Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Description: “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.”

Review: I liked “Children of Blood and Bone” but didn’t love it.  Just because I am on the fence on it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it, my review is not the general consensus.

Likes:

• The Princess – I really enjoyed the character of Amari.  At times she would come off as vulnerable and weak and at others you could see her true strength. She was so complex and empathetic.
• Action packed – The size of the book might be intimidating but don’t let that fool you! I found it to be fast-paced and action packed. I ended up reading this book in 3 days, I was hooked.
• Oppression – A whole group of people had their power taken away and innocent families are being killed due to fear of something different. There are a lot of parallels between what we are going through today and in the world of Orïsha. This book is a great exploration of social power and prejudice. Read the author’s note!
• Alternating perspectives – the alternating perspectives was done really well and helped give a fuller picture of each character and their society.
• The villain – the King makes such a good villain! He is someone I loved to hate.

Dislikes:

• The romance – the romantic aspect was boring and lacked chemistry. I felt that they came out of nowhere and didn’t really make sense. How can you go from HATING someone to now declaring your love for them? It fell flat for me.
• Magic – I was confused by the magic. There seemed to be no definitive rules for it and was constantly changing. It makes it hard to know what the norms are.
• Unanswered questions – I have so many unanswered questions and confusions. What’s the deal with the white hair? What makes Zélie so special? Maybe all of my questions will be answered in the sequel but I won’t be reading it to find out.