9 Mar 2018

#BlogTour: CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi // #Review + #Giveaway

Hello and welcome to my blog tour post for

CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi!

I have a review of the book for you today plus one lucky Canadian can win a finished copy of the book in the giveaway below courtesy of Raincoast Books. Be sure to check that out all the way at the bottom! But first, let's learn more about the book...

CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE

Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Series: Legacy of Orïsha #1
Source: ARC via Raincoast Books
Publisher: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 6, 2018
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Summary:
Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sabaa Tahir.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zelie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were targeted and 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 the enemy.
Purchase:
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and chose to review it. This in no way impacts my opinion of the novel.

This was such a fantastic debut that I read all 600 (!!!) pages of ARC in one sitting (sorta - I stopped to watch ice dancing for a bit). I thought there were a lot of elements that were really well done and this was a good character study. However, I had one complaint but it definitely isn't enough to really bother me while reading.

CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE has a lot of your typical fantasy tropes in it but it puts them together in such a way that you don't feel as though you've ever read them before. I liked that Adeyemi spun how I thought about all these things I've read before. I knew some of the things and situations that were about to come but they were executed brilliantly and left me breathless.

The characters were amazing. I loved seeing the development of them throughout the novel to see how different biases and prejudices played a role in interactions. I was hoping for a bit more between Zélie and Amari but there is always time for that in the next novel. I thought this had a good dynamic between the characters. And Zélie is such a good MC. What a good choice for our leading lady. Actually, I enjoyed all the PoVs so we get to see a bit of everything.

I did find that some of the action sequences weren't quite as clear as I would have liked. Some of them I had to read multiple times to make sense of what was happening and who was in what position, but other than that I really have zero complaints about this novel. 

If you are a fan of fantasy, want something new and different, and love to find fresh new takes on old tired tropes, CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE is the novel for you! Enter below to win a copy (if you live in Canada)!
Tomi Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American writer and creative writing coach based in San Diego, California. Her debut novel, CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE, comes out March 6th, 2018 and the movie is currently in development at Fox with the producers of Twilight and The Maze Runner attached. After graduating Harvard University with an honors degree in English literature, she received a fellowship that allowed her to study West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil. When she’s not working on her novels or watching Scandal, she can be found blogging and teaching creative writing to her 3,500 subscribers at tomiadeyemi.com. Her website has been named one of the 101 best websites for writers by Writer’s Digest.

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2 comments:

  1. I was already looking forward to picking this one up, but you have made me even more excited! I've heard nothing but amazing things, so I'm really glad to see you enjoyed it. I already get so confused during most action sequences, haha, so I guess that part won't be much different for me ;). Really great review, and thanks for the giveaway opportunity!

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  2. I haven't read this one yet, but I'm very much looking forward to it, I've been loving some fantasy books lately and this one has things that make just a bit different with the setting and race, and I love having some different things in my reading life.

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