I feel like this is a perfect example of a postcolonial fantasy focused on the dangers of stories told by the perspective of the coloniser. In the case of “The Isle in the Silver Sea”, there is a system of oppression that puts the incarnates, people who have a fixed destiny, told by the tales they incarnate, at the center of the political agenda of the Eternal Queen. It makes complete sense that the disruption of this system begins with Simran, an immigrant from Elsewhere and the Witch of one of the most defining tales of the Isle.
I LOVED her growth and her relationship with Hari and the other incarnates. At first, I wasn’t sure I would appreciate her interactions with Vina, but my interest in their bond consolidated in the last part of the book.
I admit that I found the second part of the story a bit slower than the first and the third, but the story itself is so fascinating that I can definitely say that this “weakness” didn’t entirely ruin my reading experience.
The queer representation was deeply appreciated and the magic system and worldbuilding are extremely original.
A must read if you are into the Lady Knight Renaissance era.

This was a slower read for me. I found the concept and lore quite confusing at first so it took me time to understand what was going on and immerse myself in this world. I wasn’t sure which time period it was set it (maybe I’m still not sure…).

I definitely preferred the second part more with its faster pace & cementing the final plot developments.

An emotive and interesting tale with great queer representation and sapphic romance.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy of The Isle in the Silver Sea.

DNF at 43%. This book sounded promising and right up my alley, but I wasn’t interested while reading it. The beginning was fine and made me think that I would like it, but the more I kept reading, the less I wanted to continue.

It might just be a matter of right book wrong time, but as I didn’t really connect with the characters I don’t think it’s the case.

I love everything Tasha Suri writes, and The Isle in the Silver Sea didn’t disappoint. Whilst admittedly, I found the worldbuilding to be not as strong as in her other books, the story still leapt off the page. It was my first female-to-female romance, and I truly enjoyed it. Vina and Simran’s story is tender, fierce, and full of heart. I’ll be happy to showcase this one in my bookstore as it’s a story definitely worth sharing!

Tasha Suri can never disappoint me. I have been a fan of her work since always and this sapphic witch-knight fantasy sounded like my dream book truly.
Vina and Simran were fantastic characters, I will forever be in awe of how good Suri is at world building. The concept of the tales how it tied the entire story together-AMAZING. I would recommend going in not knowing anything about this and let yourself be surprised by everything this book had to offer.
It was so refreshing to see such beautiful issues handles with such ease. The brown rep through the elsewhere folk and talking about the discrimination and prejudices there is around it all was done with such ease. I also loved the side characters in Hari and Galath!!!!! so adorable and AAAAAAA.
I will say this book could've been shorter in length but I'm not complaining because it's always a joy to read Tasha's writing!

No tale is stronger than the tale of love- this is what this book proves in a delicate and enchanting way. It has a completely new magic system. The characters are all developed in an excellent way. This book excelled my already high expectations. This novel will be the answer to the question „ What book will you never stop recommending?“
There is not a single flaw that can be found about this book.
Love story? One of the best I have ever read
Magic system? Once in a lifetime
Characters? Funny, deep, lovable and growing
Pacing? Perfect!
This book feels like diving into the world of a fairytale that you never want to leave again.
If The Brothers Grimm were still alive they would be envious that this story/tale/ epos had not been written by them.
My first and already best read of September and probably the year 25‘

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.

To start with the characters. I found both Vina and Simran wonderful POVs to follow. They’re distinct and such fundamentally different people that somehow fit together perfectly. They have conflicting views on life but uphold similar values and their slow discovery of each other had me on edge in the best way!

I found this book to be an incisive commentary on the erasure of diverse stories - very prescient in today's political landscape. Meera was an especially interesting character because of how she was from Elsewhere, but was determined to be accepted by those of Isle-blood.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. The more I think about it, my rating increases every time.

I enjoyed it a lot. This was my first FF romance and I had a great time reading. A witch and a knight romantasy. Sign me the hell up.
I was a bit let down by the world building though.
I think i was expecting more.
But overall a really enjoyable read.

It seems that it an autumn for lady knights on my bookshelf and authors are giving me what I want.

The Isle in the Silver Sea is a beautiful sapphic novel based on magic and knights and maybe just the right amount of pining and heartbreak.

I really loved the roles of the Archivists and the way how they shape the world through tales. I think the most important part of this was the analogy of colonialism and how it affects the way that the narrative is told and Tasha Suri did it beautifully and with compassion.

I think this book could have had a bit more world building and relationship building but I can see why we're just dropped into the story with the way that the tales work. We're just seeing another part of their story without any of the previous ones.

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for this eARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, Tasha Suri, and Little, Brown Book Group UK for sending me this arc!

The place of death was 31%

I wanted to love this book, and in fact, I did enjoy it sometimes. The way the story began immediately grabbed my attention with its intriguing magic system, the meeting of our main characters, and a hint of action. I was still very fascinated by the unique magic system of the tales, with witches incarnate, but as we progressed, I found that things weren't explained well enough, which often left me a bit confused. Now, I'm all for dropping readers into an intricate fantasy world if done intentionally and correctly, and I found the confusion was not purposeful. Due to this, Suri sometimes came across as two-dimensional, causing me to lose interest in the world and, consequently, in the book.
Furthermore, the pacing was uneven. One minute it felt as if I was flying through the story, and 3 minutes later I felt like I was slogging through it. It started to feel like I was forcing myself to pick up this book.

Something that did keep me coming back for as long as I did was the characters. I liked them, and I'm sure that if I had kept reading, I would have loved Simran and Vina. I enjoyed watching their journey as they progressed from strangers to somewhat friendly acquaintances. We had some funny moments, frustrating moments, and adorable moments. I would have enjoyed watching their doomed relationship progress. I know I would have been absolutely heartbroken by the end of their tale (if that is what happens).

Sadly, this book was not for me, but other books from Tasha Suri would sit better with me. I would also like to say, I do have a history of coming back a month or two after I've DNF'ed a book and finishing it, so I have not entirely written this book off :)

I recommend this to others, as this story and the magic of tales were truly whimsical and memorable. While this was not the book for me, it could definitely be the book for you!

When I heard Tasha Suri was writing a sapphic lady knight book, I was instantly DOWN. As a huge fan of the Burning Kingdoms trilogy, my expectations were high. While The Isle in the Silver Sea has some truly gorgeous moments, it unfortunately didn't quite meet my expectations.

Suri's prose is lush and evocative for most of this book. It's lyrical and descriptive without being pretentious; there's a scene with some enchanted deer that is so vivid and magical that I can't wait to see the fan art. However, this quality felt inconsistent in the first act. The introductory chapters failed to fully captivate me, and some dialogue felt a little unfinished and clunky, making the early pacing feel both rushed and strangely empty at times.

The story fluctuates between a traditional novel and a mythic "tale" style of storytelling (at least, that's what I took from it). While this makes sense for the overarching plot, I don't feel it was delivered as well as it could have been. It made scene transitions feel clunky and led to anticlimactic, quick resolutions for some plot points, which caused major reveals to fall flat.

The second half of the book is a massive improvement, though. The pacing feels better, the writing more cohesive, and there's a fantastic creature introduced that I absolutely adored. The ending is also wrapped up well and satisfyingly.

I finished the book feeling like it needed one more edit, or even that it should have been a duology. More space would have let the romance breathe, given important backstories more weight, and fleshed out the magic system. There's a great story here, but for me, it got a little lost in the delivery.

I'm summary, while the novel contains moments of Suri’s signature beauty, discusses important themes such as the eradication of records and the control of a people, and has a much more compelling second half, it ultimately struggles with pacing and tonal consistency, making for an uneven reading experience. I wanted to love this book, I really did, but it missed the mark for me. I'm so sorry 😭🫣. I give it a 3.75 maybe a 3.5. Rounded up to 4 here.

To be honest I’m quite conflicted about this book. I’ve read the previous series by this author and I’ve enjoyed it immensely. However, this time I didn’t love it as much. There are a few things which I found captivating, but there are also a few things that I wish were more developed.

“The Isle in the Silver Sea” tells a story of two women living their life as an incarnation of a story. Simran is a witch and Vina is a knight. Their destiny is to tear down each other’s life. Will they be able to stand up for themselves or will they obey the story?

Things I did enjoy:
- very captivating premise promising me a dreamlike travel through stories
- interesting magic system, though not largely described
- the concept of incarnating stories was captivating and I’ve wanted to know more about it

Things I didn’t enjoy:
- character building and development, I felt like the book was lacking in that field
- the romance, I just didn’t felt it
- the pacing was a bit off, there were moments of action intertwined with slow wondering around, the characters had their reason to travel, but for me it wasn’t enough to keep my attention
- I just didn’t connect with the story and for the majority of time it was a bit boring
- setting the story in London was a bit of a weird choice for me, I think I’d like it much more if it was done in a fictional world with its own rules.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I did enjoy reading this, albeit the time when I would get a little confused.

We follow a story of a knight and a witch, whose tale it it is for them to fall in love and doom each other. However, when someone starts killing off the incarnates, they have to learn to work together to solve the mystery.

I think for me it was a little confusing at times, especially at the start as I would have liked things explained a bit better. I would have liked better character development as I have to remind myself who was who a few times at the beginning, and I felt the pacing was a little bit all over the place.

Overall I did enjoy this read it just didn’t blow me away.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

There is so much potential, truly, so many great things! The lore and magic system are insane, the stories battling with their fates, the archivists and librarians' roles in information erasure and above all, the writing. This was my first book of the author and I was enthralled (pun intended iykyk).

Sadly, the time period versus vocabulary used left me a bit disoriented. Tbh, I still can’t get a proper visualization of this world. The main characters and romance weren’t my favorites either. I loved them towards the end (which was very satisfying) but I was rooting for the secondary characters more. Loved Mal, Galath, and Hari to death. I wanted more of them. More of the duo Galath/Vina too. As for Simran and Vina, I guess I wished for more yearning, more depth to the reincarnated but destined to be trope. I loved part two more, which is a shame because it’s shorter.

What I’m trying to say is this; this book isn’t perfect but it’s a story worth telling, reading, talking and for some part, screaming! It’s impactful, important. It clearly lays out colonialism and racism. A must read.

4.5⭐️

Thank you to OrbitBooks UK and NetGalley for this E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's been a little while since I've read anything from Tasha Suri, but I adore her writing, and so this ended up as one of my most anticipated releases of 2025 (and, of course, I was destined to love this as lady knights are my favourite thing this year). I have many many thoughts about this, which I will try to shape into a tangible form, but if I could summarise my thoughts about this book into its simplest terms I would say that this is an incredibly powerful book that I found very moving, and very relevant to the world we live in now.

At its core this book is one about marginalised people coming together and rising up against the forces that would seek to control them, and this theme is masterfully paired with the worldbuilding. This book is centred around stories, magical tales that shape and sustain the Isle, and the incarnates forced by fate into this path. It brings a sense of darkly lucsious fairytale/folkloric whimsy, as Suri weaves a world both familiar and yet also glistening with magic. And yet this is also a dark tale, a story of how the state control the narratives allowed to be told and lived, how propaganda is fuelled and spread, reflecting the all-too-real current conversations surrounding book banning, prejudice, and exclusion. In my opinion, this element of the book - political commentary woven with folklore and reality - was the strongest part of this, painfully real and hard-hitting, and yet tackled by our wonderfully queer and diverse cast of characters, letting hope shine through. The use of stories and folklore as a medium for exploring this political theming was so well done and I'm still quite amazed by the nuance this element brought to the story.

The cast of characters is another excellent element of this book. I found both Simran and Vina to be intriguing protagonists, with distinct personalities and experiences that shaped them into the women we find in this book. And not only that, but the cast of side characters was fantastic as well, queer and diverse, with nuanced identities and bonds that made them so lovable. Galath in particular was a standout character, with phenomenal development and nuance as the story progressed, and I also adored Hari for similar reasons (their pairing was so sweet, especially in part 2, and I also adored Vina and Galath's relationship and the incredible nuances there!). I did struggle to connect with Simran and Vina's romance at first as I'm not the biggest fan of fated lovers etc. and felt their bond was slightly rushed, but I think in part 2 especially their relationship felt much more genuine and heartfelt to me and I was routing for them and in tears (both of heartbreak and joy) by the end of the novel, which was satisfying and a beacon of hope in the darkness.

The only thing that held this book back was the pacing, which I found to be a consistent issue throughout, and I think this book would've benefited from lingering more in certain moments, slowing down the story, and probably being a bit longer. In part 1 I felt the story was quite rushed towards the end, and that this also led to Simran and Vina's romance feeling rushed, and then part 2 was very rushed at the beginning, feeling somewhat convenient at times (particularly with Vina), though Simran's chapters felt much better paced than Vina's. It's tricky to discuss without spoilers, but I felt that the pacing issues meant that some of the most interesting elements of part 2 - for example the new and complex relationships formed as a consequence of the end of part 1 (especially with Vina), and the new alliances formed - were not given the depth I thought they deserved, though the pacing did even out a bit again and address some of these elements better towards the end. I still adored this book and my reading experience, but I wish this story had been given a bit more space to breathe and develop slowly, and would've been more than happy to read for another 100 pages if needed.

Overall, I found this to be an incredibly moving book, with a beautiful sapphic romance, unique and fantastical worldbuilding, a diverse and nuanced and lovable cast of characters, a desperate and hopeful resistance, and excellent political commentary that was hard-hitting and relevant. I of course recommend this book for its fantasy-ness and sapphicness, but more than anything I recommend it for its politics, a nuanced reflection of the world we live in now, and an inspiration for those of us who fight back.

The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri is such a unique book! I can honestly say I never encountered one like this before.

The Island is made up of stories, stories that are repeated again and again by reincarnated replica’s of the original story (sort of, it gets clearer in the book but I really want to make this review spoiler free). Incarnates have no choice but to repeat the original story, whether they want to or not, and if somehow that fails, the part of the island associated with that story will cease to exist. There is plenty of magic around, because if you can think of it, it might just happen. Therefore, stories are carefully curated by the archivists, to prevent wild stories from growing.

Vina and Simran are such a story, and quite vital to the existence of the isle. They are meant to be the Knight and the Witch, a tragic story surrounded with love and death. And when one day they meet, they’ll try again to alter their fate like they did so many times before, but the tale closes in and refuses to let go, while a murderous assassin who kills stories is hunting them too.
I absolutely loved this story! Especially Vina and Simran, who are amazing characters. I love Vina’s strength and kindness, and Simran’s loyalty and cunning. It did take me a little time to get used to the setting, as this magic system is so unique and new, it takes a while to get it. But once you get it, you’ll want to give the author an appreciative slow clap while nodding thoughtfully. It gets more haunting too, with each new fact. I absolutely love the story idea, and the world is very rich and intruiging. I love how the characters can just feel a good plot lol! I wish I could say more of the story and plot itself, because it is amazing, but there are so many twists and turns, I just can’t say any of it without spoilers. Let me just say, the pacing is amazing, and how the story keeps growing and growing is amazing, and the split in the middle is brilliantly done. If this were a duology, the pacing would probably be a bit long, but because the split you basically get two smaller books without a dull moment. I also love fantasy standalones, so that’s another point in favor of this book. Because of the twists and turns I can’t even describe my favorite side characters! Hari is one, and I love how the author incorporates immigrants and racism subtly in the novel.

If I have to name one downside, the instalove by the characters was a little sudden for me, however it was perfectly explained why it happened and very logical, it’s just a trope I dislike a bit. But the romance was epic and they truly bring out the best in each other.

I absolutely fell in love with this story, and I’m 100% rereading this when it releases. I received an e-arc from the publisher through Netgalley, but it hasn’t influenced my opinions.

This was my first TS book and I enjoyed it! Vina quickly became my favourite character of the story with her charming whit. Whilst the pacing did ebb and flow in paces, I liked the premise of a world reliant on tales playing out

4⭐

Thank you to Tasha Suri, Orbit Books UK and Little, Brown Book Group for the ARC.

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕴𝖘𝖑𝖊 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕾𝖎𝖑𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖊𝖆 is a standalone novel from World Fantasy Award-winning author Tasha Suri in a heart-shattering sapphic romance between a Witch and a Knight, in a longing, medieval folklore inspired love story that spans the centuries.

This is the first ever novel that I've read that was written by Tasha Suri and I was constantly amazed throughout this book.

It is set in a Britain fuelled with stories to survive, where a Knight and a Witch must fall in love again to fit the narrative of their tale but only this time, they're both 'Elsewhere' people — which in this context is brown-skinned people who was an immigrant and a daughter of an immigrant.

This book was a masterpiece in terms of the idea and the pacing. The flow of the chapters — the way that the plotlines moved and connected was very well done. It was perfect in terms of characterization and construction of the story.

The world-building and magic system was something that was definitely unique and defined the entire book. There were new concepts introduced from the very first chapter and dealt throughout the book. Tasha Suri took inspiration and set the base of the book from Arthurian legends and Welsh mythology. So many creatures, tales and folklore were derived from it and Suri created unique spins to the folklore in her book that come from existing fantasy tropes and tales but is written in a way that it makes it feel natural and anchored to the plot and setting.

There is so much more to this book than romance that is so well done by the author. The social commentary was the silent player throughout the narrative. It was always there in the background — silently playing the game. Suri engaged in themes like racism, the burden that falls on children of diaspora and biracial childer, erasure of culture, agency of women and immigration. Strong critique of white-washing to fit their image, anti-immigration politics, and racism from the 'Elsewhere' people themselves — which happens in real life too but is never properly addressed in books.

𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐚 is the Knight who grew in the gaze of the Queen. She is a self-hating woman who is desperate to not live out her tale — wanting to own agency to herself. She's a biracial woman, a daughter of a brown woman and a powerful white man who didn't seem to pay enough attention after finding out about her fate. I related to Vina's character and mindset so much. She deserves so much better than what was offered to her the first half of the book. She's undeniably fiercely protective of the people she cares about and would do anything for them. She's brilliant with her sword and tactics, knowing the play the right cards at the right time.

𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐫𝐚𝐧 is a Witch, an immigrant who was not born of the Isle. She is an angry queer tatooist who like Simran, does not want to play by the tale and wants to own her agency. She's angry because she's slowly being stripped out of her choice and she's desperate to do anything to not let tale play out — to change the outcome and live. She's fiercely protective of her friends and would risk her life for them.

Vina and Simran's love was yearning, gentle and vulnerable. They're trying not to let their tale define their love but their actions prove that they are indeed soulmates who would do anything to protect each other from the tale. The witch is reluctant to trust and fall in love with her knight — which created a tension that paid off at the end.

I also loved Hari and his partner so much. Hari's partner — whose name and role is a big spoiler, plays an important role and both of them stole my heart at the second part with what they did. They're definitely one of my favourite secondary pairings I've ever read about.

The prose was definitely descriptive and ornate. It felt overwhelming at times. There was a lot more showing than telling — including flashbacks — which made it easy to follow and enjoy.

Overall, if you want a sapphic Lady Knight book set in a world of tales fuelling their lands with commentary, 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕴𝖘𝖑𝖊 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕾𝖎𝖑𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖊𝖆 is the perfect read.

The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri, publishing 21st October in the UK.

The narrative for this book is set in a land where tales and their retelling keep the world going. We follow the story of the Knight and the Witch, fulfilled by our FMC's Vina and Simran (respectively), where it is foretold that they will fall in love and kill each other. Can they break tradition and re-write their story? Battling against the Queen and her court to take control of their lives and free others doomed to the same fate.

With a cast of fantastic characters, brilliant world-building and such an original and captivating story. I was hooked on this, it is truly enchanting. And the love story behind it is gorgeous, slow burn perfection.

I am dropping one start as I felt at times it was slightly drawn out and I lost track of what was happening after pausing and restarting the book, perhaps it could have been a bit shorter?... doesn't take away from the overall sparkle of this book though, please read!!

Expect: fairytales, adventure, lady knight, lady witch, sapphic love, found family, quest.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this title.

3.5⭐️

Oh boy where do I start?
I had incredibly high hopes for this book as the plot sounded very interesting and unique + it's written by THE Tasha Suri... but I am sorry to say I feel a bit let down and disappointed.

I think the magic system and idea of the book is so fun and new but to me it didn't feel very well executed at times. Some parts of the book was extremely slow paced and took so long for me to get through. It almost felt like some parts were unnecessary.
The book is also split into two parts, where there's a big time jump and that was really difficult for me to get through at first. I believe it could have been split into two different books instead.

As for the romance, lady knight and witch sounds AMAZING and it was good but not really ny favourite. To me it felt sort of insta-lovey, as most of their attraction to one another relies on their past lives. I believe this is because we were TOLD their stories instead of being put in a flashback or something like that.


All this being said, I still had a good time and enjoyed reading it even though it was slow at times because a lot of parts still had me extremely hooked. The found family in this book is just the sweetest and had me tearing up at one point.


Massive thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC!