Heir of Blood and Secrets
Heir of Blood and Secrets
By: Linda Xia
“The Castle might be home to the wealthiest and most powerful people in Devovea, but it’s also home to the nosiest. Secrets are the currency here, where nothing is as simple as it seems.”
This is a dystopian YA novel. Dystopian in that the city has sectors that divide people by class. Devovea is ruled by The Crown and the unelected Council. There was a Rebellion that happened in years past but the events that preceded this ‘dystopian’ era are unclear. I feel like this could be fleshed out in book two if Xia so chooses.
There wasn’t a lot of description or details about the world. It was a little hard to picture. And the resources/tech available to the people seemed generally similar to today. I wouldn’t say it was ‘futuristic.’ It wasn’t as immersive as a world as say Hunger Games, Maze Runner, or Divergent. But all of those are series so Xia has the ability to give us more in future books.
I would say that YA is the correct classification for this book. It’s a pretty light and fast read. Not a super complicated plot or characters but still some mystery. The main characters are all teenagers or young adults.
Plot
The premise of this book is a whodunnit. At a public meeting a Magistrate is stabbed on stage. The only other person on stage is Scylla’s father, another Magistrate, who claims his innocence. Scylla, our main character, (according to the author pronounced ‘sky-la’ or sometimes ‘sill-a’) believes his innocence and is determined to exonerate her father.
With the help of her best friend, Ilya (also the son of a Magistrate), and Galen (who lives in the lower class Tiers) Scylla sets out to find out who the killer is, even if it means she has to trade some of The Crown’s secrets. But can she find the truth without getting caught or bringing dishonor to her elite family name?
What I Liked
In the Author’s Note at the beginning of the book Xia talks about the common trope of the main character being given their destiny and told they had to be hero. But she says, “I think anyone can be a hero. We don’t need someone else to appoint us.”
She also talks about how strong female leads are often portrayed with a lot of ‘masculine’ qualities or with an avoidance of ‘feminine’ things.
These two things inspired Xia in writing this book:
“Realizing this made me want to write a book that pushed back on those assumptions; that showed girls they can be powerful and still wear dresses; that being strong doesn’t just mean displaying physical prowess but also demonstrating intelligence, compassion, and resilience.”
I admire this endeavor. Females don’t have to be masculine to be strong. I am not pro-gender-fluidity. But I am pro-gender-diversity in that to be a ‘woman’ is to be a biological woman. Therefore, women are diverse in their traits, interests, and personalities.
“Enjoying pretty things doesn’t make me any less strong.”
I’m not sure if Xia’s take on Scylla is super unique, but I do like the path that she chose and that she created a character who made a choice to do something and didn’t just wait for someone magical to show up and tell them they’re important.
One thing I also liked about Scylla’s character is her belief in justice.
“He needs to be punished by the system, not by a group of vigilantes. That’s not justice.”
Some may say she is blinded by her privilege to trust and advocate for a broken judicial system. But I disagree. She recognizes the system is broken but her solution is not anarchy and ‘taking matters into her own hands.’
We see her inner struggle with this cognitive dissonance of how to go about getting justice. I like that she didn’t just go full-on vigilante but also that she sees problems with the way things are. By the end I’m not sure if she landed anywhere or if Xia has plans for her to go one way or the other, but I hope she continues to wrestle with this. There are more benefits of a justice system than of anarchy and it would be nice to see the plot show growth towards reform than just straight up rebellion. But we’ll see.
Another thing I liked was the title ‘Heir of Blood and Secrets.’ Scylla and Ilya are considered ‘heirs’ because they will eventually take over for their fathers as Magistrates. But what are they inheriting from their fathers? When Scylla learns things about their fathers that she didn’t know before she laments,
“How can that be our legacy? Lies and manipulation and secrets?”
I like the concept of how an heir would handle that legacy when it’s their own family. Do they embrace the life and sacrifice what they need to to accomplish their goals, however ‘noble’? Or do they have a moral code or line to abide by?
“We’re Delevans. Honoring the family name isn’t just about being respectful and avoiding scandal. It also means doing whatever is necessary to help the people of Devovea.”
It’s an intriguing title. I’m not sure the book was as ‘dark’ as the title implies but I still like it!
What I Didn’t Like
I think the biggest letdown of the book was the lack of danger and tension. It never really felt like Scylla was taking big risks and when she did take a risk, never had to face the fallout. Everyone was surprisingly amicable. Even when she confronted The Crown, there didn’t seem to be any danger for her or her friends and family.
The night of the rescue could have had a lot more suspense or unexpected problems they had to account for. Only one injury occurred and Scylla was upset that one of the guards they were opposing got hurt. This doesn’t tell the reader there is danger. I mean I get that Scylla is a bit of a pacifist, even though she’s a trained guard, but considering the circumstances that called for the rescue, it seems like an injury or two was very minimal.
There were a few political insinuations like “the ninety percent that isn’t lucky enough to be born in the Castle” or “History is written by the victors.” I’m not sure if the author was trying to make a point here or if she was just portraying the class-struggle of her created world.
There was an interesting twist at the end but I still felt like the ending could have been bigger, more intense, more dangerous, more suspenseful. It was a little too neat. Again, this probably fits the YA genre a little more, but I think she could have done more.
I also thought there were a few ‘discoveries’ that happened where I was like- “How would other people have not found that?” or “Oh that was a surprise? I thought we all already knew that about that person…”
There are comments about the color of Scylla’s skin because her mother was a foreigner that make people treat her a certain way. But we don’t really have any concept of any of the places surrounding Devovea or what it means to be a foreigner.
Recommendation
This isn’t a hard-hitting thriller, but I still enjoyed reading it. I think this series has potential.
If Xia could just add some more danger and suspense and flesh out the world-building, I think there is a lot that could be done. She left some mystery with The Crown and the Rebels that could go in a lot of different directions.
I’d also like to see some intrigue with her mother’s past and heritage in the next one that comes into play with the Devovea politics, etc.
I would definitely recommend this for teens though. It’s a clean, creative book with mystery.
I think adults will like it to if you know what you’re getting into.
**Received an e-copy of this book via the author in exchange for an honest review**
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