The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman (The Isles of the Gods #1)
Published: May 2, 2023, Knopf Books for Young Readers
Format: eARC (from publisher via NetGalley)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Book Synopsis
Selly has salt water in her veins. So when her father leaves her high and dry in the port of Kirkpool, she has no intention of riding out the winter at home while he sails off to adventure. But any plans to follow him are dashed when a handsome stranger with tell-tale magician's marks on his arm commandeers her ship. He is Prince Leander of Alinor and he needs to cross the Crescent Sea without detection so he can complete a ritual on the sacred Isles of the Gods. Selly has no desire to escort a spoiled prince anywhere, and no time for his entitled demands or his good looks. But what starts as a leisure cruise will lead to acts of treason and sheer terror on the high seas, bringing two countries to the brink of war, two strangers closer than they ever thought possible and stirring two dangerous gods from centuries of slumber...
This is the first YA fantasy novel that I’m reading by Amie Kaufman. I’m more familiar with her YA science fiction novels that she cowrote with Jay Kristoff. But Kaufman didn’t disappoint with The Isles of the Gods. It has the multiple POVs and a strong squad similar to the novels I’ve already read but in a creative fantasy setting.
The idea of sleeping gods and warring gods isn’t unique, but I found the way Kaufman presented that idea to be very creative. Essentially, each country worships a different god, and in this story, the villains are trying to wake up their god that the heroes’ god put to sleep. The fact that waking up their god will start a war is simply a necessary thing the villains are willing to face in order to achieve their goal. The countries also couldn’t be more dissimilar in their cultures, but the way magic works is the same. It was such an interesting world. Kaufman did start with what some would call an “info dump” in the beginning, but I personally appreciated it. It provided just enough background to understand the history behind the gods so I could focus on the present day world she was creating.
The multiple POVs also made the story compelling. It did mean that the story had a slower start. I had to cycle through a couple of POVs before I really got into things. But we get to see two parallel story lines through the five POVs and each of the characters personal motivations. Three of the POVs followed the heroes of the story: Selly, the sailor, Leander, the prince, and Keegan, the scholar. Two of the POVs followed the villains: Laskia, the gangster, and Jude, Leander’s former friend. If there was a main character focus for this story, it’d likely be Selly. However, each of the characters went through their own character growth, and all of them were flawed and had personal obstacles to overcome. While I definitely was rooting for the heroes, I also sympathized with the villains.
Some other small things from this story that I enjoyed were the subtle LGBTQ+ representation and the moment when the heroes thought an adult was finally stepping in to save the day. I could feel the relief of the characters flow right off the pages, but of course, something had to go wrong.
If you love Amie Kaufman or fantasy stories featuring gods or sailing, this book is definitely something you should pick up. I absolutely can’t wait until the sequel releases.
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