3 and 1/2 stars

It’s practically impossible for me to resist a deep desert setting, not since Frank Herbert’s Dune became one of my favorite books, so when I read the first reviews for Island of Exiles I knew it would not be long before I saw for myself what this story had to offer.

Life on the island of Shiara is hard and unforgiving: set in the middle of a turbulent ocean, the island’s climate alternates between periods of intense, searing heat and seasonal storms that can annihilate everything in their path. The city in which the novel is set is an enclave of relative comfort in such a harsh environment, but requires total dedication from its citizens, whose main goal must be the survival of the tribe, even before that of the individual.

Read the full review at SPACE and SORCERY BLOG ( )

Cameron's Island of Exiles is a fast-paced tale of one sister’s love and loyalty against all odds.

Itagami, on the island of Shiara, is home to the Miriseh, and the people they protect. When early storms begin wracking the city, and neighboring clans encroach into Itagamin territory, life becomes increasingly difficult. One such encounter claims the life of Khya’s younger brother Yorri. But Sanii, Yorri’s partner, believes something is amiss and enlists Khya's help to uncover the truth. With the unasked for assistance of Tessen, a basaku mage, Khya and Sanii make a recovery that will shake the very foundations of Itagamin life.

I dove into this story! The world-building is top-notch. Magick seems to be something the majority of the population can use, and comes in many different flavours. There are those who work rock, those who heal, those who can manipulate fire, or use telekinesis, those like Khya who can craft wards, those like Yorri, with heightened reflexes, and like Tessen, with enhanced senses. Some of the magic, like that of Yorri, and Tessen, seem less magic, than psionics. The variety is great though, and seems to manifest randomly. There doesn't seem to be a fully genetic component that, say keeps fire workers or healers in the same lineage.

Itagamin society as fascinating to the anthropologist in me. It functions very different from what I'm used to, with everything designed to keep people safe, happy, and healthy, but still without the nuclear family unit as most of our world understands it. Children aren't raised in year groups, in nurseries, which leads to doseiku groupings where life skills are taught. Reaching a certain age leads to a test to place the doseiku into castes- yonin (non-magic folk), ahdo (mid-level mages), nyshin (high-level mages), and the kaigo council. The Miriseh are immortals who rule Itagami.

This society has three different genders. Besides male and female, there are the ebet, who use the pronouns 'ey’, 'eir’ and 'em’. I did find this a bit difficult to mentally pronounce at first. It was never fully explained what the difference was between the three genders. Was it personal choice, or are there defining characteristics that clearly mark what they are? It is noted that they are physically unable to bear or sire children.

I did find the random discussion of Khya’s moontime pointless. It wasn't necessary to story, and while there's nothing graphic about it, it’s something I as a woman deal with monthly. I don't want to read about it unless it's absolutely pertinent to the story, such as say, a young woman experiencing it for the first time, or if it happens in a society where the women are sequestered during that time, which Itagamin society is not.

As for characters, I really liked Tyrroh, and Yorri, though we don't see too much of Yorri. Tsua, Chio, Zonna and Osshi are pretty cool, too. Osshi is a historian, so always a plus in my eyes. Tessen is my favourite. If it wasn't specifically mentioned that he is seventeen, I'd have thought him much older, given his maturity level. And he just seems so sweet. Honestly, he deserves far better than the person he’s pursuing. I hope he finds it. I really do. I don't like seeing people taken advantage of, and taken for granted.

Despite that she's one of the main characters, I really did not like Khya. She's very immature, whinging on about how Tessen 'stole’ promotions from her, rather than considering its her own immature behaviour that plays a factor in it. She treats him like an ass, when he's never done anything to her. Khya openly admits that she'll go against Itagamin custom and law by putting her brother before others. We are supposed to believe that there is something special about her, but I just don't see it. I'm into the second book now, and still don't see it.

I wasn't a big fan of Sanii, either, though I liked em better than Khya. It is Sanii, not Khya who is the catalyst for the story. It is Sanii, not Khya, who tumbles to the island’s secret, and who then convinced Khya. Ey have a greater maturity than Khya as well. Really, what was off-putting about Sanii’s personality was the crankiness. To get a better idea of eir personality, I'd need to see them around Yorri, and I hope we get the chance.

Overall, this story left me eager to read the next one. If you are a fan of innovative magick, and stories influenced by Japanese lore, be sure to check out Island of Exiles!

***This book was reviewed via Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review. ( )

Island of Exiles is a survival focused YA fantasy novel that may appeal to fans of The Hunger Games.

The desert island of Shiara is a harsh world where allegiance to the clan means all. Khya, a young warrior, has ambitions to the council that helps the immortal elders rule the clan. Only one thing can rival Khya’s loyalty to the clan… her loyalty to her younger brother. So when her brother is endangered, Khya faces a choice that will reshape everything she knows about her world.

When I first saw the summary for Island of Exiles, I thought it was a story I’d read before. Warrior girl, survival, younger sibling as motivation, mysterious male love interest she’s not sure she can trust, the rules of society are a lie… there were a lot of elements that I’d encountered in other YA novels. And while Island of Exiles did follow some YA tropes, I thought it was one of the best executed examples I read. Plus, the world building is far and above what I’ve encountered in most YA fantasy books.

I loved how casual inclusion of queer characters was built into the world, including nonbinary and asexual characters. Khya herself is bisexual or pansexual, it’s never presented as a big deal or even particularly noteworthy. Her society includes three different genders, and neopronouns are used regularly throughout the book. The only thing I wasn’t clear about is if ebet (the third gender) is something assigned at birth, maybe to intersex individuals, and how the society deals with people who’s identity doesn’t match what they were assigned.

Khya’s clan lives in a city that’s partly located underground, a necessity to survive the harsh environment of Shiara. The clan is also extremely hierarchical. Everyone is placed into a caste group partly based on magical ability that will determine the shape of their lives. The naming system felt Japanese influenced, although I could likely be wrong. Regardless, I definitely read the cast as being entirely non-white, so ignore the white chick on the cover. There was also a wonderful backstory to the entire society. I adored it, but I’m going to let you discover it for yourself, so let’s move on to other matters.

While I loved the world building, I did find the heavy usage of conlang difficult. There was a glossary at the back, but I find those awkward to use for ebook reading. If you have a low threshold for fantasy words and constructed language, this is not the book for you. I’m used to dealing with fantasy words, and I found it challenging!

One of the most important aspects of a book is always the protagonist. I don’t think Khya’s making my list of all time favorite characters or anything, but I did like reading about her. Well written, tough as nails warrior girls are likely to be a win for me. It didn’t hurt that Khya also felt like a product of her society. She read like someone who actually grew up in Shiara and its culture, not a modern teen inserted into a fantasy world.

Although Island of Exiles does have some formulaic aspects, I still liked it a lot. It’s fast paced, got lots of action, a badass female lead, and some great world building. It easily fulfills my criteria for a fun read, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

Review originally posted on The Illustrated Page.

I received an ARC of Island of Exiles from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review. ( )

I don't mind stories that jump right into it and the new world you're inhabiting but this book took that to the extreme. There is no explanation for any of the terms given within the story so I felt like I was constantly playing catch up and trying to figure out what everything meant. I spent the first quarter of the book extremely confused and wanting to stop reading it altogether. Especially since it took so long to set up the story for where it was going to go. So if you are going to read this story I definitely recommend reading the glossary of terms and class rank system that are located at the back of the book before you start or as you're reading along. I didn't see the, until after I had finished the book, and it would've made it a much easier read if I'd have known.

The reason I continued on reading was because of the worldbuilding that is done within the story. This world was so intriguing with its class system, the magical system that has been created, the history of the groups of people within the story, I just couldn't stop wanting to learn more about it. I eventually became more engrossed as the story went on and I could piece things together more, and it turned out to be an enjoyable read in the end.

Khya was an enjoyable character to read; I never got annoyed with her and I could understand exactly why she chose to do the things the way she did. She has a fiery temper, she can fight with an array of weapons, has the common sense needed and the emotions we can all empathize with. I think what I liked the most about Khya as a character was getting to see her journey in character development as she went through the story. There is a huge difference between the character we meet at the beginning of the book and where she is at the end. Her powers were also really cool, she is the mindset where she would rather go on offence and yet her warding powers are all about defence. I loved that juxtaposition in her character.

Tessen was a very unassuming and constant presence which I really liked about him. I loved seeing his presence go from being in the background to coming to the foreground. While I sometimes did get frustrated with him and wanted to say just tell her how you feel, I could completely understand why he didn't. His powers also really intrigued me and they were so integral to him helping Khya with her plans.

Yorri I thought was interesting at the beginning but then my interest waned after he "died." He completely caught my attention again towards the end of the story though. Yorri is now kind of shrouded in mystery. I understand that he is a descendant of the Miriseh, but why has he been put to sleep on the island? I thought they killed all of the descendants. Can they not kill him so they just put him in his island prison? What do they want to use his powers for? Why didn't the islamd affect Khya in the same way? I have so many questions about Yorri now and since they didn't manage to rescue him I suppose I will have to wait to find out.

I thought a couple things in the world building were really interesting. First, the fact that this group of Miriseh have basically set up this enormous cult, where over 10 000 people listen to and obey their every whim. I had to wonder at this though. Why did they set it up where they ruled through ignorance rather than fear? Did they think it made the people easier to control? Being the "benefactors" made it less likely a revolt would happen? I thought it was interesting, and while I did suspect that the Miriseh weren't saying everything, I didn't expect everything practically to be a lie.

The second thing I thought was odd at first but made sense later was how the children were raised in this society. The whole it takes a village mindset kind of confused me and seemed quite brutal at first. But as I and Khya began to see her world for what it really was I began to understand why it had to be like that. As Khya proves in the story, familial bonds can be extremely strong and makes people be willing to do anything for those they love. By separating the children there are no longer bonds with their parents and even among the siblings themselves. Since soulmates and marriage are rare in this world if people began to question the lies of the Miriseh they could just be killed off without others searching out the reason why. I really liked how everything seemed to tie in in the book.

The pace of the book was kind of at a slow and constant pace for me. That pace was quite frustrating for me in the beginning, and even when the big event started happening towards the end of the book I didn't really feel that build up and it instead felt like a constant pull forwards. The only times I really got excited were the romantic scenes between Khya and Tessen. I loved seeing their relationship flourish and how they push each other to be better and that they don't have to pretend to be anybody but who they truly are. Those were the sweetest scenes in the book and their flirting made me fangirl with glee.

Overall I have become interested enough in the story, the mysteries to be solved, and the characters to want to continue reading this series. A subtle fantasy, this book sneaks up on you as it hooks you with the world and magic system created within it and the characters slowly work their way into your heart. I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes, and what adventure our motley crew will go on next. For those who love magical systems as much as I do, I recommend you read this book. ( )