Reviews with content warning for Grief - Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Unlike a lot of people, I went into this book with fairly low expectations because I had seen some negative reviews before I picked it up. I still wanted to give it a try but in the end I found that it was not as good as good as the first. I will parrot every other reviewer and say that the characters just weren't the same; they were flat and annoying in this installation. Each protagonist lives in their own bubble and they completely stop communicating with and working with each other.

The progression in the magic system was cool, and I think having limitations on the overwhelming power that is unleashed here is a good thing, I am not completely sure why the centers don't have similar limitations

(I guess maybe they do since they have to suck the life out of Titans to gain power, but our center antagonist just doesn't care and sacrifices them all).

I found the dynamic of leadership within the Lyika utterly confusing. I had to keep checking on whose chapter I was reading because the group kept flip flopping between taking orders from Zelie and Amari (who led this group before they showed up anyway?)

I felt that the relationship between Zelie and Roen was forced and didn't really add anything to the story; and Zelie's connection with Inan just annoys me since it is so obviously an infatuation and there are so many reasons it shouldn't happen.

I had mixed feelings on the ending. At first I was annoyed that this new element was introduced, thinking this really could have just ended as a duology and that throwing it in at the very end was cheap. On the other hand, it was hinted at a little that another plan was in motion while everyone was distracted with this poorly thought out war and the nature of the attack reignites the connection to the black experience (I am NOT own voices so please correct me if I missed the mark) which was completely lost for the majority of the book.

This book was very fast-paced and action packed. It was battle after battle and it seemed like neither side took time to properly plan anything out, so many, many people died. I couldn't even feel anything when characters died because I didn't have a chance to make a connection with them before Adeyemi killed them off.

I am having trouble choosing between 2 or 3 stars; I will go on to read book 3, but I felt like I only continued this book because of that- it felt a little like a chore even though some parts were enjoyable.

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aviery's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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beingsimba's review

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adventurous medium-paced

3.0

Children of Virtue and Vengeance is a frustrating read and I am of two minds of this book.

First and foremost, the themes are so important. The larger commentary on loss/grief, oppression, and appropriation are so well done and really landed emotional blows and fostered reflection.

From a pure entertainment perspective though, this book was a disappointment. While I could empathize with many of the characters, I didn't like any of them. The romance felt forced. And the plot was so circular that by the end of the novel most things were in the same state as the beginning. It took until the Epilogue for a spark of interest in reading the finale of this series.

If you really loved the first book, I would imagine you will be just as satisfied with this installment. But the YA-ness of this book really bummed me out. I was hoping to enjoy it more than I did.

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nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Children of Blood and Bone was such a unique take on magic and the dystopian tropes that we have seen so often in Young Adult, especially in the last 10 years. So with its predecessor doing so well, I thought the latter would live up to what the first book laid the ground work for and build off of it.

But that did not happen.

I tried so many times to like this book but there was one point where I almost DNF’d it because I thought I wouldn’t be able to get through it. I muscled on however and was sadly disappointed by the result.

Children of Vengeance and Virtue flickers between multiple perspectives, like the first book, which I normally do not like but Adeyemi does a great job of making each transition seamless and not jarring.

The story picks right back up where we left off at the end of the first book where Zelie and the others have brought magic back to the world. What ensues in this book is them trying to overthrow the monarchy and the monarchy trying to crush the maji. Now that magic is back, not only are the maji more powerful but royals and other people of power in the monarchy have magic which I thought was very interesting. I liked seeing this new side of magic that even the maji were baffled at. There are battles periodically through out the book, power struggles with Amari and the maji leaders, inner struggles of Zelie as she comes to grips with what happened in the first book and other minor subplots for majority of the novel. The climax happens the last 40 pages or so of the book with a twist ending that made little to no sense.

I know the author wants to make the reader interested in the next book but all the meandering and floundering around of the plot before the main battle, Zelie’s continual and constant despisement for Amari and a few other things just rubbed me the wrong way made me think twice about my rating. I was going to give this 3 stars but thinking back on my reading experience, I really did not enjoy it as much as I would have liked to.

The rich world of the maji is still beautiful and stunning, all the characters are more or less fleshed out and the author does a great job of balancing three perspectives as well as helping us understand and sympathize with even the most twisted of characters. Sadly, the last 40 pages or so of the book finally reaching its climax just could not carry or save the other 364 pages of this book.

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ohkmurr's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Heck yeah, screw the system! The way this series plays with the "product of one's environment" outlook will always appeal to me. I especially love that we get more Roën content in this one. He and Zélie have such a fun dynamic. It did take me longer to get through this book than the first. There's not much I can say about what I didn't love without spoiling it, so I'll just say there seems to be a tonal disconnect between this book and the first one.

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bodiesinbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense fast-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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