Island of Fire

Book 41 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from May 17 - 31

Island of Fire

by Lisa McMann

Book 3 in the Unwanteds series

Summary (via the book jacket)

published 2013

The magical world of Artime is gone. The Unwanteds have no food, no water, and no hope. And everyone is looking to Alex Stowe for answers.

Overwhelmed and feeling totally helpless, Alex knows it's up to him to find a way to restore Artime, rescue his captive friends, and free Meghan from her voice-stealing necklace of thorns - three impossible tasks. But could help lie with the silent, orange-eyed newcomers?

Meanwhile, Alex's twin brother, Aaron, continues to build his army in the stark land of Quill, preparing for the ultimate showdown with the Unwanteds. But a shocking twist reveals that Alex and Aaron share a common enemy more dangerous than either could have imagined...

My Opinion

4 stars

One of my daughters really liked this series and recommended it to me a few years ago.  I read the first 2 books before getting sidetracked but quarantine made me decide to pick them up again.  I reread the first 2 since it had been awhile and this was the first one I was reading for the first time.

The little crushes seemed oddly placed in the context of the serious issues facing Alex and Artime but they were also nice little distractions to make the story a little less heavy.  I'm really glad the author didn't follow the trope of a love triangle; instead, there are a few different pairings that are figuring out if they will be more than friends or not so it gives some human drama without pitting people against each other.

As another note, my son started this series at the same time as I did during this quarantine period (actually he started later since I gave him the first book after I was done with it).  He passed me fairly quickly and I believe he's already on book 7.  As a 15 year old boy he doesn't talk much but he must like them since he continued the series and is seeking them out on his own (our 16 year old daughter owns them so he has to actually go into her room and ask her for them, haha).