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amybraunauthor's review against another edition
4.0
This wasn't the story I expected, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy the story! I liked the way the book was written and the idea of a young, dynamic trio going on an adventure to solve a mystery about events that occurred nearly twenty years ago. There was a little less magic than I thought there would be and I saw a couple twists coming, but the pacing is good and there were still some things I didn't anticipate. The romance was the highlight, completely sweet and fun to read. The characters are a little one note, but they are still people I cheered for and wanted to succeed, and their devotion and friendship and romance is endearing and nice to read. Their relationships were also interesting because they kept secrets from one another, and it makes me wonder if that will affect things later on, though I'm not sure where the series could go from here. Still, I recommend ISLE OF BLOOD AND STONE to anyone looking for an adventure story that isn't terribly emotionally taxing.
scriptrix's review against another edition
2.5
I really liked the scene in the haunted forest with the kid ghosts, and the inclusion of a leper colony was an original idea. But the rest of this felt a little too Generic Fantasy(TM).
apriljp57's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.25
ameserole's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book! I am also really happy that buddy wasn't mad at me for being so slow for starting this book with her. Thank you so much Andrea for making me buddy read books with you! I love your little updates and how you make me laugh.. even if the book we are reading is terrible and making you mad. Luckily for us, this book was really good! I feel like we zoomed right through it.
Isle of Blood and Stone was so freaking good! I loved it! Even though the pacing in the prologue kind of made me sleepy.. I feel like the rest of the book was a blur because I breezed right through it. Mercedes and Elias were adorable together. The entire time I was shipping them and I feel like I'm still missing something about their "relationship" even after finishing the book. I can't wait for the next one to come out next year because I desperately need these two to be a couple!
Elias was completely likable. I honestly fell in love with him at the very beginning of the book. His friendship with Mercedes was everything to me. Even when there were hints that there was something more for them. Again, I need my ship to sail people!
Elias and Mercedes would do anything for each other. Heck, Mercedes is such a bad ass character who is wicked with a bow and arrow. She saves his life plenty of times.. and I LOVED IT. Every single second these two were together, Sigh!
Swoon worthy moments.
Besides me shipping the heck out of these two, this book delivers a really good and interesting mystery. Who planned all of these "deaths" that happened years ago? Of course all of the suspects are people who are in higher positions of power since every had untimely deaths. Elias and Mercedes were practically babies when this all happened so they were completely innocent.
For the mystery though, I had no idea who actually committed the crime. I was highly intrigued though and couldn't put the book down until everything was solved. There were a bunch of twists and turns that had my sitting on the edge of my seat, tapping my toes, waiting to figure out who it was.
Overall, I definitely loved this book. I feel like I've mentioned that a lot in this review but oh well! I seriously recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy and mystery books.
Isle of Blood and Stone was so freaking good! I loved it! Even though the pacing in the prologue kind of made me sleepy.. I feel like the rest of the book was a blur because I breezed right through it. Mercedes and Elias were adorable together. The entire time I was shipping them and I feel like I'm still missing something about their "relationship" even after finishing the book. I can't wait for the next one to come out next year because I desperately need these two to be a couple!
Elias was completely likable. I honestly fell in love with him at the very beginning of the book. His friendship with Mercedes was everything to me. Even when there were hints that there was something more for them. Again, I need my ship to sail people!
Elias and Mercedes would do anything for each other. Heck, Mercedes is such a bad ass character who is wicked with a bow and arrow. She saves his life plenty of times.. and I LOVED IT. Every single second these two were together, Sigh!
Swoon worthy moments.
Besides me shipping the heck out of these two, this book delivers a really good and interesting mystery. Who planned all of these "deaths" that happened years ago? Of course all of the suspects are people who are in higher positions of power since every had untimely deaths. Elias and Mercedes were practically babies when this all happened so they were completely innocent.
For the mystery though, I had no idea who actually committed the crime. I was highly intrigued though and couldn't put the book down until everything was solved. There were a bunch of twists and turns that had my sitting on the edge of my seat, tapping my toes, waiting to figure out who it was.
Overall, I definitely loved this book. I feel like I've mentioned that a lot in this review but oh well! I seriously recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy and mystery books.
ksymanski's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
vorpalblad's review against another edition
5.0
Often the terms "Young Adult" and "Teen" get used interchangeably to describe a genre of books; however, Isle of Blood and Stone fits firmly in the Teen genre. Romance is minimal, so no descriptive scenes a la Throne of Glass. I'd feel comfortable giving this to anyone with the reading skills to understand it. And while it's a "Teen" book, it has descriptive writing and a plot to please nearly any reader.
I really feel like the publisher dropped the ball on this one--from the meaningless title and ho-hum cover to the lack of publicity surrounding its release. Anyone who enjoys a little bit of fantasy, a lot of adventure, with a healthy dollop of mystery will likely enjoy this book. And it's not just the plot and setting that hold up this novel. Makiia Lucier is a masterful writer. Rather than explain everything, Lucier writes scene after scene that develops the multi-faceted characters. We've already seen Mercedes, part of the protagonist trio, show a stiff upper lip, but also make mistakes. When showing how she works to make everyone feel comfortable, Lucier writes about Mercedes entering the premise of a surgeon/barber. Lucier writes, "Mercedes looked perfectly comfortable, she might have spent every morning surrounded by teeth carpeting the floor and chatting with men covered in blood," which tells us more about Mercedes' character than pages of exposition.
One thing I do want to note: this is not an inclusive story in many ways. But I think that has more to do with a lack of focus on romance rather than the author purposely leaving out representation.
I really feel like the publisher dropped the ball on this one--from the meaningless title and ho-hum cover to the lack of publicity surrounding its release. Anyone who enjoys a little bit of fantasy, a lot of adventure, with a healthy dollop of mystery will likely enjoy this book. And it's not just the plot and setting that hold up this novel. Makiia Lucier is a masterful writer. Rather than explain everything, Lucier writes scene after scene that develops the multi-faceted characters. We've already seen Mercedes, part of the protagonist trio, show a stiff upper lip, but also make mistakes. When showing how she works to make everyone feel comfortable, Lucier writes about Mercedes entering the premise of a surgeon/barber. Lucier writes, "Mercedes looked perfectly comfortable, she might have spent every morning surrounded by teeth carpeting the floor and chatting with men covered in blood," which tells us more about Mercedes' character than pages of exposition.
One thing I do want to note: this is not an inclusive story in many ways. But I think that has more to do with a lack of focus on romance rather than the author purposely leaving out representation.
alongreader's review against another edition
4.0
A fantastic adventure story, peopled with amazing characters. The world building was just right, information given at the right times without being too much or feeling like a lecture. I'd love to read plenty more in this universe, but if this is the only one it ended at just the right place.
I loved Reyna, poor kid, and Elias was a great lead character. Generally speaking the characters were well defined; I was a little confused about a couple of the very minor ones, but that's all. A good trick in a novel with so many characters in.
I'll be looking forward to more from Makiia.
Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.
I loved Reyna, poor kid, and Elias was a great lead character. Generally speaking the characters were well defined; I was a little confused about a couple of the very minor ones, but that's all. A good trick in a novel with so many characters in.
I'll be looking forward to more from Makiia.
Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.
athenezadam's review against another edition
4.0
Isle of Blood and Stone is about a young explorer who has to decipher the riddles of a map to uncover a mystery about a long-ago royal tragedy. The first several chapters are slow but then the pace picks up. The protagonist is pleasant, with warm relationships with the people around him including with his romantic interest. While the culprit is predictable, the clues, backstory, and mystery are appropriately revealed, with a few turns near the ending. With ghosts, sea monsters, action, dynamic characters, and a cute love story, this book is a fun fantasy adventure.
spicedragon's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5
Head full of thoughts and literally no way to articulate them
Makiia Lucier hitting it out of the park once again!! No one does a kind protagonist, a benevolent king, the king’s witty female relative, murder, and a plague like Ms. Lucier. This is her niche, and her niche only, and I respect that immensely.
We follow Elias, a master navigator/map maker, as he looks to unravel the supposed mystery behind the disappearance/death of two young princes and his own father from eighteen years ago… a mystery which indicates that some of the missing/thought to be dead people may even be alive. Joining Elias on this journey is Mercedes, his childhood bestie who also happens to be his other childhood bestie’s cousin… the cousin being the king of their kingdom. We get intrigue, murder, and a look into the supernatural making for a thoroughly intriguing novel.
Lucier, I’ve found, is a master at setting forth a setting that gets you all cozy. She introduces her cast of characters and emphasizes the relationships between every single one, she builds this community for the reader that radiates warmth. Then, in the second half, she tears everything to shreds. But it’s done in such a well thought out and well written manner way that you can’t help but be amazed. Lucier also drops hints that can help the reader solve the mystery before the protagonists and it’s very gratifying when you read Elias and Mercedes have their waitaminute moments.
You very much feel the emotions the protagonists feel, and that’s why I’m obsessed!! The moment that Elias learns that his father might be alive and he starts spiralling because his mother already remarried and has multiple children with his stepfather (who is the father that STEPPED UP!!!) which would result in her being accused of bigamy and brand his younger siblings as bastards…. we FELT that and even more so when [REDACTED]. By the end of the novel literally everything we knew and had thought to be the truth at the start of the story is absolutely shattered, and all I could do was sit on my couch and eat crackers and collect my thoughts.
The characters themselves are not perfect, they also have their flaws. Yes, Elias is kind and caring but he has his own prejudices to grapple with. Prejudices he was raised with, such as the position of women in their society and their so-called roles… how he responds to those suffering from illness and so on! Which was nice to see, flawed protagonist coming to terms like damn I need to rethink some things.
I took off half a star because there were some story elements that kinda irked me… a lot of it has to do with medieval sort of setting Lucier has set her story in but I was like yea bet people from that era talked like that but I did not enjoy those snippets
Other than that… read Makiia Lucier’s books!! She writes ethnic characters in settings that books would traditionally publish as white and!! I’ll be picking up the second book in this series which focuses on a side-character from this very novel :)
Head full of thoughts and literally no way to articulate them
Makiia Lucier hitting it out of the park once again!! No one does a kind protagonist, a benevolent king, the king’s witty female relative, murder, and a plague like Ms. Lucier. This is her niche, and her niche only, and I respect that immensely.
We follow Elias, a master navigator/map maker, as he looks to unravel the supposed mystery behind the disappearance/death of two young princes and his own father from eighteen years ago… a mystery which indicates that some of the missing/thought to be dead people may even be alive. Joining Elias on this journey is Mercedes, his childhood bestie who also happens to be his other childhood bestie’s cousin… the cousin being the king of their kingdom. We get intrigue, murder, and a look into the supernatural making for a thoroughly intriguing novel.
Lucier, I’ve found, is a master at setting forth a setting that gets you all cozy. She introduces her cast of characters and emphasizes the relationships between every single one, she builds this community for the reader that radiates warmth. Then, in the second half, she tears everything to shreds. But it’s done in such a well thought out and well written manner way that you can’t help but be amazed. Lucier also drops hints that can help the reader solve the mystery before the protagonists and it’s very gratifying when you read Elias and Mercedes have their waitaminute moments.
You very much feel the emotions the protagonists feel, and that’s why I’m obsessed!! The moment that Elias learns that his father might be alive and he starts spiralling because his mother already remarried and has multiple children with his stepfather (who is the father that STEPPED UP!!!) which would result in her being accused of bigamy and brand his younger siblings as bastards…. we FELT that and even more so when [REDACTED]. By the end of the novel literally everything we knew and had thought to be the truth at the start of the story is absolutely shattered, and all I could do was sit on my couch and eat crackers and collect my thoughts.
The characters themselves are not perfect, they also have their flaws. Yes, Elias is kind and caring but he has his own prejudices to grapple with. Prejudices he was raised with, such as the position of women in their society and their so-called roles… how he responds to those suffering from illness and so on! Which was nice to see, flawed protagonist coming to terms like damn I need to rethink some things.
I took off half a star because there were some story elements that kinda irked me
Spoiler
Such as when one of the characters sees a woman with a moustache and is like “is that even a woman” even though the character is antagonizing on purpose and Elias quickly corrects him about different customs, and sometimes how the characters would talk about those suffering from disease, and obvs the patriarchal society and how they view womenOther than that… read Makiia Lucier’s books!! She writes ethnic characters in settings that books would traditionally publish as white and!! I’ll be picking up the second book in this series which focuses on a side-character from this very novel :)