Lord of the Empty Isles

*Thank you to Hodderscape and Netgalley for the eARC! This is my honest review*

I'm going to be honest, the first think that caught my mind was the cover. I loved to colours, the quietness of it but this that vibrant tone. Then the title intrigued me, and the blurb. I am not a science-fiction fan. At all. The technologies and themes tend to push me back. But here, it wasn't a something that bothered me at all. It felt a bit like fantasy, but with high tech and spaceship and artificial moons. I love it ! Really I wasn't expecting to fall this hard for the book. But oh gods did I love it. The tethers, in their various kinds, was such a well managed and interesting take. Genarelly, these kinds of bonds are limited to romantic relatioships, which was laways somehwat of a bother to me. Here, there is all kind of bonds, linked to different part of the body, for different relationships. How refreshing and well thought !
The exploration of grief, revenge, privilege and love was amazing. Queer platonic love! I need more of that. Found family too. Amazing.
The main character and narrator, Remy, is so relatable in his flaws, hurts, loves, and how he reacts as he learns about his world, other people and himself. I want to hug him. I want to hug Idrian too, so bad.
The pacing worked really well and is a important part of why I read nearly the whole book in a day. I generally dislike fast pacing because I feel like I am being rushed everywhere without time to breathe, but in this case, it was well manage enough to have these quieter moment to process what was happening, without really grounding to a stop. Really well done!
Jules Arbeaux offers us a heartwarming, eye tearing story of a found family set on protecting their ideals and each other, with growing bonds and learning how to let go, when the time comes.

Wow! Jules Arbeaux has crafted a masterpiece with this book. The tether system is intriguing, and created with such depth and variety. The weavers and witherers add another dimension to every relati9nship in this book.

The plot keeps you on your toes, right up until the very end. Every time you think you've got it all figured out, another puzzle piece drops into place, and the image becomes clearer.

At its heart, this is a book about family, both blood and found, and what it really means to be a good person, no matter the individual cost.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and couldn't put it down.

For me, a sci-fi book is a hit or miss and this was an absolutely hit. I had a hard time putting it down and I really just wanted to know more about the characters and find out where the plot was going.

I won't lie, I did have a bit of trouble understanding the magical bonds and how they worked and were linked to everyone (my bad). That aside, I did love the concept of the tethers. Everyone is connected in some way, romanctic or platonic, you name it and each one of these bonds can be linked to a different part of the body (and will resemble a different relationship).

The main character, Remy, is a complex character. He has his flaws, but I loved his character growth throughout the story. Now, don't even get me started about the rest of the characters because I loved every single one of them. Idrian and his crew were just *chef's kiss*. Even if they were a little messy and chaotic, they were still incredibly loyal to each other. ++ Who doesn't love a found family.

I also found this book extremely well written and I had no trouble figuring out where the story took place. I was able to picture everything so vividly and it almost felt like I was there with the characters.

I highly recommend this book to anyone (even the people that rarely read sci-fi). I had a lot of fun reading this and I just wish there was more. I can't wait to read more books from the author.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful story with a variety of key themes - from found family, queer relationships, the impact of politics and poverty, deception and betrayal but most of all - love. While it took me a few chapters to wrap my head around tethers and how they work, once I understood I was fully in and this story took me on a ride. This is a story about how nobody is perfect. That flawed people exist and change doesn't stop them being flawed. Remy is a complex character who is learning about how the world he thought he knew doesn't actually exist. Probably my favourite book of the year so far!

This is definitely a story I will be thinking about for a long time after.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodderscape for the Arc.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This was incredible. End of review, that’s all. Just incredible.

But to go into more detail: this book is a flawlessly woven a sci fi story that focussed on the bonds between people, and how they can change and grow, or die and rot.
I love the magic system surrounding the tethers; the concept that the connections you have with people can be seen and held. The way this book handles grief and healing is visceral, and I couldn’t tear myself away from it.

Yeah, the sci fi elements were great, and the plot was paced well, but really the characters are the stand out here. Remy, Idrian, Tirani and Yves will stay with me a long time after this book. Each of them feels very real to me, complex in their grief and hatred but most importantly the family they find in each other.

A sci-fi journey with a focus on platonic love and grief with some fantastic a-spec representation!

4.5 ⭐️

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

I'm a simple person — when I see found family, queer-platonic relationships and The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet mentioned I'm interested, especially after seeing that stunning cover. And behold, the promises lasted.
The way this book handled relationships is so refreshing — there is no actual romance and it doesn't need it. This book perfectly shows that relationships don't need to be romantic to work. The connections between friends and family can be just as strong, if not stronger.
While I think the comparison with The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is rightfully made, they both contain ragtag crews, found family and a good dose of spaceships, but they have very different vibes. Lord of the Empty Isles is significantly more grim and dystopian than its comparison. There is a high focus on the less fortunate and what it costs to let them survive, making it a less cosy but very reflective read.

My main critique is that it lacked direction in the middle. The story became more episodic. Plot-wise it did make sense, they had errands to run and lives to save, but I'm personally less interested in seeing them go on a little field trip when they have a lethal curse going on.
But the well-written character interactions did get met through it and made it a great read overall.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodderscape for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

"Lord of the Empty Isles" is a sci-fi novel written by Jules Arbeaux, here at her debut.

A planet resurrected from the ashes of a climate disaster and controlled by a seemingly benevolent system. Three moons, once a refuge, turned into a terrible prison. A world characterized by magical bonds, which bind people together. Two sworn enemies unexpectedly bound by fate and a deadly curse. These are just some of the ingredients that make up "Lord of the Empty Isles," a compelling, heartwarming and engaging novel that completely won me over. An exciting book, full of feelings, which really warmed my heart. A tale of hatred, revenge, remorse and grief. A story of hope, forgiveness and friendship. A novel deeply focused on relationships between people, with a wonderfully touching found family and a magnificent enemies to queerplatonic relationship! I really loved everything about this book, from beginning to end, and can express nothing but kudos!

The story takes place on the planet of Verdine, resurrected from the ashes of a climatic cataclysm that killed many people and pushed the survivors to seek salvation on Alta, Fluora and Toxys, the moons around the planet. Verdine is now a thriving, verdant planet full of life, ruled by a Chancellor and subject to strict and oppressive rules. I was fascinated by this world building, simple but well-drawn, described in a vivid and evocative way. The magic system based on bonds then is incredible! In "Lord of the Empty Isles" people are bound to each other through bonds, of various colors and placed in different parts of the body, invisible to ordinary people. The color and position of the ties indicate their particular nature, their characteristics. Bonds can change, fade and even rot, which requires therapeutic treatment. There are two types of people who can use them: weavers, who can see and identify the bonds of others, except their own and those of the people they are bound to, and withers, who can cut the bonds, to the exclusion of their own, and cast a withering, a curse as deadly as it is illegal, leading to the slow and painful death of the target. Seriously, I have nothing but compliments about it!

The story proceeds fast and dynamic, full of action and events, accompanied by a brisk pace and short chapters. More frenetic scenes alternate with quieter ones, with sometimes funny and sometimes heartbreaking situations, in a perfect balance. The passionate narration affected me tremendously, reason for which I found myself laughing, smiling and crying out loud at alternating moments. I followed everything with great interest, without boredom or heaviness, arriving at the end fully satisfied.

Remy, protagonist with his only third person pov, won me over! Remy is a wither, parentless, deeply marked by the death of his older brother, who raised him and to whom he was very close. Remy lives consumed by grief, regrets, and the desire for revenge. In fact, his brother was struck by a withering, which killed him slowly and painfully, ordered by the interstellar pirate Idrian Delaciel. Remy wants to kill him with the same curse, he drags himself forward thanks to this purpose, until he gets the final ingredient: the blood of the criminal himself. Too bad that when he casts the spell, the unthinkable happens: he discovers that he is fatebound to his brother's killer, which makes him cursed in turn. Since the only way to slow the curse is to stay close, Remy sets out to find Idrian, setting events in motion. Remy is a complex and tormented character portrayed fantastically! I felt a lot of his suffering, his inner conflicts, and I loved his healing journey, his evolution.

And what can I say about the other characters?! I loved them all! From Tirani, weaver and Remy's best friend, to Idrian and his criminal crew. They are involving, complicated and well portrayed characters with whom I connected a lot. Tirani impressed me with her goodness, her dedication and her loyalty to Remy. Idrian and his gang captivated me with their being morally gray, forced into difficult choices and wrong actions, with which they have to live. In general, they are all broken characters, marked by losses or painful events, who find in their group, their friendship and their purpose, the strength to continue.  As mentioned above, the found family that develops in this book is wonderful! The way in which Remy at first reluctantly approaches Idrian and his crew, full of hatred and prejudice, and then slowly begins to open up touched me deeply. Seriously, the queerplatonic relationships in this book are pure emotion and I found myself sobbing repeatedly reading certain scenes!

All in all, "Lord of the Empty Isles" is a magnificent debut, characterized by a heartwarming story, incredible characters, and a spectacular found family! I can't wait to read more from the author!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of those books that was addicting. I read it straight through pretty much. It was fast-paced and tense and I was hooked almost immediately. It was incredibly emotional and I was on tenterhooks throughout.

The portrayal of relationships and bonds between people is fascinating and heartfelt. There is no main romance in this book and it didn't matter, the relationships and emotions between the main cast of characters are far more impactful than I feel a romantic relationship would have been. There is so much emotion in this book but it doesn't overwhelm the story.

The start of the novel was a tiny bit rocky, right of the bat I wasn't super keen about Remy but that changed fairly quickly and the writing itself was impossible to pull away from. This book is very focused on the characters and their dynamics with one another but it is by no means lacking in plot. A lot is going on in this novel and neither the plot nor the character development suffers because of the detail invested in the other. The action scenes are succinct and dynamically paced and very easy to understand and get through. The chapters alternated between slow and meandering and incredibly fast-paced and packed full of action and it worked incredibly well. The chapters were also fairly short which I believed helped with the face and ease of reading. The one thing I wish was developed slightly more is the world-building. Whilst we are told a lot about the world this story takes place in, I still feel like there's a lot left still to be said and I wish it were a little bit more expansive.

The set up of this story is grim and a little desolate, there are very little true 'joyful' moments in this but the ones that there are hit all the harder.

This was exactly the kind of sci fi I love and it was a beautiful, incredibly well-written debut and I'm excited to read more by this author in the future. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

An incredible, gut-wrenching story full of hope and loss and love, LORD OF THE EMPTY ISLES was a masterpiece. The genre-bending was incredible and the world and magic that Arbeaux crafted was utter perfection. This book shattered me and put me back together stronger than before. I fell in love with Idrian, Remy, and the found family gathered around the both of them. It was also incredible to read such a gorgeous queerplatonic story with ace rep.

First, I saw the cover and thought, "I need this book on my shelf." Then I read the blurb and decided that I needed this story in my head. Now, after I’ve read the last page, I simply can’t get it out of my head anymore.

Lord of the Empty Isles is a book that will dare you to put it down. Every page will guide you to the next, making you lose your sense of time and space as Jules Arbeaux fully immerses you in this incredible world she has created.

If I had to boil down the plot to one line, it would probably be, "A clash between grief, love, and hope." I immediately fell in love with the characters which, while keeping me invested in the narrative, was heartbreaking because I simply wanted nothing more than to see them hug it out. But the world isn’t that simple. It never is. And aside from the colorful cast of characters and the incredible world-building, I simply kept going because I kept wanting answers to two questions: How did it come to this? Where do we go from here?

Remy and Idrian were the heart of the story for me, and the network of emotional bonds they’ve formed with the characters around them was way more satisfying and heartwarming for me personally than most of the romance subplots I usually read.

Overall, Lord of the Empty Isles is an incredible, heartwarming story set in a vivid and unique world, filled with amazing characters that will stay with you long past the final words. It’s a magnificent debut, and I can’t wait to see more of Arbeaux's work in the future.

One of the most original and refreshing LGBTQ books I've ever read. There is absolutely nothing else like it out there. An aroace-spec and gender non-conforming lead and a glorious queer found family? In a fantasy book to boot? This is the kind of thing the sci-fi and fantasy genres should have been exploring all along! What's the point of having the entire universe at your fingertips if you stay inside rigid gender and sexuality structures? What a boring way to explore the galaxy! But this? Now, this is exciting! And not just the queer stuff, the actual story had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. So much at stake, so much adventure, and so much love to be had along the way. Jules Arbeaux has a fan for life in me!

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton, Hodderscape + NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and provide and honest review.

I am obsessed with this book. I finished it in only two days, I couldn't stop reading.

This is a science fantasy set on planet that has been destroyed by an eco disaster in the past. To survive, the people built a couple of fake moons where they could sustain themselves for a few hundred years and by now the planet has recovered and people are living. However, to prevent another ecological disaster there are some strict rules for the living, and any criminals are sent to the empty isles, those moon.
I thought this was a very interesting setup, and the world building was clear and easy to follow, everything is explained timely without there being major infodumps.
Remy lives on the planet, and he believes the people living on the empty isles are all dangerous criminals who deserved their fate. Five years ago, his older brother, who practically raised him, died of a withering curse ordered by interstellar fugitive Idrian Delaciel. Remy has been craving revenge ever since, and now he finally has all that he needs to cast his own withering curse. The only problem with such a curse is that it also targets everyone who is fatebound to the target, a very rare kind of bond, only it turns out Remy is fatebound to Idrian. Meaning that when the curse kills Idrian, Remy also dies.
The only way to slow down the curse is to spend time around Idrian, but as they set out together and with his found family crew, Remy realizes Idrian is not the villain he always believed and the empty isles isn't filled with dangerous criminals. And if Idrian dies, the people on the Empy Isles who are dependent on his supplies will too.


This is a book about grief and revenge and how some people do bad things because they're pushed into situations where all choices are bad. It shows how the need for revenge often harms the person wanting revenge more, and shows this quite literally with Remy's withering curse backfiring onto him. It goes into some complicated politics with eco-fascisms, and has the main character learn that not everything as it seems.
I love how the book doesn't try to justify everything Idrian does. I'd say he's a good person. Not all of his actions are good, and some of the people who get hurt absolutely did not deserve this. But he was also pushed into this situation by other people, and it's not his fault that he has to make these impossible choices. It doesn't make it right, but it makes it a fault of the system too.

I loved the characters in this book, they are all very developed and felt real to me. Remy is consumed by the need for revenge, and cannot let go of his grief for his brother. Idrian wants nothing more than to keep the people on the empty isles alive, and has to make some impossible choices to do it. There's some great side characters too, and a found family ship crew. I'm especially obsessed with Yves, an inhabitant of the empty isles and the closest thing they have to a doctor.
There's a developing queer platonic relationship between Remy and Idrian, and it follow the structure of enemies to relationship in that sense only it's not romance (Remy is aroace). I think it was very well done here, it really develops in the way Remy view the world and Idrian, and it doesn't move too fast, Remy slowly learns to see that Idrian is not the person he believed. Yet at the same time he's still the person who killed his beloved brother.

I'll buy this book when it comes out and I'll probably buy anything this author writes, would recommend it to people who love the slow development sort of enemies to lovers but would like to see this with a non romantic relationship, people who love complex politics and people fighting injustice and fans of science fantasy.
It is not super sciency or difficult to understand in that sense, the science fiction part is really the space travel and the ecological world building. There's also a magic system that relates to the connections between people that I found interesting.

Lord of the Empty Isles is a scifi-fantasy debut that was just absolutely spectacular. It’s been five years since Remy Canta’s brother died of a death curse, murdered by Remy’s once childhood idol—interstellar fugitive Idrian Delaciel. When Remy finally has the last ingredient needed to cast his own death curse on Idrian, the curse goes wrong and rebounds on himself too, linking their lifespans together. So Remy must hunt down Idrian and infiltrate his criminal crew to find a way to fix the curse before it’s too late. But as Remy gets to know Idrian, he learns that his vengeance may bring more devastating consequences than he could have imagined as Idrian is more than just the evil villain he thought him to be.

Again, I cannot emphasize how much I absolutely loved this book. But be forewarned that this may not be for everyone and some may need to be in the right mindset before reading it. The books is a devastating tale of grief and loss, of the love for family and the bonds that tie people together, and of just how far some people will go for those they love. In the midst of undercover infiltrations, interstellar heists, mysterious curses, a conspiracy to the very top of the government, and a race against the clock, the book still managed to bring me to tears so so many times with its soul.

Remy is a man still reeling from the murder of his older brother, the man who raised him and the only family he had left, and he is blinded by his hate and single-minded quest for vengeance. It was honestly gutwrenching just reading about his love for his brother and his anger for what happened that it will make you actually root for him to get his vengeance. Meanwhile, Idrian is a morally gray man who does what he does for a reason. He is a man beloved by his people for bringing them hope in their bleak existence and hated by others for what he represents. There is a certain parallel you can make with his people’s plight and what is going on in the world right now.

There is no romance here (Remy himself is actually aroace), and that is not to the book’s detriment. Instead, it features queerplatonic relationships, bonds greater than that of friends and beyond that of family or lovers. The book has a magic system of sorts involving different kinds of bonds between people (think tethers), and it demonstrates the different types of relationships from romantic to the platonic. Together, Remy and Idrian help each other grow and heal to break the cycle of violence that has lead them down their dark paths. It is about confronting their conflicts and learning to understand if not forgive the actions that have been done. There are several noteworthy scenes of them just interacting (their initial confrontation when all is revealed and another towards the end) that were so exceptionally powerful that it still manages to make me tear up just thinking about it.

Lord of the Empty Isles is a moving and devastating cozy scifi-fantasy blend featuring an aroace protagonist, a found family, and queerplatonic relationships on top of its epic scifi story. Be ready to cry.

I loved this, it was incredibly well written, and I absolutely loved the diversity and the character representation. Having an Ace-spec and gender-non-confirming lead, found family AND queer platonic relationships?? I adore this book and am super excited to read the next part.

This was incredible, cried my eyes out because it was so stunningly sad and beautiful and now I don't know what to do with my life anymore.

I adored every single one of the crew and the queer platonic found family dynamics; all the characters were well-developed and complex, and clearly so much thought had been put into writing them which I really appreciated. Without a doubt my favourite character was Remy, our aroace main character(!!!) - despite being on a mission for vengeance it was so obvious how much he cared, and loved life, and his grief over losing his brother was devastating and so gorgeously written. His relationship with Idrian was the highlight of the book. Also, the worldbuilding was intriguing and had the perfect haunting sci-fi atmosphere that I love.

Reading this was a heart-wrenching experience (some of the LINES, man) and the lack of romance made it that many times better. Will be recommending this forever.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. I absolutely LOVED this one. The characters were amazingly well written, Remy is such a relatable character and the journey he goes through with his grief was incredibly well handled. I also enjoyed the ace representation in this, it is rare to see platonic relationships given such attention. In terms of plot while this has at times a 'cozy' found family vibe, it is also incredibly high stakes and heartbreaking. There is also a really cool magic system at work which is based on the bonds between people. If I have but one very minor comment, I would have liked more detail on the worlds history. Overall, I read this in a single day as I could not put it down, and I recommend to fans of sci-fi (along the winters orbit direction) and fantasy alike.

5 ⭐️ but I would give it more if I could.

Wow. This book really just did that huh. My emotions are all over the place, I am sobbing, I am SHREDDED. This is a beautifully heart wrenching story. I read this in one sitting because I quite literally could not put it down. How is this a debut novel?! I can't say anything other than that this was incredible and I am so thankful to have read it.

I'm not usually a sci-fi reader, and I also typically always read fiction with romance elements in them. But when I read the description of this book I just knew I needed to read it. Now, this book is not a romance. But, it is a tale of the bonds that run deeper. It's a tale of love. It is a tale about grief and loss, pain and hope, found family and the most beautiful queerplatonic relationship. And oh, I could write forever on the presentation of Capitalism in this book. I don't think I've ever read a book quite like it - for me it was unique in it's beauty.

As far as the writing and organisation of the story, I found it to be phenomenal. The way that information was slowly revealed to Remy, and therefore the reader, created such a convincing and emotional journey of growth and discovery. I really like when books have epigraphs at the start of chapters, but not when they're just there for the sake of it - I found these epigraphs to really enhance the narrative and world building, and I loved that. I didn't feel confused by the world or the tether system, I found the world building to be really effective. The writing style is absolutely beautiful, almost lyrical at points, and highly engaging. The narrative was obviously fast paced due to the nature of the withering curse, but I found this to be really effective and I loved the way the story moved.

I don't think there is more that I can say, other than that this was such a beautiful book.

Thank you so very much to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the pleasure of reading this arc in exchange for an honest review. And thank you Jules Arbeaux. Thank you for writing this story.

Space heists, enemies to lovers, & found family with a robin-hood-esque twist? This book was destined for my shelf.
In a world where the bonds between people are tangible and can be manipulated by some, Remy Canta's brother died of a curse five years ago, and Remy seeks revenge on the person who killed him. He doesn't expect his plan to go sideways, very fast, and he is forced to work with his enemy to survive as he is ripped away from everything he thought he knew.
Not all plots are created equal. Trust me when I say the pacing on this was perfect. The plot twists made me audibly gasp, and the first one appeared very early on in the book and hooked me right away. Things happened exactly fast enough that I kept turning pages because I HAD to know what happened next, but the pacing slowed down when we got emotionally charged moments between characters or bits of worldbuilding that let me sink into the story so much better. This book kept me up till 2am, and I don't regret it one bit.
The magic system of this is quite unique, and one I haven't seen before. It allowed the theme of grief and loss to be handled so softly and gently, and provided insight on how the different characters deal with grief, what it reveals about their background growing up, and how grief impacts them and takes them to the book's end. This story was so poignantly sad and at other times lighthearted and silly - Arbeaux definitely knows how to balance elements so readers are taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Last but not least, the characters. Remy: tired and driven and caught in a bad decision. Idrian: snarky and reckless and making the best of a bad situation. Tirani and Roca and all the other characters who make up this book: necessary and flawed and so blazingly alive. They go through so much, and there is teeth-sinkingly good angst and hurt/comfort in here. I love them.
If you're looking for a sci-fi fantasy with a character-driven plot, a diverse & relatable cast of characters, and a hopeful ending that will actually give you closure and allow you to mourn the fact that the book has come to an end in peace, give this a go.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for providing the ARC!

First of all, thanks, netgalley, for the arc. All thoughts are mine.

It's been a long time since I cried that hard while reading a book. Lord of the empty isles has one of the most accurate depictions of grief I've ever read. And while it made me drown in my own tears, I found it cathartic.
If you know grief, you know how insidious it is, and I found that exact feeling in Remy's journey. It felt true.

Lord of the empty isles is a story where everyone is doomed by the narrative, and you can't help but feel for them as they try to survive. Remy, our MC, has been trying to find his brother's killer for five years and when he finally find a way to get to him, it fires back at him and now he must figure how to disentangle himself from this mess. I really loved Remy because, in a way, he tried to keep his brother alive. Through revenge and hatred, but still. He tried to navigate his grief the best way he could.

Was he annoying at time? Yes.
Did I roll my eyes at him at first? Yes.
But. Like everything in life, nothing is easy, and you learn with Remy. You see him open his eyes to the world, and you can't help but care for him.

As for the other characters: I would give my life for them. They’re one of the liveliest bunch of characters I've had the pleasure to meet. Each and every one of them is full of life and bravado, and they're so easy to love.

I could spend longer gushing about this book but I'm writing through tears right now so. Forgive me !

Welcome to Verdine, filled with people in pain and an abundance of greenery, and just up there? They're the Empty Isles, filled with people in pain and definitely no greenery. The world has burnt and been regrown, and now we've got to look after it, except, if you disagree with the authoritarian government you get sent to the penal colony that is the Empty Isles. The lord of the Empty Isles, Idrian Delaciel, killed Remy's brother and only family five years ago. Remy wants vengeance for his brother, and he's going to stop at nothing to get it.

This book! This book! It grabs you from the first pages and it doesn't stop until the last. I sat down and read it in one sitting and don't regret a thing except that it was over. The pacing is good, the characters are real and so is their pain. The world that Arbeaux has created is stunning, with a magic system that reminds me a little of Holly Black's curse workers world. There's a lot to keep up with about the different bonds, and it might have benefitted from a reference of them at the back, but I can understand that Arbeaux probably didn't want to reveal some of that information until it was needed.

In this queer normative world, everyone seems to have suffered unbearable losses, and family is such a large theme of this book. Tied together with an aroace lead character and what is quite clearly a queerplatonic relationship just, urgh, insert keyboard smash here. I don't know how to properly articulate that this is everything I want in a book. Closeness and focus on intimacy without the need for romance, without the need for sex. We're all valid and this book reminds us that we have stories that are there to be told as well.

Would I have wanted more Remy and Idrian time? Definitely. Would I have liked even more moments of them caring for each other and learning who they're going to be to each other? So so so much. Does it make it a worse book without them? Oh, not at all!

I want every story about these characters. I want a whole series of their adventures before they take down the main bad guy. I want more.

People always love those quick summary lines, and I suppose for this it's firefly but queer and with some magic, but, that just doesn't do this book justice at all.

Losing half a star for a couple of coincidences too many and a few friction points that didn't quite have a satisfying conclusion. Also that I think we could have had a million books in this series and it still wouldn't be enough space to tell Idrian, Remy, et al's story!

Thank you to Hodderscape and Netgalley for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

In an unexpected turn of events, I've just found my new favourite read of 2024. This book... I don't even know how to review this book for no words that I can write will do it justice, for no words will capture the beauty of this book, or how much it meant to me.

This is one of the most beautiful books, if not the most beautiful, I have ever read. This is Jules Arbeaux's debut novel, and I am so excited to see what they will do next after this outstanding debut.

This is so much more than a sci-fi novel. The sci-fi elements are there of course (a great deal of this takes place on space ships and moon-planets) and are done excellently, with such fresh and unique world building. The concept of bonds and tethers, witherings and fighting against a corrupt and lying government, and every thing else that came in between was such a wonderful surprise, and I loved the depth and nuance that came with every element of this.

What this book really is, at it's heart, is a tale of loss, grief, and the journey to healing, the anger and hurt and nuances that come with all of it. Remy is such a remarkable protagonist, and it was truly such an honour to join him on his adventures. I'm very grateful to have never experienced the pain Remy went through, and yet I still felt such a kinship with him (perhaps because we're both aroaces with brothers called Cameron 😂). And it's not just him. The stories of Idrian, Yves (perhaps my second favourite besides Remy), Tirani, and all the rest of them were so painful and heartbreaking to read, but so so worth it in the end. These characters, their journeys to find the courage to let go and begin to heal, will stay with me always. I love a book with the found-family trope (especially when the characters are queer), but this book took that to a whole new level. These characters are messy and hurting and nuanced and they make mistakes (pretty BIG, revenge driven mistakes), and yet that's what makes this book so wonderful and so so important.

This book is heartbreaking, heavy, and it's going to make you cry a lot (please keep tissues on hand as you read), but it is such an important and wonderful story. I will never forget these characters, this world, this story. Thank you, to Jules Arbeaux, for forcing your wonderful story forever into my heart.

I have never meant a book recommendation more than I have this one. Next month, pick up this book with tissues ready and be prepared to fall in love.

5/5

Started on 19/05/24
Finished 23/05/24

ARC provided by Netgalley.

Let's be clear, it's my favorite read of the first half of the year. I love every single characters of this book. I would defend them with my life.
The story is amazing, the plot is so great I loved discovering new things about each characters and their linked through each chapters.
If I had to compare this book to an already well-known book it would be the hunger games.
I recomend this book. I will be buying it when it gets released. I want so much more about these characters.

Thank you so so much Netgalley & Hodderscape for letting me have an advanced copy of this book!!
I loved this book, I loved this book, I LOVED THIS BOOK!!
From the very first line I was instantly taken by the story, and I fell in love with the cast very very quickly. Everything about this book is phenomonal, heartwrenching and beautiful. The world and magic is unique and makes you feel very immersed in it, with wirldbuilding explanations weaved in as epitaphs.
This is described as a queerplatonic love story, and my gosh is it full to the brim with love. I sobbed multiple times and have so many moments highlighted.
No criticism here, I absolutely adored this <3

I remember requesting this book on Netgalley, while also pre-ordering the book, thinking this was gonna be a nice sci-fi romance with a touch of fantasy. I was therefore really happy when Hodderscape granted me a review copy, but since I noticed that cozy romance is starting to bore me a little I was also a little afraid to start reading this novel. I don't know where it went wrong with the marketing, but this book turned out to be so so so much more than I had expected it to be.

The book started exactly like I had expected. I was actually convinced during the first reading session that I was eventually gonna cancel my pre-order. I was completely and entirely wrong. During my second reading session the politics appeared and the book all of a sudden became a million times darker than I had expected it to be. And since we were experiencing everything through Remy's eyes we also felt the shock, betrayal and pain he felt.

I don't wanna give too much away, but this book does an amazing job showing how politics work, how propaganda works and how it's possible to make so many people believe that what you do is for the best even if it's not. It's also an amazing book to show that you really have to get to know people to really understand AND judge them. No matter how much you've heard and learned about someone, you can never know who has been controlling the narrative.

I also really love all the love in this book. All the forgiveness. All those times people are trying to understand someone despite their emotions pushing them into another direction. In a way, despite all the dark scenes and despite all the sickening moments, this book is therefore also really hopeful and inspiring. We see people overcoming hatred. We see people willing to look at things from someone else's perspective. We see people trying to be forgiving and understanding.

I will certainly keep an eye on this author.

This book! It's gorgeous, bittersweet, and hopeful, with a wonderful crew of found family, high-stakes action, a fascinating system of bonds, and a story of grief and healing that will both heal and break your heart. The twists kept me guessing throughout and I fell so hard for all the characters. Highly recommend this one to sci fi and fantasy fans who like any of the elements mentioned above combined with beautiful writing!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the arc! Opinions are my own.

As soon as I started Lord of the Empty Isles I could not put it down and finished it in one sitting. It was everything I loved in a title from the complex grey characters to the found family. The only thing I would highlight is there is no romance here (Remy himself is aroace), and the relationships are queer platonic.
Instead, it features bonds greater than friends and beyond that of family or lovers. Lord of the Empty Isles has a magic system that explores the idea of rope-like bonds between people. Our main POV character Remy is hunting down the man who killed his brother Idrian. However they are boeded together and they must help each other grow and heal to break the cycle of violence that has lead them down their dark paths.

If you loved Everina Maxwell's Oceans Echo and Line and Orbit by Sunny Moraine then this is the book for you! Wonderfully written and a devastatingly sad, Land of the Empty Isles is a cozy scifi-fantasy blend featuring an aroace protagonist, a found family, and queerplatonic relationships on top of its epic scifi story that I could not put down.

LORD OF THE EMPTY ISLES begins with a problem caused by Remy’s attempt to seek revenge for the death of his brother. Namely, that when Remy succeeds in cursing his brother's murderer, the curse starts killing him. too. From there, the story transforms into a tale of abusive systems, fighting to live in the face of tyranny, and the way that punishment for punishment's sake wreaks destruction.

This was excellent! Once I started reading I didn't want to put it down. The cast of characters is big enough to feel numerous, but their roles and personalities are defined in a way that leaves just a few key players that really matter for those readers who have trouble keeping track of so many names.

The system of bonds is very complicated in terms of specifics, but I appreciate that I only really needed to keep track of a few aspects of how they work in order to completely follow the story. For those who want all the geeky explanations and extra detail, each chapter begins with a description from an in-universe text on how all of this works. The text exists because this is visceral but it isn't intuitive, and most people can't see the bonds, so there's a good reason to have this detailed explanation broken into easily understandable sections. It creates a more literal interplay between feelings and relationships, where grief isn't just a hollow in your soul but it can be a rotting tether that hurts, something some people can touch and other people can see.

Remy has spent the last five years trying to kill Idrian, outlaw and "Lord of the Empty Isles". Idrian gave the orders to whoever put a withering on Remy's brother, this curse that made him waste away in terrible pain until he died. As if that weren't traumatic enough, the tether which was the manifestation of Remy's love for his brother has rotted, leaving Remy wracked with grief and pain. Remy himself is a witherer, and, once he gets a hold of Idrian's blood, he has a way to do to Idrian what Idrian had done to his brother. However, when Remy lays the curse he discovers, to his horror, that he and Idrian must be fatebound, because the curse he just set in motion is killing him too. This is a very effective setup, and it's handled really well. The curse forces some level of physical proximity between them, which makes Remy not just have to spend enough time around Irian to see him as a person, but also to understand how many people he's keeping alive, and the real reason for his outlaw status.

LORD OF THE EMPTY ISLES takes place in the latter part of the century after a complicated climate/colonization disaster which left the subsequent generations with a tangible fear of overpopulation and squandering resources. The people in charge had, at some point, decided that prison colonies for resource-wasters and people with too many children was the way to ensure that the punishment was a warning. These colonies are the Empty Isles, and the truly cruel and disastrous effects of this system are explored at length when Remy ends up following Idrian to one of the Isles. It forces Remy to finally see the conditions of his world's prison colony when it's a crime to have extra children. There's an extra twist to the cruelty: because the population restrictions are based on class and location, it's possible for someone can have the allowed number, and then retroactively be denied an easement, making their children who already exist into a crime. The completely avoidable result of this is a lot of parents and kids in a prison without enough of anything, let alone the air.

The thing about an enemies to allies story is that you need a pretty good reason for them to have been enemies, but also there needs to be a really good reason for them to end up as allies. This is especially true when at least one party is so specifically devoted to the other's destruction. Simply having one of them lie to the other can get you a certain part of the way, but, to be actual allies, eventually something needs to be different than it was at the start. One or both of them needs to change in a way that is meaningful enough to call for them to realign their point of view. In LORD OF THE EMPTY ISLES, the presence of the withering means that long after someone's mind has changed they still have to deal with a decision made earlier, in a different state of mind and with different information. It changes the pressure and the momentum of the story. I'm used to (and generally frustrated by) stories which derive tension and anticipation from a character having lied early on and then the story maintaining suspense by putting the confession late enough that it's a betrayal no matter how the information comes out. I didn't feel that way at all here, even though some parts of that usual pattern were in place. The withering is at once a reminder of Remy's earlier mindset and an active danger, and I love how the reveal is handled.

Oh, the way this was a hit for me. Queer platonic love, found family, and such beautifully realized characters. I absolutely adored every second of this book.

Oh, the way this was a hit for me. Queer platonic love, found family, and such beautifully realized characters. I absolutely adored every second of this book.