Children of Blood and Bone

“They killed my mother. They took our magic.They tried to bury us. Now we rise.”

Actual rating: 3.5 stars, rounded down

Told in multiple perspectives, CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE follows the story of:

。Zélie, an angry maji who can bend dead souls to her will,
。Amari, a princess who wants to undo her family's terrible legacy,
。and Inan, the boy tasked to hunt them down and put an end to his sister's treason

It's a very driven, courageous, and brilliant debut—one with so many twists and turns that I almost felt dizzy reading it. Tomi Adeyemi does not shy away from the beauty and violence of her world, and it shines through every single page. Inspired by Western Africa, she paints a bewitching picture of Orïsha, bursting with old gods and wild magic.

Like Amari herself would say, this book is “mesmerizing, a wonder like no other”. Although it does occasionally suffer from insta-love and some very convoluted plotting, it's still the kind of read that will leave you aching for more even after you turn the final page.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.