Weekly Words: Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

 

Happy Friday!

Last Friday, I realized it was Friday, and I hadn't prepared anything to post. Par for the course. I decided not to try to rush to do a post, but on the bright side, I do have a post this week, because I am getting a lot more reading done!

 Last month, I started Tomi Adeyemi's Children of Virtue and Vengeance.

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.

This is the sequel for Children of Blood and Bone, which was such a great book. Unfortunately, I hadn't read it in about 5 years, and as I started reading its sequel, I found myself trying to remember everything that happened. So, I did the logical thing to do: I checked out the audiobook of CBB to refresh my memory, and it all flooded back. Last week I finished the "reread," and so I resumed CVV with all the knowledge I needed with a question-free head! And this book is amazing! I just passed the 300-page mark this week, and I am feeling the feelings! Tomi does another great job of describing the magic and the world of Orïsha. Plus, this time, we get to see more maji, more tîtáns, and more heart-wrenching relational tension. I want this to end happily, but I'll accept bittersweet...Actually, no, I need this to end happily! Especially for Zélie.

Lastly, can we talk about how gorgeous this cover is!? I love staring at it and seeing new things each time. The juxtapositions of Zélie's beautiful, black skin with her stark white hair, her gold tattoos and silver eyes, her red and blue hairbands, and the light and shadow against her face make for an intense, mysterious, and mesmerizing cover. How can you not just keep looking at it? *chefs kiss*

What are you reading this month?

Movie Review - Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

 

Happy April!

 

I can't tell you the last time I did a movie review on my blog. Now the world is trying to open back up like COVID is dead, I at least get the pleasure of going to the movies again, which is something I did miss during quarantine.

 

My sister and I had the pleasure of joining the Black Girl Gamers x Paramount for a screening of the new Dungeons and Dragons movie: Honor Among Thieves. First off, didn't know there were two movies before it. hahaha. I'm 85% sure they were terrible, because they came out in 2000 and 2005, not prime movie effect era unless you were The Matrix, and literally just the first one, because the effects in The Matrix: Reloaded were awful.

But anyway, back to D&D: HAT. The movie starts with Edgin (Chris Pine) and Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) pleading their case to get out of prison so they can get back to Edgin's daughter, whom he left with one of his thief buddies. Not to spoil anything, but honor among thieves ensues, as well as dungeons and dragons. Saying anything else will give away just about everything. It's a pretty standard plot and character arc, though. Not much will surprise you.

This movie has a big cast of stars: Chris, Michelle, Hugh Grant, and Regé-Jean Paige, as well as smaller known names like Justice Smith (Jurassic World, The Get Down) and Sophia Lillis (IT, Uncle Frank), etc. Their chemistry is just about perfect, and they all give some great performances. I didn't expect to laugh the entire movie. It was hilarious. Everyone's comedic timing really was a gem to watch. My sister said someone said Chris Pine can save any movie, and not that this movie needs saving, but he is a favorite of mine, and he shines as a bard/harper/team planner haha.

I have an understanding of the game D&D, mainly from a couple episodes of Community, Futurama: Bender's Game, the short-lived "Dungeons & Durags" on Twitch, and Hello From the Magic Tavern's version "Offices & Bosses," so the different beasts and special weapons didn't get lost on me. As someone who plays Shattered Pixel Dungeon every day, I especially loved the appearance of a mimic in the game, and what I think might have been a basilisk? Anyhow, there wasn't as much action as you would expect, but the effects were really good. When the first non-mythical creature effect happened, I said out loud, "That was a really cool effect." The only one that was pretty bad was an animatronic cat baby (you'll get it when you see it). But the mythical creatures are all very well-designed.

I think I'm going to give this movie 5 of out 5 stars. My sister said it's one she would watch over and over on tv, and I agree. It has great characters, great acting, great storytelling, and overall, it's just a great adventure! So if you haven't seen it already, go see it!