From: From Love, The Letters
To: Reader
Re: The Children of Blood and Bone – Tomi Adeyemi
Delivery: First Class Mail
Dear Readers,
I finished Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, and honestly, I think this book pulled me out of my reading slump.
I didn’t go into this expecting some life-changing emotional connection, but I was invested in the story the entire time. The references to Orisha and Yoruba magic kept my attention and carried me through the adventure. What really kept me reading was the uncertainty surrounding the magic itself. I wanted it to work, but there were so many moments where I genuinely wasn’t sure it would. That lack of knowledge around how the magic worked made everything feel unpredictable in a good way.
The characters were strong too. Zélie was probably the easiest to connect with because she’s hardheaded, impulsive, and still trying to do the right thing even when everything around her is chaotic. Tzain gave protective big brother energy the entire book, and Prince Inan… his character development is something you really have to experience for yourself.
What surprised me most was how differently the themes hit after reading the author’s note. While reading, the themes of oppression, power, fear, and resistance didn’t fully settle in for me at first. But afterward, I could see how every character represented those ideas differently. Even the way hatred was portrayed as learned behavior stood out to me once I sat with it longer.
This may not have been a deeply emotional read for me, but it absolutely kept me engaged, and after struggling to finish books lately, that honestly meant a lot. Nice work.
From Love,
The Letters
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