Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Children of Blood and Bone

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.

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thereadinghammock's review against another edition

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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!

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hilarylouise's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is absolutely not the type of book I would normally pick up, fantasy hasn’t been my bad for a long time. But when it was chosen for my work book club I was definitely intrigued!

I really enjoyed this one. It has the perfect mix of adventure, drama, intrigue, and magical elements. It had me laughing, crying, and totally involved in the story. I think it ended at the perfect point, given that it’s a duology, but may take a break to read something else in between as I don’t feel I have to rush on and continue instantly.

If you’re a fantasy fan, I’d recommend this!

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inkling's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

If you're looking for an action-packed fantasy adventure that also has underlying messages about how race & colorism affects society - then this is for you.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and the flawed yet lovable cast of characters really made it special for me. Also, it is very interesting to see how characters' decisions and thinking changes depending on who they are surrounded by, and what situation they are in. For example Amari is wildly different in the beginning than at the end of the book and Inan, who goes through a similar "awakening" finding out the truth about his Father, does not have the same reaction. Another thing I liked is the descriptions of how magic worked, which made it feel very real. The Yoruba incantations were also a great addition, because they tied to the geography of the place and also felt very real because it is an actual language not just some english-gibberish.

My only qualms were that it is written in present tense, first person, which just isn't my cup of tea. The romantic relationships felt a little forced and out of place with the rest of the tone of the book

Am I the only one who thought it was very strange that Zelie wanted to be with Inan?? Also, I really thought Amari and Zelie were going to get together...

aaand the fact that there is SO MUCH violence in this book. I think that reading this as a child most of it would go over your head but as an adult reading it's truly heartbreaking.

Overall I liked it and am very excited to see how the film adaptation turns out!

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sheryl_macca's review against another edition

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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.

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annibd501's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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alicelalicon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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