Island of Spirits

4.5 stars!

This was an enjoyable read! I ended up contacting the author directly because of a tech kerfuffle with the ARC and she couldn't have been nicer about it! Top notch customer service to go along with great writing!

Anyway, to the review. I liked this book a lot. The FMC is younger than I usually like my main characters to be (she's 16) but it is a young adult novel after all. Her age only cropped up a couple of times, mostly for being idealistic or naive.

I read the first half of the book in one sitting and liked the character development. It was around chapter 20 when it got a bit dicey for me. Characters were acting, well... out of character and that annoyed me a little. I could go into detail but I'm trying to keep this spoiler free so let me just say that some characters made decisions or justified actions in a way that didn't jive with their established personalities. It wasn't bad or broke my focus, more confusing than anything.

The plot was interesting and for the most part didn't pull punches. I love an underdog story especially one centred on magic and forbidden practices. There was a teensy bit of the ‘chosen one' trope towards the end but I didn't mind it too much.

The end was a bit too neat for my liking but on the flip side if x and y hadn't been addressed I would have been more annoyed and/or disappointed. I kept waiting for something to happen to thwart the resolution (one character I didn't trust at ALL) and I'm surprised it didn't happen. I'm glad that it didn't and I suppose my anxious feelings about it are a testament to the author creating such tension with those characters previously.

I'm glad it didn't end on a severe cliffhanger. It's a small cliffhanger (a hillhanger?) with enough resolution that I'm not irritated that the second book isn't out already. I did yell in my head at the FMC a few times towards the end of the book about how she handled a few things/didn't put the pieces together but remembering she's only 16 helped tamper that frustration down. I feel like the author did a great job at writing a teenager going through all of this without making her too adult.

I loved the queer rep (despite it being so chaste but it's not like the rest of the book was smutty in any sense of the word) and that it wasn't a Big Deal. The magic system was fascinating and I liked that there were still things to discover about it towards the end of the book.

One thing I didn't like and don't think was necessary was the use of the f slur to describe a bundle of sticks. You know the one. It happened twice and I was shocked to read it and I'm not someone who is easily scandalised. I understand the usage of it as it's not used as a slur but to describe something but ultimately I don't think it was necessary to use that word.

One additional note about the plot and characters - I like how the plot and actions of FMC subverted my expectations. I'm thinking of one scene in particular (haystack, IYKYK) and I found the FMC's response and actions so refreshing.

This is getting overly long so I'll cut it short here. Great book, some issues with it but I enjoyed it overall. I will definitely read the next book in the series whenever that comes out!

Thank you to the author for letting me read their novel before the publish date! All opinions here are my own and this review was left voluntarily.