nterstellar fugitive Idrian Delaciel will die by inches, and Remy Canta will laugh as he goes.
Five years ago, Idrian ordered a withering—a death curse—cast on Remy's brother that cost him his life, and Remy hasn't been the same since. Now Remy finally has the materials he needs to return the favour, but he has one major problem. When he casts the withering, it rebounds onto him.
The implications are unthinkable: Remy is fatebound to his brother's killer.
Even worse, the only way to slow the curse for long enough to find a cure is to join forces with Idrian and his criminal crew. But when he gets there, Remy discovers there are more than just their lives at stake.
Idrian is the sole provider of life-saving supplies to tens of thousands of innocents, and when he dies, they'll die with him. Caught up in perilous heists and a race against time, Remy finds himself truly living for the first time since his brother died.
Too bad for Remy—the only way to stop a withering is to kill the witherer.
Title : Lord of the Empty Isles
Author : Jules Arbeaux
Format : Physical
Page Count : 368
Genre : Sci-Fi
Publisher : Hodderscape
Release Date : June 6, 2024
Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★
Micky's 4 star review
Headlines:
One of the best found families
Queer platonic connections
Tethers
So much about this book was unexpected to me, I thought there would be a 'love story', I was uncertain about the tethers in the first few pages and I wasn't sure what I thought about Remy. Excuse my 180 after a chapter or two where I was completely inquisitive and invested in the ideas of tethers..."please tell me more" and I began to like Remy a lot.
Remy went from entitled to rebel, from murderer to saviour and all of this was under the watch of Idrian, the Lord of the Empty Isles. Idrian was a character I wanted to get to know, to unpick and find out what made him tick. I didn't get to know him quite as much as I wished but I really liked who he was as an individual, but even more, who he was as a leader and friend.
This book delivered on the kind of found family I long for in books. This family was inter-dependent in a good way, full of authenticity and rolled from one crisis-trauma to the next. There were lots of queer characters who were simply their lovely selves.
The story/plot had lots to bring in terms of grief and loss, a displaced population under the control of a dictator who rationed their water, air and food; so much to identify with current times. While there were difficult scenes in this story, the author still managed to make this a hopeful read.
Lastly, I just want to address my expectations in terms of a romantic love, there wasn't, although there seemed to be chemistry. However, the other kinds of love were strong and prevalent and I don't think I missed out on this.
Jules Arbeaux is an author I will be jumping to read again. I think this is a standalone as it wraps up well but I guess there could be more to come in this world. I would be happy if there was.
Thank you to Pride Book Tours and Hodderscape for the review copy.
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