Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye

40 reviews

lolajh's review against another edition

emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Oh my LORD what a book. No way in hell would I ever classify this as young adult; this was so harrowing to read and if I read it as a kid I’d be even more distraught than I am right now.

Sloane is one of the best female characters I have read in such a long time. She is so perfectly accurate to her age and experience and trauma; a spirited, angry, hurt girl that I understand each and every decision made by her.

I initially hated the addition of the romance between her and Omari (don’t get me wrong I still hate them together) because of the crazy power imbalance, the fast switch up from enemies to lovers, and all this happening like a month after Teo died; but I am so glad it didn’t end well and that it was never going to (even if Omari didn’t betray her I really don’t believe it would work). Sloane realised she was manipulated by him and Theodus and fucking every person ever because of how young and vulnerable and powerful and eager for vengeance she is.

The pacing of the book is phenomenal and you can tell how thought-out it was from start to finish and that the author really knew exactly how it was going to end from the beginning 😫 Sloane so perfectly builds herself up (and down) throughout the book at a pace that is just so convincing god I love it. 

And the relationships with the side characters 😫 Izara

(Amiyah)

, Nazanin and Jericho were further examples of perfectly written kids taken advantage of in a war and having to grow up far quicker than they should and be exposed to things no one ever should have to.

Amiyah and Sloane’s relationship especially was my favourite out of all of them by far. Her backstory and the way they met and Amiyah looking after Sloane after she got whipped just had me so emotional I loved them so much, Amiyah’s death was absolutely heartbreaking. Her just giving in and stopping fighting while Sloane lost control 😭😭😭 stop hurting me

I have genuinely no clue how this series will progress but I am absolutely going to continue reading it.

All I ask is that Sloane and Omari please don’t get back together I hate that man he could never be redeemed and also that Sloane finds peace goddamn 😫😫 If she isn’t able to just grow old in Ilè-Orisha with a bunch of other women with no war I don’t want it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Racism, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape

eeyores_flowers's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Racism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, War, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Death, Abandonment, Genocide, Body horror, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Police brutality, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Blood, Rape, and Sexual assault

flamesocks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Classism, Genocide, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Murder, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Sexual content, Torture, Gun violence, and Physical abuse

kingjk2002's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Violence, War, Genocide, and Sexual assault

Minor: Colonisation

neia's review against another edition

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Rape

meduza's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, War, Violence, and Gun violence

booksthatburn's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Child abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Misogyny, Racism, War, Gun violence, Sexism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Genocide, Violence, and Colonisation

Minor: Sexual content and Rape

kbairbooks's review against another edition

I was consuming this as physical and audio (to try and have the audio assist me through the physical) and I just can’t anymore. It’s too much for me. Either death or rape or both every single chapter. Horrific thing, followed by horrific thing. There is too much horrific in real life and this fantasy is too real. It’s making me sick to my stomach. I don’t enjoy reading it, I don’t look forward to opening the book, it ruins my day. I have to be done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Colonisation, Grief, Gun violence, Police brutality, Rape, Pedophilia, Torture, Violence, War, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, and Blood

laurajeangrace's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Genocide, Fire/Fire injury, and Death

Moderate: War and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual violence

kelly_e's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

Title: Blood Scion
Author: Deborah Falaye
MSeries: Blood Scion, #1
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: March 8, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Emotionally Charged • Complex • Unforgiving

📖 S Y N O P S I S

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.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Blood Scion first came onto my radar when it was longlisted for Canada Read 2023 back in January. Unfortunately, it didn't make it onto the shortlist, but being a completionist, I wanted to continue to pick up the longlist titles throughout the year. Of all of the books on the list, I'd have to say this was the one more outside my comfort zone, yet I was pleasantly surprised enjoying more than I'd originally anticipated.

Inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, this novel is marketed as YA fantasy, however, for me it read more like the type of YA primarily written for adults. Books based in mythology will never be my cup to tea, but I definitely don't mind getting my toes wet from time to time, and this book took me places I didn't know it could. It is fierce. It is raw. It is brutal. And it's hard to believe it is a debut.

Equal parts compelling and heartbreaking, Blood Scion offers a fictionalized account of the real-life horrors endured by child soldiers. The intensity of the violence is hard to digest, yet showcases the lived experiences of so many of these child soldiers. There is quite a large cast of characters, but the one that truly matters is Sloane. She's one of those unforgettable heroines and everything about her character development was fantastic.

Tackling themes of slavery, oppression injustice, revenge and power tinged with a little bit of magic, Blood Scion took me by surprise. And while this genre will never be something I rush to pick up, I can definitely see myself continuing on with this series. I have no doubts that Deborah Falaye has a bright future ahead.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• mature readers
• fantasy fans
• readers looking for a strong debut

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Treat something like a monster and it will certainly learn to become a monster." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Murder, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Hate crime, Genocide, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, War, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racism, Death, Child death, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation

Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Classism, and Self harm