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  • Children of Blood and Bone

  • By: Tomi Adeyemi
  • Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
  • Length: 17 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (183 ratings)

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Children of Blood and Bone

By: Tomi Adeyemi
Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
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Publisher's Summary

Winner of Audiobook of the Year at the 2019 Audie Awards.

Named one of AudioFile's best audiobooks of 2018

Winner of the Tonight Show Summer Reads with Jimmy Fallon.


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

They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.


Zélie remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. When different clans ruled – Burners igniting flames, Tiders beckoning waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoning forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, anyone with powers was targeted and killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Only a few people remain with the power to use magic, and they must remain hidden.

Zélie is one such person. Now she has a chance to bring back magic to her people and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must learn to harness her powers and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where strange creatures prowl, and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to come to terms with the strength of her magic – and her growing feelings for an enemy.

The movie of Children of Blood and Bone is in development at Fox 2000/Temple Hill Productions with the incredible Karen Rosenfelt and Wyck Godfrey (Twilight, Maze Runner, The Fault In Our Stars) producing it.

©2018 Tomi Adeyemi (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

"Turpin’s captivating narration, with incantations sung in Yoruba, intense battles, and lively, devastating dialogue, makes this an audiobook not to be missed." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about Children of Blood and Bone

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
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Chillingly Beautiful

It is hard to say, I loved this book, when so much pain, passion, grief and vulnerability fill its pages. Instead I think I shall say my soul was touched with a deep realisation and understanding of both my reality and the books fantasy. I was deeply moved by the story and so very heartbroken by the things that motivated the Author to write it. I am not going to forget these characters or the voices they where echoing for a very long time.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Too long with not enough to keep my interest

I am not sure I enjoyed this, I had to speed up several times towards the last few chapters because I was a bit fed up of the story. Every turn in the story is predictable. Zaili seems almost bipolar, on one page she is confident, motivated and nothing could stop her, the next she is marred by self doubt and low self esteem and struggles to find a sliver of hope. This sort of yo yo ing was exhausting.
The author leaves the ending hanging, clearly there is a part 2. I don’t think I will be looking for it. The narration was pretty good though.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

fantastic story

loved this! it was full of action and just the right amount of romance! I really enjoyed this book. I just finished the second and loved it

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Doesnt Hold Back

This book doesnt hold back and has some of the best character developement I've read. Now the wait for the next installment begins

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A must read for so many reasons

beautifully narrated, and the story line... if you like a bit of fantasy you will love it but the parallels to the real world and experience is chilling. This book may be in the fiction category but be prepared to be affected on a deep level.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Highly Recommended

Highly Recommended.
Fabulous story told by a very talented Narrator. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great story and narration

Captured my imagination with rich character development and story line. Must read for fantasy romance lovers.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Journey to self

This book is intense. It's heavy, its thrilling, its eye opening and it's apologetic as Tomi Adeyemi merges the world black people live in today to that of the Maggi. Hope and loss and promise of triumph weaves in and out.
Zeile is a warrior in her own right but death, loss and roadblocks caused by prejudice just keeps heaping on and on every way she turns. The journey to bring magic back along with princess Amari whose blood is the same as the man who has left familes desolate and divided, is a challenge. There are triggers for some people but the story is well written and engaging. I loved very minute of it even as I wept and was too angry in parts

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Favourite read of the year.

Its only February but I'm calling it that this will be my favourite read this year. It was amazing. Kept me hooked the whole way through and one of the best narrators I've ever listened to. Highly recommend. Can't wait to see the movie too!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Powerful Parallels

A beautiful story born from the grief of our world.

Bahni Turpin maybe the best voice actor I have ever heard.

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