Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi AdeyemiMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
*spoiler alert*
Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeymi will leave you ready to fight!
This book two in the series. If you have not already please check out my reviews for Book 1 Children of Blood and Bone as well as Book 3 Children of Anguish and Anarchy.
What I liked:
The writing is great! The mental illustrations, the scenery, the idea of the dark mountains against the indigo sky - the setting of the rooms and buildings, were all very vivid and beautiful.
You really feel the emotions of every character. All of their motivations are clear - even if I don't agree with them.
What I loved:
This plot was very surprising. Talk about stepping up the tension from the previous volume. Not only to do the royals have magic now, their magic is stronger than the that of the maji people! What are the God's trying to say with that move?
Amari's mom is worse than her father ... and because her father was killed the mother is a maniac? With no idea that her husband was in love with his general. The drama!
Amari isn't able to just be natural chosen leader of the rebels. If she was male or on TV I'm sure this would have gone differently, but Tomi is making her main characters work for every win they get. Even Zelie who is the natural leader of the rebels is having her emotions about it challenged. This is great for tension.
What I disliked:
All the characters are infuriating! I know that they are desperate teenagers fighting a war against evil adults who are stronger and smarter than they are. But it is still a frustrating read. I was yelling at this book begging Inan to do something helpful, and pleading with Amari to NOT fall for her mother's traps. I shook my head at Zelie so much I got a cramp in my neck.
Don't get me wrong! I totally understand! All the adults these kids would have relied on were killed before the first book started. Baba was a sickly, destroyed, old man being cared for by his kids. He therefore was not really a role model. He was someone who needed protecting. The only role model Zelie had was Mama Agba her fighting/sewing instructor- so all she knows how to do really is fight.
Amari and Inan were raised by monsters. They behave like children who were abused every moment of their lives, because despite being royalty they were. The fact that Amari held it together as long as she did was testament to her willpower.
The council of elders are all less than 20 years old and just chomping at the bit for revenge.
But it's so frustrating, and a little cliche', that not one of the young adult characters stops to think:
"Maybe we shouldn't leave the sacutuary completely unprotected now that the evil queen knows where we live"!
And Amari pulling a full Daenerys Targaryen, technically killing all those people, is very so disappointing! I don't know how her character comes back from that. I can, at the very least, see how she thought the ends would justify the means . . . had it worked but she couldn't have thought, for a moment, that she would be cheered for actions or seen as any less crazy than her mother.
Without decent parents these characters are just charging straight at death without consideration of the consequences and that made the lader half of this book very hard to read.
I supposed, my raised emotions is a sign of good writing. I don't like to judge a trilogy series based on the second book, because it's supposed to the most frustrating story, how else to get anyone to read book three?.
I'll wait til the third book in the series to judge weather or not it was a worthwhile adventure.
Here's hoping it turns out better than Rise of Skywalker *-*
Here's hoping it turns out better than Rise of Skywalker *-*
Book Recommendations
Children of Blood and Bone - by Tomi Adeyemi
Children of Anguish and Anarchy - by Tomi Adeyemi
Court of Thrones and Roses - Sarah J Mass
Monstress - Marjorie Liu and Sana Taked
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