“The Isles Of The Gods” Review: A Major Letdown

Book Title: The Isles of the Gods

Author: Amie Kaufman

Length: 464 pages

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, YA, Fiction

My Rating: 1.5/5

My Age Rating: 15+

Content Notes: LGBTQ content, violence and gore, abandonment, drinking, crude comments and innuendo, mild language, religious sacrifice

Review:

Let me tell you a story…

On a nice winter day, I decided to visit the library. I hitched a ride with my mom on the way to drop off my cousin, and when we walked in, I breathed in that signature library smell. Which is an interesting combination of books and a weird scent I can only describe as old people and germs.

I picked up the books I had on hold, dropped off the ones I had finished, and then I noticed the YRCA (Young Readers Choice Award) display. I looked it over, saw a few books I had already read, and then found this one. The Isles of the Gods. The cover is what drew me in, and I liked the synopsis, so I decided to take it home.

And let me tell you, I was completely, utterly, and incomprehensibly let down.

This book was a disappointment, and the only reason I finished it was to warn all of you not to waste your time the way I did.

This book had potential, but sadly, none of it lived up to what it could have been.

The plot was good, but it could have been great.

The romance fell short.

The humor wasn’t everything it could have been.

The history of the world was confusing.

And over half of the characters were gay or otherwise.

I was genuinely sad about it, because I could see what this book wanted to be. I love stories set on the sea, which was one of the main reasons I picked this one up, but overall the time spent on the water was just mediocre.

I was also really excited for the romance. The meet-cute was fun, but it didn’t quite deliver on its promise. The romance throughout felt a bit awkward and lacked the enemies-to-lovers tension I was hoping for.

I generally don’t mind reading books with fictional gods and made-up religions. I actually enjoy the world building that comes with new fantasy history and lore. This book, on the other hand, was not enjoyable in that department. There wasn’t really any world building, and it left me confused and unable to fully appreciate that part of the story. The ending especially was extremely confusing. I also didn’t like that good didn’t conquer evil in the end. In fact, the villain was rewarded just as much as the hero. Good was overcome too easily, and that really bothered me.

Now, to give the book some credit, it was technically clean. There was only kissing and no on-page sex. But there was still a fair amount of innuendo and crude jokes. Not to mention a scene that was supposed to be funny (they were pretending to be lovers to get into an inn) but just ended up feeling inappropriate instead.

One of my biggest frustrations with this book was that it often felt like the author focused more on representation of gender than on developing the plot and characters naturally. A large portion of the character, including about half of the main characters and many side characters, were in LGBTQ relationships. Because this doesn’t align with my personal beliefs, it made the book difficult for me to enjoy, and the story itself also felt weaker because the plot and character development took a back seat.

So overall, this book was a major letdown and a waste of time. I don’t recommend it to anyone.

If you’re looking for something similar but actually good, pick up Tress of the Emerald Sea instead. It has a very similar feel, and it delivers everything this book promised but didn’t give us.

Happy Reading,

Ava