Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Children of Blood and Bone

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

20 reviews

tinnuben's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

Content Warnings

liz_liz's review against another edition

Go to review page

Started to get boring, will pick up later.

Content Warnings

sarah984's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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.

Content Warnings

internalnonsense's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

4.75

A beautiful, heart-warming and heart-rending YA adventure. It is tropey in the best way, refreshing a hero's journey with a West African-inspired fantasy setting, filling it with meaning informed by very present struggles. It has a strong sense of adventure, companionship, humor, but it is ultimately about children, growing up trying to survive a violent world ruled by oppression, given a chance to change it. It demands empathy, but an empathy that does not excuse.

.25 off for a character who would have benefited from having a POV, because, as is, he's flat, more there for conflict than character. Also, a section in the middle of the book, while having some significantly cool scenes, felt far too disconnected from the rest, almost filler-like.

Content Warnings

battybookworm's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-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

4.5

This was a book I've had on my shelves forever, and once I actually got over the hurdle of starting it, I could not put it down. This giant book came with me everywhere and it was very fun to read. I loved Zelie and Amari's chapters, and even Inan after a period. I think the author did the separation of their voices incredibly well and the characters' shifts and growth were developed and lovely to read.

Content Warnings

paper_queen's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

THIS WAS SO GORGEOUS AGHHHHH!

All of the characters were SO WELL DONE. I was sympathizing with every single one of them, and they each had such unique backstories and upbringings. It was fascinating seeing them all together, all the different personalities quarreling, working together, having fun. Zelie was a WONDERFUL main character. I loved her spunky, impulsive face she put up, and she has some amazing lines of dialogue. Tzain is a precious little thing, and HIM AND AMARI ARE SO ADORABLE I'M SQUEALING. Inan...well, I have some mixed feelings about him, so...not quite sure what to make of him yet.

The setting was clearly well thought out, which I REALLY appreciated. I loved the lush tribal culture. You could tell that so much time and effort had been put into making this a truly memorable setting. The magic, as well, was really nicely done. Beautifully written and epic to see, it was one of my favorite parts of the entire book.

I also really loved the constantly changing perspectives. One moment, I'm rooting for Zelie, for her to step into her place as the chosen one, and save her people by bringing back magic. But then the very next chapter, I see things from Inan's perspective and my heart just ACHES for him.

THE CLIMAX WAS TERRIFYING. But also amazing and satisfying and WHAT THE HECK IS HAPPENING and makes me desperately need the second book.

I would recommend this book to evvverybody who loves fantasy. You won't want to miss this one. I will say, there were a few things content-wise that I could've done without (some sexual scenes, some language), which bumps down half a star from me. It didn't detract from the story, but I would've preferred it hadn't been in there.

Overall, this was a fabulous book, a really, really great fantasy book, probably one of the best I've read in a while, and I think you should definitely give it a try!

Content Warnings