Early Reader Review: Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye

Source: From Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye 

Series: Blood Scion #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date:  March 8, 2022

 

Format: Ebook


Rating:


Goodreads 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 abhors.

TRIGGER Warnings: attempted rape, excessive violence, torture, abuse, blood.

This book... is SO good, horrifying, graphic, brilliant, well done. I have so many emotions about this one.

Unlike most reviews, I wanted to share a non-dramatization of my reactions while reading this book.

• Start the book..."ok this is interesting, some action already, oh wow ...oh wow ok"
• Continues ..."this is a bit slow, might not be for me"
• Continues because the cover is GORGEOUS ... "some action, oh no  [so much anxiety], oh yes, oh wow... OMG... OMG OMG...
• Finishing the book... (Actually screaming)"ahhhhhhh, what?! AHHHH, what? NO NO NO, AHHHH' husband comes in to check on my mental health.. it is not good. I need the next book. he brings me cocoa instead... I guess that will have to suffice for now.

I hope you enjoyed that. It is not often that I have such a complete turn around about a book, and also that I am literally yelling at the end. There can be emotion, sometimes crying, but all out screaming... not often. This one had me.

Blood Scion follows Sloane, a teen that must hide who and what she is in order to survive. She is drafted into the army that is taking over her peoples land, killing them and she believes has also killed her mother (but there is no proof). Making the most of an absolutely horrible and terrifying experiences, Sloane attempts to find out what happened to her mother while training to be a soldier in an army shw couldn't care less about. 

I can tell you, in all honesty, the cover is what initially grabbed me for this book. It is stunning in everyway and fits this book expertly. The plot ties together epic worldbuilding with the mythology and lore of what I have learned is insipred by Yoruba-Nigerian myth. This is so beautifully done, and I am so interested in this mythology, I would like to learn more. 

Sloane's point of view thorughout this book really showcases the autrocity of war, the abuse and violence in the training and as a reader you really see a slow  corruption on her part as she has to deal with her morals and her survival or humanity. In this world, you cannot have both. The change was so emotional and anxiety-ridden for me to read. Sloane is not your normal teen lead character, she never has a chance to be a teen in her world, she already thinks like an adult in so many ways, has to be scheming and untrusting. I also really liked all of the side characters, they all had something to add to the story and to Sloane's progression through the maddness. 

The plot was very well done, but you need to be prepared for a lot of violence, death, and bloodshed. There isn't much pause from it either. This is a military, dystopian, fantasy that stays intense as you move through to the ending. Without giving too much away, Sloane has to fight to stay alive so many times, and not everyone is as lucky as she is. I cannot wait to read the next book in this duology. It was perfectly paced by the end and I can only imagine what the next one will bring us.