《血骨之子》

Orisha was once a kingdom of magic. Zelie’s mother could raise the dead and control the elements, from fire to tides.

One night, magic deserted them and Zelie’s mother was brutally murdered by a tyrannical* king. Zelie is left to mourn not only her mother, but the birthright of magic she’s now lost.

A chance encounter with a rebel princess sends her on a dangerous journey that will give her the chance to restore magic but the cost will be higher than she ever imagined.

“Children of Blood and Bone” is Nigerian-American author Tomi Adeyemi’s young adult book debut, and comes with sufficient noise to raise expectations sky high: a six-figure advance*, movie rights sold to Fox 2000 and rapturous* first look reviews.

Rather than subverting* them, Adeyemi revels in fantasy tropes, giving us princesses, family betrayals*, power struggles and an epic world with a new system of magic to explore and enjoy. But it is the vibrantly drawn, West African-inspired setting that makes this unlike any fantasy readers will have encountered before. At 544 pages, the book is skillfully paced and well served by Adeyemi’s straightforward, vivid prose.

The alternating perspectives of Zelie, Princess Amari and Prince Inan, their pursuer, are captured with equal depth and insight. The hate-to-love romance comes with high stakes, and the relationship is realistically* and passionately realized. All of it is packaged in a tightly plotted, action-packed adventure.(SD-Agencies)