review – Page 2 – teachquelle

Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha, #1) Book Review

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“The gods chose you, they don’t make mistakes.”

First of all, I am grateful for this book. Why you ask? As a bookish POC who loves fantasy and science fiction, this is my first time reading a novel in this genre with all African characters. Issues of colorism and police brutality, as well as themes of oppression and justice, permeate this novel. Adeyemi does a great job at handling these sensitive topics and the tone is almost reminiscent of apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.

Now for the other stuff. The magic system is dope and rich, with varying powers/giftings endowed to a chosen few by a god/goddess. This book started off realllly good until about a third of the way and then it slowed down. In that way this book reminds me of The Poppy War, BUT, it picks back up two-thirds of the way and were back in business. I wonder if that is because it was supposed to be a stand alone. But its done so well and now its gonna be a series. IDK. Not sure where the series will go from here but the skies the limit.

I’m very excited for the next installment and I’m praying my girl delivers.

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A Court of Frost and Starlight Review

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Booooooring. Good thing I listened to the audiobook because I’m pretty sure I would have never finished this novella. ACOWAR and ACOFAS made me entirely too nervous and afraid to read the last installment of TOG. Thank God Maas delivered on Kingdom of Ash because that would have been utterly disappointing. If for some reason you feel the need to read this book, DON’T. Life and time are precious, and despite what some members of the SJM fandom may say about this one, use your energy for more satisfying endeavors.

Revised Review from May 9, 2018 on Goodreads.

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Dance of Thieves #1 Book Review

Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As much as I enjoyed the Remnant Chronicles, this spinoff series, Dance of Thieves, is not nearly as good. It felt too trope-ish, predictable and a bit corny. The beginning started off slow, and despite having decent characters, the two main characters as love interests didn’t work for me. I’m not a fan of the heroine either, she is hard to understand and perhaps that’s because she lacks depth. I listened to the audiobook for which I am thankful because I don’t think I would have been able to finish the book. However, I wish I hadn’t wasted my credit on it. If you just want to read a decent book with romance, adventure and a bit of intrigue, then give it a try.

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Ash Princess Book Review

Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I like the fantasy realm created in this book, the pace is bit slow yet perfect for introducing us to this new world. Even though this was written in the first person, I enjoyed the authors writing style and she did a great job of showing and not telling. There are the typical relationship tropes with a love triangle that somewhat reminiscent of the Red Queen series. However, what I like about this love triangle is that the heroine is not thirsty, naive or stupid. I connect with Theo because she has a backbone and as she endures each trial, she grows in wisdom and her convictions become stronger. This series has potential, I hope the rest of the books give us even more depth.

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The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang Review

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Look, I was in L-O-V-E with this book, to the point that I neglected my family to keep reading. Then something happened. I fell out of love, and I had to make myself finish this book. Rin went from this rationally irrational teenage go-getter to irrational foolish and full of rage. For the simple fact that I hated that digression, I give Kuang props for creating such a flawed character and being able to disappoint me so well. The writing is excellent , and I’m digging the historical fiction-ness (China/Japan) of this book, that’s mixed with a magical pantheon.

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