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

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

So powerful! So emotional! Such an intense story with high stakes, believable characters, and strong world building. This book embodies one of the reasons I love fantasy novels - real world issues of inequality, brutality, racism, fear and pain are rendered beautifully in this fantasy setting to be examined under a different light. It’s impossible to strip away biases and politics and all the nuances of our world; it’s incredibly important to engage with our real-world issues and work to correct our mistakes, and build a more equitable world for everyone. But in a fantasy setting, you can take those same themes and explore their very real meaning under the power of excellent storytelling. I loved this book and am so glad there’s more to read. The vibe was BBC’s Merlin meets Avatar the Last Airbender, with some Hunger Games mixed in.
The only reason I didn’t give it five stars was for Inan’s character, and the love story between Zeile and Inan. The love angle felt rushed - he went from “son of the king who ruined magic and killed my mother” to “hottie with a body”  real fast, and his change of heart also felt  abrupt. I get it happened after he saw her life story and all the pain his father caused, but their dynamic was unequal (he could, without consent, get into her thoughts and memories) and I couldn’t see a reason for their romance beyond physical attraction. Tzien and Amari’s love story was far more believable and very sweet.
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