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peaches7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Torture, and Blood
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
felinedevil's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and Classism
charlotteschapter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Racial slurs, Slavery, and Blood
Minor: Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
micaelamariem's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ericageorge91's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Children of Blood and Bone (CoBaB) is about a quest to restore magic to the oppressed dîviner/maji people in a Nigerian-inspired world. It’s a multiple POV book that follows Zélie (a dîviner that lost her maji mother one fateful night), Amari (daughter of a violent king that wants to rid all magic), and Amari’s brother, Inan (heir to the throne with secret maji abilities).
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Slavery and Blood
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Classism
squinnittowinit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Original review:
Overall, this is a good story with a (unfortunately) very relatable setting: an oppressive society that treats certain people as lesser due to something inherent that they cannot control. I felt the author's pain and anger surrounding this real-world issue in the writing, and perhaps if this had been my first exposure to the mindset of the oppressed group, I might have found it more impactful. However, I personally found it a little tiring for specific reasons that I will mark as a spoiler below.
Again, it is a good story, just one I've seen many times already. Nothing about it surprised me and as much as I was rooting for them, I didn't love any of the characters by the end. I'm not sure if you're supposed to or not.
Next, there is the issue of trauma. This is a book based in racial trauma, which makes it automatically not a fun read for me. Again, I really want to stress that I'm not saying it's bad, but it's very real, and it's hard to laugh at any of the jokes or moments of levity when the whole book is about oppression and I already experience oppression nearly constantly in my real life.
Next, as I said above, nothing about this book surprised me. I was never on the edge of my seat or uncertain about the fate of the characters, because I've seen this story so many times. It hit all the beats I was expecting it to, and the only death I didn't predict was a character that I didn't care about at all.
Finally, the romance. I'm all for a good romantic subplot, but I couldn't get behind this one. It was going for "enemies to lovers" but was done with no subtlety, I felt like I was being bashed over the head with foreshadowing about this relationship. Then, the actual enemies to lovers part happened seemingly overnight, and they suddenly didn't hate each other anymore. The romance gave me some emotional whiplash and made me feel like I was missing time.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
chlo_po's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Genocide, Violence, and War
daisy2050's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
annorabrady's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child death and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content, Slavery, Trafficking, and Sexual harassment