The Isle in the Silver Sea is a gorgeously written standalone that blends fate, love, and the politics of storytelling. Simran and Vina are doomed to fall in love and destroy each other in every lifetime—and watching them try to break that cycle was both heartbreaking and beautiful.

The concept is unique, the writing is sharp, and the commentary on who gets to shape history hit hard. The world shifts through stories, and the idea that only certain ones are preserved felt especially timely. Loved the side cast (Hari broke me), and the romance had just the right amount of angst and longing.

TL;DR: A sapphic love story wrapped in fate & resistance. If you love standalone fantasy that says something while making you feel everything—read this.

Thanks to Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC.

I was hooked from the start—what a concept! A knight and a witch, fated to fall in love and kill each other in every lifetime, bound by duty to keep their world of stories alive? It’s devastating, romantic, and completely original. Tasha Suri, you’ve wrecked me.

The themes of imperialism, colonialism, and selective history added so much depth, especially with the ongoing idea of only preserving the "correct" version of events. And Beast—xoxo, love you forever.

The writing is gorgeous, the characters vivid. Vina and Simran’s internal struggles felt so real, and their romance, though destined, unfolded in such a natural, tension-filled way. I even adored the background characters—Hari’s side romance had me in tears. There were moments that made me laugh, and others that left me breathless. No spoilers, but the ending? Utterly heartbreaking in the best way.