The Isles of the Gods is an eclectic mix. Set in a world where there are a pantheon of Gods, magic exists alongside electricity and automobiles in what feels like the early 1900’s with gangsters, plus a plot with echoes of the events that began World War I–yes, eclectic is probably the right word. Just in case all these elements weren’t enough, the book is in alternating first person from the viewpoint of five (!) different characters. Although it is touted as a fantasy, the magic system was not well-developed (hopefully more to come in a sequel) so perhaps a better category for this book is adventure. With so much going on, the characters’ motivations were plausible, but a bit light-weight in their development.

However, in spite of these challenges and small imperfections in the individual elements of this book, The Isles of the Gods was an enthralling read. It is a book that makes the reader decide to ignore those household chores or stay up late reading just “a little bit longer”. I thoroughly enjoyed the development of the relationship among Leander, Keegan, and Selly. In the end, I adored this trio and just wanted to spend more time with them, even if it meant sacrificing a little sleep.

The pacing was brisk in this novel with good tension and plausible peril. This is clearly the first in a series so be prepared for unresolved matters at the conclusion of this book.

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy provided by Random House/Knopf Books for Young Readers

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 20 mild obscenities; 1 derogatory name; 1 anatomical term.

Violence/Gore: Brief description of a boxing match/fight with mention of blood; verbal threats; implied threats of violence; person is missing and another assumed that they have been killed violently; a group of people witness the aftermath of an attack with destruction of property and dead people; some descriptions of the attack and how the people died (drowning, burning, etc.); battle/confrontation between 2 groups of people using cannons and other weapons resulting in injuries (mention of blood), death, and destruction of property; discussion/planning around assassination; various characters recall images of dead people with a few sentences of description; brief description of a person who is dead with blood around her; scene in which people are individually executed by gunshot at close range in front of others; character thrown overboard with intent to drown; mass poisoning; characters attacked and fight using magical means; character is beat by another and slammed into a brick wall; bomb destroys property and kills people; rumors of war; character tries to shoot someone; four bodies discovered in a desiccated state from an obviously unnatural death; explosion injures an extremity; blood sacrifice by slitting palm of hand; character(s) leap from a height as a sacrifice; pursuit with intent to harm/kill.

Sex/Nudity: Reference to a character whose mother was the mistress to a noble; girl touches another girls fingertips in a flirtatious way (innuendo); male flirts with females; innuendo; passing reference to a boy making excuses to a boy he likes romantically; female comments that a male is handsome and that another male agrees with her; female finds a male attractive and vice versa; reference to first kiss; reference to a woman’s wife; wife kisses a wife on the cheek briefly; male and female pretend to be seeking a hotel room for romantic encounter; male and female who are attracted to each other sleep in the same bed (non-sexual); male character puts arm around female’s waist; male and female hold hands; passing reference to two women shopkeepers that appear to be married to each other; male asks female if he can kiss her; female wants to kiss a male and thinks about it on several occasions; male briefly thinks about a male he likes and stops by a bar to visit him; male thinks about a female’s long legs; touch on the face; character kisses another passionately;

Mature Subject Matter:

War, death, poisoning, assassination, politics, bullying, same sex romantic relationships (passing references), political corruption, religion, sacrifice.

Alcohol/Drug Use:

Scenes in bars with drinking and smoking; girl not served booze based on her older sister’s orders; poison used.