14. CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE
BY TOMI ADEYEMI
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I READ THIS. LET’S TALK ABOUT IT!
I love this cover.
I absolutely adored this book. What a reading experience! The world is imaginative yet familiar. The characters are rich with depth and complexity. The culture is steeped in lore and promise. The writing is beautiful and accessible; I was never lost or overwhelmed. Having read this on Audiobook, I must also compliment the narration, as her voice was so pleasant to listen to for 20+ hours. Her accent was beautiful and lent so much to the text and characters. I felt immersed in this world from start to finish.
The story itself was a delight. We follow Zélie, whose magic has awakened in a world where magic has been all but exterminated some eleven years now. She must travel a great distance to perform a sacred ritual that will bring magic back to the world in earnest, awakening magi all across the land. Along for the ride is her older brother Tzain, and the runaway princess Amari, daughter of their oppressor. Hunting them across the land is Amari’s brother, prince Inan, who goes through an intense character arc himself.
Oh, Inan. You poor bastard.
This book has found family tropes, enemies to lovers, forbidden love, and TONS OF MAGIC. For those of you that care about this sort of thing, the magic system is a bit of a soft one. There’s rules the author clearly knows but I don’t feel like it’s all laid out in the text (yet). There’s two sequels I cannot wait to check out, and a film adaptation currently in the works, so I’m very glad I read this now as it looks like this fandom will be exploding in size very soon.
The only thing I had a bit of trouble with initially was that this ensemble cast is written in the first person. So, each chapter would switch perspectives to a new character, announcing their name at the beginning like GRRM does in A Song of Ice and Fire, which is very helpful. But when you’re listening to an audiobook and picking it back up after a few hours, you might forget whose POV you’re in for that chapter, and it might take a few moments to figure it out. That’s barely a quibble, though, because ultimately, it didn’t affect my enjoyment.
I have no real complaints about this read. It was a complete delight. Exciting and fun. The ending is epic and bombastic. I recommend it to anyone who likes good books!
Five out of Five Reanimated Ghosts!
