My favourite book so far of 2018: Children of Blood and Bone

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
Series: Legacy of Orïsha #1
Published by: Macmillan on March 8, 2018
Genre: Fantasy, Magic
Pages: 448
Source: ARC From Publisher
Book Details
Rating: ★★★★★

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and 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 the enemy.

Children of Blood and Bone was on my list of 2018 books I can’t wait to read. I’ve made lists like these the last few years, and the truth is, most of them don’t become 5-star reads. Of course I always hope they will, but sadly it doesn’t work out that way.

But Children of Blood and Bone totally delivered.

Things I hoped Children of Blood and Bone would be:

• Epic — not just a book you read, enjoy, and forget about, but one that lingers and stays in your head for a long time.
• Interesting magic.
• The oppressed rising up and getting revenge. I mean, the back of my ARC says, “The killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us. Now we rise.” FUCK YES.
• A devastating backstory (see “they killed my mother”).

Children of Blood and Bone delivered all that and more.

There were three points of view:

1. Zélie – She’s the main character and featured in the synopsis so I won’t say too much about her. But she’s an excellent character.
2. Amari – The “rogue princess” from the synopsis. Her character really focuses on tackling privilege, which was so great to read about. She’s the sheltered princess who finally decides to take a stand. The book kind of talks about how yes, it’s a great thing she’s doing, and yes she has had some difficulties of her own, but she was still very privileged as a princess. This definitely has huge parallels to our world today.
3. Inan – This is Amari’s brother, the prince, and the heir to the throne. Wow his character was FABULOUS! He’s definitely the most conflicted character and seeing him change (and his relationship with Zélie) might have even been the highlight of the book for me.

Children of Blood and Bone is complicated. Not confusing, but it deals with some really heavy, intense issues. There are huge topics like privilege, family vs “what’s right”, oppression, and more. It’s not a lighthearted book, and that’s what I love about it. The stakes are high and the characters have complicated relationships. That’s what makes this book so good!

Oh, and the ending… THE ENDING! The last like 100 pages are fucking TENSE, and just when you think it couldn’t get any more crazy, it’s like BOOM! Bomb dropped. (Yes there is a cliffhanger, but damn it’s exciting!)