Publisher:
Medium: Print, hardcover
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Blurb: 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.
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I would give this book a firm 4.75 stars. What can I say? I loved it. I have only one issue, which is addressed below.
I loved the color of the sleeve–I’m a fan of darker colors, and the combination of red, gold, black, and white work really well together. The cover of the book underneath the screen was just as gorgeous–a gold engraving of a symbol that represents the book.
About the rest of the book–whew. What a whirlwind it was.
The book starts off pretty strong: Zélie, the main character, doing a training exercise with other girls. She’s cocky, impatient, and somewhat disobedient. I liked seeing that in a character: confidence in their abilities, but not too much.
Things happen, and Zélie meets the princess, Amari, who has escaped from her home in the palace where her abusive father doesn’t love her as much as he loved his first family and a mother who watches her weight and encourages her to lighten her skin. Amari had stolen an important artifact and she is being hunted for it by her brother Inan.
After Amari and Zélie escape to Zélie’s home, she’s confronted by her brother Tzain, who is stern and has a career in sports before all of that is spoiled.
The three escape after Inan and his soldiers burn down the village and goes on a journey to bring magic back to the country.
This book is just a whirlwind. There are allegories for racism, abuse, cruelty, colorism, self-hate, and so much more. Each character–with the exception of Tzain, I would think–have both highs and lows throughout the book. Inan has to struggle with acceptance of a self that he thought he would never have, Amari has to step up, and Zélie has to learn how to accept help and keep her anger and bitterness from hindering her progress.
The only issue I had with the book had to do with Inan.
A prince searching for acceptance from his father made me think of Avatar: The Last Airbender’s Prince Zuko.
Inan had some nice character development, but it happened too fast for me. I felt like things that should have taken months–even years–to unlearn only took a few moments. The romance happened too quickly for me and it didn’t satisfy the romantic in me enough. I wanted to see more development in the characters before they thought about love.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the book and I can’t wait for the second one, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, to come out next year. This book is available both in bookstores and online.
kannaree.com 