Prepare to be captivated by Angela Montoya's thrilling masterpiece, "Sinners of Isle." This dark and enchanting novel takes readers on a spellbinding journey into the heart of an enigmatic island, where sin and salvation dance in a delicate balance.

Montoya's prose is nothing short of poetic, painting a vivid picture of Isle—a place where shadows whisper secrets, and the line between right and wrong becomes tantalizingly blurred. From the opening chapter, readers are drawn into a world of intrigue and temptation, where sinners and saints coexist in a delicate dance that keeps you guessing until the very last page.

This was a very enjoyable read! The world building was easy to follow, the slow burn romance was done really well, and the ending was amazing! I love witches and pirates and fantasy book so to get both in this was perfect. Plus who doesn’t like shadow magic! I was so ready Im for Rosa to get her revenge and when that time came I was cheering her on! Thoroughly enjoyed this!

Witches and Pirates turn the Tides of Love
3.5 stars

Montoya has created a vibrant universe filled with fascinating cultures and magical systems. You can practically feel the sea breeze and the colliding motivations as you explore mysterious seas alongside Rosa the Majestic and Mariano the Sailor (son of the Pirate King). There’s solid storytelling in this romantasy but I wasn’t quite hooked. However, readers who are looking for romance in a world similar to One Piece should give this one a try.

In the Kingdom of Coronado, Majestics – girls born with powers – are sequestered on Sinner’s Isle until they come of age, when they are bound for life to whoever will pay the highest “tithe” for their abilities. Rosalinda is the most powerful Majestic Sinner’s Isle has seen in years; she is expected to be bound to King Sebastián himself in the upcoming Offering. But Rosalinda refuses to submit to a life of slavery and makes plans to escape from the island with her best friend, Juana. When the girls are caught by Doña Lucia, who rules the isle with an iron fist, Juana becomes a hostage to guarantee Rosalinda’s obedience. Rosalinda needs an ally to break Juana free, and makes an unwilling one out of Mariano, the Prince of Pirates, who finds himself stranded on the island after his ship was attacked. Teen fans of witchy narratives, swashbuckling pirate stories, and swoony romance will find much to appreciate in Sinner’s Isle.

Sinner’s Isle is about Rosalinda, who is one of a group of women with powers, called Majestics. They live in a world where Majestics are bound to controlling and influential men and forced to use their powers as their keepers see fit. Majestics live together on an island called Sinner’s Isle until they come of age and are basically handed over to the highest bidder.

Rosalinda has just come of age and wants to sneak away from the island in the night with her best friend, so the two can live by their own free will and avoid being Bound to a suitor. Things go wrong, of course, and Rosa finds herself more trapped than before...

Mariano is the son of a famous pirate, but when his father’s dying wish is for Mariano to leave the ship and find a new destiny, Mariano is torn. But his rowboat ends up steering him to Sinner’s Isle…

The two find each other and end up working together to make sure Rosa doesn’t get bound to a horrible lord, that the wrong people don’t take over power of their kingdom, and also just to finally get off the dang island. And they can’t help but be drawn to each other… almost like there’s a force bigger than themselves that connects them…

It’s adventurous, feminist, and inclusive, with a whirlwind romance. I also love a good standalone fantasy every now and again, especially when pirates are involved!!

A very enjoyable romance, plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader interested and a romance that was actually romantic. I particularly enjoyed the magic system, and who doesn’t enjoy pirates? Looking forward to what else Angela Montoya writes!

Thank you to NetGalley and Joy Revolution Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

I very strong book for a debut. Sinner’s Isle was captivating and witchy! Rosalina was such an inspiration.

Full of action and adventure, when it comes to pirates and witches, I got more than what I was expecting.
Full of plot twists and intrigue, it definitely gave me some stress and anxiety of the good kind. If anyone enjoys a thrilling book, this is it.

I love this cover and the idea of pirates and witches is wonderful. For me, this ended up being an okay read that I didn't think was that memorable. The magic is interesting and the friendships were definitely the best part for me. I rooted for the main characters to get with other people, because Rosalinda and Mariano don't actually spend that much time together.

Not a bad debut, just not what I hoped it would be.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Joy Revolution and NetGalley for the copy.

Sinner's Isle is a swoony adventure story about pirates and dangerous magic. Steeped in patriarchy and power, the Majestics are witches which are used as power pieces. The very things the world desires - power - they claim to abhor while making backhanded deals which overwrites Majestics's free will. On the surface it's a story about pirates and witches, but underneath it's a story about the value of choice and love freely given

I absolutely loved this! It was so much fun and such a great, original world and characters. I highly recommend.

I absolutely adored this book! Angela did such a beautiful job of writing a fantasy with cultural representation and diversity (LGBTQ+). The characters were intriguing and captivating. They each were battling their own demons yet managed to make room in their hearts for friends and loved ones. The found family trope was so well done an possibly some of the better character connections in the book. My one critique is the lack of emotional connection between Rosalinda and Mariano. They had very little time together throughout the book and I struggled with their instant connection—it is fated/soul mates trope. I wanted more of an emotional bond between them and I didn’t quite get that from the two main characters. This book featured strong capable women who do not need saving. No damsels in distress her, they save themselves! This was a fun and refreshing take on pirates, witches, and magic. Overall I enjoyed this book including the inconclusive/open ending. Oh and it did have some high sexual tension that comes to fruition.

I enjoyed this YA fantasy full of romance, magic, pirates and mystery! I thought the main characters were well written and had great chemistry. I look forward to reading more books from this author.

✨SLAYYYYY (literally)✨

*Spoilers below*

I’ve loved everything Joy Revolution has put out so I knew I had to read this. Fantasy isn’t my go-to genre, but Sinner’s Isle was absolutely perfect!!! The world was easy to understand, and the romance (there was even a little secondary one) was really charming. It was definitely a slow burn in terms of both romance and justice.

I was immediately so ready for violence to befall those villains. I was quite literally pacing around my room waiting for her to unleash those phantoms of hers on those terrible people and HOOBOY the emotions I felt when that time finally came. It was so satisfying. Not gonna lie, I was STRESSED at points there because it had me in the first half.

Real talk the way I screamed when the King Sebastian was [redacted] but the way I SCREAMED when he [redacted] Santi. And let’s talk about that big reveal??? My heart!!! Ugh the ending really solidified how good this book was. Everything just made my little vindictive, romantic heart so happy.

I’m wondering if there could potentially be a sequel??? Or another book in the same world??? I’m very intrigued by the sirens and more pirates because I definitely wanted more boat action!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5


Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

A slow start, with questionable magic explained. Hang in there, by the middle, I wanted Mariano and Rosa to be together forever, Lord Morales needed to go. The magic got more believable. Each girl had a unique power. Mariano had an understanding of what he could do to change things. Spanish words are sprinkled throughout the text. The ending is very satisfying.

Sinner's Isle by Angela Montoya is a YA Romantasy about Rosalinda, a powerful witch trying to escape the remote island she’s being held captive on. There's pirates, fated mates, found family, and queer representation. If you enjoy books by Nisha J. Tuli and Natalia Hernandez, you most likely will enjoy this book too.

For me, this was a very gentle 4 star, high 3 star rating. Montoya, Tuli, and Hernandez have similar expository and descriptive writing styles, that while not something I gravitate to, I still do enjoy on occasion and I know a lot of people enjoy that kind of style. They're very prose heavy writers and there's a steady thrum of world-building that I wish was just a little more in depth.

Here's a few things I really loved about the book:
it's highly feminist in a non-feminist society,
empowerment of women,
accepting of disability/scars,
the humor and the juvenile insults had me flip flopping between laughing out loud and literally face palming (for example, there was an insult to a character using "hijo de puta" (son of a whore) and the other guy being insulted goes like it’s rude to speak of a man’s mom that way especially yours birthed one as a ugly as you)

One thing I didn't like at all was the instalove and fated mates. The romance was so extremely cheesy that it triggered my a-specness. There really wasn't much of a buildup for the romance. it just existed and was featured heavily in the story so for me, that knocked off a star on its own. I only enjoy fated mates when they still need to work on themselves and each other rather than falling into a heavy romantic relationship.

Nonetheless, I do believe that there are quite a number of people that will love this book a lot, so give it a chance.

I truly wish I loved this book. I really really wanted to love this book. It has pirates, witches, romance, what’s not to love? Well, I didn’t love it. Didn’t even really liked it and it makes me so sad to write this review.
The plot had so much promise, it was interesting and I hoped it would evolve into something great. Unfortunately, the politics fell flat and the end wasn’t truly resolved. In terms of the politics, you’re only left with the idea that things will get better but nothing really does.
Romance is most times my favorite part of any story but I can say with confidence that it was not my favorite of this one. Which is kind of the whole point since the is a romantasy. The insta-love was just too sudden and a bit much for me. They only had one true conversation but they were both smitten with each other. No, one glance and they were in love.
The whole time I read this I didn’t feel any emotions at all. There should’ve been at least some pleasure in reading but instead I was mostly bored.
I think this book had promise, it just needed some work. I’d love to try something else from this author in the future!

5 🌟!!

Sinner’s Isle- Angela Montoya ❤️⚓️🌴

This magical, mystical story that is Sinner’s Isle
follows Rosalinda and Mariano, two individuals whose lives cross in an unforgettable way. Both trapped on Sinner’s Isle, they must find a way to survive without destroying or killing each other. This book had magic , love, betrayal, loss, close proximity, and the characters' only option of survival waa to use their combined creativity and wit.

This did not feel like a debut book it was so clearly and personally written. The lesson of being an overcomer and exhausting all one's options doing things you'd never think you would do to make it . I lived this story , the setting, the characters so much!! The imagination behind Sinner’s Isle is excellent!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

*edit: you know what? I need to clarify something because I've been raging about this to a friend since writing this review. The thing that makes me angriest about this is how casually homophobic it is and how it doesn't even try to hide it. I touched on it below, but here's what we have:

- gay best friend. He's clearly supposed to be the comic relief. Which... is not great but could be ok, maybe? Except he's just sad. Whenever he shows up he ribs Mariano a little, tells Mariano how great he is (even though Mariano is like I don't even like you), then is gone when Mariano turns around and he just thinks "he's always going off in search of drink" and then when he finds him drunk and crying in a corner later he just thinks "lol he's just like that" and ignores him. What kind of best friend behavior is this?

- lesbian best friend. She's supposedly Rosa's closest friend in the world, they would die for each other, etc. Yet when she is immediately locked up in order to force Rosa to do everything her evil matron wants, she basically disappears from the pages and Rosa only occasionally thinks about her. She'll be like "but how am I supposed to find out where my best friend is being locked up while I'm being forced to spend all evening dancing with these awful rich men?? Oh, look, a handsome boy, better run off to talk to him and forget about my best friend for another few chapters."

I can't even remember their names (because they are hardly ever mentioned) and have had to resort to 'gay best friend' and 'lesbian best friend.' They don't have any more depth of character than that - they're hardly even characters.

Also, there's an awful lot of page time given to a lot of rich old men leering over pretty young witches and saying how they'll outbid each other to control their powers. And some of the girls are excited to be binding themselves to rich men? Like Rosa sees another girl passionately kissing her rich man on the dance floor and is like well, guess she's happy to be bound. I hope I don't ever look like that when I kiss anyone."

And that's it? 50% in and all of the plot has been devoted to this event where the rich men come and bid on the girls. Where is the pirate action I was promised? For that matter, we only see the barest hints of witchy power. It's all just... sleazy politics?

0/10 Do not recommend. Run far, far away and don't let that gorgeous cover fool you.

----

This was a huge disappointment. The cover? Absolutely stunning. The synopsis? 100% here for it. The execution? nope.

I have been "reading" this book for almost a week now. Actually I've been doing everything *except* reading because I can't bring myself to pick it back up. I decided to finally buckle down and actually read today and had to eventually give up at 50% because I can't. I have... nothing good to say about this book. The characters? flat. The plot? confusing, shallow, and disney-fied. the villains? over the top evil. the romance? insta-love. I think? I'm not sure they've interacted enough at this point to call it a romance. The gay best friend/ comic relief? not funny. Mostly kinda sad. Why is the gay character always comic relief? the lesbian best friend/ supposed reason the plot happens? mia after the beginning when we are told (but not shown) what a great friend she is and how much they love each other. It's just... such a different book than the synopsis and that gorgeous cover led me to believe.

I do like the diversity and how many of the characters aren't white. But that's... all I like. It feels like watching a soap opera. Everything 0ver-the-top drama, not a lot actually happening. Also the writing is... not great. Honestly getting to 50% was a huge struggle and completely tanked my motivation to read. I saw a few people saying it changes after 60% but I can't do it. Also a book shouldn't "get good" after 60%. That's terrible writing.

The audiobook narrator is good but she can't save it and her performance just highlights the level of drama.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Joy Revolution for providing an early copy for review.

READ IF YOU LIKE:
☨ YA Romantasy
☨ Pirates/Witches
☨ Fated Mates
☨ Diversity

"There can be good within the bad if we search for it, and that is a beautiful and powerful thing."

MY REVIEW | What an interesting world Angela Montoya has created. You get witches that are controlled by the Church and bound to people to make sure they aren't dangerous, mixed with pirates and royalty as well. It was all very entertaining.

The romance part of this story is definitely like a love at first sight type of romance, which I am not a fan of, but that being said, I think I'm mostly okay with that trope in this particular setup. Fantasy is probably the only way I can enjoy it because I'm like: "Oh yeah, but there is this supernatural pull, they feel like they've known each other forever, it's all magic, it all makes sense, you see!"

I did have time where the stuff happening didn't make sense to me. They would be in a room full of people and Rosa is supposedly THE most important Majestic, so all eyes should be on her but somehow no one saw her interactions with the Pirate... I just couldn't understand completely, it felt like my mental images weren't on track with what was happening in that book sometimes so maybe it's just a lack of description of the surroundings that created that feeling, I don't know. But overall it didn't alter my reading experience that much.

I'd say that the second part of the book is what really pulled me in. It took a while for me to care for our main characters but once I did, I DID. Our main characters got more and more interactions together, lots of things were happening and plot twists. I did like the scenes between our MCs, with all the tension, the fact that they weren't sure if they should trust each other and all. I also really enjoyed the side characters which always makes for a better reading experience too. Santi and also the King were probably my favourites. I was so looking forward to seeing them.

I'm glad Rosa had her shadows to protect her, this whole character arc for her was really nice, how she got to understand herself better throughout all that happened and finally was able to understand her true power. Very satisfying.

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC. All opinions are my own.