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gem114's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Damn. There's a warning at the beginning of this book that while the story itself is fiction the experiences of the characters are based on the real experiences of child soldiers, and Falaye doesn't hold back. This book is dark. Many of the scenes are hard to read because the content is brutal. Still, Falaye does an amazing job packaging these hard truths in a way that pushes readers to grapple with them and keep reading rather than turning away.
This book reminded me a lot of Children of Blood and Bone since that's the only other book I've read that is based in the same mythology, but Falaye does a better job at developing complex, morally gray characters. Sloane is a great main character. She's a strong young woman with badass ancestral magic taking on an oppressive monarchy while struggling to balance her own humanity with her survival instincts.
The whole book is a roller coaster, but the last 50 pages or so are absolutely wild. So much happens. Almost too much. Definitely too much given the number of questions I still have and the fact that the next book isn't out yet. This is me impatiently waiting for a sequel.
This book reminded me a lot of Children of Blood and Bone since that's the only other book I've read that is based in the same mythology, but Falaye does a better job at developing complex, morally gray characters. Sloane is a great main character. She's a strong young woman with badass ancestral magic taking on an oppressive monarchy while struggling to balance her own humanity with her survival instincts.
The whole book is a roller coaster, but the last 50 pages or so are absolutely wild. So much happens. Almost too much. Definitely too much given the number of questions I still have and the fact that the next book isn't out yet. This is me impatiently waiting for a sequel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Racism, Physical abuse, Murder, Blood, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, War, Death of parent, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Gun violence, and Child abuse
Minor: Cultural appropriation and Terminal illness
mxkanteven's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is… amazing.
That’s the best word to describe it. Deborah Falaye did a phenomenal job creating the world of Nagea, taking inspiration from Yoruba lore and real world colonial histories to weave together a challenging yet gratifying read.
The book doesn’t shy away from the atrocities of war, colonialism and subjugation. Nor does it sweep rage and anger under the rug in favour of a love & light message. It paints a vivid picture of the realities of being a child living and fighting in a world of systemic inequities and oppressions.
That’s the best word to describe it. Deborah Falaye did a phenomenal job creating the world of Nagea, taking inspiration from Yoruba lore and real world colonial histories to weave together a challenging yet gratifying read.
The book doesn’t shy away from the atrocities of war, colonialism and subjugation. Nor does it sweep rage and anger under the rug in favour of a love & light message. It paints a vivid picture of the realities of being a child living and fighting in a world of systemic inequities and oppressions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Gun violence, Confinement, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, and Genocide
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review! The cover to this book is absolutely striking. You know from the beginning you're likely getting an action packed science fiction epic, and that's exactly what this book delivers.
Falaye sets the tone of this story right from the beginning. We get to see Sloane's powers in the first opening scene, and you know that something dangerous is going to follow it. This is definitely a military driven story, and we see how this affects Sloane from beginning to end. Thoughout, Falaye integrates the African mythology with the technology of those in power, making for an overall hard-hitting story.
While sometimes pacing can be difficult for stories like this, I'd argue the pacing is pretty spot on in this book. It makes the story itself more accessibly, and it makes it difficult to put the book down. In addition to the pacing, Falaye fleshes out each of the main characters well. They more than one dimensional, adding to the intense nature of the story.
All in all, if you're looking for something like Skyhunter by Marie Lu, this is a great read-a-like. I'd definitely be interested in reading the next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Self harm, and Rape
Minor: Death of parent and Trafficking
amivireads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you Harper Collins and Edelweiss for an arc of Blood Scion; here is my honest review.
Blood Scion has become my new favorite fantasy book! The characters are complex, and even when I didn't agree with their decisions, I understood why they made them.
Slone is a great main character that is put through a lot but still holds onto her humanity as she is put through horrifying things.
There's a lot of twists with this story that I didn't see coming, and the ending left us off on a cliffhanger. Usually I can guess what's going to happen next, but I really have no idea where the story goes from here. This truly shows me how great of a writer Deborah Falaye is. I need book 2 now!
Blood Scion has become my new favorite fantasy book! The characters are complex, and even when I didn't agree with their decisions, I understood why they made them.
Slone is a great main character that is put through a lot but still holds onto her humanity as she is put through horrifying things.
There's a lot of twists with this story that I didn't see coming, and the ending left us off on a cliffhanger. Usually I can guess what's going to happen next, but I really have no idea where the story goes from here. This truly shows me how great of a writer Deborah Falaye is. I need book 2 now!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Colonisation, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Rape, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Torture
Minor: Death of parent
bookstarbri's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Whatttt on earth did I just read? I'm scared. I am in FEAR. I feel like since page 1 of the book, I was descending further and further into darkness. I expected it to be dark, but didn't expect it to get as graphic as it did, especially so early on. See CWs because this book is not for everyone. Though this book is dark, it is a YA, so perhaps not quite as dark as it could've been had it been adult.
However, if you are able to get past all of those, this book is WORTH IT. I have never read anything like it my life. It is a stunning YA military, fantasy novel. Its main character, Sloan, is what's called a Scion, which is basically a being descended from gods who harbors magic. The people in charge, however, despise Scions and hunt them down. So when Sloan lands in the heart of the very people who want to kill her, she has figure out how to survive in such a perilous world, away from her friends and family.
Sloan is a wonderful character. Watching her do everything she has to do to survive was horrific and terrible and such a fascinating character arc. She loses a lot of herself in this book. She does a lot of horrible things. She makes a lot of bad decisions and, worse, she loses a lot of her humanity because of this terrible world. We do a lot of moving in this book and the person she was at the start of its 430ish pages is not at all who she is at the end, yet the core of her remains very much the same. The side characters were good too. I think I wish we could've gotten more from them. There was a lot of Sloan's inner monologue that I wish could've been condensed so we could have her interact more with the other characters. Because of the nature of the book, I pretty much consider all of the characters besides Sloan side characters, since none of them really stood out enough to be a main character along with Sloan.
The plot of this book is amazing. It did get a bit slow in the middle and, again, the inner monologues got to be a bit much and repetitive at times. However, there are a lot of twists and turns and BIG surprises. I guessed the big one at the end a few chapters earlier, but I hadn't guessed many of the other ones throughout. This is one of the darkest YA books I've ever read. But everything that happens happens for a reason and isn't simply to frivolously put the MC through hell. This book is amazing. It is brilliant. The writing is fantastic. I don't know where the sequel will go, but I am both terrified and ecstatic to read it.
Thank you to the author, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
However, if you are able to get past all of those, this book is WORTH IT. I have never read anything like it my life. It is a stunning YA military, fantasy novel. Its main character, Sloan, is what's called a Scion, which is basically a being descended from gods who harbors magic. The people in charge, however, despise Scions and hunt them down. So when Sloan lands in the heart of the very people who want to kill her, she has figure out how to survive in such a perilous world, away from her friends and family.
Sloan is a wonderful character. Watching her do everything she has to do to survive was horrific and terrible and such a fascinating character arc. She loses a lot of herself in this book. She does a lot of horrible things. She makes a lot of bad decisions and, worse, she loses a lot of her humanity because of this terrible world. We do a lot of moving in this book and the person she was at the start of its 430ish pages is not at all who she is at the end, yet the core of her remains very much the same. The side characters were good too. I think I wish we could've gotten more from them. There was a lot of Sloan's inner monologue that I wish could've been condensed so we could have her interact more with the other characters. Because of the nature of the book, I pretty much consider all of the characters besides Sloan side characters, since none of them really stood out enough to be a main character along with Sloan.
The plot of this book is amazing. It did get a bit slow in the middle and, again, the inner monologues got to be a bit much and repetitive at times. However, there are a lot of twists and turns and BIG surprises. I guessed the big one at the end a few chapters earlier, but I hadn't guessed many of the other ones throughout. This is one of the darkest YA books I've ever read. But everything that happens happens for a reason and isn't simply to frivolously put the MC through hell. This book is amazing. It is brilliant. The writing is fantastic. I don't know where the sequel will go, but I am both terrified and ecstatic to read it.
Thank you to the author, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Grief, Sexual assault, and War
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Rape, Self harm, and Torture
Minor: Trafficking
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