Children of Anguish and Anarchy

De: Tomi Adeyemi

Narrado por: Cynthia Erivo

Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award winner Cynthia Erivo narrates Tomi Adeyemi’s long-awaited conclusion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Legacy of Orïsha series.

New allies rise.
The Blood Moon nears.
Zélie faces her final enemy.
The king who hunts her heart.

When Zélie seized the royal palace that fateful night, she thought her battles had come to an end. The monarchy had finally fallen. The maji had risen again. Zélie never expected to find herself locked in a cage and trapped on a foreign ship. Now warriors with iron skulls traffic her and her people across the seas, far from their homeland.

Then everything changes when Zélie meets King Baldyr, her true captor, the ruler of the Skulls, and the man who has ravaged entire civilizations to find her. Baldyr’s quest to harness Zélie’s strength sends Zélie, Amari, and Tzain searching for allies in unknown lands.

But as Baldyr closes in, catastrophe charges Orïsha’s shores. It will take everything Zélie has to face her final enemy and save her people before the Skulls annihilate them for good.

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The Complete Legacy of Orïsha Series:

Children of Blood and Bone (Book 1)
Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Book 2)
Children of Anguish and Anarchy (Book 3)

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

A lot of thoughts…

The narration was good, but difficult to get into. After listening ro Bahni Turpin for the first two books, Cynthia Erivo was a surprise. BT gave each character a distinct voice and brought them to light, while CE was more authentic, albeit subdued and indistinguishable. I couldn’t figure out who was speaking.

As for the story, I’m glad I relistened to the first two books before listening to this. But having done so, I fell in love with the characters again and the hope they would all find their way to one another. I wanted so much for this final book and I didn’t get it.

My issue though, and this isn’t a spoiler, is that this book felt rushed, disjointed, and the character growth developed over the last two books stopped here. The characters existed and just did the work, one changing to seemingly satisfy current times and the expectations of work. I’ll set that comment there.

This book needed another 3h of listening. Much like the first book which was long and developed each character, this book needed to be as long as able to close out these characters. There were so many unfinished and loose ends. There were pivots that gave you whiplash. There was a huge missing character that needed to have been mentioned more than the single time… And worse, there were conversations that were left UNCONVERSED (made up this word).

I wanted so much for this book. I didn’t get it. I want to love it, but I don’t. After 4 years, I wanted more.

Good story, Didn’t feel apart of overall series

I feel like I would have enjoyed the story more as a standalone rather than having had just done a re-listen of the second book immediately before listening to the third. Also preference would have been for original narrator.

They Shouldn’t Have Changed Narrators

I listened to the first two books and loved them. Sadly they went with a new narrator with this last book (because she’s more famous?) and I can’t finish it. She has awkward pauses and little to no emotion so I find myself spacing out and losing track of the story. Guess I’ll have to get a copy from the library to finish the series.

Not What I Expected

I wish they’d kept the original narrator and I hope Bahni reads these reviews and sees that what she does for audiobooks is a true talent and is appreciated.

Now for the story. Tomi, sis, what story were you write the end to? Yes, the story is action pack, and well written. It feels very much like you were unsure of how to end the trilogy. This book just ended up being a completely different story. And the end? What was that? Someone else mentioned the body count in this book was too high, and they are correct. I don’t understand.

Book 2 did feel different than the original story, however, I shrugged it off as it being the middle story and building to the climax.

I guess I really just wanted the ending to the story that she first started. I am excited to see what her next books are like. Overall, the series is good, especially for it being her debut.

One of these things is not like the other

The narration in the first 2 books really brought the characters to life. I feel this last book was lacking the distinction between the characrs and the voices. Although the story telling was along the story line, the ending didn't meet my expectations of the authors brillant writing. It felt rushed. With that being said, I still love this author and can't wait to read more of her future writings.