Thank you to Sean Platt & Johnny Truant, Sterling&Stone, and Netgalley for the ARC!

This is a pretty small book around 140 pages about Atticus and Gerd, two immortal beings trapped on an island that are forced to repeat the same tasks. They fight each other, but always heal, and find enjoyment in murdering each other. The first half of the book until chapter 15-17 is mostly exploring Atticus/Gerd, and Shelby/Lucas until we're given more insight on how the pairs are related.

Overall, a really great read that I'm struggling to write a review without giving away the premise of the story. There is fantasy with the island and Atticus/Gerd, but a running theme of repressed trauma, suicide, addiction, and grief.

An interesting book, but exactly sure what to think

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

This book was fine and written well, it just wasn’t my cup of tea

*I was given a free copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This book had an interesting premise and characters. I liked the descriptions of the island and the imaginative worldbuilding. The cover looks absolutely stunning in my option and immediately sold me on the book.
However the swearing and the violence sadly weren’t just not my cup of tea.

This book surprised me, and i cna not put into words how amazing this book is. This book is an instant classic and should be read immedietly

Definitely not a book for me. I prefer more reliable narration and clear understanding of the plot. I felt like the characters and twists fell flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the authors, and Sterling&Stone for a copy

This book is certainly one that will capture your attention. The end will leave you questioning what you just read, while the story itself lends to a really engaging and thought provoking telling of dealing with mental health and suicide. The relationship between the two immortals always trying to kill each other was hilarious, and brought a much needed balance to the heavier underlying topics. I love reading a book that makes me feel challenged, and The Island certainly did that!

This book is a beautiful depiction of depression and guilt within the psyche, and keeps the reader in suspense on parts of the relationship between characters until the end.

This book was very short. And yet- it was so completely bizarre that I really don't know what to think. Completely unhinged.

The Island by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant, a good premise but simply not for me. I do think others will enjoy the book, and thank you for giving me a chance with this book.

Read this straight through. Start to finish it was phenomenal! It blew my mind. I am still thinking about it. Now I want to check out their other books. It was a quick read but well worth it.

I found this book just okay.
It was a quick enough read as it was only around 140 pages.
One of my biggest problems with it was the writing, I just really struggled with it but I did think the story was really interesting.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a quick read at a mere 150 pages, which probably is to its benefit. The story starts off strong, with two men on a mysterious island completing a strange routine for what purpose or whose benefit, they do not know. There are strong Lost vibes, as well as other mysterious sci-fi shows and books. This is the high point of the novel. As the story goes on and more information comes to light, and we move to a different setting, my interest waned. The book turns into a bit of a morality tale/psychological exploration, which I didn't particularly enjoy. The writing is solid.

It's a book that requires patience and to accept what you're reading without too many questions. Even if you feel confused at the beginning there will be a moment when everything makes sense and you're loving this story.
Intriguing and fascinating.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

It wasn't bad, not great either. I can say with 100 % confidence I was confused for a long while with different "timelines" towards the ending I mostly understood. He was filled with guilt when wife killed herself and created this island prison to kill himself constantly. Towards the ending he pulled himself out of it and remembered who he was and learning to forgive himself.

3,5 stars
This book left me confused almost all the way through. I just couldn't figure out what was happening and decided to go with the flow, trying not to question everything all the time (though I admit it was hard not to do so!).
But when things start to finally make sense, and all the pieces connect, it is mind-blowing!! This is one of those books where you feel like rereading it the second you finish, just so you can see everything with a different point of view.
It's a sad story, that unfortunately is true for a lot of people, written in a very clever way!
Not what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but it was a pleasant surprise.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sterling & Stone for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I received an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of the book The Island by Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant free in exchange for my review. This in no way affects the way I am shaping my review. The first half of my review is spoiler free, then I will give a warning before the second half starts and spoilers are included.

To start, the cover is stunning. I love the snow globe. It fits in very well with the book and it doesn’t look like the million other book covers you see at the bookstore. In my opinion it stands out and it is something that makes me want to find out what is inside. This was my reason for requesting this book.

Overall I rate this book at three stars. If 3.5 were an option it would be at 3.5.

Expectations

The synopsis reads:

“Two powerful and fierce immortal gods are trapped on an island, endlessly pursuing a Sisyphean task that must be completed each day and is renewed each night.
Enemies forced to work together, they sabotage each other, play tricks on each other, and murder each other, only to be resurrected the following day. Yet, despite the daily friction and violence, ultimately, they live in an uneasy balance.
Until the day the stranger arrives. Then the balance tips, the pit collapses, and all hell breaks loose.”
After reading this I think I was expecting more of a fantasy book with elements of gods. Which isn’t quite the right fit. While not untrue, calling the characters immortal gods seemed a slight stretch. They are definitely immortal but they never seemed like gods. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy the story though. It was just not at all what I thought it was gonna be based on the description.
Plot
The first fifteen chapters of The Island were very confusing. You get thrust into the story from page one and don’t get much info along the way. Small pieces to try to put together the puzzle of what is happening. In a way that is nice because I really had no idea what was going to happen next for a while. The downside though was that it was almost too confusing, which could make some people want to stop reading. However the book is only 168 pages. So it's not such a daunting task to continue if you are really confused.

The chapters are very short. Which I love in a book. It makes reading fly by so much faster. In general the book is short and did not take me long to read, maybe 2-3 hours in total. While the plot was very confusing it was fast paced and I was curious enough to try to figure out what was going on to continue reading.

Around chapter fifteen or so, things start to become a little bit clearer on what is happening. The dynamic on what is going on with the immortals starts to shift. But you also get a whole other plot and fresh characters thrown in. Which sounds like it would be more confusing but it does the opposite. For me this is where things really picked up and I got very invested in finding out what was gonna happen next.

The ending (still no spoilers)
The story tied up rather nicely. All of my confusion was gone and I wasn’t left with any lingering questions on the storyline. I love that in a book. The Island is the type of book that leaves you contemplating things on a deeper level though. This book had a very clear and deep message to it and I think it is a message that a lot of people need to learn in life to some capacity.

Spoilers Ahead Stop Now!

The rest of my review will contain spoilers so please don’t read further if you don’t want to know what happens.

I liked that gatekeeper and his roach infested mouth. It gave me kinda creepy vibes. Also the flashes of the person on the couch (which we later find out is his dead wife). I loved the small symbols like the shell and I was glad that it was pointed out in the end that the wife used to call the daughter Shelby. I always gravitate to books that deal with mental health issues and I really hooked on Lucas's story.

Even though he is not the type of person I like in any capacity. Between the cheating, lying and then his refusal on the island to acknowledge anything but the black and white rocks. Honestly I didn’t like anything about him. He did however make me want him to forgive himself.

I loved that this book touched on someone wanting to kill all the unwanted things in their life. It brought light to how easy it can be to ignore what we don’t want to see but the importance of seeing it.

This book was very deep and I am glad that I read it.

After reading the first fifth of the book, I was sure that I was going to put it down. I couldn't engage with the writing; rather, I thought that it was intentionally confusing. However, I'm glad that I pushed through and finished as the payoff was great.

This novel explores the idea that "no man is an island," and it does so phenomenally. We begin with two feuding gods who constantly seek revenge against one another. That devolves into a story of guilt and regret, ultimately leading to potential redemption.

To be clear, this novel is about the story. The characters involved, save for one, don't really go through any arcs. They are merely there to help to one main character realize his growth. Despite the one-dimensional characters, the novel works as the characters help the story and exploration of the aforementioned idea shine. If I had to be very picky, there was one character, Miranda, whose motivations made absolutely no sense to me. Ultimately, that did not impact my enjoyment of the story.

Very early on, there is an introduction of a story within a story, and at first, it threw me off. But the incorporation of the story within the story and how it played into the overall plot really paid off. As stated, the writing at the beginning was confusing and vague. As I continued, I realized that the confusion was purposeful. The readers are meant to thrown off balance. The intentional confusion lends to the pay off for the twist.

There isn't much to the setting and, honestly, there doesn't need to be with this story. This novel is about the story; it's about what we can, and sometimes have to, do in order to overcome grief.

TW: Suicide, adultery, and discussions of mental health. I agree with other reviews that state that there could have been a warning of these topics.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I'm leaving an honest review voluntarily.

A story of two god, enterally trapped on an island and forced to repeat the same tasks every day.
It’s a very unique book which is what got me to read it!

This book places you in the middle of an unknown place and doesn’t really tell you anything about it, I know some people really enjoy that but it’s wasn't really for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first time reading both Sean Platt and Johnny Truant. Story was good, The book was enjoyable and will definitely try more from these writers. #TheIsland #NetGalley