Children of Virtue and Vengeance ★★★★☆

Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Click Here To Buy)

★★★★☆ (3.5 Stars)

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi is a YA fantasy book that is the second in the Legacy of Orïsha trilogy.

I read this on my Kindle on loan from the library.

The first book ended with magic returning to the kingdom of Orïsha. In the second book, we find that now not only do maji have magic, but members of nobility also possess magic. Instead of seeing all as equal, the throne, now lead by Amari’s mother Queen Nehanda, continues to try and eliminate all maji. Zélie and Amari team up with the Iyika, a band of rebel maji, seeking to overthrow the throne and the battle for Orïsha continues.

I did not like this book as much as the first, and I hope that this is more due to how second books in trilogies are often left wanting. This book, and series as a whole, would be a great book club book, because there is great opportunity for fruitful discussion around the layered and complicated choices each character makes based on their history and their current understanding of the situations. I don’t generally read a lot of YA fantasy, but Adeyemi is very clear that these books are directly symbolic to the present day police brutality in America. Her essay at the end of Children of Blood and Bone beautifully explains her intention.

I have also read the first book in this series, titled Children of Blood and Bone. I would highly recommend reading that book. We don’t know when the third book is coming out yet, but supposedly it’s 2021.

If you liked Children of Virtue and Vengeance, I also recommend Pet by Akwaeke Emezi, Fledgling by Octavia Butler, Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James, and Scythe by Neil Shusterman.

#happyreading

Ms.Bjork