Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi  404 pp.

The characters of Children of Blood and Bone return in the battle to bring peace to the land of Orisha. Zélie and Amari brought magic back to Orisha but beyond what they planned. Not only have the maji regained their powers but those with maji ancestry now have powers. Civil war has come to the land with Zélie and Amari battling against Amari's brother, Inin, the new king of Orisha. Inin wants peace but is thwarted in all his attempts and loses the trust of the maji. The powers of both sides have deadly consequences to both sides. Just when you think there will be a resolution to the conflict, a cliffhanger ending leaves the opening for at third book in the series. The audiobook was read by Bahni Turpin who does a masterful job of bringing it to life.

Children of Blood and Bone

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi  531 pp.

Zelie is a young woman whose mother was a Maji (magical) and father was Kosidan, one of the oppressive ruling class. This makes Zelie a Diviner, or one of magical descent who is looked down upon by the nobles who refer to them as "maggots".  The rulers killed off the maji in an attempt to remove magic from their kingdom. The discovery of a magic scroll and stone gives Zelie the chance to bring back the magic to the kingdom. She gains an unexpected ally in a runaway princess and later, her brother, the prince, who is hiding his own diviner status. I enjoyed this book and the author's use of Yoruba and the Orishas as an integral part of the story. My rudimentary knowledge of the Yoruban religion gave me a greater understanding of the magical parts of the story. I listened to the Overdrive audiobook read by Bahni Turpin only to have it automatically "return" when I still had 45 minutes left. I checked out the physical book to finish the last part.