56 was started and hosted by Freda @ Freda’s Voice and is currently being temporarily hosted by Anne @ My Head is Full of Books for sharing a couple of lines from page 56, or Chapter 56, or at 56%, or however you want to interpret the number 56, of your featured book.

Note: For Blogspot users, I am unfortunately not able to comment on your posts if you don’t have Name/URL enabled on the comments. I’m not being snobbish, I promise! I’d love to leave comments if you’d consider enabling it. Thank you!

My Featured Book

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

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.

My Book Beginnings:

Pick me.
It’s all I can do not to scream. I dig my nails into the marula oak of my staff and squeeze to keep from fidgeting. Beads of sweat drip down my back, but I can’t tell if it’s from dawn’s early heat or from my heart slamming against my chest. Moon after moon I’ve been passed over.
Today can’t be the same.

My Friday 56:

As we tear through the streets lined with pastel-colored buildings, two troops of royal guards fight to take us down. Their shouts grow loud. Their footsteps pound even louder. With swords drawn, they close in, only a few paces behind.

My Thoughts

I am currently at Chapter 24, about 40% into this book and I’m enjoying it very much. I thought the book beginning and the Friday 56 quotes were really strong quotes that keeps the reader engaged, and I realized that I feel that way about the whole book so far. It’s really exciting and fast-paced, and filled with constant tension, it never stops! I want to keep reading but I’ve got adult responsibilities (boo!) and gotta get them done before coming back to the book.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? What do you think of it?

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