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A review by sleepysamreads
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
5.0
You can find this review and others on my blog SleepySamReads!
Actual rating 4.5 stars
I put off reading this for months because I was afraid it was going to be too over-hyped. Man was I wrong. I loved it SO much. The diversity was beautiful. (I've read so many gorgeously diverse books lately and it's made my heart swell so much.) For a world who had their connection with magic broken, it was still such a magical place. I adored learning about their gods and goddesses. I loved learning about their animals. Their heritage. Everything about it was beautiful, and a little bitter too.
Y'all probably know by now that if I am going to love a book, it has to have at least one strong female character in it. Children of Blood and Bone had many many more than one.
There's Zélie, the main character. Her mother was killed right in from of her when she was young and she still was able to grow into such a strong and determined young woman.
There's Amari, the princess who grew up being told lie after lie about magic, but who refused to fall prey to them.
There's Mama Agba who has taken in these Maji children and taught them their heritage, and how to fight.
Kaea, the commander of the king's army, as well as the king's mistress. She is far from a good character, but she is still an incredibly strong woman.
Zu, who only at the age of 13 created a home for so many Maji who had nowhere else to go.
And then there's Zélie's mom, who we only know by Mama. We only get flashbacks of her, but it's very apparent that she was a force to be reckoned with. I just really really love strong female characters and this book does not lack any.
I also ended up loving the guys too. Tzain, Zélie's older brother who has tried his best to keep Zélie safe. Inan, who despite his upbringing loves his sister more than anything.
I really adored the relationships that grew throughout the book as well. Not the just the romance ones (which I did really love), but also the platonic ones. Amari and Zélie went from enemies to basically sisters and it warmed my heart so much.
The only real thing that bothered me is that there are no queer characters. I feel like that is completely unacceptable in the age we live in. I am hoping that we will be introduced to one, or more, in the sequel, Children of Virtue and Vengeance.
I must say, this book took me by surprise and I loved it SO much. I recommend Children of Blood and Bone to all lovers of YA fantasy!
Actual rating 4.5 stars
I put off reading this for months because I was afraid it was going to be too over-hyped. Man was I wrong. I loved it SO much. The diversity was beautiful. (I've read so many gorgeously diverse books lately and it's made my heart swell so much.) For a world who had their connection with magic broken, it was still such a magical place. I adored learning about their gods and goddesses. I loved learning about their animals. Their heritage. Everything about it was beautiful, and a little bitter too.
Y'all probably know by now that if I am going to love a book, it has to have at least one strong female character in it. Children of Blood and Bone had many many more than one.
There's Zélie, the main character. Her mother was killed right in from of her when she was young and she still was able to grow into such a strong and determined young woman.
There's Amari, the princess who grew up being told lie after lie about magic, but who refused to fall prey to them.
There's Mama Agba who has taken in these Maji children and taught them their heritage, and how to fight.
Kaea, the commander of the king's army, as well as the king's mistress. She is far from a good character, but she is still an incredibly strong woman.
Zu, who only at the age of 13 created a home for so many Maji who had nowhere else to go.
And then there's Zélie's mom, who we only know by Mama. We only get flashbacks of her, but it's very apparent that she was a force to be reckoned with. I just really really love strong female characters and this book does not lack any.
I also ended up loving the guys too. Tzain, Zélie's older brother who has tried his best to keep Zélie safe. Inan, who despite his upbringing loves his sister more than anything.
I really adored the relationships that grew throughout the book as well. Not the just the romance ones (which I did really love), but also the platonic ones. Amari and Zélie went from enemies to basically sisters and it warmed my heart so much.
The only real thing that bothered me is that there are no queer characters. I feel like that is completely unacceptable in the age we live in. I am hoping that we will be introduced to one, or more, in the sequel, Children of Virtue and Vengeance.
I must say, this book took me by surprise and I loved it SO much. I recommend Children of Blood and Bone to all lovers of YA fantasy!