Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha #1) by Tomi Adeyemi
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.
Format: audiobook
Narrator: Bahni Turpin
Performance: 🌑🌑🌑🌑
Story:🌑🌑🌑🌑
I am one of those visual people who judge books by their covers and a cover as magnificent as this is almost always a must read for me.
True enough, the story behind the picture is epic, magical and bloody. People were oppressed, enslaved, tortured and killed. Those in power do not care whether they can fight back or not, as long as they have magic in their blood, they are monsters. This is a very emotional book. This is not something you read if you want warm, fuzzy feelings. This is the kind of book that reflects real world pain. The kind that makes you want to do something about it.
Zelie and her brother Tzain witnessed their mother's murder and their father's beating 11 years ago, when the king issued a decree to kill all magic in the land of Orisha and proceeded to kill all the maji in their village. Zelie, like her mother, is a reaper, a maji marked by her white hair. The diviners or those with the potential to become maji were treated as second or third class citizens of the land, put to slavery under the slightest of infractions. She helped rescue the princess Amari after the latter stole a scroll that can bring magic back to the land. This set the king's guards, led by Inan, on their heels.
From the time Zelie and Tzain met Amari, they were on the run non-stop, leaving dead people in their wake, friends and foes alike. There is so much pain and suffering in this book. Zelie kept fighting back, her rage like a tsunami but there were moments where her spirit was just hanging on by the thread and that one time when she did give up 99%, I couldn't blame her if she gave in to despair. After what she and Tzain had gone through, I would have sliced my own throat if I were in their shoes. But I am made of lesser mettle than those two and even on the brink of crossing over to the spirit world, Zelie still lived to continue the battle, although not without dragging her heels.
Zelie is impulsive, reckless and childish, rushing into one thing then have it blow up all over her face. Tzain was right there to save her all the time and I felt his pain when he thought his sister was doing the same stupid thing she does all the time when she hooked up with Inan, the prince. Tzain is the kind of older brother everybody needs but Inan is harder to like. I don't know exactly what his motives were because his actions were confusing. There's a hint of stupidity perhaps like he could have done it another way or he could have been stronger but unlike Amari who finally found her backbone, Inan just disappointed everyone. I am leaning slightly towards the Zelie-Roen pairing rather than the Zelie-Inan one but I am really, really hoping there are no stupid love triangles in this series.
The story is over 17 hours long but the pacing was quick and the writing flowed smoothly. A minor demerit for me was the part where they dilly dally in the diviner camp when they could have just gone on their way to the temple. But then again, who am I to begrudge our long suffering group a little bit of happiness and romance.
Zelie, Tzain and Amari are on the quest to bring magic back but interestingly enough, the novel didn't portray magic as 100% good. There is a to and fro as to whether it indeed advantageous to Orisha for magic to exist. That epilogue too, when Amari did her thing, that cliffhanger raises all kinds of questions, starting with: is Orisha ready for it?
SOUNDTRACK
Tombouctou
Inna Modja
Motel Bamako
The Night has fallen
Hunger is rising
Every single month of the year we are struggling
Everyday single day our People are being killed
The Endless War has just began
We won't sit down and shut up
Let our country be conquered by intruders
They aim to conquer the North
They aim to conquer the South
They aim to conquer our souls
The Day is up
The sun is rising
They sweared they will never ever give us back Kidal
Our Country is broken
Hyenas have come into our homes and will have no Mercy on us
Our people are starting to rebel
We won't unite with these intruders
They aim to break our Fathers
Force our mothers to surrender
They want to silence our voices
The Night has fallen
Hunger is rising
Every single month of the year we are struggling
Everyday single day our People are being killed
The Endless War has just began
We won't sit down and shut up
Let our country be conquered by intruders
They aim to conquer the North
They aim to conquer the South
They aim to conquer our souls
The Day is up
The sun is rising
They sweared they will never ever give us back Kidal
Our Country is broken
Hyenas have come into our homes and will have no Mercy on us
Our people are starting to rebel
We won't unite with these intruders
They aim to break our Fathers
Force our mothers to surrender
They want to silence our voices
We will keep on fighting, The light is coming
Dibi donna: The Night has fallen
I just picked up this book and I cannot wait to read it! What an ambitious read to try to audiobook though!! I always have trouble making it through fantasy audiobooks because of the length and world building. I'm glad you enjoyed it though :)
ReplyDeleteI usually audiobook, especially the long ones. That way, there's less strain on my eyes. Bahni Turpin's narration is really good. I hope you enjoy the book!
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