Blood Scion is a thrilling story of survival you won’t be able to put down

Deborah Falaye’s debut novel Blood Scion is the first in the series of the same name, and what a start! The story is inspired by Yoruba and Nigerian mythology and follows fifteen-year-old Sloane, who has the power of fire. She is a Scion, a descendent of the ancient Orisha gods, and she can turn anyone to a crisp if she wants.

But she lives in a world where her identity is deemed a threat, and if the Lucis (the cruel people in power) find out what she can do and who she is, they will not only kill her, they will kill her family and anyone she loves too. Or if they don’t kill her, they’ll experiment on her to learn more about her powers.

Luckily, Sloane is pretty good at hiding her powers with the help of her Baba (grandfather). But then she’s drafted into the Lucis army and…well, to say things get a lot more difficult would be the biggest understatement ever.

Before she’s even sent to training, she has to “prove” herself by killing someone she loves. It’s one of many impossibly difficult and soul-crushing decisions she has to make throughout the book.

Blood Scion will captivate you from beginning to end

But that’s the point, isn’t it? The Lucis want to crush who she is and what she believes in so they can train her to be the killer they want her to be.

Luckily, Sloane meets some friends along the way while she’s in training. They keep her sane and they ensure she at least keeps a little bit of her humanity. They also help her plan how to escape and take revenge on the people responsible for so much death.

Blood Scion could not be better written. As violent and brutal as it is, it’s impossible to stop reading. Falaye draws you in from page one and doesn’t let you go until the final chapter. And even then, I wanted more.

Sloan is the perfect main character. She is flawed, reckless, and stubborn, but she never completely loses her humanity. There are moments where she totally could. After being forced to kill people to survive, who could blame her if she lost all her strength and just gave in to the Lucis?

But even after she’s killed so many of the people she loves, she still fights to free her people from Lucis’ violence and cruelty.  She still schemes and strategizes to make sure those hurting Scions get exactly what they deserve. And oh do they!

I also really appreciated the relationships in this book. Sloane makes some great friendships with her fellow recruits, Izara, Jericho, and Nazanin. These friendships almost make what she has to go through bearable. But they are also part of some of the most tragic scenes as well.

She also has a very interesting relationship with her squad leader, Dane. No spoilers, but the complexity of that relationship may be my favorite in the book. You will think it’s one thing and then the big reveal comes and you are punched right in the gut.

This book has its fair share of trauma and violence, so be prepared for that. There was a moment when I thought it was over. I thought Sloane was home free. But this book never does what’s expected of it, and that’s what makes it such a thrilling read.

As for the ending, while it’s satisfying, it’s not exactly happy. But that’s what book two is for, right? Fingers crossed!

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye is available now in ebook, hardcover, and audiobook formats.