3 Reasons to Read Blood Scion:

1. Critically important historical inspiration.

2. Diverse representation.

3. Your last read didn't hurt you quite enough.

Blood Scion
Deborah Falaye

Published by: Harper Teen
Publication date: March 8th, 2022
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology

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.

TW:  Blood, colonization, genocide, mentions of rape, racism, sexual abuse, torture, and violence.

Author Bio:


Deborah Falayeis a Nigerian Canadian young adult author.

She grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, where she spent her time devouring African Literature, pestering her grandma for folktales, and tricking her grandfather into watching Passions every night.

When she’s not writing about fierce Black girls with bad-ass magic, she can be found obsessing over all things reality TV.

Deborah currently lives in Toronto with her husband and their partner-in-crime Yorkie, Major. Blood Scion is her first novel.

Phantom Game
(Ghostwalkers #18)
Christine Feehan

Published by: Penguin Random House
Publication date: March 1st, 2022
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance

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Synopsis:

​Two predators collide with unbridled passion in this intoxicating GhostWalker novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan.


Jonas “Smoke” Harper has watched his brothers find their perfect mates, never imagining he’d actually meet someone who complements every part of him—even the monster that lurks within. But his instant connection with Camellia goes far beyond wanting the intelligent, beautiful, and lethal woman in his bed. They are two parts of a whole, linked to each other and to a larger network that exists everywhere around them.
 
Camellia has lived on her own for a long time, relying on her unique psychic abilities to keep her safe. She knows that Jonas was literally made for her, and that makes their addictive connection more dangerous than a thousand enhanced super soldiers. Once the larger threat looming over them is dealt with she’s going to get far away as fast as she can. Life has taught her that the only one she can truly trust is herself.
 
Jonas can sense Camellia is going to run—and the hunter inside doesn’t want to let go. Not when he knows how good they’ll be together. So he’ll just have to use all of his considerable skills to convince her to stay....

​I've been wanting to read something by Christine Feehan for years. Her Dark Carpathian series always came highly recommended in the paranormal romance genre, even by some of my favorite authors, I just never quite got to them.

When the opportunity to read 'Phantom Game' came up, I jumped at it. As another long-lived paranormal series, I figured the Ghostwalker novel would be a good chance to finally see what her writing was all about. 

The premise is interesting enough. Genetically enhanced soldier, Jonas 'Smoke' Harper, has such a heavy mix of predatorial DNA that he struggles to keep it under control.. even with his team. Though he's seen many of those similar to himself meet their perfect mates and start relatively happy lives, it's not something he thinks is in the cards for himself.

Along comes Camellia. Part of the same brutal program, she's one of the original females that were designed to pair with a specific soldier. She's got plenty of her own deadly skills, but the two are overwhelmingly drawn to one another. They know why and that only makes her resist harder, while he just wants to give her every reason to give in. 

Structurally, the story is fine. The concepts are interesting and the characters have lots of potential. I think the writing style just wasn't for me. I feel like a large portion of the past/present is just being told through conversation and I didn't feel invested. 

All that aside, there's plenty of tense scenes here and there, a creative ability system, and I definitely felt like I could have liked it with just a different approach. But.. obviously this author has a ton of fans and they can't all be wrong. So, I still intend to check out that other series. Maybe I'll feel differently about it.

It's still a solid read though. If you're looking for something quick and light with military romance themes and a couple that's a bit resistant to the pull of one another, this might be the book for you.