4.0
Blood at the Root
By LaDarrion WilliamsPublisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A teenager on the run from his past finds the family he never knew existed and the community he never knew he needed at an HBCU for the young, Black, and magical. Enroll in this fresh fantasy debut unlike anything you've seen before.
Ten years ago, Malik's life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, looking out for himself and his younger foster brother, Taye. Now, at 17, Malik is finally ready to start a new life for both of them, far from the trauma of his past. However, a daring act to rescue Taye reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost grandmother: a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik’s mother attended.
At Caiman University, Malik’s eyes are opened to a future he never could have envisioned for himself— one that includes the reappearance of his first love, Alexis. His search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother exposes the cracks in their magical community as it faces a reawakened evil dating back to the Haitian Revolution. Together with Alexis, Malik discovers a lot beneath the surface at Caiman: feuding covens and magical politics, forbidden knowledge and buried mysteries.
In a wholly unique saga of family, history and community, Malik must embrace his legacy to save what's left of his old family as well as his new one. Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series opener is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.
Ten years ago, Malik's life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, looking out for himself and his younger foster brother, Taye. Now, at 17, Malik is finally ready to start a new life for both of them, far from the trauma of his past. However, a daring act to rescue Taye reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost grandmother: a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik’s mother attended.
At Caiman University, Malik’s eyes are opened to a future he never could have envisioned for himself— one that includes the reappearance of his first love, Alexis. His search for answers about his heritage, his powers, and what really happened to his mother exposes the cracks in their magical community as it faces a reawakened evil dating back to the Haitian Revolution. Together with Alexis, Malik discovers a lot beneath the surface at Caiman: feuding covens and magical politics, forbidden knowledge and buried mysteries.
In a wholly unique saga of family, history and community, Malik must embrace his legacy to save what's left of his old family as well as his new one. Exploring the roots and secrets that connect us in an unforgettable contemporary setting, this heart-pounding fantasy series opener is a rich tapestry of atmosphere, intrigue, and emotion.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities166 Reviews
4.0
Sasha T.
Created 1 day agoShare
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Believable charactersCharacters change and growDiverse charactersLikable charactersMulti-layered charactersBeautifully writtenEasy to readAddictiveFast-pacedMagical setting
Kristanya Wruck
Created 2 days agoShare
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Diverse charactersDescriptive writingEasy to readAddictiveFast-pacedMagical settingComing of ageDarkViolence
Literatureish Liz
Created 3 days agoShare
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Unwritten Soul
Created 4 days agoShare
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Reviewed in:Royally Booked
Diverse charactersMulti-layered charactersDescriptive writingEasy to readFast-pacedTwistyDark settingMagical settingThought-provoking
jæ.28
Created 4 days agoShare
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“So much love poured out of the characters for each other, especially when it came to family (including found family). There was so much personality to them, this book truly felt like home. It was heartwarming seeing Malik finding his people & making his way in the world.
On the other hand, the language made me cringe at times. I can do references, but they were constant & almost unbearable. I wasn’t a fan of the pacing. Over half of it felt like worldbuilding, but there wasn’t much to build since it’s heavily set in our world. I would've loved to see Malik messing around with his magic but we hardly got that outside of classes or near-death experiences. It took a while for the central plot to come into play, but then story got predictable. Everybody I suspected turned into a culprit in one way or the other. I didn’t care for Malik and Alexis as a couple. They were holding on to the past rather than building anything. Whatever connection they had wasn't convincing to me, especially with how they treated each other.
This was supposed to be 'black boy joy' and 'no trauma'. A lie. This entire book is based on trauma and we hardly saw Malik experience any kind of joy because of it.”Magical settingRealistic settingComing of agePredictable
About LaDarrion Williams
LaDarrion Williams is a Los Angeles based-playwright, filmmaker, author, and screenwriter whose goal is to cultivate a new era of Black fantasy, providing space and agency for Black characters and stories in a new, fresh and fantastical way. He is currently a resident playwright/co-creator of The Black Creators Collective, where his play UMOJA made its West Coast premiere in January 2022 and produced North Hollywood’s first Black playwrights festival at the Waco Theater Center. Blood at the Root is his first novel. His viral and award-winning short film based on the same concept, is currently on YouTube and Amazon Prime.
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