Isle of Blood and Stone

It’s been a while since I read anything an adventure/ mystery type of book that didn’t focus so much on a rebellion but more on a quest and a riddle, which is also why I was so excited about this book going in! In all honesty, it took me forever to connect with all of the characters. On top of the main characters and the plot, there were also so many secondary characters, and LOCATIONS and well, it took me a while to connect and care about this world. As soon as I did, however, Isle of Blood and Stone suddenly became a whole lot better. There was one clue after another coming to light, a fearless girl and hints of romance, actual political problems and betrayals and murder and I really liked it. Let’s break it down: IDEA: I’ve never actually read a book about a cartographer, especially one set in a fantasy world, and I was SO INTRIGUED by the idea behind it all. I’ve loved books about solving clues and cases since I first read Nancy Drew and I was really looking forward to this book. PLOT: Like I said, it was a little difficult to connect with the world, despite the fact that I was excited to read the book. I find this happening so much more often with fantasy novels these days (Am I reading too much? Is there such a thing?) but after sticking to the book, I did manage to come out on the other side. I really liked the plot structure, and all the secondary characters. I loved how Elias uncovered the conspiracy that started a war eighteen years ago, the map-making elements and the personal growth every character went through. I especially loved mundane things that built up the world in the book – small, political things that made everything so much more real. CHARACTERS: While I liked the characters (specifically Lady Mercedes and Lady Reyna) I didn’t fall in love with them. I liked their stories, and felt happy at their ending and liked the way they were grown, that essential spark was just missing. I definitely liked Elias’ curious mind and kind soul, and his relationship with Lady Mercedes was adorable. WRITING: I don’t know if it was the characters or the writing, but while I find no real fault with this book, it lacked something that kept me from falling head over heels in love with it. I, in a nutshell, liked this book fine but I didn’t love it, and I don’t know why. CONCLUSION: It was a different book, with amazing world building and ended up being a great one time read. It’s just not the kind of thing I loved so much to pick up again.

All the characters were interesting, their motivations for unravelling the mystery of what happened to the prince's and Elias's father clear and engaging. I was kept guessing until the end. And Lucier did a great job of world-building while the characters searched the island for clues while balancing the development.

I've read this from the library and I love it and I want to read it again and again