Scan barcode
morrigan_gaines_writes's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
**I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. This is my honest review**
3.5 STARS!
There were a lot of positives for this book, BUT the pacing/transitions made it hard to follow what was happening sometimes. I wanted to love this book but several times I was flipping back through feeling like I had missed something important.
<b>Some things I loved:</b>
The world and magic system is elaborate and engaging.
It is fast-paced.
The magic, creatures, and various fantasy elements are a breath of fresh air after reading so many books with European inspired fantasy.
The overarching theme of colonization was done well. There was so much this story had to offer in surviving as an oppressed people and what it means to rise up against injustice. The internal conflicts/reactions of each of the three characters felt genuine in regards to their part in the political and social issues of this world.
Ehigbor Okosun's writing shows a talent and great potential for wrapping us up into a story. I really enjoyed her writing style. The descriptions don't feel forced or drawn out, the magic system is fascinating and the political/social aspects of the world make you want to read more.
<b>Things that didn't work for me:</b>
We flew through things at times. We'd be dealing with one plot point and suddenly that was resolved and we had skipped through to a totally new conflict in the plot. Normally this would make for a fast-paced book but the transitions made the plot feel disjointed to me. I (on multiple occasions) had to pause and check if I had skipped something or missed an important detail.
I felt like the magic system needed some clarifying. For example, what was essentially a magical leash for Jonas, on several occasions was described as not being able to stretch very far. But then there are times that Demi is a whole room over without concern.
We need a glossary. There are so many terms, words for different types of Oluso, and so much in this world that I had difficulty remembering what was what.
There is a huge cast of characters and we didn't always get enough of an intro about a character for them to stick in my mind the next time they appeared. Again this may be because of the pacing/transition issue for my brain.
<b>Additional Comments:</b>
The love triangle was hard. I didn't feel a lot of chemistry between two of the characters, so it didn't feel so much like a love triangle but more like the MC was just using the characters to relieve some of her trauma/stress through physical affection. This does appropriately fall under romantic fantasy genre, not fantasy romance, as the romance is a subplot.
I believe this is suppose to be marketed as a New Adult or Adult fantasy book. But the characters are young and the way they act makes it hard to read it as adult fantasy. HOWEVER, they are young but dealing with very much ADULT issues. So I am interested in seeing if the second book expands on that idea and matures them. I'd say for the general adult fantasy reader, this book may not be what they're use to because of the immaturity of the characters.
<b>Final Notes: </b>
As a debut novel, Forged by Blood did intrigue me. I will be watching Ehigbor Okosun in the coming years and reading her books because there is amazing potential in her writing. I think that if the transitions and plot pacing wasn't so rough for me, this would have easily been a 4 or 5 star read. It's a solid debut and I can't wait to see what comes next!
3.5 STARS!
There were a lot of positives for this book, BUT the pacing/transitions made it hard to follow what was happening sometimes. I wanted to love this book but several times I was flipping back through feeling like I had missed something important.
<b>Some things I loved:</b>
The world and magic system is elaborate and engaging.
It is fast-paced.
The magic, creatures, and various fantasy elements are a breath of fresh air after reading so many books with European inspired fantasy.
The overarching theme of colonization was done well. There was so much this story had to offer in surviving as an oppressed people and what it means to rise up against injustice. The internal conflicts/reactions of each of the three characters felt genuine in regards to their part in the political and social issues of this world.
Ehigbor Okosun's writing shows a talent and great potential for wrapping us up into a story. I really enjoyed her writing style. The descriptions don't feel forced or drawn out, the magic system is fascinating and the political/social aspects of the world make you want to read more.
<b>Things that didn't work for me:</b>
We flew through things at times. We'd be dealing with one plot point and suddenly that was resolved and we had skipped through to a totally new conflict in the plot. Normally this would make for a fast-paced book but the transitions made the plot feel disjointed to me. I (on multiple occasions) had to pause and check if I had skipped something or missed an important detail.
I felt like the magic system needed some clarifying. For example, what was essentially a magical leash for Jonas, on several occasions was described as not being able to stretch very far. But then there are times that Demi is a whole room over without concern.
We need a glossary. There are so many terms, words for different types of Oluso, and so much in this world that I had difficulty remembering what was what.
There is a huge cast of characters and we didn't always get enough of an intro about a character for them to stick in my mind the next time they appeared. Again this may be because of the pacing/transition issue for my brain.
<b>Additional Comments:</b>
The love triangle was hard. I didn't feel a lot of chemistry between two of the characters, so it didn't feel so much like a love triangle but more like the MC was just using the characters to relieve some of her trauma/stress through physical affection. This does appropriately fall under romantic fantasy genre, not fantasy romance, as the romance is a subplot.
I believe this is suppose to be marketed as a New Adult or Adult fantasy book. But the characters are young and the way they act makes it hard to read it as adult fantasy. HOWEVER, they are young but dealing with very much ADULT issues. So I am interested in seeing if the second book expands on that idea and matures them. I'd say for the general adult fantasy reader, this book may not be what they're use to because of the immaturity of the characters.
<b>Final Notes: </b>
As a debut novel, Forged by Blood did intrigue me. I will be watching Ehigbor Okosun in the coming years and reading her books because there is amazing potential in her writing. I think that if the transitions and plot pacing wasn't so rough for me, this would have easily been a 4 or 5 star read. It's a solid debut and I can't wait to see what comes next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: War, Sexism, Kidnapping, Slavery, Medical content, and Trafficking
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy
More...