Title: Blood Scion
Series: Blood Scion #1
Author: Deborah Falaye
Published: 8th March 2022, HarperTeen
Pages: 432
Source: Sent for review by publisher
Format: ARC
Rating: 4.5/5
This is what they deserve. They wanted me to be a monster. I will be the worst monster they ever created.
Pages: 432
Source: Sent for review by publisher
Format: ARC
Rating: 4.5/5
This is what they deserve. They wanted me to be a monster. I will be the worst monster they ever created.
Fifteen-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will - she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods.
Under the Lucis' brutal rule, her identity means her death if her powers are discovered. But when she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army on her fifteenth birthday, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training, and destroy them from within.
Sloan rises through the ranks and gains strength but, in doing so, risks something greater: losing herself entirely, and becoming the very monster that she abhors.
Blood Scion is a fantastic dark YA fantasy about Sloane as she lives under a colonialist regime and is drafted into a child army. The story follows Sloane as she tries to survive "training" (brutal) to find out what happened to her missing mum. I don't know if it's the right word but I really enjoyed Blood Scion and was completely hooked. I flew through the story once I had the chance to just sit down and read for a solid amount of time.
Blood Scion is set in Nagea which is under the totalitarian rule of the Lucis who hunt down Sloane's people, especially those who are Scion - those with magical powers. I thought the world-building and its descriptions were second to none. I could really feel like I was part of the story. The atmosphere was just so tense the entire book.
The characterisation was just as well done too. Sloane was a fantastic protagonist and her struggles really came through in her internal thoughts and the way she acted. Although she did make some questionable choices, I found myself getting so attached to her. She faces such horrific brutality in such a headstrong way. Her situation really is survival of the fittest - or really of the most monstrous. And although the guilt eats away at her, she really gets on what she has to do to survive. She is also Scion so the thought that she could be found out is always there and has you getting so worried for her.
The secondary characters were fantastic too. Although I'm still not sure if I like any of them that much as I do not trust any of them. But I think this just shows the fantastic amount of work put into them to make them so multi-dimensional and they had backstories! There was so much backstabbing as each of the characters fought tooth and nail to survive. Also, the brutality had an almost Battle Royale feel - it was just so bloody.
Sloane's story is told from her first-person POV so it's easy to understand her rage, pain, and numbness. And the fact that she can't trust anyone means that the story is so unpredictable with the twists. My mouth hit the floor so many times. It kept me completely on the edge of my seat. And the ending was just... what the hell! I did not expect it at all. I need the sequel ASAP as I've got so many questions I need answered.
Blood Scion is a fantastic debut novel by Deborah Falaye. It's just so immersive and I devoured it. I don't know what was keeping me from declaring this a 5 star read, but there was something niggling. But it's definitely a high 4.5! I'd definitely recommend Blood Scion to fans of dark YA fantasy. I think Deborah Falaye is going to have a fantastic writing career ahead of her too!
Many thanks to the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of Blood Scion in exchange for a review.
My favourite parts? Sloane being a bit of an underdog.
My favourite character? Sloane.
Did I learn something? A bit about Yoruba culture which I didn't really know anything about before.
Will I read Deborah Falaye again? Yes.
Will I read the rest of the series? Yes, the next in the series is on my TBR already and can't be published soon enough!
Worth the price? ARC sent from publisher.
I love a strong heroine, and she's smart enough to wait things out until she can make changes and really be useful.
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