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nebraskanwriter's review against another edition
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.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
ohkmurr's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs
Racial slurs are specific to the universe.bodiesinbooks's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, and Vomit
oksi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Genocide
Moderate: Toxic relationship
ehmannky's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- 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
I agree with most people on here that it's not as a good as the first book in this installment, though I don't think I particularly think it's a terrible book. I thought the character arc for Amari didn't particularly make much sense, and the fact there was no real consequence for her actions beyond her own personal relationships was kind of meh. It's a good continuation, and I think I'll pick up the third book to see where it goes, because it ends on quite the cliffhanger and it makes me think this book was very much a bunch of plot points to get to whatever is coming next for this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, and Violence
multiplyoctopi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror
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