I was given this e-Arc in exchange for an honest review 🌱

Vina and Simran are the Knight and the Witch of the legendary tale, destined to fall in love and then kill each other in a never-ending loop.

The word that I can use to describe this book is "fairytale", the way it curls and soars at every word. I truly had a wonderful time reading Simran and Vina's story, and I was so happy to be able to read a sapphic story like this one. Special mention to Hari, who's a sweetheart who deserves all the best the world can offer him.
Fans of the Burning Kingdom trilogy (as I am) will be happy to hear that even though it is a stand-alone, there is the same intensity and depth to the characters than the previous books! Also I thought about Vina and Priya meeting, and I laughed out loud, they'd be so funny.
Thank you again for the e-Arc, I waited so long for this book, and it did not disappoint!

I loved the Jasmine Throne books by Tasha Suri, and I loved this one even more. I loved the theme of a female knight.
I loved the cover, and this read with all my expectations met!

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the arc!

🌟🌟🌟✨️/5

Although gorgeously atmospheric, Tasha Suri's newest didn't quite hit as expected and perhaps would've worked better as a duology. I had a great time, but it wasn't the 'heart-shattering' story the blurb promised.

Here's what worked for me:
● The concept is phenomenal. An isle that's sustained by tales occurring over and over again via 'incarnates'? Sign me up.
● This is a book richly steeped in folklore. It's full of faerie bargains and creepy forests. I loved Suri's spin of fairytales!
● The atmosphere was insanely good. Suri's stunning prose really fleshed out the setting. I was wholly immersed.
● Excerpts from various documents at the start of every chapter added an authentic feel to the narrative.
● Part 1 was a 4.5 star read for me. So much of it felt like reading a classic fairytale.
● It's a queernormative world!
● I loved how Suri wove social commentary in this magical tale. She uses the magic system to talk about the erasure of stories and suppression of voices from 'elsewhere'. Who gets to write their own fate is a major theme here and I feel that the author did justice to it. Vina's representation as a biracial character who can't quite fit into either world was well done.

Here's what could've been better:
● I couldn't quite put a finger on what period Suri's alternate England is based on. It initially felt medieval but modern terms like 'trans' were also used.
● The magic system was as ambiguous as it was interesting. I had a lot of questions and the book left a few plot holes by the end.
● I became a fan of Tasha Suri after reading her 'Burning Kingdoms' trilogy. Suri perfected the art of writing sapphic longing in it, and that was conspicuously missing in her latest. I couldn't bring myself to care about the romance. There were some great moments between Vina and Simran in the beginning but the direction in which the story progressed (yes, I'm mostly talking about part 2) didn't let it develop very much.
● I was eagerly flipping pages in part 1, but my interest started to wane in part 2. I understand why the author did what she did, but it could've worked SO MUCH BETTER as a duology. A whole lot of wasted potential here.
● I expected some great character development because of Suri's trilogy but this being a standalone didn't allow much room for it.

I liked 'The Isle in the Silver Sea ' but didn't love it. However, if you love sapphic romantic fantasies and faerie lore, I think it's worth giving a try.

A gorgeously written book about the importance of tales and stories, who writes them, and how they shape and influence us and the world around us. A story about love, family and the life we choose for ourselves.

Yes, I am biased here, because I LOVED Tasha Suri's The Burning Kingdoms trilogy and The Isle in the Silver Sea is/was one of my most anticipated books of the year. Not to mention, I love witches and golden retriever female knights.

In this alternative Britain we follow Simran, the witch, and Vina, the knight. Their tale The Knight and the Witch is an important tale for their land, it keeps a part of it alive. People, or the incarnates, are basically chained to their stories, once it begins, they're compelled by it and they have to live through it over and over again. But what if you want to break out of this cycle?

I really had fun with our two main characters and their dual POV chapters.
Simran has a very thick shield around her heart, but it hides a soft heart. She gives black cat energy (she even has a cat, called Maleficium), she can be mean, moody, mysterious, or emotionally guarded.
On the other hand, Vina, my beloved, is the equivalent of the 'golden retriever' type. She is a lovable, enthusiastic sunshine who just radiates warmth and loyalty. But still, her flaw of putting everyone else and their needs in front of her makes her feel even more real.

Well written main characters are so important in a book and I think we got that here. But the importance of great side characters shouldnt be forgotten. I truly and honestly adored the different dynamics between all the characters, it was just so well done. Everyone had their own unique voice, and the way they interacted with each other made me feel all the different feelings. They had good chemistry, we had deep friendships and an even deeper love.

I ADORED Simran and Vina's relationship. I loved that despite their linked pasts and shared tale, they were still a slowburn. The yearning of the knight!! I was happy to see that we actually had a great buildup for their relationship, instead of going the easy route and explaining instalove with their incarnated history.
(The unexpected couple in this book also has my heart.)

In my opinion the story had great twists and turns, I laughed and cried. And I'd like to highlight the epigraphs too,they are such a great tool to expand worldbuilding.

Unfortunately, despite all the praise, I do have one small critique. Though I think most readers can move past it pretty quickly and just enjoy the story.

I had a hard time answering my own question: what period is this book set in? The setting in London and its surroundings didn’t clarify things much either. Personally, I would have preferred a fully fictional world, where any level of technological development wouldn't feel jarring, especially in a story where everything else is so “eternal” and unchanged.

But despite this I had a really great time with this book.

4,5/5

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the eARC!

Thanks for sharing this arc with me, I’m very grateful. Unfortunately this book was not for me and I struggle to connect with the characters and I’ve found the world-building and pacing quite confusing.
That being said, the writing is nice and if you like lyrical and prose you’ll probably enjoy this book.

I never share “meh” reviews on Goodreads or social media because I think writing a book is a very difficult thing and I don’t want my reviews to reflect badly on a book that might bring joy to someone else. So you won’t find my review of this book anywhere else. Tastes are different.

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the eARC!

This was an interesting read. I loved some aspects of this book and really didn't like other parts of it. This was my first book by Tasha Suri and I don't think it'll be my last, as for the parts of this book I loved, I LOVED.

The writing is lyrical with beautiful descriptions of the scenery. I loved the way Suri described the forest, and it genuinely felt like I was walking alongside the characters. But at times it felt the prose was a little too heavy-handed and could be rather reptitive.

I loved our two main characters, and the supporting characters. I loved their familial relationships and their relationships. However I feel the romance in this wasn't as believable as it could've been. It felt like we'd skipped the build up of the relationship. That said, I did enjoy some of their scenes and their conversations, but it felt like a shortcut was taken as the readers knew that they were going to fall in love anyway?

I think the worldbuilding and the magic system is where this book really lacked. We know that this book is set in London and the surrounding area. However, it was hard to get a grasp on what time period this book was supposed to be set in, unless I missed something. At first I was thinking medieval, until there was a mention of bullets. I liked the magic system idea, and I was eager to keep exploring the magic system, but at the end of the book I felt like nothing had really been explained that well.

The one thing pushing this book to a 4 star review is some of the scenes towards the end between one of our characters and another one had me nearly crying! I won't spoil it but I loved that moment so much.

Overall, I think this is an ambitious book that undelivered a little for me personally, but I did still enjoy it and I do recommend others pick it up.

Tasha Suri could write her shopping list and I'd read it so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of The Isle in the Silver Sea and I was not disappointed. She has a way of writing that is so lyrical and beautiful, it feels like magic in and of itself. What better author then to write a story about stories themselves, and the magic in them and the power they hold.

At its heart this is a love story, but not an easy one. Vina and Simran are fated by their tale to love one another tragically but they choose to love each other fiercely and beautifully and honestly. It's powerful, the kind of love that they choose for each other and themselves. I love them both, I love how much they love each other and I love their banter and their sass and their yearning and their fight.

This is also a story about stories, both the value in them and the value placed upon them. The stories we choose to preserve tell the tale of our history and this comes across savagely here, with the focus on the purity of tales, on not letting them change and evolve and grow, and the decisions about whose tales are worth preserving and whose should be cast aside instead of welcomed and shared. The message is powerful and moving.

All in all, I loved this, I would and will recommend it to anyone who comes anywhere near me!

Oh boy… I did not like this one. I fully went into this book expecting it to be a favourite of the year, and for about 2 chapters IT WAS! But it all fell apart quickly after.

I found the characters, especially Vina, to be flat and empty. I didn’t understand her motivations, and I couldn’t reconcile how she treated her supposed friends with what the author told us about her. Simran was intriguing at the beginning, but as the book moved along I also lost interest in her and her motivations.

The setting was confusing, to the point that I couldn’t picture any place being described. I didn’t understand what/where Elsewhere was, and how it was supposed to tie into London.

Similarly, the magic system was both simple and under explained. It just needed to be fleshed out more. The plot also had the same problem, especially in the first half. I found it to be strangely paced, and the questing portion felt super formulaic once it got going. It just felt like the characters were following beats the author had planned out instead of actually inhabiting the world.

I’m so sad to have not enjoyed this one, as I have been looking forward to it since reading the summary!

The best sapphic love story I have read in a while.
Long ago, there lived a knight who was tasked by the Queen to kill a terrible witch.
Their tale made incarnates of them, and like all incarnates they will return to live their tale and love and perish for a hundred thousand lifetimes and beyond.

<b>We’re encouraged to swoon over the tragedy of the love story, the honor of the knight. But when you cut all the magic and armor away, what’s left? A man murdering a woman. That’s all. It’s not a love story. The love is a lie.</b>

Simran is an Elsewhere-born witch covered in ink-black scrollwork, prickly and protective.
Vina is the pretty knight who will slay the witch. As an incarnate, Vina had learned long ago that her purpose was to live out her tale. To embody the tale is to keep it alive.

But someone is killing the incarnates, throwing the isle into chaos.

Think VE Schwab’s A Darker Shade of Magic meets Inkheart meets fairytales.

This was tragic and beautiful and full of longing and yearning.
This is the best book I have read by Tasha Suri. The writing was evocative and in a fairytale tone that Suri pulls off incredibly well - think Alix E Harrow and Samantha Shannon.

<b>I’d rather break the world to fit you.
</b>
There was heartwarming found family, trans representation, a cat and a Beast.

The pacing did feel slightly awkward with the book split into two parts. This did reduce some of the momentum and my attachment.

All in all, a satisfying standalone with gorgeous writing and brave, broken characters.

Physical arc gifted by Orbit.

A 10/10 must read, this book has everything a lady knight obsessed (me) would want.
It you enjoyed knight and the moth, this one will give you that same feeling but in a different realm (and maybe have you staring at the wall)

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for approving my request to read an arc of this book

I requested this book so fast. The cover is beautiful and the plot sounded so special. After reading I can safely say that this was such a unique piece of writing and I thoroughly enjoyed every page. The characters, the romance and the journey were all so brilliant and I got fully swept up in the tale.
I can’t recommend this book enough. Five stars!

The Isle in the Silver Sea has a beautiful story about choice and destiny, set in a world where its people are forced to relive fixed stories (all of them seemingly tragic, rather than happy) to keep the Isle alive. The plot focuses on the Knight and the Witch, whose incarnates are destined to fall in love and kill each other over and over again. The current incarnations are Vina, a female Knight, and Simran, the Witch and I really enjoyed how their stories initially shaped both women and how their choices affected their story and their personalities. It was a clever story.

The Isle In The Silver Sea has a formal, lyrical style of prose, which created a little bit of a barrier for me, as it meant that I couldn't easily sink into the story and had to concentrate to parse it, at least initially. When the story got its hook into me, I was invested, but it was definitely a slow burn for me. I think a lot of readers will absolutely love the style so it's just a personal thing.

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy from Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.

This beautiful, beautiful book contains everything I love about the Burning Kingdoms trilogy and more. Found family, gut-wrenching yearning, wonderfully flawed characters battling against fate and tyranny. It took me a little while to get into the world and how the tales worked but once I was there I was LOCKED IN. Breathtaking.