Title: Blood Scion
Author: Deborah Falaye
Series: Blood Scion #1
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Collins/ Harper Teen
Pages: 432
Release Date: 8 March 2022 (US), 31 March 2022 (UK)
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Hello fellow booklovers, today I’m back with a review for another phenomenal debut and one of my most anticipated reads of the year, Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye.
I also want to give a massive thank you to Harper360YA for gifting me this absolutely gorgeous ARC (I mean how pretty is this cover art.)
Synopsis
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.
Sloane rises through the ranks and gains strength but, in doing so, risks something greater: losing herself entirely, and becoming the very monster that she ahbors.
Following one girl’s journey of magic, injustice, power, and revenge, this deeply felt and emotionally charged debut from Deborah Falaye, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, is a magnetic combination of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin and Daughter of Smoke and Bone that will utterly thrill and capture readers.
Review
Brutally honest, emotionally charged and brimming with Yoruba-Nigerian Mythology,Deborah Falaye’s spellbinding debut incorporates real world politics (such as injustice and power) with one girl’s journey of survival, self discovery, empowerment and revenge.
This was an absolutely compelling read with lush and beautifully expansive world building, complex characters and an immersive plot I literally couldn’t get enough of. The pacing was really good (I literally devoured it in only 2 days), and it definitely doesn’t scrimp on the details or the intricately woven plot.
I’m also in awe of how exquisitely crafted and complex the plot actually was, never in a million years would I have guessed this was a debut novel—the depth and rich complexity of the characters alone is simply breathtaking.
Sloane is an utterly phenomenal protagonist (and my new favourite female badass), I loved her strength in spirit; watching her suppressing years of rage, pain and the terrible injustices she’s witnessed (and experienced) was absolutely heartbreaking to behold.
Sloane’s story is not an easy one, but it’s utterly compelling nonetheless. It’s a story of violence, child soldiers, of colonisation and oppression,the loss of morality. But most of all, it’s a story of survival—exploring the choices and sacrifices people are willing (or have no other choice) to make in order to survive.
The gorgeous mythology woven into the every fibres of this story was absolutely breathtaking and I loved that we (the readers) are treated to several wonderful tales (told by Sloane or the other characters) which really adds to the world-building —my favourite was the story of the world’s creation which was utterly fascinating.
Deborah Falaye also manages to expertly tackle some pretty dark and emotionally deep subject material which could be a trigger for some (TW: rape, self harm, child abuse, torture, genocide, gore and death.)
Overall, Blood Scion is an unflinchingly raw and undeniably thrilling masterpiece and Falaye’s endearingly complex characters and fearless prose, will ensnare you until the very epic and plot twistingly explosive end.
I’d definitely recommend to high stakes action lovers and fans of Namina Forna and Tomi Adeyemi—trust me you do not want to miss one of the big, if not the biggest, fantasy debuts of the year!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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