Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

When Zelie was a child, magic went away. Then came the Raid, when the soldiers killed all of the adult magic users, including Zelie’s mother. Children like Zelie, who had not yet come into their powers, were allowed to live, albeit as second-class citizens, since they would now never develop magic powers. But what if there was a way to bring magic back?

There’s so much good stuff going on in this book. The world building is terrific, unlike anything you’ve read. The magic system is strong, though less unique (elemental magic), and the characters are well-written and distinctive. I felt like the quest dragged on in a few places, and at one point I thought the characters made a poor decision that was out of the normal for them. There’s also one character, Inan, who does a lot of flip-flopping even though he isn’t written as weak or indecisive. However, on the whole, I enjoyed this very much. Recommended to readers of fantasy.

(Reviewed from an e-audiobook borrowed through my library system.)