A review by mahra
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

As a fellow West African person, I really enjoyed the world created (the magic system is a bit confusing though). The prose was also pretty good.

However, it was way too tropey and predictable for me. I was very excited to read this, and this is exactly what I did not want to see. For me, it falls into the category of books that borrow way too much from the most popular YA fantasy books that we’ve all read (you know them). And because of that, reading this felt like reading a pale copy of many books that I’ve already read. This is unfortunate because the concept is great. 

There was also way too much pointless violence. I understand what the author was trying to do, but I don’t think it was executed well. I also do not think that this is the best idea. There are better ways to tackle these issues
(racism/anti-Blackness, police brutality, State violence…)
and spread that message. 

Unfortunately, I do not think I will read the second and third book. 

PS: The characters were all annoying, except Amari. The romance was horrible. Inan was insufferable. That lady who kept saying his name too.
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