They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.
I can’t count the amount of times I’ve seen Children of Blood and Bone recommended. It’s one of those books that everyone seems to have a really positive opinion of but, as usual, I’ve been slower than a turtle on a treadmill to get around to reading. Curse my habit of putting off reading excellent books. Children of Blood and Bone is gripping, unique, trope twisting, and has an absolutely gorgeous cover to boot.
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.
I think one of the things I love the most about this book is the vibrant and unique fantasy world. It’s populated with white haired diviners, who have the potential to wield magic, soldiers riding wild cats, and a cast system that divides the world in two. Rather than the European inspired fantasy worlds I’ve been used to though, this one is very obviously set in a world inspired by Africa, which instantly draws me to it. it’s familiar, in the way every fantasy is, but unique and vibrant and interesting. I think the only other African style fantasy world I’ve seen in a book so far has been in Beasts Made Of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi. Definitely a fantasy style I’d love to see in more often.
Another thing this book does really well is twisting familiar tropes. I’m not a huge fan of the whole ‘I’m falling in love with my enemy’ trope as a rule. Romantic sub-plots in general aren’t really my thing and this one in particular really grinds my gears. But in this case, I could actually get behind the slow burn of this enemies to lovers journey. It wasn’t an instant connection. It wasn’t perfect. And love doesn’t conquer all in the end either. This trope doesn’t take the lazy way out in Children of Blood and Bone, and the execution actually left me impressed and excited. This book really works for all the payoffs. In general, the plotting is tight, and everything is earned, and I love the way it treats character relationships and common tropes. Now if I could just find the book that would make me appreciate love triangles…
Zelie herself was great. Strong, lacking in self-confidence and mistrustful, it takes a lot to break down her barriers, making her character arc really interesting. I love it when characters don’t immediately start trusting those around them, but instead take their time to gradually figure things out. She doubts herself the whole way through, never seeing herself as good enough, or as the chosen one, or even as being capable of doing what people need of her. But somehow, in the face of all that, she keeps going, and that strength and determination, even when the people around her don’t believe, and she doesn’t believe herself, that makes her an awesome character to follow.
If there’s one little complaint I’d make it’s that, despite how well plotted and tight most of the book is, the magic feels a bit loose and plot convenient. People Gian magical powers and know how to use them almost perfectly straight off. And if they don’t work perfectly, it’s only at plot convenient times. A couple of big twists never get a logical explanation, which nagged at me for a while. In general though, it’s an excellent read and I blasted through it in a matter of a couple of days.
I will say though, I was actually really surprised to hear that there is going to be a sequel. the ending wrapped up so well that I felt like it was going to be an excellent stand-alone book. Of course, with this book being as good as it is, I’m sure the sequel will be great, but to me, it doesn’t quite feel necessary. And I am also slightly concerned that the tone and focus is going to shift to something very different from the first book, which is not something I always enjoy. I don’t need the second book to be exactly the same a the first, but I don’t want it to feel like it’s completely disconnected either.
Still, there’s only one way to find out how good the sequel is. I’m already convinced by how much I liked Children of Blood and Bone, so I guess I’ll be picking Children of Virtue and Vengeance up sometime in the near future. But in the meantime, if you haven’t already, I’d highly recommend reading this amazing fantasy book for yourself. Listen to what the people are saying. It’s an excellent read, and a breath of fresh air in the fantasy genre. You won’t be disappointed.
