Children of Blood and Bone

By Tomi Adeyemi

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

Wow.

Without any hesitation, I rated Children of Blood and Bone five stars on Goodreads. Simply is that good. So good, as soon as I was done with Children of Blood and Bone I started reading book two, Children or Vengeance and Virtue.

The story is told from three perspectives, Zelie, Amari, and Inan. This makes reading go by very quickly as the story picks up, mid-action the perspective changes, and you get a new sense of urgency. I loved it.

What Happens?

Zelie’s people are being erased from Orïsha They once were a strong group of people gifted magical abilities by the gods, but that changed when they were attacked and their magic taken away. Since then, Maji have been pushed aside, beaten, and killed.

Amari is a runaway princess with hopes to help Maji, but her brother Inan, is hot on her trail. He has strict orders to bring Amari back to the kingdom and back and rid Orïsha of Maji forever. No pressure right?

Zelie discovers she may be the only person who can restore magic to Orïsha, that is if she can make it to the temple alive.

“We are all children of blood and bone. All instruments of vengeance and virtue.”

My Thoughts

I could not put this book down. From the first few chapters, I was engulfed in the world and Zelie’s journey.

What did I love? The magic system/lore. It is unique yet has a familiar feel. I loved the descriptions of the Magi and how they differed amongst themselves. As the story progresses you get a sense for the limitations and dangers of Magi abilities. This is a nice set up for problems to come.

The tension between the magi people and the nonmagi transcends the page. The racial issues presented are modern. While that is a huge pillar of the story, COBAB is rich with culture, magic, and action.

I have owned Children of Blood and Bone since it released. The only thing that kept me from reading it sooner is the size. COBAB is a thick read, pushing 500 pages. For an avid reader, this is probably not a big deal, but if you are a casual reader the length may be intimidating –don’t let that scare you!! Children of Blood and Bone is fast-paced, so you will make your way through the book quickly.

As much as I loved COBAB, my only complaint is the budding romance. I could have done without it, as the story progressed, it got better. I have a feeling it will get more complicated in book two.

If you are interested in fantasy, magic, and adventure this is the book for you!

Have you read The Children of Blood and Bone?