Blog Tour: Scion of the Fox (The Realms of Ancient, Book 1) by S.M. Beiko

Scion of the Fox

The Realms of Ancient, Book 1 

by S.M. Beak

Available: October 17

Buy links: 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | IndieBound

About the book:

Roan Harken considers herself a typical high school student — dead parents, an infected eyeball, and living in the house of her estranged, currently comatose grandmother (well, maybe not so typical) — but she’s uncovering the depth of the secrets her family left behind. Saved from the grasp of Death itself by a powerful fox spirit named Sil, Roan must harness mysterious ancient power . . . and quickly. A snake-monster called Zabor lies in wait in the bed of the frozen Assiniboine River, hungry for the sacrifice of spirit-blood in exchange for keeping the flood waters at bay. Thrust onto an ancient battlefield, Roan soon realizes that to maintain the balance of the world, she will have to sacrifice more than her life in order to take her place as Scion of the Fox.

American Gods meets Princess Mononoke in this powerful first installment of a trilogy sure to capture readers’ imaginations everywhere.

Review:

Scion of the Fox caught my attention as soon as I saw that it was blurbed by Kelley Armstrong, one of my favorite YA authors. If Kelley liked it then I was definitely going to like it - or at least that's what I hoped (and prayed). As it turns out, Scion of the Fox was a great series opener. Unique, compelling, and delightfully creep, Scion of the Fox ended up being the perfect way to spend an October evening.  

Scion of the Fox introduces us to Roan Harken. Roan has always stayed under the radar at her high school, and that's exactly how she likes it. She doesn't want people talking about the weirdness of eye or her parent's tragic (and possibly self-inflicted) deaths. However, everything changes the minute the stone fox in her year transforms into an actual fox....and just in time, to save Roan from immense, life threatening danger. The fox, named Sil, informs Ronan that she posses a huge amount of power - a power that threatens her life AND makes her potential savor.

Roan was an interesting main character. She was very blasé (I guess you would say) about everything - she was a more of a go with flow quietly kind-of-girl - but as more and more power and responsibility were thrown her way, Ronan begins to get comfortable in her shoes, taking her new powers in stride, knowing full aware that she needs to use them for good. As the book progressed, I liked Roan, but I never felt a real connection to her for some reason, unfortunately. There was just something about her that didn't click for me, but as with all characters, sometimes you get that connection and sometimes you just don't. I will say, though, that I loved her friendship with Sil. Sil was a funny, bull-headed little Fox, always helping Roan see the real picture. 

The plot in this was interesting albeit slightly weird. The owls versus fox dilemma was unique, and I thought S.M. Beiko did a decent job of fleshing it out through not only Roan's POV but the POVs of others involved on both sides. It made the story well rounded. I also liked the setting. The coldness of winter added to the "scary" and "thrilling" factors, making it all the more enjoyable for a mid-Ocotber read. 

In all, Scion of the Fox was a decent debut! I look forward to seeing what happens next. 

Grade: B 

Source: eARC provided by publicist

About the author:

S.M. Beiko has been writing and drawing strange, fantastical things since before she can remember. She currently works as a freelance editor, graphic designer, and consultant and is the co-publisher of ChiZine Publications and ChiGraphic. Her first novel, The Lake and the Library, was nominated for the Manitoba Book Award for Best First Book as well as the 2014 Aurora Award. Scion of the Fox is the first book of the Realms of Ancient trilogy. Samantha lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Social networking links:
Website | Facebook | @SMBeiko