Children of Blood and Bone

Tomi, girl! Let me start by saluting 🫡 you for this amazing book. I was able to visualize every scene as I read. I was hooked immediately, and the character development, especially of Amari and Zelie, was fantastic. I’m even more excited about the upcoming screen adaptation!

This is one of the best books I've read in a while! I grabbed the audio book of this, The 1st disk was setting the world and characters up. It was just alright, I decided to listen to one more disk and I'm so happy that I did! From the second disk on I was totally engaged in these characters and the book. So, If you stopped reading early on I highly recommend picking it back up and reading on.

There is so much thought put into this book, I especially like the well built and clear character motivations. I understand what the character's motivations are, why, and how other characters and events will affect them. I also really enjoyed the switching perspectives of the characters, You really get the feel for them and how everything comes together. There is also some really subtle culture between the people or orisha and the royalty of orisha, the people use the word “Gods” and the royals use “Skies” because of the lore they set up in the story of the world!

I did this on audobook, the narrator was a really nice choice. She really worked well with the character's emotions. Also, I would struggle pronouncing those incantations. Please, also read the heartfelt author's note. ~Ashley

Unable to finish due to technical difficulties at Chapter 15 scene 2. Will have to pick this up again later.

I gave it an hour but I might be allergic to the word “magic”.

Just won an ARC of this!!! Can't wait to get it and promptly forget to read it until months after the release date.

man toweling off sweat.png

Slower pace than I would have liked but I will continue the series eventually 

It’s basic YA fare that feels like it could have done with a more aggressive, hands-on editor and I was honestly expecting a lot more.

The romance was insufferable but if i could get past that it would have been 3.5 stars 

Very much in my wheelhouse - strong characters, intriguing worldbuilding and magic system, excellent prose. 

3.5 stars. The dialogue and plot holes were a bit too YA for my tastes.

I feel bad for the note I'm giving this book because I understand why they author wrote it and it's so frigging important, that being said my rating is based solely on my enjoyment of the book and not on its value.

The first 50% of the book was 5 stars, between 51% and 80% it seemed to drag on and on and then for a while it got good again and started to drag on again. If the book had ended after the boat fight I would have been jazzed with it. Pacing was a serious issue for me in the second half of the book and there are large swats that I already can barely remember because I was sludging through. Honestly, I feel like this book should have been split 2 books.

i have many thoughts abt this book...
i feel like the charas, zel in particular ... goes back and forth with their ideals so much ?
for example, one page zel says that all the guards are just thieves and pieces of shit basically and its like ok true but later on in the book suddenly she doesnt want them to die?? example two: inan's entire arc???? this dude was HELLBENT on killing magic but sees zels memories and suddenly is like o thats a bad idea ig like how the fuck did, what, 18 years of brainwashing suddenly ppPoof just because of that? id understand if he hesitated but the way he completely changed over the course of 3 days was so annoying.
second,... i fucking hate insta love and my god its in here two fold its so bad too
example: one of the insta love couple is zel and inan, and.... how???? zel hates amari for the first half of the book bc amari is the kings daughter and the king is a massive piece of hot shit , HOWEVER amari never did anything bad, she was just blissfully ignorant until the day her dad decides to murk her friend. inan on the other hand, is basically their fathers pet, he led the attacks on them multiple times , went over to her village with in intent to kill her and burn it down , killed leksan (well kaea did but inan was chill w/ it ) but somehow zel falls in love with him all bc he has the sudden change of heart and doesnt kill her but frees her from the captors??
honestly i genueinly have no problems with the plot or anything but the charas just , are so badly written? they never stick to one ideal or wtv (for lack of better word, its on the tip of my tongue but i cant remember laymao) 
anyway no joke im rooting for zel and amari <3 itll never happen but they literally have 10x10 more chemistry than all the other matchups combined. considering this is a trilogy (or soon to be) i honestly dont understand why the charas had to fall in love so fast making it seem completely unrealistic. especially w/ inan and zel god im so peeved over them
i hope the next books are better with this bc ill still pick up the sequels, again , no problems with plot i rlly enjoyed it and the atomopshere very dark very tragic and sad but the charas ... and ofc the only charas that dont annoy the shite out of me dies bruh LMFAOOOO
music listened to: Sacred Grove from Twilight Princess
time taken to read: 6:50:38

Välillä kirja kaipaa kunnon haudutusta hyllyssä ennen kuin siihen voi tarttua. Nigerialais-amerikkalaisen Tomi Adeyemin fantasiasarjan avausosa Veren ja luun lapset herätti kiinnostusta heti ilmestyessään vuonna 2019, ja se on varmaankin jokseenkin siitä asti lojunut kirjahyllyssäni odottamassa vuoroaan. Nyt se vuoro tuli, kun kirjastolainalle koitti taas aika käydä näyttämässä sitä kirjastolle.

Fantasiakirjoja lukeneet ovat varmasti huomanneet jonkun kerran fantasiamaailmojen karttojen muistuttavan etäisesti Euroopan karttaa. Veren ja luun lapsien kartta muodot tuovat mieleen Afrikan ja sen kaupungit on nimetty nigerialaisten kaupunkien mukaan. Kirjan tapahtumat sijoittuvat Orïshan maailmaan, joka oli vain vähän aikaa sitten täynnä taikuutta. Velhot eli majit hallitsivat elementtejä: yhdet osasivat sytyttää tulia, toiset hallita vettä, kolmannet siirtää maata ja niin edelleen. Zélien äidillä oli voimista hurjin, kyky kutsua kuolleita.

Yhtenä yönä kaikki tämä muuttui, kun majeja pelkäävä kuningas onnistui hävittämään kaiken magian maailmasta. Ilman magiaansa majit olivat avuttomia ja kuninkaan oli helppo murskata heidät. Zélien äiti tapettiin ja Zéliestä ja muista valkoisen tukkansa merkitsemistä divîneistä tuli alinta pohjasakkaa. Divîni-lapsilla ei ollut vielä puhjennut taikavoimia ja koska magian katoamisen myötä niitä ei tulisikaan, heitä ei tarvinnut tappaa. Se ei kuitenkaan tarkoita, etteikö heitä sorrettaisi ja alistettaisi.

Zélien elämä kuitenkin muuttuu kertaheitolla, kun viaton reissu kalakaupoille pääkaupunkiin johtaa törmäykseen karanneen prinsessan kanssa. Prinsessalla on mukanaan käärö, jolla on yllättäviä voimia. Magian tuhoaminen ei ollutkaan niin helppoa kuin kuningas ajatteli ja on vielä mahdollista saada magia palautettua. Näyttää siltä, että jumalat ovat valinneet tähän tehtävään nimenomaan Zélien.

Veren ja luun lapset on juonikuvioltaan tutunoloinen nuorelle yleisölle kirjoitettu fantasiatarina. Nuori tyttö saa jumalilta tehtävän, lähtee suorittamaan sitä, kohtaa vaaroja, löytää voimansa ja lopulta käy miten käy. Tämä on nähty ennenkin. Teini-ikäiset sankarit vatvovat päätöksiään, muuttavat mieltään, mukana on ilmeisiä ja paikoin salamannopeita rakastumisia ja niin edelleen. Nigerialaiseen jorubakulttuuriin perustuva mytologia ja maailma on kiehtova, mutta jää ehkä vähän taka-alalle kaiken touhuamisen ja nopean paikasta toiseen kiitämisen seassa. Nigerialaiset arviot kirjasta eivät myöskään ole ihan täysin ihastuneita kirjan maailmaan; tämä on amerikkalainen nuortenkirja nigerialaisin maustein, ei nigerialainen kirja.

Kovasti kaiken toiminnan seassa on sanomaakin, kirjailija loppusanoissaan rinnastaa kirjassa esiintyvän sorron ja väkivallan Yhdysvalloissa mustiin kohdistuvaan väkivaltaan Black Lives Matter -hengessä. Näinhän se on: jos fiktiivisten henkilöiden väkivaltaiset ja epäreilut kohtalot liikuttavat, todellisten ihmisten kärsimyksen sietäisi liikuttaa myös.

Vaikka tarinassa oli paikoin aika reippaasti hupsuja piirteitä, etenkin loppua kohden, aion silti lukea sarjan jo ilmestyneen toisen osan Kunnian ja koston lapset. Lopetus oli sikäli hyvä, että asiat eivät jääneet tyystin kesken, mutta mielenkiinto heräsi, miten tästä jatketaan.

Aikuisille lukijoille varsinkin suosittelen lämpimästi N. K. JemisininMurtunut maailma -sarjaa, jossa samoin yhdistyy mielenkiintoinen maailma sorron ja rasismin teemoihin, vain tuntuvasti paremmin kirjoitettuna kuin tässä.

CAWPILE SCORE
C-7
A-7
W-8
P-6
I-7
L-6
E-8
TOTAL-7/10

I enjoyed the book, after a few chapters I was hooked and wanted to keep going
CAWPILECharacters.The Characters were good, I really could feel like the characters were siblings both sets of siblings. Sometimes I was a bit annoyed at how flip floppy Inan was, but it did feel true to his character. AtmosphereVery immersive and intriguing. I felt like maybe too many "new" words were thrown in the beginning, but it makes it feel as if we really are just dropping into their livesWritingWriting was good. Voice was well utilized. Some of the descriptions were very well done. the Sea-Salt soul. and the dreamscapePlotthe Plot started good. do x then x then Y happens. but sometimes it felt a little too convenient for them. we need the sunstone, and we just reached the next city on our way. oh here it is. need a boat oh here is this guy you met at the Maji festival, he somehow got away easy. The coincedences felt a little too on the nose. IntrigueWhat is going on with the Magic? did she just give Magic to everybody. What really happened to the Kings 1st family. The intrigue of bringing magic back was excitingLogicSometimes the logic felt inconsistent to me. We only have X days to get across the continent sail to an island and then perform this ritual. oh but we have a day to party. I was kidnapped, that doesn't prevent us from accomplishing it at all. After Inan joins them, it feels like the Guards/King have a rubberband effect. can't go too far with being pulled into them.Enjoymentsmall critique, but using the word Cancer is always a turn off for me, unless its an earth world analogue. it just takes me right out. call it disease or plague or decay. Not Cancer.I did really enjoy the book as a whole though. Loved the powersets and way magic was reintroduced to us
I will be talking about it on Libromancy 05/02/2021 https://libromancy.podbean.com/

For the first 200 pages, this was a 4-star read for me. The world is vast and interesting, the magic system is cool, and I loved the idea of an epic quest novel (take the artifacts to the Place and do the Ritual) that's not set in generic medieval European fantasyland. The characters' conflicts felt realistic and while they could be a little impulsive it was understandable because they're teens. 

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.

quelle lecture, que d'émotions !
J'ai adoré ce 1r tome dès les premières pages et plus j'ai avancé dans ma lecture plus ce sentiment a été renforcé par la plume de l'auteure, à la fois poignante et émouvante au possible.
Mais ce n'est pas tout car non seulement j'ai adoré la plume de l'auteur mais son univers ??? Ses personnages ??? Et l'intrigue ??? Génialissime. Du début à la fin.
Un univers dense, envoûtant et plein de magie qui m'a émerveillé.
Des personnages bien travaillés, avec leurs doutes et leurs certitudes, qui s'en prennent plein la figure et affrontent un tas d'épreuves pour finalement évoluer sans cesse (et on adore ça)
Une intrigue palpitante qui n'en finit pas de nous surprendre avec son lot de rebondissements et surtout une bonne dose d'action !!
Et tout ça c'était sans compter sur la culture yoruba avec sa mythologie que j'ai pris grand plaisir à découvrir! Ça fait du bien dans un univers de fantasy car on sort enfin des sentiers battus de la fantasy “traditionnelle”

Sure it's a YA fantasy book, so I went in expecting it to be a bit something...not sure what the word is that I'm looking for. But I still enjoyed it. I listened to the audio version, it was just fantasy enough to be what I needed to be listening to right now. I'll listen to the sequel, it's already in my queue, so that use mean I enjoyed it. ;)

I devoured this book. Loved it!!!

This is the first fantasy book I have read. I loved it.

This book was amazing. I listened to it on audio and the narrator, Bahni Turpin, did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life with her voice.

I believe this is my first African-based YA fantasy read and I loved it so much. The worldbuilding was so vibrant and rich, and I loved how the story really transports the reader to the world of Orisha. The different characters really take you for a ride since their differences and their growth throughout the story weren't always predictable. They were all flawed, which made them so likable. Even Inan.

The book also includes heavy themes such as prejudice and institutional racism, enslavement, and corrupt political systems. The pain and anguish the characters experience feel so raw and I commend Adeyemi for doing such a great job of weaving these themes, that people experience in real life to this day, throughout the story.

This was action-packed, magical, and intense. I can't wait to read the sequel!

This was a great adventure - magic, jungles, kings, princess and princesses across a sprawling story. Passing on my copy to friends so more can enjoy.

Overall, this is a great book. It's made even better when you read Toni Adeyemi's inspiration—a novel meant to empower African Americans and shed light on the Black Lives Matter Movement.

From a fantasy reader standpoint, I found parts of this book to happen too quickly, and sometimes found it hard to sympathize with the characters—which is really strange considering how long it is (over 500 pgs)

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy YA and fantasy (but not high fantasy). I am definitely excited to read the sequel!

I'm surprised at how low I rated this because i was actually really enjoying the beginning. i thought it was a little trope-y, sure, but the writing was easy, the characters were fun and it seemed like an interesting enough premise. but the downfall of this book for me is inan. i don't know what it is about him but he makes me feel so icky. i hated being in his head and his romance with zelie straight up creeped me out. it was beyond insta-love, filled with angst and saturated in melodrama, and didn't even make sense. one minute they were fighting, and the second inan doesn't act like a douchebag, zelie was in love with him? i'm not buying it. he also changed his mind about magic on a dime, seemingly with only one driving force behind it. he didn't feel like a deep character to me; he felt like a flopped attempt at a complex character that ended up confused and all-over0the-place. the only character i really liked was amari; i've seen her character before, sure, but iactually enjoyed her chapter and thought she was pretty well-written. i enjoyed her arc. the rest of them could be copy-and-pasted from any other fantasy story i've read. i most likely won't continue on with this series unless i'm bored one day and get curious about the cliffhanger.

First Read: ★★★★★
Second Read: ★★★★

I still liked this as the way it is but after I read it for the second time, I realized that I didn't like the romance between Zélie and Inan. I don't even know how I overlooked it when I first read it. Besides that, I'm still excited to pick up the sequel because I need to know what happens next.