Legacy of Orisha
#3764.01 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2018–2024 Reading commitment Medium Tomi Adeyemi Last reviewed 2026-08-11
Overview
Legacy of Orisha is a completed West African/Yoruba-mythology-inspired young-adult fantasy trilogy by Tomi Adeyemi, following Zélie Adebola's fight against the oppression of Orïsha's maji after magic is violently stripped from the land. Children of Blood and Bone (2018), Children of Virtue and Vengeance (2019), and Children of Anguish and Anarchy (2024) follow Zélie as she seeks to restore magic to Orïsha's persecuted maji while a fractured royal family and rival factions fight over the consequences of that restoration. The debut volume became one of the best-selling YA fantasy debuts of its decade, drawing a seven-figure publishing deal before release and a film adaptation in development, and it won the 2019 Waterstones Children's Book Prize among other honors. The trilogy is widely credited with bringing Yoruba-derived cosmology and West African-inspired secondary-world fantasy to a much wider mainstream YA readership.
Epic fantasy, Mythic fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Legacy of Orisha Tomi Adeyemi
| Work | Year | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Children of Blood and Bone | 2018 | core | 4.10 (259,301 ratings) |
 | Children of Virtue and Vengeance | 2019 | core | 3.89 (84,526 ratings) |
 | Children of Anguish and Anarchy | 2024 | core | 3.41 (20,460 ratings) |
New author record. A completed West African/Yoruba-mythology-inspired YA trilogy, one of the best-selling YA fantasy debuts of its decade. Children of Blood and Bone's audiobook won the 2019 Audie Award for Best Audiobook (Fantasy) and was a Kirkus Prize finalist -- both are adaptation/format-specific honors for the audio edition and the book's own critical reception, not a genre fiction award for the prose text itself, so noted here in prose rather than registered as an `AWD-####` row; no Hugo/Nebula/World Fantasy/Locus/British Fantasy recognition was found for any of the 3 books.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Legacy of Orisha? Legacy of Orisha's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Legacy of Orisha? Publication order, starting with Children of Blood and Bone. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Legacy of Orisha finished? Complete (2018–2024).
- How much reading does Legacy of Orisha take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Legacy of Orisha ranked? #376 in this site's official ranking, based on 364,287 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #376?
Ranked #376 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.01 across 3 core books.
- Backed by 364k reader ratings.
- Uneven reception: its books range from 3.41 to 4.10.
- Less than 0.01 behind #375, Sword of Truth (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Complete · 364k ratings · Ranks #376 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length epic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Children of Blood and Bone (2018)
- Children of Virtue and Vengeance (2019)
- Children of Anguish and Anarchy (2024)
Awards (verified)
- No Hugo/Nebula/World Fantasy/Locus/British Fantasy award found. The audiobook edition's 2019 Audie Award (Best Audiobook, Fantasy) is a format-specific honor, not a genre fiction award, and is therefore not registered as an AWD row -- see Research notes.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.01 across 364,287 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Run 5: 3 admissions -- The Roots of Chaos, Legacy of Orisha, The Tide Child Trilogy accepted 2026-08-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Tomi Adeyemi / Children of Blood and Bone Tier 2
- Wikipedia: Children of Anguish and Anarchy Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-08-11
Rule: Core = the 3 completed novels (2018-2024). No Expanded Canon found.