The Wandering Isles: A Crown of Stones Novella (Soulbound Journeys Book 1) by C.L. Schneider – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

The Wandering Isles by C.L. Schneider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ian Troy and Jarryd Kane have left the land of Mirra-kelan, a land finally at peace after centuries of war and disputes and Ian in his usual brave, but rash way has had a bog and in it and in the process taken on a burden for all of his race and after this deed, he is wanting a fresh start and so he and Jarryd head out to see to retrace the steps of Ian’s Shinree ancestors, the first port of call are the Wandering Isles, a place renowned for strong spirits, but although they have a direction to head in, they have no idea where the Isles are, or if they will find them, what they will find there. So after months at sea, something unexpected happens and both Ian and Jarryd find themselves separated and unable to find each other, on what appears to be a series of deserted and very rocky islands, there also appears to be no life there either, instead it is abandoned.

As the two friends try to navigate this seemingly endless expanse of land, they encounter and unknowingly enter a trade with those who do reside there, it appears that these islands were not as abandoned as first believed and so they pair enter into trials the like they have never seen or experienced before and Jarryd becomes lost in them, however, Ian is extremely wary and suspicious of the beings he encounters and what their end goal is. While completing these trials, Ian comes up against his past, present and possible futures as magic, memories and sinister motives come together to bring endless tortures and scenarios together in a creatively devastating way.

As these trials are worked through and the different torments pass, Ian comes to the realisation that the only way off of these islands is to play this despicable game and find Jarryd in the process, but will these beings allow him to do that, or will he lose this game and everything he is playing for? This is a feast of magic, mayhem and mind games where it is a race against time to see who can win when and what the cost will be, because magic always has a price, but you will have to read until the end to find out what this one is.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews