Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orisha, 2)

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Guilt cages me like a casket, trapping me in a tomb of my own mistakes. Maybe it’s a sign I don’t deserve to bury Baba. HOWEVER, Amari decides to challenge the current Elder of the Connectors Clan for the leadership role. During their battle, she uses the incantations to put her opponent in comatose. (Of course, this does not sit well with the other maji and Amari is still all "why does everyone hate me! i just want to be the queen they deserve!") Since I posted my initial thoughts, I've received some strong reactions and questions that I did not anticipate. For my peace of mind, I am writing this review to hopefully better articulate my opinion and the issues I have with Children of Virtue and Vengeance. But first, some important notes:

I really liked their sibling relationship ... well up until the moment Amari didn’t even give her brother a chance to explain himself and decided to go into full war mode. What happened to the benefit of the doubt? I mean of course we wouldn’t even listen to our sibling. Why should we? We want war, so we’ll throw all caution and every reasonable and sensible thought out of the window and just go for it! Despite us trying to find a peaceful solution for 3 quarters of the book! Sure. Totally logical, right?! Can you still follow me? Nope? Well, I guess that might be because I couldn’t follow that logic as well. But here we go! a b " 'Children of Blood and Bone' Author Tomi Adeyemi on Her Epic Sequel". Time . Retrieved 2021-08-21. I think I made myself clear. I waited too long, Readers, fans, lovers of fantasy, first book’s admirers, likers, reviewers, everyone waited TOO LONG. We got invested, we felt for this characters, their growing up, their challenges, their purpose, their fight, the feminist manifesto, unconventional, rebellious acts hid behind their actions! I brace myself as the line of fire races down the rope’s oil-soaked cords, shooting toward Baba’s casket. My hand grips my chest the moment he goes up in flames. Reds and oranges blaze bright against the gray horizon.

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Amari confronts her mother (aka the person responsible for the genocide of maji) and spares her life because she wants to be the "better person." (Never mind the fact that she committed MASS MURDER a handful of chapters ago.) To "earn" their respect and gain influence, she demands Zélie to teach her incantations and languages belonging to the maji culture. Zélie eventually agrees, but she explicitly makes it clear that she will only teach Amari if she swears not to use her magic against other maji.

Because I had nothing!” he yells at me. “I had no one. You’re going to win and you still have so many of the people you love! I don’t feel sorry for you. Stop feeling sorry for yourself!” You read that right. All throughout Children of Blood and Bone and even at the beginning of this sequel, Amari is built up to be this really admirable heroine with a heart of gold. Despite her upbringing as a noble, she is able to sympathize with the maji (thanks to the maji handmaiden whom she befriends) and defies her father by stealing the scroll that can restore magic. As we eat up the chapters of Children of Blood and Bone, we witness her grow an actual spine and a remarkable fierceness. By the end of the first book, we do want this girl as the next ruler of Orïsha. Inan is stabbed by his father, and Book 1 deliberately leaves out whether or not he's able to survive. In that moment he grabbed my hand; laced his bandaged fingers between mine and stared into my eyes. It was then that I knew, even if Mama was gone, we still had each other. Speaking of the war itself… wow, what a wild ride. We get to see betrayals and trust issues at the forefront. Everyone seems to have their own agenda, even when they are fighting on the same side. I liked that it showed the disagreements and clashes. The book also talks a lot about how it is almost impossible to separate your agenda from your own personal emotions and feelings – which is something I don’t think gets enough spotlight. I also liked that we get to see truth and lies layering on top of each other until even the ‘bad people’ look good sometimes, and the ‘good people’ look bad. There can be grey area in everything and on each side.Tzain has no personality or function outside of being Amari's love interest. There's literally nothing else that I can say. You carry all of us in your heart. We shall live in every breath you take. Every incantation you speak.” When it comes to this one, I felt like the main story sold its soul to someone and made an Uturn to the misdirection (mostly it moved aimlessly!)

Who is this girl and where did the real Zélie go?! It’s like her character turned around by 180 degrees and I don’t recognize her anymore. I mean she went through a lot in the first book, really A LOT but by the end of the first book she still was nothing like that! I so couldn’t with this new Zélie and I think fame got to her head. Everyone telling her what a special snowflake she is definitely didn’t do her any good and I wish she would have listened to the people that were close to her before she turned into the “Soldier of Death”. I don’t even have a single quote that would describe Zélie’s character because it was all over the place and there was nothing left of the girl we got to know in “Children of Blood and Bone”. I’m so disappointed by her character, I have no words. Something else that made the reading unpleasant: the unrealistic relationships. The romance in this book seemed a bit off and it felt lukewarm. Despite Zélie's protests, Amari leads a mission to infiltrate their enemy's stronghold and kill her remaining family members. (Note: The Queen and Inan are hiding in Zélie's old village.) Despite these flaws for me, the rest of the book was great. There is magic and battles, enemies and lovers, twists and turns and villains to hate.He squeezes his palm against mine as the gentle mist transforms to a pelting rain. The downpour chills us to the bone. It’s like even the gods can’t help but mourn.

I am so disappointed by this book—so much so that it breaks my heart. I am emotionally spent so I want to keep this as short as possible without ranting. I adored Children of Blood and Bone so much that I gave it five stars. The only reason why this isn’t getting one-star from me is because it’s not a bad book and I don’t want it to come across like it is because I have respect for Tomi Adeyemi. With Children of Virtue and Vengeance, I was like, what’s the equivalent of Amari’s action? Drone strikes. Let me find out the psychology and the PTSD of people who do drone strikes. You and I might not personally do this, but we benefit from a society that does this. This is your second novel. Walk me through how you managed to write a book this long, with the entire YA world watching—in such a short amount of time. I honestly think that Zélie and Amari had a stronger relationship than any of the relationships there and even a more real power-couple potential than any of them both with any of the males in the book. I am a bit disappointed Tomi Adeyemi couldn’t actually make this romance happen. No!” The shout echoes against the ritual walls. My body slams into the stone floor. A thud sounds as Baba follows, stiff as a board. Wait!” Amari calls from behind. She sprints down the iron ramp of the warship that’s been our home since the sacred ritual. Her soaked, white tunic is a far cry from the ornate geles and gowns she wore when she was Orïsha’s princess. It clings to her oak brown skin as she meets us at the thrashing tides.It’s gonna sound silly, but I remember talking to my friend and saying, “I’m not trying to be weird. But am I famous?” She said, “Are you joking?” I don't look at myself and say, Oh, you’re famous. More like, I’m spending the time that I’m on this planet doing something that I’m passionate about and can make a positive difference in the world. That’s how I’ve managed. Inan discovers that his mother framed the maji for the murder of the royal family, which sparked the king's raids and genocidal crusade. For book two, I created my dominoes and I’ve just got to throw them and see where they land. It was more organic to the story, but what I was exploring, again, are things that real people have gone through—that they are going through today, that they will go through all the time. My books are about pain, but hopefully foster empathy. I only asked for one thing when I joined this fight,” she cuts me off. “All I wanted was to end Inan.”