Thank you to NetGalley and the Publishers for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.

This book was a miss for me. The premise seemed interesting but immediately I was lost in a whirlwind of POVs. Each POV did not feel distinct or like they were their own character, so it was nearly impossible to distinguish if you didn't pay close attention to the chapter headings. There was an unnecessary amount of POVs as well that was just incredibly confusing. I think the pacing was off in that the first half of the book goes very slowly and then there is some action, a lull, and then more action. It didn't feel cohesive. Many sentences started with "and" and the world building felt patched together. The author used "poker face" when this is clearly a fantasy world, which threw off any sort of interest I had in the world building.

I was drawn to the cover, but hooked by this high seas adventure.

Selly's (MC) plan to escape her father's ship go out the window, when it is commandeered by Prince Leander; the best magician of the royal family (another one of our MCs - there are about 4 POVs in total).

Selly has spent her life growing up on her father's fleet of ships, with the dream to one day captain her own. Leander is a handsome prince, reluctantly on route to make a sacrifice to save his kingdom 🤴.

This is a magical high-stakes sea adventure where unlikely friends have to work together to survive. From stormy seas to cutthroats and untamed magical powers, this is an adventure you won't want to put down.

Overall this was a fun read and I really enjoyed it. I would have liked it even better with an omniscient narrator instead of all the points of view changing the way they did. By Part 3, I was fully immersed in the world and absolutely loved the Isles (setting). I almost wish more of the story took place in the Isles.

I really loved this book. Way more than I expected to. I am hit or miss with sea voyage based fantasy but this was was a win! I loved the fierce independence of Sellie , the heart and soul of Leander, and the unexpected charm of the Scholar. The villainy was A+. I wanted to throw my kindle of several occasions but I could also see why she went down the path she did even as I despised her for doing it. There was a ton of action, heartbreak, tragedy, adrenaline and adventure, with a touch of sweet romance. I eagerly await the sequel to find out what lies ahead for these characters!

Overall I enjoyed this one. It was adventurous and I liked the relationships built between the characters. It was multiple stories from five POV's (the prince, scholar, zealot, sailor or the adrift betrayer) for the same events. I thought that was an interesting way to tell the story. I don't mind multiple POVs but sometimes the story got confusing at times.

I think this first one spent a lot of time setting up the characters, world, and events leading up to something that seems bigger. I hope that book two jumps right into the action and really takes this adventure to the next level.

Kaufman's world-building is so good in this book! I felt completely immersed in The Isle of the Gods with it's world full of divine powers, ancient temples, and mythical creatures. Also, the blending of fantasy and mythology here is *chef's kiss*!

I absolutely loved this story! The sea setting, the witty characters, the main character finding her magic. It was all done so well! I am invested in following Selly and friends adventures in the coming sequel. The magic system was pretty unique and fun! I can’t wait to read what happens next for this trio.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

𝙁𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬:
I’ve been in a bit of a book slump for the last few months and have read a lot of books that are just okay… but I was totally drawn into this book and absolutely loved every second of it! I love the ocean setting, magic system, history of the gods and spirits, and multi POV. I was worried it would be hard to keep up with so many POVs (there are 5), but the author wove each character’s story together so flawlessly that I actually loved it. I loved all the characters equally and didn’t feel bored with any of their chapters. The plot pacing is spot on, and kept adding details about the world or the history on a way that was interesting and easy to follow. I even loved the side characters, who may not have been the focus of the story but I still felt emotionally attached to!

This is a perfect mix of adventure, magic, politics, and romance. The romance is just starting and I’m so hopeful to see where it goes in book 2. Highly highly recommend this book!

And for audiobook lovers, Steve West narrates Leander’s POV and y’all know I am always a fan of anything he narrates 👏🏻

This book surprised me. I didn't know much about it before I read it and I just jumped right in. I knew the authors name and that's why I picked it up and I'm so glad that I did. This was a fun book. It was full of gods, romance, forgotten temples and the high seas. I love a good pirate book and this one delivered. there needs to be more!

This is my first book solely by Amie Kaufman, and I think it was a really good solo read by her. The story did take awhile for me to get into, its a very slow story - its a long book and the entire story only spans a few days. It's told in multiple POV's between Leander, Selly, and Keegan, and a few other characters, and you do get to know each character pretty well. Surprisingly, Keegan ended up being my favorite character, he just seemed the most well rounded overall, also I'm totally down for people who prefer books to people.

Amie built an expansive world, and even though most of the novel takes place on the sea, you really do get a feel for the world at large and the history behind it, who the characters are, their motivations, and the devastation that could be caused if the Gods go to war.

And OF COURSE, we are left on a massive cliffhanger that almost had me throwing my kindle, so I will 100% be picking up the next book. This was a thrilling, character driven adventure at sea and I'm all here for it.

This wasn't my favorite by this author, but I still enjoyed it. I think that there will be people and teens who like this, but it just wasn't for me.

The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman was a great introduction into a new series. I really enjoyed the multiple 1st person points of view that we get, the twists that happen in the story, as well as the pirate fantasy romance theme going on. It was slow to start out at first, and there were times that I contemplated not finishing because it just was not keeping my attention, but I pushed through, and I am glad that I did so. This book did end up being a 3 star rating for me though. Once I had time to sit and think about it, I didn't really love it to rate it a 4 stars for me, and it's not a favorite to become a 5 star. Maybe that will change as the series progresses!

Sweet sparkling pandas, this was amazing. Don't let the amount of time it took me to read this reflect on the story, because it was 100% me not being in the mood for YA.

I should have known Amie would deliver.

I loved these characters. They're lost and ruthless and charming and smart and loyal and a million other things. I'm not usually good with multi-POV, but this one had me craving more of everyone.

Plot wise, it was intriguing. A history of gods, a future of war, and an in between of 6 people looking fight, but for different reasons.

Overall, this story was light and fun while still dark and serious. I loved every page, every situation, and the ending is absolutely bonkers insane. I can't wait to read what's next.

**Huge thanks to Amie and the publisher for spoiling me with an early copy**

I think this book had great potential, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. There was too little action, and the story felt a bit flat and unentertaining. However, it was still enjoyable enough for me.

Kaufman writes books that you get lost in. Amazing writer and stunning book. Highly recommend this book.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of The Isles of the Gods. This was a fantastic fantasy novel and I already ordered copies for my book shop.

An interesting story that has a few characters to follow. I think I would enjoy this more in physical format. However it was still thoroughly entertaining and fast paced.

I have loved Amie's previous work which has been paired up with a co-writer so was super excited about diving into The Isles of the Gods. From the summary, this should be a book that I absolutely fall in love with so it was a bit of a surprise when I didn't

It took a few tries to grab me and get any momentum in the story. And even when I felt a touch of momentum, it didn't stay. There were A LOT of characters to keep track of and their individuality did not always stick in my brain so the switching POV frequently killed the pace for me.

The world building is really cool and there are elements I like so right now I am on the fence about reading on.

I have drifted away from YA SFF for most of this year as well, so that could also be at play.

I've enjoyed books from this author before, so I was rather eager to read this new one! The beginning was really tough for me to get into due to the numerous point of views. With this many different voices, the plot became really muddled and it was tough to understand what the whole point of the novel was. The pacing didn't help keeping me invested and the constant switching of the point of view was distracting. I did appreciate the romance that was thrown in, and honestly, it's the only thing that kept me going. The ending left it open enough for me if I'm interested in reading the sequel. I am worried that I'll lose interest with not being able to remember the first novel. Time will only tell.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Books for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Diving headfirst into the first released book of a high fantasy series can be a little nerve-racking, but the prospect of an exciting, magical adventure on the high seas was too good for me to pass up, and I'm so, so glad that I was lucky enough to read this one. Your main cast of characters were all so well written and fleshed out with their own belief systems and insecurities and hopes and dreams and driving forces pushing them forward, and it only made getting to know them all together as they interacted more rewarding. Selly's love of the sea and her doubts in herself and her own abilities always clashing with her independence and distinct knowledge of what she *is* good at, Leander's love of his home and his people while his fear of failing them keeps him from living up to his potential, Keegan's desire to learn leading him to leave behind his family and their expectations, Laskia's devout belief in both herself and her cause despite others never giving her the chance to prove herself, and Jude's desperation to take care of himself and his mother and his mistrust of others after he was let down in the past... Chef's kiss doesn't begin to cover how much I love everything about every one of these characters.

The world was massive and and interesting and well explained, and I never once felt like there was an info dump to get me up to speed. The lore of the world the characters lived in was so, so cool, especially getting to see how belief either ran or didn't run the world, how the effects of their history had trickled down to create the world as we get to know it. And the magic system! I think I could rant about it for hours, truth be told. I don't think there was one piece of this story that I didn't like (except that it ended where it did without there being more for me to immediately ingest of course). I laughed, I cried, I screeched and kicked my feet, I yelled at characters, I got up and anxiously paced my room--I even stopped breathing a couple of times. And since finishing The Isles of the Gods, I haven't stopped recommending it to my friends so that I'll have even more people to run my mouth to about it. It was an easy five star read for me, and I am desperately excited to see what all of my new favorite characters get up to in the next book.