The second installment of the Scion Saga Series, Split Adam, definitely felt way more YA than the first in the series, Opaque, which I also reviewed recently. But, if you loved the first, I think you’ll still be excited to read the second.

About the Book

The SCION SAGA SERIES resumes with Adam struggling to pick up the pieces of his youth after having lost both his biological and adoptive fathers to the Iksha. Discovering that someone he’d once despised may now be the only living link to his biological mother, encourages him to fight aggressively through psychological counselling while Carly’s robbed of her human right to grieve her parents due to her leadership role among the Descendants, though her budding relationship with Jo provides much needed solace.

With the Iksha momentarily neutralized, the Descendants have bravely decided to join life on the surface by moving from their underground safe house in International Falls to Piure. The biokenretic Hexacuh cast around the City, meant to protect them, proves to be a double-edged sword when a lurking evil is discovered trapped within the City limits.

As graduation approaches, many teen woes weigh heavily on Adam’s mind, seemingly causing it to fracture into dual personalities. After his symptoms grow beyond his control, Carly leaves in search of answers but returns with a cure that’s beyond what anyone could’ve expected, forcing Adam to face a part of himself that he never thought he’d live to see.

My Thoughts

This book was just a tad less action-packed than the first novel, as the Descendants all get to know each other and head to school with Carly and Adam. All of them are faced with challenges, of both the human and Descendant kind.

Adam seems to be losing his mind – has he just lost too much and done too much. Carly fights to save the boy she loves while leading the Descendants and grieving the loss of both of her parents. Others have lost parents, other family members, and have left home to follow Carly and Adam. Adam and his mom are trying to learn how to live this new life, with new weird powers.

How will they all survive all of these changes and deal with prom and graduation? Those are hard enough for regular high school seniors. I really enjoy the interactions between the varous characters, whether they’re friendships, rivalries, romantic, or familial relationships, the author has done a good job. This book seemed to focus a lot more on developing the characters, the relationships, and the high school experience. It also developed some new relationships, and brought out some new, surprising characters and story arcs.

The way these teens are allowed to live with each other seemed a bit unrealistic to me, but the situation is extreme and it is made clear that there is no R-Rated action happening. And I feel very much like the dad in “10 Things I Hate About You,” saying that, but I’m from the South and it’s not how we did things when I was growing up. It’s also a fantasy story, even if sometimes urban fantasy blurs that line so well.

I personally enjoyed this book more than the first one, because I didn’t know that the taboo subject in the first book was uncomfortable for me to explore. Now I do, so I feel it was a good experience for me. The taboo subjects in this one weren’t ones that were uncomfortable for me, because they happen to be ones I explore in my own works and are very common where I grew up (one of the reasons I explore them in my work).

I am so grateful to the author and Love Books Tours for including me in this tour and I look forward to the next book. I’m so excited to be in an LBT readalong for it during the month of March. Readalongs are super special and allow for us to really dig in deep and explore the book well. So keep an eye out for that starting on March 1.

Who’s It For?

This is a young adult novel, but it’s the type that adults will also enjoy. It deals with some taboo and mature themes, so I would advise caution with younger teens. There is a lot of violence, disturbing imagery, and sexual discussion/innuendo, so keep that in mind.

Content Warnings: Kidnapping, Violence, Murder, Torture, Attempted SA, Taboo Relationship (Age Difference), Adult Situations, Mass Shooting Event

About the Author

Calix Leigh-Reign is the author of the #1 Amazon Bestselling YA/Sci-Fi series, The Scion Saga. She’s a certified paralegal and a member of SFWA and RWA. Her earliest literary inspirations include Alice Walker, Larry Strauss, VC Andrews, and Stephen King. Calix enjoys discovering the minds of those who rebel against social programming, listening to and creating music, a great cup of coffee, exquisite ethnic cuisine, spending time with family & friends, attending movie premieres, traveling, and the arts. She spends her free time in the gym, fantasizing about story plots, and different ways of changing the world.

Amazon US: https://a.co/d/dG1ARtc
Bookshop US: https://bookshop.org/a/25511/9780997923933
Amazon UK: https://amzn.eu/d/bIKTa1X
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35495573-split-adam
Author Website: https://calix.co/

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