YMMV / Legacy of Orïsha

• Ho Yay: Binta and Amari had a very close relationship, and Amari's flashbacks nearly stray into romance. She constantly reflects on Binta's smile, her "beautiful face," and the way her hair fell when she removed her bonnet. It is very easy to interpret this as her being in love with Binta. For that matter, Amari's close friendship with Zélie has romantic undertones too.
• Moral Event Horizon: Amari crosses this in Children of Virtue and Vengeance when she decides to sacrifice Zélie and Tzain's hometown (and Zélie herself) to try and take out the monarchy.
• Realism-Induced Horror: The Police Brutality, Abusive Parents, blood sports, risk of losing parents, Colourism... all of it is on display.
• Sequelitis: While it's not universally disliked, lots of readers felt that Children of Virtue and Vengeance was a letdown compared to the first book. Criticisms include the plot feeling repetitive due to continuously retreading the same issues, much of the conflict relying on the characters failing to communicate or making idiotic decisions and the handling of some character arcs; many readers were annoyed that Amari becomes a delusional and power-hungry tyrant (including committing some of worst atrocities in the series), Zélie gets into another rushed romance, Tzain is Demoted to Satellite Love Interest and Amari and Zélie's friendship (one of the best-received parts of the first book) is destroyed by the end. Some readers found Children of Virtue and Vengeance so disappointing they don't plan on reading the third book, though others are hopeful it's a case of Sophomore Slump.
• Strangled by the Red String: The relationship between Inan and Zélie can come across as rushed considering he hated her and magic for the bulk of the story and the two barely had a kind word to say to each other. The romance could be explained as teenage hormones, but it ultimately seems shallow especially when compared to the relationship between Amari and Zélie. One of its problems can also be summed up as its length - very little time is spent showing them transitioning from enemies to friends.

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