I did not entirely enjoy this book the way that I wanted to. This book just didn't have that same magic that I'm used to from Kaufman when it comes to her YA titles, perhaps it's because this is fantasy and not sci-fi but I found myself underwhelmed.

Book Review of The Isles of the Gods (The Isles of the Gods #1) by Amie Kaufman

Cover Story: Big Face, Little Ship
BFF Charm: Mixed Bag
Talky Talk: Straight Up
Bonus Factors: LGBTQ+, Magic System
Anti-Bonus Factor: Religious Fanatics
Relationship Status: On Board

Cover Story: Big Face, Little Ship
The girl looks like Selly, with her windswept hair and tense expression, and since most of this story takes place at sea, it’s only fitting to have a sailing ship on the cover. The drawing style reminds me of some 1990’s fantasy book covers, in a nice, nostalgic way. I would have liked to see the other characters too, though.

The Deal:
The kingdoms of Alinor and Mellacea may be on the edge of a holy war, but Selly Walker has no time for politics or religion. All she wants is to get away from her boring job as a ship’s deckhand and travel north to find her father, so he can award her the first mate’s position she’s always dreamed of. When Prince Leander of Alinor derails her plans by chartering her ship for a secret pilgrimage to the Isles of the Gods, her first instinct is to resent him (no matter how charming he is). But the Prince’s voyage could change the balance of power, not only between the nations, but their gods – and there are some who would do anything to make sure he never arrives.

BFF Charm: Mixed Bag
There are five narrators; six, if you count the king in the 501-year-old prologue. On the Alinorish ship, we have brusque, no-nonsense Selly, charming Prince Leander, who’s more complex than he seems, and Keegan Wollesley, Leander’s former classmate, who is escaping an arranged marriage and heading for the Bibliotek, the world’s greatest library, to study. (As a fellow bookworm, he’s my favorite.) In Mellacea, we have Laskia, the ambitious younger sister of a crime boss, and Jude, who works for her syndicate and has an old grudge against Leander. Watching the lead-up to war from the perspective of both nations is interesting, as well as tragic, because you can see that both sides are human. Empathy only goes so far, however, and mine ran out after the first murder.

Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Selly and Leander’s enemistry is obvious from the moment she tucks a flower behind his ear, because “everything useless around here needs to be beautifully decorated,” and he calls her “naturally cranky.” They’re both right and wrong; he’s spent his life hiding from the responsibility of being royal, while she’s eager to command a ship, but doesn’t understand yet what that means. They learn a lot from each other, and later moments when they appreciate each other the way they are – Leander folding a paper boat for Selly to honor her love of the sea, or Selly admiring Leander’s magic – feel all the more precious because they’re earned.

Talky Talk: Straight Up
Most of the narrators share Kaufman’s easy, straightforward prose style, although Selly thinks a lot in nautical metaphors and Keegan’s language is slightly more formal than the rest.

Bonus Factor: LGBTQ+
I like the casual representation in this book. One of the gods is referred to with they/them pronouns, and so are some of the people the narrators meet. The queen of Alinor has a wife. Laskia is a girl who wears men’s suits and flirts with other girls. Jude is seeing a man named Tom. When Selly goes shopping for a party dress, she’s gently teased by the salesclerk about impressing “him or her.” Keegan is, in his own words, “not romantically inclined,” and his companions don’t bat an eye when he tells them. In this universe, being queer is totally normal.

Bonus Factor: Magic System
Open book with moving pages in front of a glowing blue sphere and twinkle lights
The magic in this world comes from the spirits of earth, air, fire and water, who respond to sacrifice: if a magician offers them an object, it vanishes, and the magician can ask them for help. Since each element has a different personality, all wild and unpredictable, magic takes a lot of diplomatic skill. Also, the value of the object is in the magician’s mind. One coin can be enough to start a fire, but only if it’s your last coin. It’s an effective way to show the recurring theme of sacrifice.

Anti-Bonus Factor: Religious Fanaticism
The “green sisters,” an order of nuns who worship the sleeping god of Mellacea, believe it’s their duty to wake him up so he can win the war for them. Even though the last time the gods fought, an entire nation was wiped off the map and is now known as the “Barren Reaches.”

Relationship Status: On Board
I’d join Selly, Leander and Keegan on their voyage anytime (not literally, because I’d be hanging over the rail seasick, but you know what I mean).

High-seas adventure awaits! In Amie Kaufman's newest book, the gods are real and must be appeased with sacrifice. War looms on the horizon, with queens and high priestesses pulling strings. With action, romance, and heart, this book carries the reader into a tense (but not devastating, thank goodness!) cliffhanger. I can't wait for the sequel!

[NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, my NetGalley feedback is not a blurb or endorsement. If a publisher wishes to use any part of my comments for promotional purposes, please contact me or my agent via email. I would prefer not to include star ratings but NetGalley won't let me post without one, so all will be 5 stars.]

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC of The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman.

This book was pure, thrilling adventure with a perfect mix of magic and lore. I loved it! Selly, our main gal, is roped in on a task that could end in her losing everything- including her own life. As she ventures out to deliver the prince to the Isle of his god to make the quarterly sacrifice- Selly finds herself on the most important job of her life to date.

The characters, plot, and world were all exactly up my alley and I adored the entire book.

I need more!!

All Selly wants is to see her father again, she decides to stow away on a ship headed in his direction but things don't go as planned. She ends up back on her ship and has a mission to help a prince stealthily across the sea to preform an ancient ritual to save their people.
Leander is a prince but his one main duty is to go to the Isles of the Gods and give a sacrifice like his ancestors have been doing and he's already a year behind schedule.
Keegan is also aboard the ship, trying to escape his family and do what he wants to do with his life, learn and read his books.
The three as well as the rest of the crew set off hoping for an easy ride but soon discover that this journey will be the hardest endeavor of their lives.
Jude knew Leander and Keegan in school but now he's on his own to take care of his mother, believing that everyone forgot about him and cut contact he helps Laskia along the way to trail the ship and stop them from making the sacrifice.
Laskia just wants to have her sisters approval no matter what it takes. Even if it means killing someone to get where she needs to be. She wants approval and recognition, and she will stop at nothing to get it.
This book is super fast paced and easy to understand. There is betrayal and love and magic, all the key components to a wonderful story. It's an epic tale of faith and trust. I loved it and need book two right now!! The ending left me with so many questions and concerns. Overall I highly recommend this book!!!

Isles of the Gods is a wonderful immersive and engaging reading experience. Sleeping gods have awoken and gone to war. Most of the plot takes place at sea, which is a wonderful setting for the story. The characters are bold, interesting and wonderfully written. Using multiple points of view, Kaufman gives us a glimpse into the characters fears, motivations, and relationships. The characters drive this story as the entire plot actually only takes place over a handful of days. It makes the story easy to read and interesting. Kaufman provides a lot of information with out falling on info dumping. This makes the reading experience insightful without being overwhelming. This is one I will definitely recommend to our young adult fantasy readers. Overall, a wonderful first book in the series. I certainly look forward to continuing.

Starting with the positives: the setting and world building were fascinating. I loved everything involving the lore for different gods, the brewing political tensions, the magic system and required sacrifices—it was all narrated so beautifully, and it made me want to learn so much more.

I also enjoyed reading Leander, Keegan, and Selly’s chapters. Their dynamic was a lot of fun, and it was interesting to see how they grew close despite their initial interactions. Keegan actually ended up being my favorite with his quiet musings, love for knowledge, and willingness to protect the prince, even when he harbored resentment for how Leander treated him back at school. He was unceasingly brave, but in a different, more subtle way.

I usually enjoy multi-POVs, but I'm not too sure if it worked for me in this book. I felt that, despite their compelling backgrounds and motives, Laskia and Jude's perspectives didn't add too much. Their chapters fell a little flat, and disrupted the flow that worked well between Leander/Keegan/Selly. It threw off the pacing. I also wish that their relationships could have developed a bit more, because it felt like some aspects of the story were rushed—especially during the peak of the plot. I think I was supposed to feel a certain way about a certain thing, but I didn't, because as much as I liked the protagonists, I didn't feel too attached.

This is supposed to be a series, so I hope that the next book dives a little bit deeper into their character arcs! I definitely think there's potential. The author is clearly a strong writer.

Going into this book, I was so excited. The pirate aspect is what hooked me the most but then the magic just came in and swooped me off my feet. Unfortunately, most of the novel felt like a let down. In the most literal sense, this book is so slow. It took me a long time to keep wanting to pick it up and continue reading. It wasn't until I was about 48% of the way through when the story finally started to pick up intensity.

The story itself is told off of five different people told in first person. that alone was already hard to keep track of, especially in the first 25% of the book. There wasn't much to help keep those perspectives of reading separate and unique. If you have to stop mid-chapter, just go back to the beginning of that chapter when you restart. Although it was great to read the separate changed of the same storyline take place.

Yet, one of the biggest disappointments for me was the constant use of "my old school friend/enemy" trope that was a constant factor in the whole novel. The characters felt too mature and advanced to continue being hung up on their old ways of high school or whatever.

Overall, the story was rather enjoyable, but mostly predictable. The story building was masterly present and could visually be represented. It was well written for a character driven novel. It was very easy to read and proceeds great for the YA community. This is a book I would recommend in my high school library.

Super exciting YA fantasy that sucked me in from the prologue, and kept me reading til the wee hours of the night.

I am super excited to see where this story goes. After that ending I am definitely going to read book two as soon as it’s released.

I’m hoping for more kissing though. 😊

Loved this book so much!! It was so refreshing to finally have a multi pov YA book again. I loved the whole concept of slumbering gods and the main MC was definitely someone I rooted for. The voice was spot on too. I would 100% recommend this book.

I loved the characters, and was happy the POV rotated through each. I've read most of the author's books, and, in most cases, have really enjoyed them. She is an auto buy for my library.

Sleeping gods, sacrifices, princes, sailors, impending war, romance - - yes, please.

An unlikely group will struggle to survive and protect the prince when others are searching and hoping to kill him. There are two countries on the brink of war. They each worship a different god. One is sleeping and the other requires a sacrifice. If these gods are summoned and brought to full wakefulness, a battle could ensue like no other.

Selly is the daughter of a successful sailor who owns many ships. Her father is off in another area and Selly hasn't seen him. Hoping to sneak away and find her way to where he is, she's upset when her plans are shattered by the sneaky maneuvering of others. Selly is pulled into the Prince's orbit unintentionally and even though she's irritated with him initially, she eventually becomes protective of him.

There are others involved in the political game being played. Several students from Leander's school days have been pulled into the confrontation whether intentionally or unintentionally. The forces of evil aren't above leveraging someone's love for a parent to be sure they cooperate with the wishes of those meaning to harm the prince.

This was a wonderful book with very solid world building and character development. It felt very effortless to read even though there were multiple characters and plot devices included. I look forward to the next book in this series as we were left with a small cliffhanger.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

This book was honestly so good. The first chapter hooked me, and then I was a little upset that we had a time jump (even though we were basically warned of this happening, I am just a dumb-dumb and have the memory of a pea), but it quickly hooked me again. I typically hate books that are multi-POV because I end up only wanting to go back to one or two. This has five POVs and I wasn't bored or wanting to skip any of them. It was done so well and allows you to see into everyone's mind just a bit before jumping on to the next person. I loved how it weaved everything together, and I'm so excited for the next book.

Selly is very anxious to meet up with her father and take her place in his merchant fleet. Unfortunately not only does he not show up as anticipated, but her ship is commandeered by the prince. Now she is swept up helping the prince stop a war on verge of breaking out. Told in several perspectives, this fantasy has a unique early industrial setting that sets it apart from the typical. The pacing is good and the twist at the end leaves the reader curious to see where the next book will take them. Overall a very good read!

While Selly carries the marks that identified her at birth as a magician, that magic has never materialized. Instead, she's determined to prove her worth to her father and his fleet as an ordinary sailor. But that life is upended when her ship is commandeered by a handsome stranger to travel to the distant Isles of the Gods. When what seems like a pleasure cruise leads to unexpected danger, Selly and her companions are in a race to the isles with world-ending implications.

LOVED this. Some other reviewers complain about the slow pace, and I have no idea what they're talking about. The trio is on the run almost from start to end, and that frenetic pace kept me glued to my e-reader. I haven't read any of Kaufman's solo work before, and I am wowed by the well-crafted team and the serious slow burn romantic tension— it makes me suspect that my favorite parts of The Aurora Cycle were her doing.

The part that is slow is the romance, which might dissatisfy audiences primarily interested in this.

Sleeping gods. Countries on the brink of war. A girl who loves the sea, who has a hidden secret and a prince who may not be ready to save the world, fans of Kaufman will enjoy The Isles of the Gods another action packed story young readers won’t want to miss.

This is the first book I’ve read that was written only by Amie Kaufman. I’ve read her co-author novels, which I’ve completely enjoyed. It’s always interesting to see an author take their craft and hone it for themselves. Creating new and intriguing stories filled with a diverse cast of characters (both villains and heroes alike) that will further young readers joy of reading.

With an unexpected ending, and questions still left unanswered, I’m eager to see what Kaufman has in store for us in the sequel.

Happy Reading ~ Cece

Let me preface this by saying this is the first Amie Kaufman book I've read, though Aurora RIsing's been on my TBR for forever. When I saw the cover and description, The Isles of the Gods seemed made for me. I mean, slumbering gods? Magician's marks? A high-stakes adventure on the seven seas with ROMANCE? I grew up on Percy Jackson and the (woefully underrated) Bloody Jack series; I couldn't wait to discover a new epic series to take me back to my childhood.

So...why the three stars?

Because it felt, in a word, uneven.

There are five POVs, which is quite a lot in a first book, and half of them were incredibly well fleshed out, while the rest were not. Captain's daughter Selly, a magician who cannot access her magic, is the predominant POV and I particularly struggled to connect with her motives -- and I really, really wanted to love Selly. She's prickly and guarded, with a chip on her shoulder, which makes scenes between Selly and Leander, a flirtatious prince and her love interest, an absolute delight to read. Selly -- from Leander's perspective -- shines as a character, but Selly from her own perspective feels a bit flat. Is she concerned with reuniting with her father, gone on another year-long voyage? Does her lack of magic grate on her? Is she concerned with Leander's safe passage to the Isles of the Gods, a trip that he must make to ensure the slumbering gods remain happy? Selly can absolutely have all of these motives, but her goals seem to change abruptly, since she must share the stage with four other POVs, one of which (Jude, a former friend of Leander's, turned villain) doesn't add much.

But despite my main critique of Selly, I was continually drawn in by the magic and worldbuilding. The high-seas setting is unique and incredibly well done, and I liked the blend of modern (autos) with old fashioned (lengthy voyages via ship). The mythology of spirits and gods is fascinating...and the romance is top notch. This is the exact opposite of insta-love, and an incredibly well-done enemies/rivals to lovers. Think longing looks mixed with playful banter. Think “I’m paying more attention than I wish I was to the places we touch at hand and knee." Think "will they/won't they." And, not to spoil anything, but I love a man who understands consent. Leander is one of the best and most nuanced YA fantasy men I've read in a while.

In fact, I think there's a lot to love here. Were my hopes a little too high? Possibly, but I commend Kaufman for her solo debut, and I think the series does have a lot of promise, as long as the multi-POVs each receive their fair amount of attention. I'll definitely pick up the next installment, and I enjoyed the cliffhanger at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's/Knopf Books for Young Readers, and Amie Kaufman for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVED this book! There was action, adventure, danger, romance, and SO MUCH MORE!! Seriously, I can't even write a review that will do this one justice so all I will say is go pick this book up.

Tomorrow you'll be able to experience a new young adult novel series by author Amie Kaufman. The Isles of the Gods introduces you to a world on the brink of war, and it's up to young heroes and heroines to stop it.

All Selly wants is to sail north to be reunited with her father. All Keegan wants is to study in solitude at the Bibliotek. All Jude wants is for his mother to get well. All Leander wants is to party. And all Laskia wants is to prove herself worthier than her older sister, Ruby.

When Leander fails to do one thing - his main princely duty - Laskia takes advantage and attempts to have Leander assassinated. But with the help of Selly and Keegan, who begrudgingly become Leander's friends, they keep him alive. Just long enough.

Of course, the story doesn't end with this book. The Isles of the Gods is just the beginning of the story. Despite having a bit of a hard time keeping track of all the characters and the action in this novel, I am intrigued as to what will happen next. I don't know if this series is doing to be a duology or something longer, but I do know that Kaufman has created an interesting world filled with magic, mystery, and murder. I look forward to seeing where the rest of the story goes.

The Isles of the Gods is published by Knopf Books for Young Readers and will be published May 2, 2023. I received a free e-ARC from the publisher.

This fabulous young adult fantasy novel opens a new solo series from Amie Kaufman, who’s writing I’ve always adored and found absorbing (check out The Illuminae Files which she coauthored with Jay Kristoof and the Starbound trilogy co-authored with Megan Spooner).

Sibling Gods and their Mother rule over connected human nations, with a longtime war among the Gods having ended with the complete destruction of a nation; the God of Risk of the nation of Mallacea, Macean the Gambler, has been bound to sleep by Barrica, the now Sentient Goddess of the nation of Alinor. As a result, 500 years have passed peacefully, but unrest and the rise of religious fervor in Mallacea threatens to upset this balance and reawaken their sleeping God of Risk.

Selly, from Alinor, has been assigned to a sailing ship, the Lizabetta, in her father’s large fleet to learn the art of sailing and running a ship from the bottom-up from tough Captain Rensa, starting as a thankless boat hand. Winter is oncoming, and Selly plans to sneak aboard another ship heading North, before passage becomes shut off, to join her absent father who she deeply misses. In a land where some people have magical abilities marked on their arms with green designs, Selly only has two broad strokes and has had absolutely no luck in reaching the spirits of air, land or earth to summon up help.

Leander, the privileged, spoiled, handsome prince of Alinor, spends his frivolous days socializing with his friends and being completely irresponsible – including being a year delayed in an every 25-years ritual of visiting the island of Alinor’s God to make a symbolic sacrifice. Leander who has powerful magical abilities to speak to all the differing types of spirits, ends up

Keegan, a scholar and former schoolmate who Leander tormented, has run away from an arranged marriage to make his way to a protected nation of study.

Laska, the frustrated younger sister of Mallacea’s leading criminal overlord Ruby, wants to desperately prove herself to be elevated as a peer in Ruby’s business. Her vindictiveness and ruthlessness turns to trying to kill Leander to provoke a war with Alinor and ultimately waken the God of Gamling Barrica. Under her control is Jude, a former friend of Leander’s from school, who’s Mom had abruptly moved them to Mallacea upon the death of his father and is now laying dying herself. Laska holds the key to getting Jude the medical help he needs for his Mom and has blackmailed him into her deadly schemes.

Selly, Leander and Keegan ultimately find themselves on the Lizabetta, and on the run in a high-stakes adventure where their lives are at risk. They hold the key to trying to stop the war between nations, and to do so, must reach the Isles of the Gods.

The action of the novel is non-stop, with chapters alternating between the differing characters’ narration and perspective. Particularly with Selly and Leander, the character building and revelations run deep. Kaufman has also done a nuanced job of not making the story of one of pure good versus evil, but instead offers up portraits of nuanced vulnerabilities and vendettas. The world-building proves so richly detailed you feel like you’re sailing the high seas, skulking along city’s alleyways, and climbing the jungled Isles of the Gods alongside them.

Only issue: the book ends with a completely cliff-hanger! Hope the next book in the series comes out fast!!

Thanks to Random House Children’s, Knopf Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.