Scan barcode
A review by ashurah
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- 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
3.0
I have mixed feelings about this book.
The book's main strength (and my favorite part of it) was the worldbuilding. It is BEAUTIFUL and very layered; I could definitely tell that the author put a lot of time into researching aspects of West African cultures and developing it in a way that it fits this fantasy world. Even though the magic system wasn't as well-developed as I would have liked, the incorporation of African mythology and the explanations of the different social classes in Orishan society were two aspects of the novel that I really appreciated.
However, I just couldn't enjoy the novel as much as I could have due to a combination of two factors. The novel is VERY fast-paced. This worked in some cases: the fight scenes, in particular, were beautifully written. I really couldn't put the book down! All of those scenes were intense and exciting - even though they were all pretty similar, I never felt like I wanted to skip over those scenes.
But Adeyemi's focus on the tight plot meant that the relationships and characterization weren't as fleshed out. In particular, I felt that the romantic relationships(Zelie/Inan and Tzain/Amari) weren't well developed and kind of ruined the story for me. The author tried to include romantic subplots but it felt very forced. Even though we have an idea of which characters will canonically end up together, it didn't feel like they had any chemistry. Personally, Zelie/Amari seemed like a much better choice for a romantic relationship just due to how their relationship developed - it's a more realistic and subtle enemies-to-friends relationship than rushed enemies-to-lovers romance we get with Zelie/Inan. Both of them help each other develop throughout the story, rather than one character doing the heavy lifting for another character's development.
I also felt that the mood of the novel switched very quickly and it made it difficult to suspend my belief on some occasions. Like a previous reviewer said, it seemed like all the characters were very intensely angry for a couple of pages only for them to suddenly feel better. It didn't feel realistic at all, and that was a major part of why I couldn't connect to characters as well. The only character I liked was Amari - her development was by far the strongest throughout the book.
This was a really fun read. I enjoyed the action and worldbuilding, but unfortunately the relationships and characterization made it miss the mark for me.
The book's main strength (and my favorite part of it) was the worldbuilding. It is BEAUTIFUL and very layered; I could definitely tell that the author put a lot of time into researching aspects of West African cultures and developing it in a way that it fits this fantasy world. Even though the magic system wasn't as well-developed as I would have liked, the incorporation of African mythology and the explanations of the different social classes in Orishan society were two aspects of the novel that I really appreciated.
However, I just couldn't enjoy the novel as much as I could have due to a combination of two factors. The novel is VERY fast-paced. This worked in some cases: the fight scenes, in particular, were beautifully written. I really couldn't put the book down! All of those scenes were intense and exciting - even though they were all pretty similar, I never felt like I wanted to skip over those scenes.
But Adeyemi's focus on the tight plot meant that the relationships and characterization weren't as fleshed out. In particular, I felt that the romantic relationships
I also felt that the mood of the novel switched very quickly and it made it difficult to suspend my belief on some occasions. Like a previous reviewer said, it seemed like all the characters were very intensely angry for a couple of pages only for them to suddenly feel better. It didn't feel realistic at all, and that was a major part of why I couldn't connect to characters as well. The only character I liked was Amari - her development was by far the strongest throughout the book.
This was a really fun read. I enjoyed the action and worldbuilding, but unfortunately the relationships and characterization made it miss the mark for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Violence, and Genocide