Book Review: Isle of the Immortal

Isle of the Immortal by S.M. Strada

Wow.

I’m a sucker for fantasy romance. I’ll say that in every review I write in the genre, and I’m going to re-iterate it here. If it involves magic, otherworld’s, fantasy creatures and romance? I’m there. Isle of the Immortal was no exception. I was pulled in right from the get-go, and couldn’t put it down once I started.

This is my first book by S.M. Estrada, who seems like a fairly new author. I, for one, hope she keeps writing (and definitely am hoping for more of this story)

Shailin, a seemingly normal human girl, is thrust by her mother into the dark world of The Immortal, hoping to find a way to save her sick and ailing brother. But she finds much more than she was looking for in Axton, her hero/enemy/infuriating guide.

STORYLINE:

I loved the story. I think it was really sweet and made quite an easy read. I would have loved to have more danger, maybe a strong antagonist, but the fact that a future antagonist was hinted at gives me hope for more books in this series. Otherwise, the story was well thought out, beautiful and moved at a quick pace (maybe that’s just because I was devouring it).

WORLDBUILDING:

I LOVE the world that S.M. Estrada has built. A kingdom of darkness, frigid cold and otherworldly. She did a wonderful job painting the picture for me to see the characters in.

“the one island that happens to be populated by buildings and fenced in entirely by short rock walls to keep the high tide at bay. I beam in surprise at the small cottages surrounded by wafting

chimney smoke. The island is slightly larger than most others we’ve seen, but likely has a minimal populace, and yet, the crowd that notices the boat on the tide seems to grow and grow as people gather to wave as we pass.”

CHARACTERS:

Obviously, I dig the whole enemies-to-lovers trope, and I thought this one was so well done. It was sort of an instantaneous love, but it also wasn’t, because Shai wouldn’t allow her feelings for the rogue-ish Axton come through at first. I think the author did a great job at building up the romance, giving them some friendship first and having the author question herself and her choices. It was so good.I loved Axton from the moment he was first introduced, but of course I also love the “bad boy” vibe.

I think the other minor characters (Hernandon, Alista, Calia and Jayd) were well written, well developed characters who didn’t feel like just background noise. I would have loved to learn more about some of them, but again, here’s hoping for another book!

Overall, this is an excellent fantasy romance who I recommend whole heartedly if that’s your jam. I’ll be here waiting not-so-patiently for the next book to come out already!

I received an advance review copy for free from Book Sirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All views and opinions in the review are my own.