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charlottebreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.0
cw/tw: death, blood, grief, genocide
age rating: 13+
plot
- there was none. literally nothing happened.
- the villain was just the evil king from COBAB with super powers and a different name.
- there was a freedom-fighter-esque group called the Iyika. think jet's freedom fighters in ATLA — they were basically the same thing. they both do really stupid things, like try to take out an entire town of innocent people because their enemies are inside it, to further their cause.
they also randomly get kidnapped at the end.
- the plot went around in circles. the book could have been 200 pages shorter if the characters had just communicated.
characters
zelie : she became so self-righteous throughout the book. she always thought she was right, and the Iyika worshipped the ground she walked on. also she was horrible to amari.
amari : i despised what adeyemi did with amari. her character was completely butchered. i didn't like that nobody listened to her just because she was a tîtán. i also didn't like how she was written completely out of character to show how the crown corrupts even the nicest people.
tzain : tzain, who? he was barely there. the only thing he did was leave amari for zélie, because amari sucks and zélie is the best, obviously :/
inan : he was trying so hard to make peace with the Ikiya, but they were too self-righteous to realise. he was also quite wishy-washy and did whatever his mother told him. whatever spine he had in COBAB disappeared in COVAV.
roën : the most vanilla love interest ever. he had zero character depth. inan was better.
queen nailah : she was basically the same as the king from COBAB with superpowers. no motivation whatsoever.
the ikiya : very self-righteous, perfect for zélie tbh. so self-righteous that they destroyed all of the food that inan was giving to the maji, just because it was from the monarchy. it's like, people are hungry but you'll DESTROY THE FREE FOOD AND THEN COMPLAIN THAT THE MONARCHY ISN'T DOING ANYTHING TO HELP MAJI!!! WHATTT!!!
ojore : idek. WHAT WAS HIS PURPOSE?! he literally does nothing.
mama agba : the only good character. i'm surprised that she could put up with everyone. the only issue i have with her is that she thought zélie was right.
in conclusion
children of virtue & vengeance does not exist.
children of blood & bone is a stand-alone and will stay a stand-alone until the series redeems itself.
age rating: 13+
- there was none. literally nothing happened.
- the villain was just the evil king from COBAB with super powers and a different name.
- there was a freedom-fighter-esque group called the Iyika. think jet's freedom fighters in ATLA — they were basically the same thing. they both do really stupid things, like try to take out an entire town of innocent people because their enemies are inside it, to further their cause.
they also randomly get kidnapped at the end.
- the plot went around in circles. the book could have been 200 pages shorter if the characters had just communicated.
characters
zelie : she became so self-righteous throughout the book. she always thought she was right, and the Iyika worshipped the ground she walked on. also she was horrible to amari.
amari : i despised what adeyemi did with amari. her character was completely butchered. i didn't like that nobody listened to her just because she was a tîtán. i also didn't like how she was written completely out of character to show how the crown corrupts even the nicest people.
tzain : tzain, who? he was barely there. the only thing he did was leave amari for zélie, because amari sucks and zélie is the best, obviously :/
inan : he was trying so hard to make peace with the Ikiya, but they were too self-righteous to realise. he was also quite wishy-washy and did whatever his mother told him. whatever spine he had in COBAB disappeared in COVAV.
roën : the most vanilla love interest ever. he had zero character depth. inan was better.
queen nailah : she was basically the same as the king from COBAB with superpowers. no motivation whatsoever.
the ikiya : very self-righteous, perfect for zélie tbh. so self-righteous that they destroyed all of the food that inan was giving to the maji, just because it was from the monarchy. it's like, people are hungry but you'll DESTROY THE FREE FOOD AND THEN COMPLAIN THAT THE MONARCHY ISN'T DOING ANYTHING TO HELP MAJI!!! WHATTT!!!
ojore : idek. WHAT WAS HIS PURPOSE?! he literally does nothing.
mama agba : the only good character. i'm surprised that she could put up with everyone. the only issue i have with her is that she thought zélie was right.
in conclusion
children of virtue & vengeance does not exist.
children of blood & bone is a stand-alone and will stay a stand-alone until the series redeems itself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Genocide
Moderate: Grief and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
kristinesreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, War, Violence, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, and Confinement
toribrake17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
internalnonsense's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3 feels pretty generous for how underwhelmed I am by this sequel, but disappointed expectations doesn't inherently diminish the quality. It did offer more diversity, more magic, more Mama Agba. There were good set piece moments and some compelling writing.
It just did not continue the story or the character's stories in a way I enjoyed or engaged with. Some characters are set back to square one, some are just pushed to the side, and others are jerked along as the plot requires. They introduced a lot of new characters who, with the exception of two more plot-relevant ones, blended together. The world building expanded some, but there wasn't a moment where I felt it really built from what's been established, as much as playing with new elements. One piece of backstory actively ruined a pretty essential element of the conflict for me. That all said, I do see the vision, the why of the overall story, and I can see of how it can arrive at the same place in a way that really satisfies. As for the last minute twist, I'm not going to say I saw it coming but it didn't catch me entirely off guard. It also justified Ronan's prominence, which felt like a sore thumb for me. Still, what foreshadowing there was was sparse and blunt so the twist still feels abrupt. Again, I can see how it could work, but right now it isn't and doesn't set up enough for the next book.
It just did not continue the story or the character's stories in a way I enjoyed or engaged with. Some characters are set back to square one, some are just pushed to the side, and others are jerked along as the plot requires. They introduced a lot of new characters who, with the exception of two more plot-relevant ones, blended together. The world building expanded some, but there wasn't a moment where I felt it really built from what's been established, as much as playing with new elements. One piece of backstory actively ruined a pretty essential element of the conflict for me. That all said, I do see the vision, the why of the overall story, and I can see of how it can arrive at the same place in a way that really satisfies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Racism, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
thecourtofreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Genocide, Blood, and Child death
rwalker101's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Xenophobia, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
syllareads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Grief
natakat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
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.
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 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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, and Violence
aviery's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Genocide, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Racism
beingsimba's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Violence, Xenophobia, Genocide, and Body horror