Makiia Lucier
Finally! Finally a good YA fantasy with a hint of a romance, a lot of adventures, mysteries, and nice pacing.
People, just wait. I think you would love it too,.The cover is a huge bore, but the synopsis sounds fantastic and I love me a good mystery adventure so let's hope this is a good one!
December
Why haven't more people read this If you're one of those who hasn't please go and read it! This was my second time reading and I liked it even more this time.
The writing is beautiful, the characters are lovely, there's a nice mix of a fantasy world and a mystery, There are maps and navigators and ships and a touch of romance, It has it all.
Young adult novels have been more difficult for me to get into over the last few years, but this is one that has grabbed me both times and I have read it extremely quickly.
Highly recommended.
I'm also boosting my rating from a four to a five star, because it's that good,
Original , June
I picked this book up at the library just after finishing the companion novel Song of the Abyss and I devoured it.
I'm falling in love with this world and these characters, Why haven't more people read these books
This one is similar to a detective story as our main characters solve a riddle, one that ties them closely together, one that broke their families to pieces when they were only babies.
All of the investigative stuff was interesting and so well put together, The clues they found, the heartache that was caused, and the final revelations, It was all wonderful.
Not everything in this story is happy and rosy, People don't get the endings they deserve in all cases, which makes it realistic,
There was some romance, I liked the way this aspect of the story was handled, There was actually a relationship developed and not just instant attraction, And there was a minimal amount of drama,
This is a great book, If you're a reader of YA fantasy, go read this! Ahoy there me mateys! So a recent theme for “Top Ten Tuesday” was “Books I LOVED with Fewer than,Ratings on Goodreads.
” I dont tend to do memes here in me log but I love readin the posts by me crew, Especially when they be fun topics which lead me to unexpected treasures, One such gem was this delightful book recommended by sitelinkBreanna pawsamppaperbacks, In her post she says:
"I hadnt read this yet when I wrote my post on the least hyped books that released last year, but Im glad I included it because I can now say after reading this, that it deserves so much more recognition than what it gets.
This was an excellently executed fantasy: the perfect blend of adventure, mystery, a hint of romance, great writing, and dynamic characters, Im so excited to read the companion novel set to release later this year!"
The premise is that the two child princes of St, John del Mar were kidnappedyears ago, Several adults also disappeared with no trace, One of them was the Royal Navigator, Elias, the Royal Navigators son, has followed in his missing fathers footsteps, He is set to go on his next grand adventure when a map turns up, This map is in his fathers hand and appears to hold the answers to the missing princes, Elias has to solve the riddle for the kingdom and his own satisfaction, This novel only hasratings on Goodreads, I am happy to be adding one more, Seriously this book was excellent fun for the following reasons:
Maps! I absolutely loved the culture of exploration and the sea, I loved how important maps are to the society, Plus the main map in this tale be part of a mystery, Arrr!
The main character I really enjoyed Elias, He be smart, conscientious, and interesting, Getting both his worldview and his reactions to the unfolding mystery were wonderful,
The other characters I particularly liked the king, his cousin, young Reyna, and the Brother, I thought it was wonderful that people made mistakes, didnt always act as expected, and reacted realistically to the occurring events,
The tone This book is marketed as a young adult but doesnt feel like one, Not that I dislike YA but the author didnt tone down the story, For example, Elias isand is considered an adult, He acts like one. I think older readers can find plenty to love about this book,
The plot While I did guess the bad guy and thought his justifications were rather lame, I did respect how the author did not take the story on a predictable path in terms of resolution.
There were plenty of plot twists that I did not see coming and yet they were logical in retrospect, I thought it had a super strong ending in particular,
The romance I actually liked the romance in this, It was based in friendship and mutual admiration, Watching it unfold was sweet, No real angst was involved so that be a breath of
fresh air,
I will certainly be reading the companion novel when it comes out later this year! Now Matey Breannas list included lots of other cool sounding books besides this one so make sure ye check them out!.
Arrrr!
Check out me other reviews at sitelink wordp "We are responsible for no one's conduct but our own,",
At first Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier felt like a meh book, nothing special, but boy did it surprise me when it reached a point in which I could not put it down!
It starts off with a mass murder of the royal family and their servants at a picnic.
Eighteen years later, a map shows up, A map that can only have been made by Elias's father, A father who was supposedly killed at the picnic that day,
With current king Ulises, and lady friend Mercedes, Elias believes his father is still alive out there and that there is much more to the massacre than anyone could have comprehended.
The appearance of the map is the only clue the trio have to go off of, Upon closer inspection, something about the tiny drawing of the children on the map calls them to visit the Javelin Forest,
After meeting some vengeful spirits of deceased orphans in the forest, Elias and company come across someone they thought to have died at the picnic all those years ago.
From her, more questions than answers are found, While the picnic was set up to look like Mondrago had done this to the del Marians, the one witness they have says otherwise, The men were not Mondragon, but del Marian, This means the massacre of the royal family and their servants came from within but was blamed without,
After returning to the capital, Elias tries to figure out the next step using clues from the map, He questions his own path: does he keep trying to find his father and the lost princes, who just might be alive, or is it a pointless feat
My favorite character: Reyna.
A nineyearold girl who wants to be a cartographer, like Elias, But she's a girl! Who would ever take a girl on as an apprentice in such a trade Reyna is headstrong and determined, and also a good swimmer.
More about her later
The element of mystery in this book, the sort of "Who Done It" aspect, is what really made this book pick up, brought the pacing to be upbeat and just right.
I thought the names were a bit basic because a lot of them are Spanish names that are common to many places in contemporary society today, but I also found the slight mysticism to be a nice element to this fantasy world.
Spirits, sea serpents, and royal dilemmas brought this fantasy up a notch, but not in a way that makes it unrealistic, This story felt very real, which was a nice touch, I wish there was a bit more to the map it feels small and makes the world of the book feel small as well, though with the potential to discover more.
One of the other things I really liked about this book was the fact that it's a good standalone, Once again, the potential for more, but a satisfying end in itself, On that note, I highly recommend to lovers of fantasy and adventure with minimal romance, And the potential for more There is a companion book called Song of the Abyss that features a character from Isle of Blood and Stone: Reyna, Age nine in the original book, she is now a seventeenyearold girl who has finally made it as an explorer, Who says a girl can't survive a voyage and explore the world,
could fill an entire world with all the things we did not know,
I still have no idea what the "isle of blood and stone" was,
Full RTC
out of
Finally! Finally a good YA fantasy with a hint of a romance, a lot of adventures, mysteries, and nice pacing.
People, just wait. I think you would love it too,.The cover is a huge bore, but the synopsis sounds fantastic and I love me a good mystery adventure so let's hope this is a good one!
"Bad men are capable of generous acts.
It's a rare person who is completely evil, "
December
Why haven't more people read this If you're one of those who hasn't please go and read it! This was my second time reading and I liked it even more this time.
The writing is beautiful, the characters are lovely, there's a nice mix of a fantasy world and a mystery, There are maps and navigators and ships and a touch of romance, It has it all.
Young adult novels have been more difficult for me to get into over the last few years, but this is one that has grabbed me both times and I have read it extremely quickly.
Highly recommended.
I'm also boosting my rating from a four to a five star, because it's that good,
Original , June
I picked this book up at the library just after finishing the companion novel Song of the Abyss and I devoured it.
I'm falling in love with this world and these characters, Why haven't more people read these books
This one is similar to a detective story as our main characters solve a riddle, one that ties them closely together, one that broke their families to pieces when they were only babies.
All of the investigative stuff was interesting and so well put together, The clues they found, the heartache that was caused, and the final revelations, It was all wonderful.
Not everything in this story is happy and rosy, People don't get the endings they deserve in all cases, which makes it realistic,
There was some romance, I liked the way this aspect of the story was handled, There was actually a relationship developed and not just instant attraction, And there was a minimal amount of drama,
This is a great book, If you're a reader of YA fantasy, go read this! Ahoy there me mateys! So a recent theme for “Top Ten Tuesday” was “Books I LOVED with Fewer than,Ratings on Goodreads.
” I dont tend to do memes here in me log but I love readin the posts by me crew, Especially when they be fun topics which lead me to unexpected treasures, One such gem was this delightful book recommended by sitelinkBreanna pawsamppaperbacks, In her post she says:
"I hadnt read this yet when I wrote my post on the least hyped books that released last year, but Im glad I included it because I can now say after reading this, that it deserves so much more recognition than what it gets.
This was an excellently executed fantasy: the perfect blend of adventure, mystery, a hint of romance, great writing, and dynamic characters, Im so excited to read the companion novel set to release later this year!"
The premise is that the two child princes of St, John del Mar were kidnappedyears ago, Several adults also disappeared with no trace, One of them was the Royal Navigator, Elias, the Royal Navigators son, has followed in his missing fathers footsteps, He is set to go on his next grand adventure when a map turns up, This map is in his fathers hand and appears to hold the answers to the missing princes, Elias has to solve the riddle for the kingdom and his own satisfaction, This novel only hasratings on Goodreads, I am happy to be adding one more, Seriously this book was excellent fun for the following reasons:
Maps! I absolutely loved the culture of exploration and the sea, I loved how important maps are to the society, Plus the main map in this tale be part of a mystery, Arrr!
The main character I really enjoyed Elias, He be smart, conscientious, and interesting, Getting both his worldview and his reactions to the unfolding mystery were wonderful,
The other characters I particularly liked the king, his cousin, young Reyna, and the Brother, I thought it was wonderful that people made mistakes, didnt always act as expected, and reacted realistically to the occurring events,
The tone This book is marketed as a young adult but doesnt feel like one, Not that I dislike YA but the author didnt tone down the story, For example, Elias isand is considered an adult, He acts like one. I think older readers can find plenty to love about this book,
The plot While I did guess the bad guy and thought his justifications were rather lame, I did respect how the author did not take the story on a predictable path in terms of resolution.
There were plenty of plot twists that I did not see coming and yet they were logical in retrospect, I thought it had a super strong ending in particular,
The romance I actually liked the romance in this, It was based in friendship and mutual admiration, Watching it unfold was sweet, No real angst was involved so that be a breath of
fresh air,
I will certainly be reading the companion novel when it comes out later this year! Now Matey Breannas list included lots of other cool sounding books besides this one so make sure ye check them out!.
Arrrr!
Check out me other reviews at sitelink wordp "We are responsible for no one's conduct but our own,",
At first Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier felt like a meh book, nothing special, but boy did it surprise me when it reached a point in which I could not put it down!
It starts off with a mass murder of the royal family and their servants at a picnic.
Eighteen years later, a map shows up, A map that can only have been made by Elias's father, A father who was supposedly killed at the picnic that day,
With current king Ulises, and lady friend Mercedes, Elias believes his father is still alive out there and that there is much more to the massacre than anyone could have comprehended.
The appearance of the map is the only clue the trio have to go off of, Upon closer inspection, something about the tiny drawing of the children on the map calls them to visit the Javelin Forest,
After meeting some vengeful spirits of deceased orphans in the forest, Elias and company come across someone they thought to have died at the picnic all those years ago.
From her, more questions than answers are found, While the picnic was set up to look like Mondrago had done this to the del Marians, the one witness they have says otherwise, The men were not Mondragon, but del Marian, This means the massacre of the royal family and their servants came from within but was blamed without,
After returning to the capital, Elias tries to figure out the next step using clues from the map, He questions his own path: does he keep trying to find his father and the lost princes, who just might be alive, or is it a pointless feat
My favorite character: Reyna.
A nineyearold girl who wants to be a cartographer, like Elias, But she's a girl! Who would ever take a girl on as an apprentice in such a trade Reyna is headstrong and determined, and also a good swimmer.
More about her later
The element of mystery in this book, the sort of "Who Done It" aspect, is what really made this book pick up, brought the pacing to be upbeat and just right.
I thought the names were a bit basic because a lot of them are Spanish names that are common to many places in contemporary society today, but I also found the slight mysticism to be a nice element to this fantasy world.
Spirits, sea serpents, and royal dilemmas brought this fantasy up a notch, but not in a way that makes it unrealistic, This story felt very real, which was a nice touch, I wish there was a bit more to the map it feels small and makes the world of the book feel small as well, though with the potential to discover more.
One of the other things I really liked about this book was the fact that it's a good standalone, Once again, the potential for more, but a satisfying end in itself, On that note, I highly recommend to lovers of fantasy and adventure with minimal romance, And the potential for more There is a companion book called Song of the Abyss that features a character from Isle of Blood and Stone: Reyna, Age nine in the original book, she is now a seventeenyearold girl who has finally made it as an explorer, Who says a girl can't survive a voyage and explore the world,