Children of Blood and Bone

By: Tomi Adeyemi

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's Summary

Winner of the Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year

This program is narrated by acclaimed reader Bahni Turpin, whose past work includes The Hate U Give and The Underground Railroad

"Bahni Turpin's breathtaking narration of this exhilarating novel will keep listeners rooted to their seats, listening intently...an audiobook not to be missed." (AudioFile magazine, Earphones Award winner)

In Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi conjures a stunning world of dark magic and danger in her West African-inspired fantasy debut.

They killed my mother.

They took our magic.

They tried to bury us.

Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were 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 an enemy.

Praise for Children of Blood and Bone:

"[Narrator Bahni Turpin] excels at customizing her voice to capture the unique personalities of each character.... This excellent, refreshing performance of Adeyemi's exciting debut is recommended for all collections where fantasy is popular." (Booklist, starred review)

"One of the biggest young adult fiction debut book deals of the year. Aside from a compelling plot and a strong-willed heroine as the protagonist, the book deals with larger themes, like race and power, that are being discussed in real time." (Teen Vogue)

©2018 Tomi Adeyemi (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

2019 Audie Award, Audiobook of the Year
Libro.fm Top 10 Audiobooks of 2018
AudioFile Best 5 Young Adult Audiobooks of 2018
2019 YALSA Amazing Audiobook
2019 ALSC Notable Children's Recording
AudioFile Earphones Award Winner
Booklist Starred Audiobook Review
Publishers Weekly Starred Audiobook review
2019 Audie Award, Young Adult, Nominated 

The first half is amazing, but...

I loved and devoured the first half of the book. Great fantasy setting, interesting plot, vivid and amazing writing. But where it dropped for me is when the plot and agency of the book came to a grinding halt to spend 10 chapters on romance that had not existed at all until that point. I was jarring and it was a struggle to finish the book, let a lone the forced romance.

Ok book

This book was part of my monthly book club read, I decided to get it on audio book to save sometime. Unfortunately the accent of the narrator - may be the author (?) - is so thick that I couldn't follow the story properly and had to leave the audiobook. I understand that different accents are part of the English language, as I'm sure I have an accent myself English being my second language but I'm not a book narrator. Accented reading as real as it may be , dramatically limits the audience capable of understanding such an accent. Unfortunately I can't hardly understand some of the words spoken, as I'm unfamiliar with English spoken on the African continent and the Caribbean. If this is not an issue with you I recommend the book, otherwise don't bother.

Beautifully Written

I was watching GMA on 3/7/18 and I saw the author Tomi Adeyemi being interviewed by Robin Roberts talking about her book and how excited she was when Stephen King reached out to her on Twitter, yes ma’am he knows your name now. Lol.
So I decided to download it.
I just finished the book today on 3/8/18, yes it took me two days to listen to the whole thing. After downloading the book, first thing I did was turned off my television and I sat in my dark bedroom listening to the book. I felt like I was Sebastian from the Never Ending Story... lol. For 18 hours I listened to this awesome book. Only stopping to eat, sleep and use the restroom. That’s how caught up I was, my husband didn’t even mess with me because he knew better. Lol.
It was Amazing, Captivating, Brilliantly Written. I love how the author took us on this quest into her imagination. Thank you Tomi Adeyemi.

The best part of the book was the authors note!

I struggled to finish this story. I tried initially reading it and was bored, I used audible and wanted to rip my ears out. The repetiveness, the dialogue, the dialogue tags... All of it drove me insane. I was so disappointed by this story. I have no idea where the rave reviews are coming from.

I wanted to love it. I wanted to enjoy it, but the characters, the setting it was all bland. Nothing made me laugh, the narrators voice and screaming was painful. I don't usually blast books like this but I'm utterly disappointed for what this could have been. I want this story, I want more from the diaspora, I want more black leads... But as the kids say... This ain't it chief.

Great book but

I listened and I am enjoying the story. I wish the reader had the right pronunciation for the words or cities. I grew up in Nigeria and it took me a bit to figure out what cities the reader was referring to. I enjoyed it.

Great story, but an actress who can speak the Yoruba language would have been best

I enjoyed the uplifting messages this book gave readers, such as courage, positivity, bravery, fearlessness, and so much more! I really liked reading about the magical folklore in Nigeria. It seemed to be pretty cool to me. It gave us a view of the authors vivid imagination. I liked how the narrator made it easy to distinguish each character by the tone of voice used for each of them.

With that being said I was disappointed to hear that the book was not narrated by a Nigerian. I’m Nigerian and speak Yoruba and can’t understand how the author did not want to have a Yoruba actress narrate her book. Don’t get me wrong, Bonnie Turpin is a great actress but not for this book.

When I first began to listen to the book, it was very difficult to continue because the narrators accent sounded so opposite of a Yoruba accent. It sounded almost South African to me. The narrator actually confused me when she spoke Yoruba and said the incantations because I found it hard to understand what she was saying most of the time.

Overall, the book was a good read but the narration brought my rating down.

Amazing Story!

I could see every clan, every Maji, every lock of white hair. I felt every emotion. Such a detailed and well written story.

AMAZING!

This book was an excellent listen. The narrator was a great fit for this book. as an African American woman, this book was very emotional as my ancestors were stolen from their land and our culture and traditions lost. Listening to this book has me yearning for more. To find out more about where we originated from. I know it's early in 2018, but this is one of the best books I've purchased in a long time.

Audible.. you couldn't find a Yorùbá narrator?

Audible I am thoroughly upset with how this book was narrated!! 4 chapters in and I had to stop to write this review. I cannot go on any further. It is disappointing to think that a book based on my culture has to be butchered in such a way. This book is based on Yorùbá culture, the cities the Dieties the whole entire story... But you are using an actress/narrator who has no idea how to pronounce Yorùbá words like Ìbàdàn and màmá àgbà.... I mean... I cringe every time I hear her say certain words... No offense to her...but she is in no position to do justice to this book.... Are you saying in the whole Wide world we couldn't find a Yorùbá actress or narrator to narrate this award winning book for us?? Please audible.... Africa is not one country and we don't all sound the same and speak the same language... Please for upcoming books in this series I beg you.... Let's get someone that actually speaks the language to narrate and use the proper intonation and accent.... I have been using audible for several years and this is my first negative review.... Please let's do better...

amazing new story.....so-so narrator

love the new book....but the narrator ruined it for me. being a Yoruba speaker and understanding the language, it was extremely jarring to have someone mangle the language in a way that makes it clear the narrator doesn't understand what she's saying.
if I didn't know the "foreign" language used, i think I'd have enjoyed the book more.
I hope the next book gets narrated by a dual speaker of English and Yoruba, as it would make an amazing difference....may yet get the e-book version in order to enjoy the book as it should be.
Also, had to listen to the book at 1.4x narration speed, just to have a normal pace!

Truly epic!

First read, paperback: 08-25-2018
Reread,audiobook: 04-06-2020

Children of Blood and Bone is the EPIC we've been waiting for! TRULY!!!

This book was chosen by our local book club to be our August Book of the Month ND i'm so happy I picked a copy of COBAB by Tomi Adeyemi because up to this moment, I am still mindblown with what I've read and wanting to read the next book, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, that is expected to be released by 2019.

Technically, Tomi Adeyemi delivered us a good debut book with COBAB. Everything about this seems to be perfect for the hype. And with that I mean, COBAB has a very clever universe and history, the story narration is fast-paced, and I think this is the latest book that has multiple POV I actually enjoyed so, cheers to that. I also want to commend Tomi for bringing us into the magical world of Orïsha and all the unique factors it got. I usually get excited with fantasy books that has distinct powers depending on your tribe and/or personality.

I don't want to prolong writing this review because I might spill something that needs to be unsaid. So, overall, if you're a fan of fantasy, action, POC, diverse books, you should totally check out COBAB before COVAV be released.