Who doesn’t love a good book about people who can manipulate the elements, a book where it is good versus evil? Descendants is a book about exactly that. With its captivating storyline and heart-wrenching plot points, I can guarantee that this will be a book that you won’t be able to put down.

There are lots of stories about the children of gods. But what about those cursed by the gods, and their descendants…

El, a seventeen-year-old has inherited an ancient and deadly power. She loses control of it, causing a horrific accident, and becomes the prey of a secret organisation, known as the Order. Forced from her family and home, she hides in plain sight amidst the crowds of London, and is thrust into a world she never knew existed; one full of arete: beings with extraordinary powers like hers.

At the heart of their world is the kerykeion, the symbol that protects them from the humans and the humans from them. El is trapped between two factions, one that has built an empire around the kerykeion and another that is determined to bring it down.
As she is drawn deeper into the conflict, the only way to find the truth is to take matters into her own hands, and the line between friend and foe becomes dangerously blurred.

You know what’s so awesome about this book? The fact that El and her family are descendants of Medusa… How cool is that? MEDUSA! Now, I know she was evil and all (or misunderstood if you read the poem by Carol Ann Duffy), but to read about the family who inherited parts of Medusa’s power is brilliant.

I found the pace of this book to be good as well. We were thrown straight into the storyline and Else reveals information about the characters and the different organisations as the book develops. There is this whole concept of good versus evil, the Order versus the Opposition and El is trying to figure out which side is the ‘good’ side. Which is the side that she can trust? Which side does her heart want?

“Music had a mysterious power all of its own.”

– Rae Else, Descendants

The only part of this book that annoyed me was the whole romance aspect. One minute El is feeling a connection to one character, and then the next, she’s kissing a different one. Then she starts to feel betrayed by one character, so she goes to the other guy. But when the other guy betrays her, she doesn’t like him anymore and thinks she likes the first guy! Sound confusing? It isn’t when you’re reading it, but it does get annoying because she seems so flippant about ‘who should I like at the moment’? I know that she’s having trust issues and she’s finding it hard who to believe, but she shouldn’t be so blase about her feelings. It shouldn’t be: ‘oh well this guy lied to me for my own protection, but that’s ok. I don’t like him anymore, so I’m just going to like this other guy instead’.

However, I did find the ‘magic’ element of this book really cool. El is a drakon – meaning that she can manipulate fire with her eyes. At first, she doesn’t know how to control her power but after quite a few shocking events, she is forced to face her power and learn how to use it and fight with it. Witnessing El fight against other arete was amazing. I loved reading about her throwing fireballs and dodging her opponents attacks!

Overall, this book was really good apart from the small romance part of it, but hopefully, all of that will be smoothed out in the second book – which I absolutely cannot wait to read! I can’t wait to find out what happens to the Order and the Opposition and I also cannot wait to read how El continues to grow as a character and develops and learns about her power even more!

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Released 12th April