I’ve got two bite-sized reviews for you today. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction!
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi Series: Legacy of Orïsha #1
Published by Macmillan Young Listeners on March 6, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 544
Narrator: Bahni Turpin
Length: 18 hrs and 9 mins
Source: The Publisher
My content rating: YA (Nothing more than kissing, Some violence)
My rating:
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.
First off, I just have to start by saying that the audiobook version of this book is amazing! Bahni Turpin is a fantastic narrator, and I absolutely love the accents she uses for the book I have no idea if they are accurate African accents—or if they’re even meant to be, since the book takes place in a fantasy world, not the real world—but they definitely have an African flair to them. I appreciated the differences between Zélie’s more rural sounding accent and the smoother sound of Amari and Inan’s voices (those ultra-rolling r’s are so beautiful to listen to). I almost never had trouble determining whose narration I was listening to, which is hard for a single narrator to manage.
Now on to the story. The fact that we get three POVs in this book really helps. You expect (from the blurb) to only see Orïsha from Zélie’s perspective. I think this would have been a very different book if that were the case. Instead, we see the internal struggles of people on both sides of the cultural divide. Zélie’s people have been oppressed and beaten down. We want nothing more than to see free her people and claim the magic that rightfully belongs to them. This is the true core of the story. But we also see the world through the eyes of Amari and Inan—Amari is a princess who wants nothing to do with her father’s brutality. She has lived a sheltered life, in some ways, but as the story progresses we learn that she has not always had an easy life. Inan, on the other hand, believes that his father’s quest to rid the world of magic is justified. He sees the pain that magic brought to his father’s family, and his father has taught him that his duty to his kingdom comes before all else. Inan sees destroying magic as his duty. I appreciated that the story wasn’t completely black and white—when we learn the king’s story and his motives you can almost understand him … almost.
My only complaint about the book is that multiple characters’ opinions about the goodness and necessity of magic seemed to swing back and forth in a way that didn’t always make sense to me. I won’t go into detail about this (for the sake of spoilers), but it sort of went like this:
- Character A would experience something that would convince them to fear magic and decide that it should be eradicated.
- Character B would then somehow be convinced that magic should be allowed to die out and Character A would convince them it was worth saving. (Even though that wasn’t what they believed not long before.)
- Character A would go back to thinking magic should be eliminated.
This seemed like it happened multiple times (or, at least that the characters waffled on their thoughts and motivations multiple times), and I guess I just didn’t always see clear logic behind why the characters were changing their minds or giving up hope (though there were a few instances where it made perfect sense—there were also some where I felt like I was getting whiplash). This was a relatively small complaint overall, though.
This book is action-packed, and it will send you on an emotional rollercoaster. And then there’s that end—I wish I could talk about the end. It’s just … mind-boggling. I need the next book!
***Disclosure: I received this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Dread Nation by Justina Ireland Series: Dread Nation #1
on April 3, 2018
Genres: Young Adult, Alternate History, Zombies
Pages: 455
Source: Edelweiss
My content rating: YA (Nothing more than kissing and brief hints at talk of sex, Violence)
My rating:
Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.
I loved this alternate history zombie story! I thought that Ireland did a fantastic job of reimagining the post-Civil War US if the war had ended not because of a clear win by the Union but because humanity had to focus on surviving against a common foe—zombies. Ireland makes us truly think about the treatment of blacks in the US at that time (and even today). Sure, the slaves had been freed, but we see how they are still treated as somehow sub-human and used for the benefit of white people. The exploration of how many religious leaders viewed blacks is especially sad.
Of course, all of this is explored against a backdrop of a fight against zombies. There were times when the book felt a little long and slightly slow to me—slower than I would expect for a book about the zombie apocalypse. There actually isn’t a lot of zombie-fighting action in the story and the conspiracy aspect of the story didn’t always hold my attention. But the overall themes are so timely and important that I found myself wanting to keep reading even when the story slowed down. And I loved Jane, so I was rooting for her all the way.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Children of Blood and Bone has gotten my attention with all the positive buzz it’s been getting- glad to hear you liked it! And I watch The Walking Dead (although I say I’m not a zombie fan, because usually I’m not??) but I’ve never read the graphic novels. And to be honest I have no real desire too- I’ve also heard they’re a lot more violent, which is saying something! Plus the art has never appealed to me, from what I’ve seen. They just look ugly? But that’s just me. I’ll stick to the show too…
Yeah, I kind of agree about the art. I actually often find the style of graphic novel art lacking. Like, I wish, if the story is going to be told mostly with pictures, that it was epic (like a lot of the art you post in your Sunday Posts). I know that’s really unrealistic because a graphic novel would take a million years to create, but it’s hard not to compare.
I know what you mean. I don’t like the muddy style of art, where you often have to really peer at it to know what’s going on? I like clear line work or at least clean storytelling that doesn’t interrupt the flow. The TinTin books are a great example- even though they’re older you can always follow the story, and the art is often quite beautiful.
I’ll have to check out the TinTin books. Thanks for the rec!
They’re really good and I love how they show different areas of the world. And other than Captain Haddock liking his drink a little too much, they’re clean and good for kids. I loved ’em growing up! Red Rackham’s treasure and The Castafiore emerald are good choices maybe to start…
Thanks for the recommendation—I’ll have to check it out! I just read a graphic novel with GORGEOUS art called The Lost Path. The story was pretty good, but the art was amazing! (In my opinion.)
I gave Children of Blood and Bone the same rating, but for a different reason–the main-couple romance IRKED ME SO MUCH. XD But I agree that the magic thing was a bit too much sometimes. AND THE ENDING WAS WAY TOO EPIC AHHH WHERE’S THE SEQUEL!?
I went back and forth on the main couple, so I can definitely see that. I really want that sequel like yesterday, though!
That’s one great thing about audiobooks, the accents that I could never do properly in my head! That does sound strange about the characters’ opinions on magic in Blood and Bone, but other than that it sounds like a great book! I’ve heard great things about Dread Nation as well!
The accents were so fantastic in CoBaB. It was awesome to listen to!
I haven’t read Children of Blood and Bone yet, but I keep going back to the cover. It is very effective. So glad to know it lives up to the hype. It’s heading to the top of my TBR!
Yes, I agree that the cover is stunning!
So I hear the author of the first book is being called the new JK Rowling. Would you say it is that good of writing or a story? I just got an ARC through a trade for Dread Nation, can’t wait till I get time to read it. Probably won’t be till summer. And I love TWD tv show, well, up until this last season when it was boring at times. I tried reading the graphic novels, but I just don’t enjoy graphic novels. They just don’t have enough words for me. 🙂 Great reviews!
Ooooh, it’s always hard when you try to call anyone the new JK Rowling. I mean, the styles and stories are very different, so I think it’s impossible to compare. But I definitely loved the book, and I could see it becoming a big hit!
oh I’m hoping to read CoBaB and DN next week so I won’t read the review right now but I’m glad to see you rated them high because that means you enjoyed them!:)
I do that a lot too—I hate reading reviews right before I read a book.
I just bought Children of Blood and Bone today so I am very happy to see such a positive review for that one. I have heard lots of great things so I am really excited about it. Dread Nation is one that I hope to read soon as well. I love TWD but have just stuck with the show. Sorry that the comic didn’t work for you.
I’d stick with the show unless you’re prepared for a higher level of violence and disturbing storylines.
Glad to hear you enjoyed Dread Nation! I’m not a big fan of zombie stories, but this was such a unique take that I’m kind of curious. And yes—I had the same problem with CoBaB! It was nowhere near bad enough to really detract from the overall story, but I did think certain characters would flip-flop too quickly and too often. Hopefully that settles down some in the sequel 🙂
Yes, Dread Nation definitely isn’t your typical zombie story.
Oh I NEED to read Children of Blood and Bone! They actually have it at my library and I *almost* checked it out but then I remembered that I have 237 review books and so. But soon! And I really enjoyed Dread Nation too! I agree about the slowness at times, but I just loved it SO much! Incorporating the Civil War is just genius!
So, TWD. I kind of want to read them because HOW can they be more dark and violent!? But then I also don’t because… more dark and violent hah. And no Daryl, what even!? He’s my fave. One day I may “browse” through them in the bookstore or something. Because I am curious, but not *that* curious 😀 Great reviews!
I know, it’s so hard because you want to read ALL the books of EVER—and we can’t. I’m already on the verge of waring my eyeballs out. 😉
I enjoy The Walking Dead and tried the comics and just thought it was gruesome. And I didn’t want to root for anyone like with the show. I definitely need to read Children of Blood and Bone but maybe I’ll look at hunting down an audiobook… I need ideas to try to enjoy them better! ❤️
Yeah, I just couldn’t quite handle those graphic novels. As far as audiobooks go, I love to listen to them but I have to have something to do while I’m listening—It’s great for laundry or dishes or when I’m driving.
I had to come see what you thought of Children of Blood and Bone. I thrilled you enjoyed it so much! I’m going to see if I can get it at my library. And Dread Nation also sounds good. I’m not much of a graphic novel reader so The Walking Dead wouldn’t appeal to me anyway but I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy that one so much.
Yeah, Walking Dead was the only disappointment here.
I haven’t read any of these, but I love Bahni Turpin. She’s an amazing narrator, so I think I will give more books that she narrates a chance.
I haven’t head anything else narrated by her, but I’ll definitely be checking her out more now!
I totally wanna read Children of Blood and Bone! Dread Nation looks interesting, though I hear the Native American rep. isn’t that good. Still, I love how hyped both of those books are, and I’ve heard the #ownvoices black rep. is excellent. 🙂
I hadn’t seen anything about the Native American rep in the book. I’ll have to go read why people aren’t happy with it. The NA character isn’t a huge part of the book, and he could be seen as a negative character, but you learn things about him later that redeem him. I’m hoping he’ll be more a part of future books in the series so his character can be expanded upon.
If you’re interested, Debbie Reese @ AICL wrote a post on it here: https://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.co.uk/2018/05/twitter-thread-on-justina-irelands.html
🙂 <3
Thanks! I’ll go check that out!
[…] well for the other two who swung between these thoughts. When I read the review of the book on Feed Your Fiction Addiction weeks before I checked it out, Nicole had warned that this would happen, so I knew going in to […]