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kinsportch's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Toxic friendship, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
readyforit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
4⭐️0.25🌶️(one nondescript scene where she gets to 2nd base, pretty much uneventful)
I was promised hunger games with this book but it felt more like fantasy survivor to me! A group of chosen ones go to an island where they take part in various tasks of physical and emotional strengths, alliances are formed and broken, trust is betrayed, and the winner gets to be all-powerful.
I thought the first 7ish chapters were pretty slow due to world-building, but after that I pretty much flew through the book. I started listening to the audiobook alone and I just could not keep up with all the names and places, so I recommend a print version if you’re going to listen to the audiobook.
You have to be okay with isla being an unreliable narrator because she’s so naive, which isn’t necessarily her fault, but it leaves the reader in the dark and confused a lot. There are twists and turns CONSTANTLY. And when you think the climax has climaxed, you get more twists! I think this is a book that needs multiple reads to catch everything. It will be interesting to reread now that I know how it ends. I didn’t love how isla was changing alliances every chapter it seemed. She said multiple times in the book “___ is the only person I trust now.” And it changed every time a plot point happened. Like pick a lane.
I’m not a huge fan of love triangles and idk why they run rampant in YA books. Once again I see a lot of similarities with ACOTAR and Rhys/grim and tamlin/oro. Honestly I didn’t really see a lot of chemistry with either of the love interests! The story is mainly a mystery, with a small romance subplot thrown in at the end. I feel like it was done kind of poorly. Maybe I will feel differently after reading the next book.
I was promised hunger games with this book but it felt more like fantasy survivor to me! A group of chosen ones go to an island where they take part in various tasks of physical and emotional strengths, alliances are formed and broken, trust is betrayed, and the winner gets to be all-powerful.
I thought the first 7ish chapters were pretty slow due to world-building, but after that I pretty much flew through the book. I started listening to the audiobook alone and I just could not keep up with all the names and places, so I recommend a print version if you’re going to listen to the audiobook.
You have to be okay with isla being an unreliable narrator because she’s so naive, which isn’t necessarily her fault, but it leaves the reader in the dark and confused a lot. There are twists and turns CONSTANTLY. And when you think the climax has climaxed, you get more twists! I think this is a book that needs multiple reads to catch everything. It will be interesting to reread now that I know how it ends. I didn’t love how isla was changing alliances every chapter it seemed. She said multiple times in the book “___ is the only person I trust now.” And it changed every time a plot point happened. Like pick a lane.
I’m not a huge fan of love triangles and idk why they run rampant in YA books. Once again I see a lot of similarities with ACOTAR and Rhys/grim and tamlin/oro. Honestly I didn’t really see a lot of chemistry with either of the love interests! The story is mainly a mystery, with a small romance subplot thrown in at the end. I feel like it was done kind of poorly. Maybe I will feel differently after reading the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, Death of parent, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping
faduma's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Confinement, and Violence
gayelfboi's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Begging people who think this is good fantasy writing to get better standards lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Xenophobia, Blood, Violence, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Body horror, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual assault, Genocide, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
sydneyluxford's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Woah. What the hell. That ending 😃. Very unexpected.
I knew there would be a betrayal at some point, BUT I DIDN’T EXPECT IT TO BE CELESTE. But now it just makes so much sense.
It’s obvious how the love triangle is going to end in future books, but I truly don’t know who I prefer Isla with more. Because I really love Oro,and I love Grim until he lowkey betrayed her??? But IDK. I low-key (high-key) have a crush on both of them, they’re so different but so so fine.
This book does not deserve the hate that people on TikTok are giving it. They’re hating on it for it not including scenes that Aster said would be in it, but they’re also acting like this book didn’t go through an editing process like every other traditionally published book. Like, get a life if you’re hating on a book you haven’t even read 😭.
I have to admit, that I didn’t fully connect with this book and there were moments where I was bored, but I think that’s down to the fact that I am not the targeted reader for this book. I’m seventeen, and the target audience is probably for those age twelve to fifteen, at least that’s what I gather from the writing style and other aspects of the book. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the book though, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
It’s obvious how the love triangle is going to end in future books, but I truly don’t know who I prefer Isla with more. Because I really love Oro,
This book does not deserve the hate that people on TikTok are giving it. They’re hating on it for it not including scenes that Aster said would be in it, but they’re also acting like this book didn’t go through an editing process like every other traditionally published book. Like, get a life if you’re hating on a book you haven’t even read 😭.
I have to admit, that I didn’t fully connect with this book and there were moments where I was bored, but I think that’s down to the fact that I am not the targeted reader for this book. I’m seventeen, and the target audience is probably for those age twelve to fifteen, at least that’s what I gather from the writing style and other aspects of the book. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the book though, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent and Toxic friendship
Minor: War
kynthebookworm's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Body horror
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
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