Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orisha #1)
By Tomi Adeyemi
Genre: YA Fantasy
Recommended For: Ages 15+, fantasy lovers, readers longing for stories set in different cultures, and I actually think everyone should read it.

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.

Now we rise.

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.

The Gist:

By the time I started reading this book, I had yet to hear a bad thing about it. I can see why now. It’s amazing. A thrilling story that hooks you with its rich culture and action-packed plotline. If you’re like me and have a desire to read fantasy books from different cultures, I highly HIGHLY recommend this book. Adeyemi creates jump out of the page characters that are bold yet relatable and feel real in every sense. The plot centers on getting back the magic that was taken from the Magi. It was complex yet understandable for me and took me through some pretty fantastic action. And Adeyemi truly was genius in how she weaved the problems we face in our world into the magical world of Orisha.

What I Liked:

There was so much I liked. I think my favorite was to get a feel for the culture Adeyemi bases her story on. I loved reading a fantasy book with a cast of black characters doing amazing and heroic things. Adeyemi truly creates a world as magical as the power her characters possess.

Adeyemi does a fantastic job of creating tension. When you throw two opposing sides together in a survival situation, tension ensues. And it’s handled so well. It’s got enough of a presence to make every scene interesting and bite-your-nails suspenseful, yet it’s not over done so much that it weighs the book down and makes it too heavy to read.

And for all my romantic tension obsessors like myself, there is definitely a lot of that. It doesn’t really pick up until the second half, but it’s good. Trust me. You’ll be shipping couples in no time.

The inner conflict of the POV characters was well developed. Though at times it felt like a shift happened a little suddenly, it wasn’t anything major or too far beyond belief.  I could feel the characters pains and sufferings in their heart and the immense weight their choices laid on them.

I loved the way it ended in that it seemed realistic, there were a few surprises but no infuriating shocks, and left enough hanging that I’m DYING for book two to come out.

Perhaps most importantly, I really admire Adeyemi for the way she handled her inspiration for the story-the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s an important, nay I say vital topic that shouldn’t be cast into the shadows or ignored. I think this books does an excellent job of portraying the emotional effect actions like we’ve seen in our world can have on people. And the repercussions prejudice/racism can have. I’m glad she wrote this book. I’m glad this book is out there. And I’m thrilled it’s so popular.

What I Didn’t Like:

Honestly, the only thing was the beginning seemed slow at first, but that was because the world-building had to go somewhere. There was so much to learn about the Magi, the magic, types of magic, what the characters were up against, etc that it was bound to be a tad slow. But even with the lack in action, I still found myself fascinated by the world these characters live in.

I think this world-building also resulted in a lack of romantic tension in the first half of the book, which I know my heart would have wished for more of, but the second half made up for it.

LunasLuckyRating: 4.5/5 Lunas