Rating - ⭐⭐
"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."
Children of Blood and Bone, the first entry in the Legacy of Orïsha series by Tomi Adeyemi, is a YA fantasy novel rooted in West African mythology.
On my reading journey, this was the first novel written by a BIPOC author that I read. I did try to read Black Leopard, Red Wolf but ultimately ended up DNFing it. I was excited to jump into this because West African mythology was not something I have delved into before, and this showed promise. Unfortunately, I did not have the best time reading this.
I would say that I am someone who is more character driven, and I tend to dislike the vast majority of main female characters as they all tend to exhibit a pet peeve that I hate. This book is no exception. The only thing I could fully appreciate was the world-building. Adeyemi allowed for moments where the history of the maji and the gods were explained which I appreciated.
The further I got into this book, however, the more I started to skim wishing the book was over. The main disappointment for me was Zelie and Inan. While I liked Amari and Tzain, I couldn't stand Zelie and Inan's personalities. I found myself rolling my eyes every time Zelie dived headfirst into something without thinking about it and being headstrong about her decisions. Inan kept being conflicted about his duties and his beliefs, which I did like because it showed his inner conflicts, but then he chose a side way too quickly.
I also really didn't believe in their relationship. Although I love the hate-to-love trope, I just didn't think they had any chemistry. I was hoping for a long burn romance so that they could slowly get over their hate and start to understand each other, but their relationship went from 0 to 100 incredibly quickly which made me believe in their relationship even less.
I don't think I am going to pick up the rest of this series, but would suggest that you give it a try if you're looking for something different and diverse.
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