Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Summary from Goodreads:

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.

Review:

This book was everything I was hoping it would be.

I can feel the books that inspired this masterpiece. I felt elements of Potter, some essence of Throne of Glass, and bits and pieces of The Hunger Games. Though, it was 100% it's own story. A story that kept me up late at night. It was super hard to put down. It's filled with plenty of twists and turns. And some of them I did not see coming!

I loved the characters, particularly the two main female characters. I love that Zelie kind of hates Amari at first, but then learns to see her strengths as the story goes on. Their friendship is something magical at the end. I also love Zelie’s relationship with her brother. It’s super strong, but also remarkably believable. They fight and disagree on a lot of things, but always have each other’s backs. And I guess, it was just super nice to read about a normal and good sibling relationship in a YA book.

There was also a hate to love kind of love story element that I super enjoy. And while I thought I was calling all the things that would happen there, I was wrong on so many wonderful levels. This author is not afraid to piss you off a little, and I love her more for that.

Also, the book just feels so important. So relevant to today. I know the whole “we need diverse books” thing has been going on for a while. But, I didn’t know how badly I needed such a diverse fantasy novel until this. Seriously, there are no other fantasy books like this. And now that I’ve had a taste, I want more! Diversity should be in more than just contemporary stories. And this book proves it over and over in how amazing it is.

I wasn't sure the author was saying what she was until I read her little afterward at the very end. And she's so brave and honest in there, that I love this book even more for it. It's nothing like anything else out there (even though it's also an homage to other YA). So much love for this book! I really hope a book 2 is in the works. I can’t wait to read more of what this author has to say. I give it a 10/10.