I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Heir of Blood and Secrets by Linda Xia Published by New Degree Press on August 24th 2021
Pages: 246
Format: eARC
Source: Provided by author for honest review
“We’re all complicit in things we regret. Sometimes, we just do what we must.”
In the city-state of Devovea, behind the walls of the Castle, Scylla Delevan waits for a chance to prove herself. When a Magistrate is murdered and her father stands accused of the crime, she eagerly sets out to prove his innocence. As she races to find the real killer before it is too late, she begins to unearth dangerous secrets that could throw the fragile balance of her city into chaos. In too deep to turn back, Scylla is forced to question all she has ever known and choose between what is expected of her and what is right.
Family loyalty and personal beliefs collide as Scylla navigates a dystopian world divided by race and gender. Heir of Blood and Secrets will challenge you to consider how far you are willing to go—and what you are willing to sacrifice—to forge a better world.
Author Interview
Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot and plan, or is your writing more organic? Do you have any odd (writing) habits?
I generally start with a rough outline, where I write out the main conflicts and plot points that definitely need to happen, as well as how I envision my characters changing over the course of the story. A lot of the specific details of how characters will get from Point A to Point B are left out – occasionally I’ll add potential ideas to the outline, but those tend to get ignored once I start writing.
I’m also very much a chronological writer – I find that it’s easier for me to maintain momentum that way, so I hate writing scenes out of order (although it definitely happens!). Most of my chapters in the first draft tend to be quite short. This is because I write in 45 minute to 1 hour sprints and I average around 1600 words each session (a remnant of my introduction to writing through NaNoWriMo).
Do you identify with your main character or did you create a character that is your opposite?
A lot of people have told me that my protagonist reminds them of me, and sometimes I do see my mannerisms in her behavior. Scylla, like me, is a female of color, and the way she interacts with the world is often modelled after my own experiences. That said, I didn’t set out to write a book about me – it was more that I wanted to amplify these experiences and hopefully validate similar ones, because it was something that I really yearned for as a child but rarely found.
Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?
Yes! The reason I first started writing Heir of Blood and Secrets was because I wanted to tell the story of an ordinary person choosing to do extraordinary things. I think it’s very tempting to just sit back and wait for someone to tell you that you can do something, or that you should do something, but I’m a firm believer in the idea of just doing something even if it’s not exactly your responsibility or you’re not sure how to do it. That’s how we’re going to build a better world.
A secondary message is that the world is complex. I’m a philosophy minor, so that’s definitely given me an opportunity to really grapple with ethical issues. While I certainly don’t expect readers to spend significant amounts of their time thinking about whether or not Scylla or any of the other characters did the right thing, I do hope that they walk away with a better appreciation for how nuanced our world is, and how what’s right is rarely as cut and dry as some media would have us believe.
Share some advice for aspiring authors. What advice would you give to your younger self?
Work with a developmental editor, or at the very least get feedback from alpha readers while you’re writing your first draft. I alluded to this earlier, but I started writing in earnest because of NaNoWriMo when I was 14, and after successfully writing 50,000 words for Heir of Blood and Secrets (then The Rebellion’s Daughter), I realized that there were so many places I could have adjusted course and saved myself the trouble of having to rewrite significant chunks of the book. When I came back to Heir in 2020, I actually just started writing from scratch, and working with a developmental editor was pretty life-changing for me, because I could bounce ideas off of someone who understood the writing process and what story I wanted to tell. It also kept me accountable and helped me make writing a priority, which is something I’m still struggling with as a full-time student.
Getting feedback earlier on in the process also helps you get more comfortable with receiving it. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to say that I love reading comments from editors or readers, but I’m certainly less thrown by it than I used to be. The first few times I got feedback, I went straight from “there’s an inconsistency in X’s name in chapter 3” to “I’m a terrible writer, this was a complete and utter waste of time,” which was a pretty big overreaction in hindsight. Having these inconsistencies and areas for improvement pointed out in advance is also a lot better than hearing it after publication, because you still have the chance to make it better.
It’s also good to have an idea of what you’re going to do after you finish your draft, and then give yourself deadlines. There are a lot of things I think I could have done better in Heir and sometimes I’m tempted to go back and keep editing, but at some point that becomes absurd. There will always be things you’ll want to rewrite or do better and if you don’t timebox your writing and editing time, you’ll never be able to put your work out there, and I do think that the world needs more stories!
What is your favorite line from your book?
“… I’m left staring at the glossy wood, my mind reeling with all the words I didn’t have the chance to say.” (From the end of Chapter 2)
This is the first word that comes to mind. I’m sure there are also other lines I don’t find cringey, but I really like this one.
Have you ever experienced writer’s block? How did you deal with it?
I’m of the somewhat controversial opinion that there is no such thing as writer’s block – it’s just an excuse that writers – including me – use so we don’t have to write. When I get stuck, it’s usually because I’m not sure how to proceed. This can be because I recently wrote or found myself in a huge plot hole that I’m not sure how to fix, or because my characters’ motivations are unclear, etc., but all these problems have solutions. I could talk to a friend about my dilemma, or reach out to my editor to see what they think. I’ve also been known to skip over entire sections and return to them later (sometimes I do my best thinking when I’m not actively trying to think about writing). I’ll put in square brackets and what needs to happen and then just keep going – e.g., [Scylla needs to find X because Y]. When I was writing Heir, I literally had a living doc that I had pinned to my desktop called ‘Reasons Why I’m Stuck,’ where I really trained myself to identify exactly what was the problem, so I could figure out how to fix it.
Julie’s Review:
Dystopia is a genre I enjoy, so I jumped on the opportunity to read and review this book when the author reached out to me. I also was intrigued by the title, as it kind of felt like a dystopian fantasy with that title. But this really was more of a mystery/ young sleuth story.
I liked how the story was told in the present tense, making the events feel faster. The flashbacks were told in the past tense. This was a mostly clean YA with a hint of a possible romance but mostly violence.
Let’s dive into the characters. I really liked Skylla – she’s a Magistrate heir who doesn’t blindly follow the government. She makes her own decisions and finds ways to push back if something feels wrong to her. Over the story, she really blossoms into a strong force and understands what the rebels stand for. Her best friend Ilya, he’s just a normal guy who doesn’t want to break the rules or be betrayed, which is understandable. Then there’s Galen, who is a bit of a love interest and definitely a supporting character that helps Skylla see her full potential. He apparently has a secret that isn’t revealed until the end of the story but Skylla figures it out and honestly, as a reader yea I did too.
I enjoyed the mystery of the book, Skylla does some brave digging to try to protect her dad and discovered so much corruption and horrible truths about her government, the Crown, and other Magistrates. I really enjoyed the outcome of the heist they pulled off but was saddened by the implication to the family of the person they found was the actual murderer.
Overall a great fast-paced read that I enjoyed at the park while my son was playing.
