Review: "Children of Virtue and Vengeance" by Tomi Adeyemi
Magic resides in all of us...
After reading Children of Blood and Bone back in 2018 I was so excited when I finally got my hands on this new paperback!
Although I loved the first book, I did find this second one tricky to get started with and less engaging than the first, and checking other people's reviews, this seems to be quite common amongst readers.
Taking place a month after the end of Children of Blood and Bone, this book opens with Zélie and Amari returning to Lagos, to allow Amari to claim the throne as Queen and build an Orïsha that is peaceful and welcoming to both Majis and non-magical people.
However, things don't go that smoothly.
Met with resistance from the nobles to a peace with the Maji, Amari and Zélie are quickly forced to flee as Nehanda (Amari's mother) wields a new power to chase the Maji away. It emerged that when magic returned to the World, it wasn't just to the Maji, but to some of the Nobles who had ancient maji blood and these new 'Titans' have a new role to play.
As the country falls into civil war, Zélie and Amari find themselves in conflict as their relationship changes for ever.
The book follows Zélie and Amari's journey as they battle against Inan and Nehanda to take back control of Orïsha. However, the plot to the book, and the war seems a little lacking which makes for hard reading.
I did start to get more into the book towards the end, as the conclusion to the war seemed to approach and the characters were brought back together for a final battle. It's ending was a complete twist (hello Book 3) and I am not sure if I am sad the book didn't conclude or excited for the third installment!
What works in Children of Virtue and Vengeance?
The book has some great parts. I enjoyed Inan's story line. His character continued well from the first book - remaining spineless and good in heart, although lacking in his actions! n particular I thought it showed the importance of trust and communications, as there were definite opportunities for peace from Inan, although his inability to stand up to his parents, and Zélie's mistrust forced people into battle again and again.
I also loved the descriptions of the Maji's hideout and a lot of the activities there. It created a beautiful world, a rich culture and brought the opportunities of magic to life as the Maji discovered and extended their abilities, which was fun and at times a nice lift from the darkness of the story and the war.
What were the problems with the book?
The book seems to lack a real plot. The focus is just on the war with some battle scenes, and the love stories and inner conflicts within the characters don't add much int eh way of depth or excitement.
It emerges in the book that Nehanda has a very deep rooted hatred of the Maji and has in fact driven the war with them throughout the Kings reign. Although an unexpected twist, it seemed almost a random revelation as there is no explanation or reasoning for it.
The relationships between the characters also seems to deteriorate. Love interests, particularity between Zélie and Roën, and Amari and Tzain seemed almost like they were thrown in to add some depth to the story, but they provided no impact and did nothing to add to the characters or the story line. As a result the close sibling relationship between Zélie and Tzain seems to disappear as he only exists as the love interest, and even the relationship between Zélie and Amari disappears down the drain quickly.
The characters themselves, which have been built up so well in the first book just seem to collapse in the second. Zélie for example, was portrayed as a strong, fearless warrior determined to protect magic and her fellow Maji. Although she suffered a lot in the first book which definitely would have impacted her, her character in the second book was annoying, whiny and constantly seeking an excuse to argue with Amari and leave Orïsha which doesn't feel right. Likewise Amari who was almost a golden girl - separating from the violence of her family and promoting peace and acceptance seems to revert into somebody else. She becomes self-rightous and snobbish, determined to force her ideas in ignorance of and without a care for the culture and beliefs of the Maji. And by the end, she becomes willing to accept her parents methods - of violence and unnecessary method in order to win the war and crown herself.
Considering it had been nearly two years since I had read Children of Blood and Bone, I think it definitely would have been better if I had re-read the book before this one. I had definitely forgotten a lot of the story and had to google the outline to understand what was going on, and I think re-reading the first book would have helped bring out some of nuances of the second book as well!
Synopsis:
THEY KILLED MY MOTHER.
THEY TOOK OUR MAGIC.
THEY TRIED TO BURY US.
NOW WE FIGHT.
After battling the impossible, Zélie and Amari have finally succeeded in bringing magic back to the land of Orïsha. But the ritual was more powerful than they could’ve imagined, reigniting the powers of not only the maji, but of nobles with magic ancestry, too.
Now, Zélie struggles to unite the maji in an Orïsha where the enemy is just as powerful as they are. But when the monarchy and military unite to keep control of Orïsha, Zélie must fight to secure Amari's right to the throne and protect the new maji from the monarchy's wrath.
With civil war looming on the horizon, Zélie finds herself at a breaking point: she must discover a way to bring the kingdom together or watch as Orïsha tears itself apart.
Comments