Makiia Lucier

Eighteen years ago, two princes vanished. Now a riddle hidden on a mysterious map could chart a course towards the truth . . . and the missing royals in this historical fantasy that's perfect for fans of And I Darken and Grave Mercy.

Isle of blood and stone

Colleen

4 Stars
 
I am always on the lookout for adventure stories, so Isle of Blood and Stone caught my eye. With sea serpents, a mysterious map with a riddle, political conspiracies, betrayal, and lost love, Isle of Blood and Stone is a captivating read!
 
Eighteen years ago, the royal entourage of Del Mar was ambushed and slaughtered and the two eldest princes kidnapped never to be seen or heard of again. Nineteen-year-old Elias is a royal explorer and close friend to the current king (and only remaining member of the royal family). But everything they know is called into question when someone finds a map with a riddle referring to the missing princes. So Elias sets out to discover the truth accompanied by a spunky heroine, Mercedes. What they find may challenge everything they thought they knew.
 
I was expecting more of a nautical adventure. The previous exploration adventures of the main character are mentioned frequently, so I was surprised when the story didn’t cover much ground (in the literal sense). It was still an exciting story that kept me entertained, it just was different from my expectations. To be fair, the blurb does mention an expedition into uncharted waters. Rereading the blurb after finishing the book made it much clearer what they were aiming for, but it was still a tad misleading.
 
Isle of Blood and Stone is set in a fictional world that bears a strong resemblance to our own past. The country of Del Mar had flavors of Spain and Portugal from the golden age of exploration with sprinkles of other cultures thrown in. I hope the next book branches out into the world more. It was a good start, but as I mentioned, the story had more to do with the discovery of secrets than new places.
 
The book is classified as Fantasy, but I might call it Fantasy Lite. There are a few mythical creatures, ghosts, and an old mystical legend, but most of the story is grounded in reality. So don’t go into this expecting High Fantasy or any such thing. The political intrigue plot adds an air of mystery and there is a romance in there as well, but it doesn’t suffocate the rest of the story.
 
It’s a story that straddles somewhere between YA and NA. The three main characters are around nineteen years old, but they are adults and have the responsibilities that go along with it. There is nothing that would make this book inappropriate for younger audiences though other than maybe some violence.
 
The story does start out slow. It takes some time to build up the intrigue. But once the story gets rolling, the danger level ratchets up and the story pace accelerates. It could have used some more character development, but the story doesn’t take place over a long period of time. I suppose the grow fits within the time that the story covers. I did care about the characters though and was invested in what would happen to them.
 
Also, being super nitpicky: it could have used a better map. It wasn’t a bad map. But since the main character is a cartographer and maps play a critical role in the story, the book would have nailed it if the map included came anywhere near the maps described in the story.
 
It isn’t a perfect book, but I did enjoy Isle of Blood and Stone and look forward to reading the sequel.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Isle of blood and stone

Reviews