Children of Virtue and Vengeance (2019)

*Premise spoilers, which spoil the ending for Children of Blood and Bone.*

Unfortunately, the third book in the Legacy of Orïsha series isn’t out yet, and all I can find about it was that it was initially meant to come out in 2021. Given all the, well, everything that’s been going on, I can understand Tomi Adeyemi’s original plans being delayed. But now that I’ve read book two in the series, that means I’m in limbo until that unknown day the conclusion is released.

At the end of Children of Blood and Bone, Zélie is successful in her ritual to return magic to Orïsha, turning all the divîners into full-fledged maji with newly awakened powers. However, ritual had another effect that Zélie didn’t intend: some of the non-divîner elites have acquired powers as well, completely unprecedented. While Amari sides with the maji as she struggles to get a feel for her new titán Connector magic, some of their enemies in the oppressive regime now have titán abilities as well. Marshalling the newly reformed maji clans, Zélie and Amari clash over the best way forward, particularly when it comes to Amari’s brother Inan, who’s on the other side but remains conflicted.

Children of Virtue and Vengeance feels like a middle book in a lot of ways, for both good and ill. It ups the ante from the first book, introducing new characters and fleshing out established ones, deepening the mythology, and raising the stakes. I like seeing how some of the characters and their relationships change over the course of the story. But it also feels less focused than its predecessor, like it’s trying to pull the characters in too many directions at times. Some of the blows the characters suffer feel a little less earned, and there are critical moments where characters’ choices feel determined more by narrative shock value than what those characters would really do. Also, I’ve decided that, while I’m sympathetic to what Inan has been through in his life, I’m pretty over his story.

So it’s more of a mixed bag, but I still really like it. There’s a baked-in story reason why this new community of rebels is almost entirely made up of young people, which is more than a lot of YA stories about rebellion can say, and I love the personal, spiritual, and cultural nuances that go into exploring the maji clans. There are some neat character dynamics, beautiful imagery, and powerful writing.

Even if it pains me to see how far Zélie and Amari can be at odds with each other, both characters are at an interesting point in their journeys—Zélie, who previously itched to stand up for herself and face her oppressors, is coming to terms with just how much that role demands of her, and Amari is grappling with an entirely new existence for herself while still wrestling with the traumas of her past. I also really like getting more of Roën, a mercenary who plays a small part in Children of Blood and Bone but gets a larger role here. I like that he isn’t native to Orïsha, meaning that he has a choice whether or not he wants to stick around and take part in this war. It's not an ancestral conflict for him, so it becomes more of a question of what he’s fighting for. And yes, I eat up his and Zélie’s dynamic with a spoon.

I’m definitely interested to see where we’re going next, so I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground for news of book three!

Warnings

Strong violence, sensuality, language, drinking, and strong thematic elements.