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lj_parkinson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, and Hate crime
natalieba's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Murder, Torture, and Violence
ohkmurr's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The story is intriguing, engaging and fast paced, so naturally, I tore through it. The characters are real and flawed, and I loved being able to dive into their deepest fears and thoughts through the changing first-person narrative structure. I'm also obsessed with the character dynamics; I am wholly invested in every single one.
By the end of the first chapter, I was already picking up on some Ember Quartet vibes. It makes sense that Sabaa Tahir is listed as an inspiration in the acknowledgements. If you like the Ember Quartet, you'll like this book.
Another thing I absolutely loved about this book is how it explores morality. It dives into the negative implications of bringing back magic, and how far you can go before you become just as bad as the "bad guys." I can't remember seeing moral dilemmas reflected like this in a story before, especially a fantasy book. Gaining that new perspective was a layer I was excited to read, one that made me conflicted over what I wanted to happen in the end, too.
By the end of the first chapter, I was already picking up on some Ember Quartet vibes. It makes sense that Sabaa Tahir is listed as an inspiration in the acknowledgements. If you like the Ember Quartet, you'll like this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs
Racial slurs are specific to the universe.thereadinghammock's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As a February book club pick, and the longest book we've picked yet, we were all worried about being able to read a longer book in the shortest month, but I finished it in a week!
I couldn't put it down! I love the rich tapestry of places, characters, and magic woven through every chapter. I laughed, I cheered, I rooted for our heroes, and ached with every set back and heartbreak along their journey.
I'm dying to pick up the next book, but want to wait until after we have our book club discussion for this one, but also because it looks like Tomi is working on a third installment and I can't live with another pseudo-cliffhanger in book two!
I couldn't put it down! I love the rich tapestry of places, characters, and magic woven through every chapter. I laughed, I cheered, I rooted for our heroes, and ached with every set back and heartbreak along their journey.
I'm dying to pick up the next book, but want to wait until after we have our book club discussion for this one, but also because it looks like Tomi is working on a third installment and I can't live with another pseudo-cliffhanger in book two!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
sheryl_macca's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I chose this book to tick off the Afrofuturism prompt of the Reading Women Challenge 2020. I hadn't heard of Afrofuturism before and even after reading a little about it I wasn't sure I fully grasped the concept.
Children of Blood and Bone is the story of a quest to return magic to Orisha, to right the generations of injustice that have gone before, to unite the people and share power.
It's told through 4 points of view and I do love multiple POVs but in this book it didn't work as well for me as it usually does. The book is full off emotion, history and chaos. There are clearly comparisons to be made with apartide, segregation, institutional racism and the events which recently led to the BLM protests. There are powerful emotions around the coming of age, discovering your inner strength, testing yourself, trust and responsibility. There are first loves, family connections, grief and challenges of belonging. I wanted deeper more insightful narrators to really explore all of these themes and I found that each chapter was too short to accomplish this. I was hopping from one narrator to the next too quickly.
Having said that, it's a wonderful world that has been created and there's an interesting timelessness to the story. The adventure just keeps on coming, on land and on water. It's a great work of fantasy but it missed the mark on the feels.
Children of Blood and Bone is the story of a quest to return magic to Orisha, to right the generations of injustice that have gone before, to unite the people and share power.
It's told through 4 points of view and I do love multiple POVs but in this book it didn't work as well for me as it usually does. The book is full off emotion, history and chaos. There are clearly comparisons to be made with apartide, segregation, institutional racism and the events which recently led to the BLM protests. There are powerful emotions around the coming of age, discovering your inner strength, testing yourself, trust and responsibility. There are first loves, family connections, grief and challenges of belonging. I wanted deeper more insightful narrators to really explore all of these themes and I found that each chapter was too short to accomplish this. I was hopping from one narrator to the next too quickly.
Having said that, it's a wonderful world that has been created and there's an interesting timelessness to the story. The adventure just keeps on coming, on land and on water. It's a great work of fantasy but it missed the mark on the feels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Violence
kayo32's review
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood, Torture, Slavery, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Body horror
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