Review by natekka - Children of Virtue and Vengeance

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natekka 's review for:

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I loved how messy it was — how broken everyone is. That sounds strange, I know, but it's true. It would have been so easy for Tomi Adeyemi to pull the punches or soften the blows, but what worked so well for me in this book was how brutal it was. It was relentless. Everyone is full of mistrust and makes mistake after mistake. I love that, as conflicted as Zélie felt at times, she never simply forgave and forgot. Whenever hope or redemption are in sight for Inan, something or someone ripped it away. Amari made terrible choices. Everyone, at some point or another, made things worse for everyone. Hate begets hate begets hate.

I think I enjoyed it more this time because when I read it for the first time, I was very much on the Zélie-Inan ship and this book crushed my Zénan shipper heart. This time, though, I wasn't thinking about ships (though I do really like Zélie and Roën) and was more focused on the character dynamics and plot. It felt rich and complex and messy and I loved it.

Now I'm excited to read the final instalment. I’ve heard mixed things about it, but I'm hoping it leaves me feeling satisfied.

Content Warnings