The Isles {blog tour + book review}

Hello again, my friends!  It's blog tour time again! *cue the happy dance*

Today I bring you a review of a sci-fi book that had me hooked from the first page.  With the recent release of the third book in the trilogy, Sara Francis put together a blog tour celebrating all things "Terra Testimonies", and I'm so excited to be a part of it today!  Check out this link right here to see the other awesome posts!

And with that, let's jump on in!

The Isles

Author: Sara Francis 
Genre: Sci-fi/Dystopian
Content: Some intense action
Main Characters: Alison, Sami, and Aaron

Synopsis: 
The Invader's left the world in ruin. Their first worldwide devastation, named the Accident, was unforeseen by everyone. Well, almost. Seven men knew of the approaching destruction and acted by preparing six islands as a place of refuge. Rescuing thousands of people, these Keepers decided to get the next generation ready for war; in their own way. Through training, experimentation, and study, the men created an army of young Bionics, Mutants, geeks, doctors, farmers, and militia to fight the battle.
However, things do not go as planned.
Alison is a Bionic who still has faint memories of her past life. These memories continue to haunt her and make her doubt the Keepers who saved her from an explosion eight years ago. She knows in her gut that something else is afoot, but cannot find out what. On the other hand, Sami and Aaron, a Mutant and a geek, have absolutely no memory of the world before and continue to do as they are told. Despite their obedience, their suspicions are aroused repeatedly and cannot shake the feeling of uncertainty.
The flame of these teens’ doubts is fanned by one interesting character that subtly creates chaos on the Isles.​
Read the record logs of Alison, Sami, and Aaron and join them on their journey to find the truth in their islands of lies. Follow them on their adventure as they put themselves in the lines of danger and learn to use their abilities in combat. The roller coaster of suspicions will have you on the edge of your seat until these teenagers find the answer and do something about it.

Add on Goodreads ~ Purchase on Amazon

What I Thought: 

Well that was quite the ride!  I honestly didn't know what to expect going into this, and now, having read it, I don't think I ever actually looked at the synopsis?  Which in some ways made this more fun.

I'm definitely a character-driven reader - I have to love the characters if I'm going to love the book, and I'm happy to report that these did not disappoint.  The story is told in the journal entries of our leads, Alison, Sami, and Aaron, each of which I loved from the beginning.  They're surrounded by a slew of interesting side characters, some good, some bad, most a mystery.  

The world of the Isles was a fascinating one to look into, and one I very much want to explore more of.  The darkness isn't shied away from, but there's light too.  Hope, and its power, is woven throughout the story, which I always appreciate. 

The only thing I struggled with was the sheer number of characters.  I'm all for a big cast, but where the Heroes of Olympus have their Seven, the Isles have their Seventeen.  And my brain sometimes struggled with keeping that many heroes straight. (not to mention the various other characters, villain or otherwise, who all have unique names but I cannot for the life of me remember who is who xD)  But I will say that the cast was super diverse, and each character did have enough to distinguish them that I eventually got the hang of it. 

Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book!  It was unique, the plot was well-paced, the story was intriguing.  I cried at the end, which is always great.  (No, I don't know if I'll ever forgive Sara for certain character deaths, but that's a story for another day xD)


Overall Rating: 4 bucket helmets out of 5  ((Donnie is my favorite, lol))


About the Author: 
Ever since she could remember, Sara Francis was always a storyteller. At first, she told them through music as a songwriter. In her early teenage years, Sara Francis felt called to tell stories through work as a writer and media communicator for an online magazine.
From there, everything fell into place.
Now, Sara Francis has a Bachelor of Science in Media Communications, is the author of several books, and is a speaker/presenter. Throughout it all, there is always a story she is trying to convey. Whether she tells them through her writings, art, or music, her stories always have a deep, truth-filled meaning behind them.
Every word she writes, everything she designs, every song she performs means something more and connects with the world we live in today. Through her work, she hopes to inspire people and encourage them to seek what is true.
Sara Francis is determined to light a torch in the darkness with the desire that people will do the same and make the world bright again. 

Connect with Sara: Her website ~ Her blog ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ YouTube

Thanks again to Sara for the opportunity to review your awesome book! 

There's also a super fun GIVEAWAY going on for the duration of this blog tour, so make sure you check it out right here! 

What's your favorite sci-fi book? Let me know in a comment below!

~ Abby